It worked!thanks so much!!! So here goes....
This is an Authentic Airliners 1/144 scale MD-11 build. Anyone who has enjoyed building an AA model can testify that this is not an average model, nor do they take a routine process to finish. The solid resin casts present unique issues that are challenging in their own right, but with patience and persistence return great reward. This is my first AA build. I’ve wanted to build an MD-11, in particular the AA kit, and thoroughly enjoyed learning a “new” process that took me outside of the usual “box” of model airliner building. I decided before beginning that I would finish her in the early Delta Air Lines “widget” livery, choosing in particular N801DE. This MD-11 began her life with Delta in 1992, outfitted with a cheat line stripe on her #2 tail mounted engine, which stood out as “different” than her sisters in the fleet. I am not aware of any subsequent MD-11s at Delta that carried that cheat line. She led a distinguished life at Delta, flying from Atlanta to Osaka, Brussels, London, Frankfurt, among many others, as well as some domestic routes. At some point, she was painted in the newer Delta “stripe” scheme before she was retired and stored for a while at Montreal. She began flying again for World Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, then again for World, and finally ending up at UPS, where she was outfitted in 2008 as an MD-11F. She STILL flies today as a freighter! In fact, as I write this biography, she actually (in real time) flew this morning as N294UP (under UPS livery) from Louisville, Kentucky (SDF) to Ontario, California (ONT).
Paint used was Tamiya grey surface primer, Tamiya TS-26 white, Alclad black surface prep, Alclad Chrome for the underside, duraluminum for the engine inlets, and airframe aluminum for leading edges on the wings and horizontal stabilizers and the hot sections. Testors flat black for the tires and nose; and a special enamel blend for the grey fuselage fairings, wings, and horizontal stabilizers. A mixture of Testors gray, metallic gray, and anodonic gray was used for the coroguard. Livery is from 26 Decals, 3D cockpit windows and passenger windows, some of the details, and static dischargers are from Authentic Airliners Decals. I did use some of the Nazca DC-10 detail decals as well. NAV lights and position lights are .06mm model railroad lenses. Thanks for looking!
