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At the risk of ridicule, but following some encouragement from a previous thread, I decided to take the plunge and go public with my first build of a 747 in 144 scale using the apparently notorious Revell kit.
My previous attempts at airliners back in 2021 just after starting this little hobby weren’t great but I enjoyed the process, including the research into each aircraft subject, so my build sessions were interspersed with a lot of interesting reading.
I started with propliners (B307, B377, Connie) and moved on to early jets but until now hadn’t built anything bigger than a 707.
I enjoyed the process but was disappointed with the paint finish I was getting with airliner models and it took me a while to appreciate the necessity for a perfectly smooth surface at each paint stage (unlike with military aircraft, which I find a lot easier).
So I dropped out of airliner builds for a while and focused on military kits but when my local IPMS club announced a “commercial” theme for an upcoming competition I decided to build the Revell 747-400 in my stash acquired 3 years ago and use the NWA ‘bowling shoe’ Draw decals purchased from AHS.
Despite being aware of the inaccuracies in this kit via various Cafe threads, I decided not to attempt Sergey’s nose correction or a conversion of a -8 kit for this build, simply because it’s beyond my current skill level.
It was going to be an OOTB build apart from the Druz PW4000 engines and decal set. In fact, fitting the resin pylons to the wings turned out to be enough of a challenge for this modeller.
Fair warning – nobody in this group will learn anything new from this thread as most of you have been down this road many times before, including experience with the Revell kit.
I’m posting this purely to solicit pointers to help me eliminate some of the pain and improve my techniques for future airliner builds.
So on to the build.
Having detached the fuselage halves from the substantial sprue connections and cleaned up the wings and other major parts, I discovered a necessary pre-build task.
The fuselage and wings had a slightly textured surface, not smooth and shiny like most kits I’ve built. To help achieve a smoother paint finish, I proceeded to polish the parts to obtain a shiny surface using multiple sanding sticks of different grits and avoiding removal of surface detail as far as possible.
I managed this fairly well and just had to re-scribe short lengths of panel lines in some areas but the process was really tedious and used up valuable time.
[Side note – I’ve since purchased the Revell 747-8 kit for another project and the fuselage and wings don’t have that weird textured surface, so one less issue for that particular project].
The next step was to fill the window voids and I applied Tamiya masking tape to the outside of the fuselage halves and dripped Mr Surfacer 1000 into the inside thinking it was liquid enough it would fill the voids perfectly with no need for more sanding. Nope.
When dry and after removing the tape I saw that the filler in many of the windows was slightly concave and I’m not sure if it was due to shrinkage of the filler or possibly that in pressing the tape down on the surface I inadvertently pressed it slightly into the voids slightly resulting in the concave surface.
I then had to apply more Mr Surfacer on the outside and sand it down flat, consuming yet more time and effort. Again, I tried to surgically sand the filler to avoid removing surface detail and the result wasn’t perfect but I hoped good enough that it wouldn’t be visible after painting.
I’ve seen various techniques for doing this involving resin that achieve better results although I’m not sure if they’re actually faster overall.
I really want to avoid this problem on future builds so I’d love to learn the best way to accomplish this window-filling step with the least amount of effort and, ideally, in a single pass.
Next up was the nose weight. Instructions called for 20g so I put in 28g – 14 on each side using lead fishing weights.
I then glued in the nose gear well before starting the tricky task of joining the fuselage halves. The fuselage plastic was thin and the tiny locator pins were not helpful in holding the halves in perfect alignment.
As per my usual process with large kits, I started from the front and, using Tamiya extra thin, worked my way back while applying strips of masking tape to maintain the alignment along the top of the fuselage.
A dry fit test beforehand told me that I wasn’t going to get perfect alignment on both top and bottom seams so I prioritized the top and decided I’d fix the bottom ‘in post’, as they say in the movie business.
The bottom didn’t disappoint as, after the glue dried and I removed the strips of masking tape, there was a very visible seam along 60% of the bottom needing sanding.
In some sections it was worse as there was a shallow v-shaped trench at the join which required filler to flatten it out so I used Mr Surfacer 1000 for this task.
I improved it to a degree after more sanding however this is another area I need to improve and possibly find a putty that’s easier to sand but doesn’t crumble (I saw the recent thread from LH707 on this).
I did manage to achieve a fairly seamless result on the top seam which is what I was aiming for so hopefully nobody will look too closely at the underside.
Next task was the cockpit transparency and this went on easily but there was a gap along the top requiring more filling and shaping. I used Vallejo putty for this.
I find that stuff is good for filling fine seam gaps and smoothing them off with damp cotton buds but not so good for larger gaps as it has a tendency to crumble if sanded too hard.
However, it doesn’t shrink like Mr Surfacer so I thought it would save time by avoiding the need for multiple applications. It was a pain to sand as it dries very hard however the end result wasn’t bad and I was hoping the window decal would hide any imperfections.
(More to follow.)
So many kits, so little time …
Having done the fuselage, next up was the wings which had been strengthened using carbon fibre rods before assembly to remove any risk of sagging since the parts were very thin and they were going to have to support the slightly heavier resin engines.
The difficult part of the wings as I expected was the resin pylon attachment. I didn’t use the expert techniques others have used involving foil, epoxy etc. I simply sanded the parts to conform to the wing curvature as best as possible and inserted brass pins in the pylons with corresponding holes in the wings for extra strength.
I’m sure my positioning of the pylons is not perfect but they conformed to the wings pretty well with minimal gaps to fill.
Also, from another recent thread I learned that the pylons on the 747 actually hang perpendicular to the wings and not the ground, so at least I got that detail correct.
With the pylons fitted and following a little rescribing of fuselage panel lines, I proceeded to fit the wings to the fuselage.
Contrary to the instructions, I decided to leave the center wing box part off allowing my fingers access to the inside so that I could press the thin wall of the fuselage parts hard against the each wing until the glue was dry, ensuring a stronger attachment.
The fit was poor however and I knew there was another round of filling/sanding ahead but my priority was to try and get the dihedral angle correct and it was difficult enough just holding the parts in position to achieve that without worrying about the work ahead. Again, I’d fix it ‘in post’.
(More to follow.)
So many kits, so little time …
The paint phase.
From another Cafe thread I received helpful advice on the correct shades for this livery. I used MRP Boeing Grey for the wings and AK “Real Colors” lacquer paints for the white, grey and red on the fuselage.
As I thought red was just a half shade too light I decided to paint the entire upper fuselage with the grey first so that it would darken the red when applied on top. I think it came out ok, to my eyes at least.
The only thing is that the grey turned out a little darker than I was going for. It looked ok after the initial coat however I discovered that gloss varnish tends to darken the shade and I think that’s what happened.
I thinned the AK paints 80% with Mr Color Levelling Thinner and it sprayed beautifully, leaving a very smooth finish. I used a tack cloth to remove any coarseness, although it was almost unnecessary due to the smoothness of these paints.
For the coroguard I mixed metallic silver with the grey at roughly 50%, although you can only see a hint of metal if you look very closely.
[Apologies but some of the photos are being clipped when I paste them in from the media library.]
Before applying Tamiya masking tape, I decided to use AK super gloss finish 1K which gave me a perfect finish when used for the resin engines.
This proved to be the start of my problems, however.
To be continued …
So many kits, so little time …
Posts: 43Location: Salt Lake CityOccupation: Retired. Twice: Civilian HR manager and US Army officerNo need to fear ridicule. Your 747 looks great. The addition of resin engines well really set it apart.
The nose? Yeah it’s wrong, but only folks who frequent this site really know that. 99.9% of people will just look at it and see a remarkable 747.
The shade of red and gray/grey? The color police are overrated. I saw a picture last week of a red/gold Braniff Flying Colors 727-100 that had every shade of red imaginable on the fuselage from the crown that had faded to a chalky flat red to brand new touch ups along the sides. You could have used any shade of red if you wanted to model that bird.
Anyway, you’re doing great and I look forward to more updates.
Robert V. Leonard
Thanks Robert.
Yeah, I’m not getting obsessive about shades for those reasons but I like to get reasonably close to a ‘factory fresh’ bird if possible and avoid glaringly wrong shades.
I think it’s best to use one particular photo if you can find one and try to match that. Keeps it simple!
Tom.
So many kits, so little time …
Paint snafu.
In the process of removing the masking tape, having completed the spraying – starting from bottom to top with the white underside and finishing with the red top, disaster struck.
The tape began pulling the varnish off in patches, leaving a horrible mess which was not going to be a quick fix. Surprisingly, none of the underlying colors came off – just the varnish, but that left a very uneven surface that obviously wasn’t going to be fixed just by spraying more varnish on top.
I had left the paints and varnish to cure for at least 24 hours after each step but, as I was up against the clock for the club competition, I didn’t want to allow more time than that.
I’m not sure whether it was down to insufficient time for the varnish to fully cure or whether the AK product just doesn’t like the masking tape however I decided against using it again for this build just in case.
So with only a couple of days remaining before the club meet, I accepted defeat and proceeded to sand the varnish off in slow time so I could recover a perfect smooth finish. I was actually able to do this without removing any of the color and just giving some areas a light overspray to restore the smoothness.
The varnish actually came off easily as a whitish powder and, this time, I masked off the paint areas for the re-spray without a protective coat of varnish with no issues – despite not having used any primer.
The AK lacquer range, thinned with MCLT, is extremely adhesive and resistant to masking tape.
Anyway, having recovered from my paint debacle I decided to avoid using the AK varnish for a pre-decal coat having been bitten once.
I did some research and decided to use Mr Color GX100, again thinned with the ubiquitous MCLT, which went on very smoothly and provided a good base for decaling.
The Draw decals were excellent, although I did encounter one issue with the large blue stripes that converge under the tail end of the fuselage. The two halves at that junction have a significant overlap and I had to do some trimming to make them fit and create the correct shape.
I’d started from the nose of the fuselage on both sides, working to the back and can’t see what I could have done wrong, however in the end I made them fit even if they’re not perfect underneath.
Following the decals I decided against the AK varnish again for the final coat, probably due more to paranoia than science, but I didn’t want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as a result of some other unforeseen problem with that product.
I also decided against a super gloss finish as I’m not convinced it looks right at that scale. Also, the Draw Decals instructions warn against the heavy use of lacquer varnish so I decided against Mr Color GX100 in case it melted the decals. My paranoia was growing.
I opted for Tamiya X.22 clear varnish which I thought would be safe and it gave a nice satin finish (to my eyes at least) rather than a super gloss type finish.
The next task was to attach the fragile landing gear. The parts were awful and a poor fit in some areas. I had to trim some parts to allow the main struts to sit vertically.
If there was a SAC metal set available for the 400 I’d have bought it but there’s only one available for the Zvezda 747-8. [Side note – has anyone tried to use that SAC set for the Revell 747-8?].
In the end I managed to fit the parts but not particularly well and some of the wheels aren’t touching the deck. I knew this was an issue going in but was still frustrating.
I used CA glue so I could detach the struts a couple of times to readjust them but, in the end, I had to settle for ‘as good as it gets’.
Last task was to attach the engines, which been laying patiently in separate zip-lock bags for several weeks. The fit was so good and secure that I didn’t even bother to use glue.
So, to round off, my first attempt at a larger airliner was done and although it has a number of flaws (which you may spot from the photos), I’m reasonably pleased with it.
More importantly, it actually was a great learning experience – particularly in the painting and varnishing area which is still my weakest point.
My next airliner build will be the Revell 747-8, for which I bought the Laci flap set, so a bit more challenging in the build phase but I’ll apply what I’ve learned from the -400 build to avoid the pain during the paint process.
Anyway, I now have a nice Northwest 747 on my shelf thanks to the advice and encouragement from the kind folks in this group. ????
So many kits, so little time …
Great write up and a great looking model Tom. I’ve yet to start and/or finish a Revell 747 but will “one of these days”. The 747 is such an iconic plane that most any kit turns out looking cool (other than the 1/144 scale Entex). I’ve seen a handful of finished Airfix 747’s finished and all are impressive too. The Airfix kit’s “shortcomings” are pretty apparent and well documented. Great work.
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Thanks Ken.
Yeah, it’s still the most impressive looking airliner imho so makes a great model, although I’ll always love the shape and proportions of the 707.
Although it can be a pain to work through the issues with older kits it’s satisfying when you overcome them and end up with a decent model.
I look forward to my next build but hope to finish it with less effort and rework.
????
So many kits, so little time …
Beautiful build Tom and thanks for the detailed write up. I can understand your frustration with the Revell Germany 747-400. Definitely a challenging kit. I’m currently building my fifth example using Drawdecals as well. Since it will be a Kalitta freighter conversion I’ve plugged windows with Tamiya white putty and sanded with 400 wet/dry sandpaper. Makes quite a mess but there’s no alternative. I’m building it out of the box so much credit to you for taking on a PW powered machine. I’ve built a Delta bird as well. I don’t have any suggestions for you as your model speaks for itself. I do prefer to complete the fuselage with part #41 in place. When handled, the fuselage tends to cave in on the sides with out that part in place. Wing attachment is still a challenge with superglue being my preference. Depending on the fit will determine if I attach the engines before or after this step. Enjoy your 747-8 build. It will be a much nicer experience. Just completed a Zvezda 747-8 in Lufthansa retro colors.
Bill
Discovering Clint Groves and his ATP/Airliners America catalog in the late '70s made me realize I wasn't the only hobbyist with an interest in building airliner models. Beginning with Aurora kits and now enjoying the latest offerings from Revell Germany and Zvezda in 1/144 scale, it's been a fun ride.
Congratulations on making a silk purse out of the sow’s ear which is the Revell B744. Sorry I didn’t chip in before now but I haven’t been on the Cafe for a while and I missed the earlier threads. Since you have asked for pointers, here are some suggestions. The usual caveat applies – always try out a new or unfamiliar technique on something that doesn’t matter before committing to your masterpiece.
For filling windows I only ever use Milliput. In my experience anything solvent based will shrink over time. That may not be too much of an issue if your window decals cover the kit openings exactly but it’s better to be safe than sorry. If the kit doesn’t have transparencies I make a “sausage” of Milliput and apply it from the inside pushing it into the window openings so that it just protrudes on the outside and no more. I usually score the plastic around the windows on the inside to give the Milliput a key. Once the Milliput is set – 8 hours minimum – you can sand it flush on the outside before or after joining the fuselage halves. FWIW I usually join the halves first. If the kit has transparencies I stick them in place using superglue (again to keep solvents away from the window line) then apply a “skim” of Milliput on the outside which is sanded down when dry.
Superfine Milliput works well as a general filler but you have to factor in the drying time and also the wastage since, more or less by definition, you will always mix more than you actually need. For small jobs my go-to filler is superglue applied with a pin. You must sand it down within 10-15 minutes of application otherwise it will set harder than the surrounding plastic. I find superglue excellent for that “nearly but not quite” fuselage seam which has to be filled but doesn’t justify mixing Milliput.
Your peeling varnish problem looks like some kind of compatibility issue. Personally I try to avoid clear coats and varnishes because of several previous bad experiences. I have models that are fifteen years or more old and still look OK despite never having seen a drop of varnish. As I think you know I favour automotive paints. They give a tough finish, polish up nicely with Micromesh and resist handling very well.
Hope these random thoughts are some help and I look forward to the 747-8.
Dave
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Beautiful build Tom and thanks for the detailed write up. I can understand your frustration with the Revell Germany 747-400. Definitely a challenging kit. I’m currently building my fifth example using Drawdecals as well. Since it will be a Kalitta freighter conversion I’ve plugged windows with Tamiya white putty and sanded with 400 wet/dry sandpaper. Makes quite a mess but there’s no alternative. I’m building it out of the box so much credit to you for taking on a PW powered machine. I’ve built a Delta bird as well. I don’t have any suggestions for you as your model speaks for itself. I do prefer to complete the fuselage with part #41 in place. When handled, the fuselage tends to cave in on the sides with out that part in place. Wing attachment is still a challenge with superglue being my preference. Depending on the fit will determine if I attach the engines before or after this step. Enjoy your 747-8 build. It will be a much nicer experience. Just completed a Zvezda 747-8 in Lufthansa retro colors.
Bill
Thanks Bill.
Yes, the Revell kit was tricky in places but I still have a nostalgic attachment to their kits as I built several of them when I was a kid.
Coming back to the hobby in 2021 after a 50 year gap (no kidding), I’ve been amazed to see how sophisticated the newer kits are but I still like to buy some older Revell and Monogram kits from eBay for decent prices and, raised panel lines apart, some have excellent details for their vintage (eg Revell A-6E, which I’m currently working on).
Skilled modellers can obviously still make something special out of these vintage kits and I’ve seen fantastic examples at model shows, so I’m not blaming this kit so much as my lack of experience, but I’m definitely improving!
I also used superglue for the wings and, in fact, tend to use it for much of my builds especially where I may need to make adjustments.
I used it for the fragile landing gear parts and I actually disconnected some of them a couple times in order to get them to align properly so the wheels (most of them, anyway) would meet the deck.
If I’d used poly glue, the parts would have been fused making this impossible.
In principle, I don’t like the idea of glue which melts plastic but the Tamiya thin certainly works well in situations where there’s a long contact surface and the parts are reasonably ‘flush’.
For parts which only make a narrow / point contact, or where some adjustment may be needed, I tend to use superglue as I can usually disconnect the parts without damaging them. But that’s just me ????.
BTW – for your Zvezda -8, did you use the metal gear set by any chance and, if so, do you think it could be used for the Revell -8 kit?
Tom.
So many kits, so little time …
Congratulations on making a silk purse out of the sow’s ear which is the Revell B744. Sorry I didn’t chip in before now but I haven’t been on the Cafe for a while and I missed the earlier threads. Since you have asked for pointers, here are some suggestions. The usual caveat applies – always try out a new or unfamiliar technique on something that doesn’t matter before committing to your masterpiece.
For filling windows I only ever use Milliput. In my experience anything solvent based will shrink over time. That may not be too much of an issue if your window decals cover the kit openings exactly but it’s better to be safe than sorry. If the kit doesn’t have transparencies I make a “sausage” of Milliput and apply it from the inside pushing it into the window openings so that it just protrudes on the outside and no more. I usually score the plastic around the windows on the inside to give the Milliput a key. Once the Milliput is set – 8 hours minimum – you can sand it flush on the outside before or after joining the fuselage halves. FWIW I usually join the halves first. If the kit has transparencies I stick them in place using superglue (again to keep solvents away from the window line) then apply a “skim” of Milliput on the outside which is sanded down when dry.
Superfine Milliput works well as a general filler but you have to factor in the drying time and also the wastage since, more or less by definition, you will always mix more than you actually need. For small jobs my go-to filler is superglue applied with a pin. You must sand it down within 10-15 minutes of application otherwise it will set harder than the surrounding plastic. I find superglue excellent for that “nearly but not quite” fuselage seam which has to be filled but doesn’t justify mixing Milliput.
Your peeling varnish problem looks like some kind of compatibility issue. Personally I try to avoid clear coats and varnishes because of several previous bad experiences. I have models that are fifteen years or more old and still look OK despite never having seen a drop of varnish. As I think you know I favour automotive paints. They give a tough finish, polish up nicely with Micromesh and resist handling very well.
Hope these random thoughts are some help and I look forward to the 747-8.
Dave
Thanks Dave.
Re testing new techniques, I actually built a Minicraft Northwest Stratocruiser that I had in my stash to test the AK RC paints, as I hadn’t used these before.
I’d sworn off lacquer paints as I like the idea of using acrylics which have less risks and easier to clean however, following a demo from an AK rep at the Edinburgh show last Sep, I thought I’d experiment.
The test model convinced me they’d be great for the 747 as they sprayed beautifully with zero dry tip – a problem I always seem to have with acrylics.
Based on your advice, I’ll finally give Milliput a try on the next build that needs filling (probably any build!)
The rule for the types of putty / filler I’ve used so far seems to be it either shrinks or it crumbles so it’s time I should try an epoxy product.
As well as various Milliput products, I’ve also seen good reviews of 3M Red Acryl Glazing Putty. If you or anyone else has any experience of that product I’d be interested.
[ Edit: I just re-read the Putty Recommendations post from LH707 so don’t need anyone to add anything here on that topic.]
Re the varnish issue, as I used AK paints and AK gloss varnish I wouldn’t have expected a compatibility problem but who knows. It might have been a curing problem but it’s one of those situations where you’d need to carry out multiple tests to confirm the root cause and who has time.
I’ll probably just avoid using that varnish in future for anything other than a final coat (it actually worked very well for the engines).
As a lazy modeller, always looking for shortcuts, if I could eliminate varnish coats entirely like you that would be my ideal scenario.
The problem I’d have with automotive paints would be the hassle of decanting them for airbrushing. I’ve never had any success with rattle cans – not sure if it’s a humidity problem.
If you don’t use varnishes, I assume that means you apply decals directly on top of paint? You obviously achieve a perfectly smooth finish on your models and I expect that’s all you really require for decaling.
I hope to see you at the Perth show in April, in which case we could discuss this more at length.
I appreciate your feedback and advice.
Tom.
So many kits, so little time …
Wow! Fifty year gap!! Airliner kits have definitely evolved during your absence. My longest duration was 15 years. Of course, I would still purchase kits with the thought of “some day”. My stash of 1/100 scale airliners is still untouched after 50 years. Like you, I still have my favorite kits from the ’60s and ’70s. Airfix and Revell USA kits typically. With today’s far superior decals even these models can turn out better than expected. As for metal landing gear, I have yet to use them on any kit. As you may know, Zvezda landing gear are very detailed and delicate. I have some metal gear in my parts bin. It’s a backup for that inevitable moment when I carelessly snap off a nose gear that requires installation during step one of a build.
Discovering Clint Groves and his ATP/Airliners America catalog in the late '70s made me realize I wasn't the only hobbyist with an interest in building airliner models. Beginning with Aurora kits and now enjoying the latest offerings from Revell Germany and Zvezda in 1/144 scale, it's been a fun ride.
Like you, I still have my favorite kits from the ’60s and ’70s. Airfix and Revell USA kits typically.
When I made them back in the 60s, the only airliner I ever built was the Airfix 707 and it didn’t turn out that well.
Shortly after restarting the hobby and exploring the crazy world of eBay, I found the exact same kit with the 60s price sticker on the box. Couldn’t believe it and I think I paid about 30 times the original price but just had to have it.
It was at that point I became aware of that great phenomenon known as ‘the stash’.
[As a complete aside, I see you’re based in the state that’s “the size of Rhode Island” ????. I was in Newport on vacation in July 2018 and took a sail on a former America’s Cup yacht on the 4th. Fantastic experience. ⛵️]
Tom.
So many kits, so little time …
Tom et al….
You mentioned wheel alignment issues. An easy fix for wheels not touching the ground is to do some judicious filing of the ones causing the gear to sit high. I always assemble the gear separately before attaching it to the model. Misaligned gear and wheels are a pain to deal with.
Ken
In the end I managed to fit the parts but not particularly well and some of the wheels aren’t touching the deck. I knew this was an issue going in but was still frustrating.
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Tom, good work on the 744, she looks great! Looks like you’ve sorted most of the issues out, here’s my $.02 for the future:
- For fuselage seams, one technique I like to use is to keep the halves slightly apart (fractions of a mm) when adding the Extra Thin, then after 10ish seconds pressing them together. That allows the glue to melt the plastic a bit and then pushes a small bead up like a welding seam that’s easy to sand smooth without any gaps.
- If you have a slight step on the fuselage halves, I like to cut bits of sprue as stiffeners to help bend them together better. Glue some sprue bits to the fat side, then sand them down so that the thin side gets flexed open to the same width, then you’ll have a better join. As a last resort, you can mix some sprue goo (Extra Thin + sprue) as a filler that will sand better than most putties.
- For the window belts, I’d recommend a 2-part putty to avoid shrinkage. Milliput will typically cure harder than plastic, so if you go that route, use a firm sanding stick to avoid high spots. I’ve also played with brushing on extra thin CA for pinholes and then sanding, that typically works well. I would guess that Bondo would work well from a sanding standpoint, but I’ve not tried using it on styrene yet. I’d test it on scrap first to make sure it won’t attack the styrene.
- I don’t have much success with rattle cans either, but have found decanting easy if you cut a straw at a 45-degree angle and point it into a paint jar that already has some thinner in it. I go 50/50 thinner/paint and it works ok.
For the Revell 748, it’s a pretty good kit, though the engines gave me some grief. I did a build thread on that a few years back, but the site migration ate the pictures. Let me see if I can fix that somehow to make it make more sense.
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Tom et al….
You mentioned wheel alignment issues. An easy fix for wheels not touching the ground is to do some judicious filing of the ones causing the gear to sit high. I always assemble the gear separately before attaching it to the model.
I actually did assemble the gear before attaching it Ken. The problem this time was that the side struts (for want of the correct term) were slightly too long and were pushing the main struts out so that they weren’t exactly vertical.
I had to separate them again (carefully) and trim the side struts then reattach all the parts. I did this a couple of times in one side before getting them to hang perfectly vertical.
Even then, a couple of the wheels still didn’t touch the ground so I obviously didn’t check the alignment thoroughly before attaching them and so your suggestion would have been the right fix.
I’ll remember this for my next build.
Tom.
So many kits, so little time …
Not saying you have to do it Tom but the eyeballing, filing/sanding, and touch up painting of the gear can be done as the last part of building the model. My Super Guppy had an even worse case of gear alignment. The axles on the main strut looked to be 1-2 mm off in alignment from each other. I figured after assembly I could file the wheels. Not…..I ended up cutting off the low sitting wheels and butt gluing them back to the struts. No one knows other than me 🙂
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Tom, good work on the 744, she looks great! Looks like you’ve sorted most of the issues out, here’s my $.02 for the future:
- For fuselage seams, one technique I like to use is to keep the halves slightly apart (fractions of a mm) when adding the Extra Thin, then after 10ish seconds pressing them together. That allows the glue to melt the plastic a bit and then pushes a small bead up like a welding seam that’s easy to sand smooth without any gaps.
A: That’s a nice idea, I’ll note that one.
2. If you have a slight step on the fuselage halves, I like to cut bits of sprue as stiffeners to help bend them together better. Glue some sprue bits to the fat side, then sand them down so that the thin side gets flexed open to the same width, then you’ll have a better join. As a last resort, you can mix some sprue goo (Extra Thin + sprue) as a filler that will sand better than most putties.
A: I like the idea of using Xtra thin + sprue as plastic is so much easier to work with, more malleable.
3. For the window belts, I’d recommend a 2-part putty to avoid shrinkage. Milliput will typically cure harder than plastic, so if you go that route, use a firm sanding stick to avoid high spots. I’ve also played with brushing on extra thin CA for pinholes and then sanding, that typically works well. I would guess that Bondo would work well from a sanding standpoint, but I’ve not tried using it on styrene yet. I’d test it on scrap first to make sure it won’t attack the styrene.
A: Yeah, the universe keeps telling me to try epoxy products and it’s just laziness that’s stopped me so far. I’ll get with the program. I didn’t get pinholes this time but I’ve got Bob Smith CA thin glue so I’ll keep your suggestion in mind.
4. I don’t have much success with rattle cans either, but have found decanting easy if you cut a straw at a 45-degree angle and point it into a paint jar that already has some thinner in it. I go 50/50 thinner/paint and it works ok.
A: Since I’ve bought a couple of cans of Tamiya paint I really should try this some time. ????
For the Revell 748, it’s a pretty good kit, though the engines gave me some grief. I did a build thread on that a few years back, but the site migration ate the pictures. Let me see if I can fix that somehow to make it make more sense.A: Yes, the engine parts look pretty fragile and have a lot of flash so I’ll need to be careful.
Thanks for your comments Merlin, much appreciated.
So many kits, so little time …
My technique for this:
- Test-fit the wheels to the strut to make sure the strut is at the right angle relative to the wing and all wheels touch. Bend or file if needed.
- Test fit the struts with wheels in the wells and see if the model’s alignment looks right. If it looks good, first glue the wheels to the struts, then glue the struts in and sit it on the struts. If it’s askew, trim or shim as needed. If using metal gear, trim out the wheel well or add styrene sheets.
- Next, adjust and mount the retraction links (the diagonal bits) to the struts.
- Last, add the gear doors and other details that don’t bear weight.
For 747s in particular, I like to mount the mains pairwise. On my AA 747-400 I went body gear and nose first, then made the wing gear fit. The Revell 748 has a friction fit for the wing gear that can adjust the height a bit, so I put a blob of tube glue in the hole, mounted the struts loosely, and then sat it down to set the wing gear at the correct height to match the rest.
For my AA A340-300, I think I’ll do wing and nose to check overall alignment, then add the 2-wheel center body gear. Gotta get to that stage first…
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Newport is a great place to visit. You were very brave to experience it around Independence Day. Typically a mob scene during that time. I also built an Airfix 707. I recall thinking it was the best airliner kit for its day, other than the very thick wings. The end result was not very good as I think I brushed on the blue paint. I graduated to rattle cans and now use Tamiya paints, giving me good results. Expensive but at least their white paint doesn’t yellow over time.
Discovering Clint Groves and his ATP/Airliners America catalog in the late '70s made me realize I wasn't the only hobbyist with an interest in building airliner models. Beginning with Aurora kits and now enjoying the latest offerings from Revell Germany and Zvezda in 1/144 scale, it's been a fun ride.
My technique for this:
- Test-fit the wheels to the strut to make sure the strut is at the right angle relative to the wing and all wheels touch. Bend or file if needed.
- Test fit the struts with wheels in the wells and see if the model’s alignment looks right. If it looks good, first glue the wheels to the struts, then glue the struts in and sit it on the struts. If it’s askew, trim or shim as needed. If using metal gear, trim out the wheel well or add styrene sheets.
- Next, adjust and mount the retraction links (the diagonal bits) to the struts.
- Last, add the gear doors and other details that don’t bear weight.
For 747s in particular, I like to mount the mains pairwise. On my AA 747-400 I went body gear and nose first, then made the wing gear fit. The Revell 748 has a friction fit for the wing gear that can adjust the height a bit, so I put a blob of tube glue in the hole, mounted the struts loosely, and then sat it down to set the wing gear at the correct height to match the rest.
For my AA A340-300, I think I’ll do wing and nose to check overall alignment, then add the 2-wheel center body gear. Gotta get to that stage first…
That’s a really great process and I’m soaking up all this stuff.
As it’s been a while since I built an airliner I’d forgotten just how finicky the gear is to work with and, tbh, I get a little impatient by the time I reach this stage.
This has made me realize the need to treat this stage like a mini project and take sufficient time to get it right because this seemingly small area can spoil the look of your model to your eyes, having spent countless hours on the major part of the build, (even if others don’t see the flaws).
I like that 748 gear has the friction fit feature and will use slow-dry CA to give me time to adjust. Great steer!
So many kits, so little time …
Newport is a great place to visit. You were very brave to experience it around Independence Day. Typically a mob scene during that time. I also built an Airfix 707. I recall thinking it was the best airliner kit for its day, other than the very thick wings. The end result was not very good as I think I brushed on the blue paint. I graduated to rattle cans and now use Tamiya paints, giving me good results. Expensive but at least their white paint doesn’t yellow over time.
Yeah, Newport was busy on the 4th but not unbearably so. It was actually a very relaxed family atmosphere and we really had a great time, as part of a NE Tour, fitting in multiple activities. Missed The Breakers tour though – that was really busy. Newport is a classy little town.
Re paints, in my naivety, I originally set out to identify a single paint range that would do everything I needed but eventually realized the futility of that plan.
I thought that using water-based acrylics was a good plan as it avoided the more toxic chemicals as well as the fire risk of having a bunch of highly flammable products in the house.
The Vallejo and AK range seemed to fit that bill and had the advantage of offering a wide range of FS paints so, for lazy people like me who prefer to not have to mix colors, they seemed a perfect solution (I now prefer AK over Vallejo).
I also swore off lacquers in particular, having had difficulties with Alclad products, but I now realize that you need to select the appropriate paints for the task so a mix of paint ranges just makes sense.
I’ll still stick with water acrylics for military builds, except metallic parts, but I’ll use a mix of AK lacquers and Tamiya acrylics for airliners.
Until the next big thing comes along, that is …
(The only constant is change) ????
So many kits, so little time …
Glad you enjoyed your visit to the Ocean State. Re building the Revell 747-400: wing attachment completed but not, as expected, without some challenges. Had to shim both sides as gaps were rid
iculous. Glad that I save inflight landing gear doors from prior builds as they were needed. I must enjoy the challenge as another-400 is on the workbench (KLM combi)
Discovering Clint Groves and his ATP/Airliners America catalog in the late '70s made me realize I wasn't the only hobbyist with an interest in building airliner models. Beginning with Aurora kits and now enjoying the latest offerings from Revell Germany and Zvezda in 1/144 scale, it's been a fun ride.
Hope to post them once I figure that out.
Discovering Clint Groves and his ATP/Airliners America catalog in the late '70s made me realize I wasn't the only hobbyist with an interest in building airliner models. Beginning with Aurora kits and now enjoying the latest offerings from Revell Germany and Zvezda in 1/144 scale, it's been a fun ride.
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