Boeing 747-400 Iberia

Wow, great job.  She's coming along nicely. 

Very nice!

thank you!

Great job with the masking and paint!

Mike

continuing progress. wings painted light gray, followed by a darker grey "corrogard" area. I then scribed into the wing tops. Next was fuselage/tail painted white. I have decals, but decided to paint the stripes instead. 

Getting the right colors has been a bit tricky, but still doable. And quite rewarding to get the color right. What I've learned is to put away whatever pre-conceptions you have about the color (like for example saying something is red.) Instead, try to look at your best reference photograph and honestly assess the color and feeling you get from looking at the reference and try to notice the subleties of color tones that are mixed in. It was very interesting to take this journey. A notable thing was in getting the bright red stripe-- I put in more parts yellow than I did red. Who would have thought? But just continue adjusting until you are satisfied and don't accept it until it looks and feels right. Don't let the labels on the paint jars trick you.  

I suppose another contributing factor is in whatever pigment you start with. For this project I am mostly using the Tamiya lacquer LP paints. They work well. Their primary red, blue, and yellow colors seem to be reasonably close to pure red, blue, and yellow. And those combined with white and black can mix to achieve just about anything. 

”Was there a chemical reaction?" my partner says while walking by. No, just some pre-shading! I'm going to scribe over top the upcoming light gray paint to see if I can get a good effect on the wings. I'll do some wet sanding with 6000 micromesh before painting. 

I scribed the fuselage and tail. It was a little tricky, but turned out nicely. just a few mistakes that were covered with Mr Surfacer and sanded. You can't tell with this photo-in my opinion a good thing. I think the original kit recessed lines were way too thick and deep. 

Normally I wouldn't attach engines this early, but the outboard engines blend into the wings in such a way that it's best to do it now. I'll attach the inboard engines later on since they slide in simply underneath the wings. Thankfully the 747 is big enough to hold onto the wings while painting the fuselage, even with the outer engines attached!

That's one smooth looking fuselage. 

Thanks everyone!

Tanker-Builder I've heard the Missile nickname but never the Zipper.

Real G I think the old floppy wingtips were HF radio antennas. But not sure where they're located on the -400 series and onward. maybe same place but more integrated and hidden now. And I love those big flaps! but not enough to model them extended yet haha 

JustPlaneJon

Real G, that’s a cool fact about the F104. I had no idea. The wing droop isn’t much, but it’s there. Basically past the outboard engines it shows less dihedral than inboard. It’s funny the things that stick in memory. When I was a kid flying on a 737, I remember the flap pylons were noteworthy. I thought they were missile pods and was really nervous at first! Hahaha

 

I used to love sitting where the trailing edge of the wings were, just to watch those triple slotted flaps deploy, and to see the spoilers open up on landing.  It was if the wing was coming apart!

Those big things at the 747's wingtips must have been comm/nav antennas or something.  I liked wacthing them wiggle during turbulence.

So sad that the wonders of youth have gone.  Nowadays I just want to get to wherever it is I'm going.

I look forward to seeing your jumbo all painted up!

Hi Real G:

      I will have you know that the F-104 was one of the first Birds that I really liked Post war. The other was the F-100 " Super Sabre". You do know the knick name for that plane was " The Zipper", Also known as " The Missile, with a Man in it". Both look super great in B.M.F.!

Oh Boy!

 That is so smooth it looks like it's molded of Resin. Great going so Far!

Looking good and smooth

Progress has been a little slower than I like, but c'est la vie. January should provide a decent chunk of time. Other than a few more touchups I finally have a smooth blank canvas which will soon be scribed and pre-shaded. Some of the windows that I filled in were a bit stubborn so it took several iterations of filling, sanding, and priming. 

The gear parts have also been assembled, test-fitted, and primed. I had to add some length to some of the struts (maybe because my chosen wing dihedral angle might have been a little different than the kit's intentions, but who knows). Currently working on engine interiors alongside continued work on the main body. 

I had read that the F-104 Starfighter was one of the first aircraft fitted with an automatic engine control, albeit it was all analog.

Liking the build!  I am impressed that you are modeling the wing droop at rest.  I’d better check the airliners I have in the stash to see how much the wings droop in real life.  The 787‘s wingtips flexed up a LOT while in flight.

The 747 was the first airliner (Pan Am) I flew in back around 1970.  Those big metal carrots on the wingtip trailing edges left a lasting impression in my mind.  Good times.

Thanks-Lewbud;

 I was going to build it as a normal bird. Possibly in Lufthansa livery?

I'll be Honest Just Plain Jon ;

    I only know what I see on the models. There's no love lost between me and 747s' I was in one that landed Wheels Up and walked away! I do like their looks compared to an Airbus large plane!

 I know they went to larger engnes. Wasn't that partially due to mechanical problems and Noise Abatement? And Big question,What's Fadec? remember I haven't flown since my heart surgery!

Tanker-Builder

Hi;

         The ONLY 747 I have is the one that came with the Space Shuttle! It was at a Flea Market all bagged up by itself. A whole $ .50 it cost me! Trouble is, No decals and I am not sure which manufacturer did this model.

         The plastic seems very fine and thin and the Wings are ridicilousely thin! Plus it seems to have older engines!  

      

 

Tanker Builder, the engines are indeed different. The classic 747s used the P&W JT9D. they had some problems in the beginning due to the large fan causing expansion of the core section and subsequent backfiring. yikes! thankfully they got it fixed. the newer 400 series use updated engines with FADECs and other enhancements. 

Pawel

Hello!

I've built this one for my brother in British Airways livery - it was fun. While it's too late for your model (looking really good, by the way!), I'd like to advise other people building it, that the model really needs a wing spar across the fuselage - without it the fuselage flexes every time the model is moved and the glue joints have a tendency to crack, the fuselage isn't rigid enough to take care of those huge wings. The model also needs considerable weight in the nose - otherwise you are going to get a tail sitter.

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

 

Pawel, thanks for sharing that concern. I forgot to mention it above, but I did already put some pieces of stock plastic across the fuselage where the wings connect for the very reason you mention. hoping it will hold up. so far it seems to be doing well! and yes several pennies were put in the nose-more than your typical airliner model!

Tanker Builder,

The Shuttle/SCA combo is a Revell kit.  You can get decals for the 747 from Draw Decals and RealSpace Models does decals for the Shuttle.  The 747 in the kit is a -100.

Hi;

         The ONLY 747 I have is the one that came with the Space Shuttle! It was at a Flea Market all bagged up by itself. A whole $ .50 it cost me! Trouble is, No decals and I am not sure which manufacturer did this model.

         The plastic seems very fine and thin and the Wings are ridicilousely thin! Plus it seems to have older engines!  

Hello!

I've built this one for my brother in British Airways livery - it was fun. While it's too late for your model (looking really good, by the way!), I'd like to advise other people building it, that the model really needs a wing spar across the fuselage - without it the fuselage flexes every time the model is moved and the glue joints have a tendency to crack, the fuselage isn't rigid enough to take care of those huge wings. The model also needs considerable weight in the nose - otherwise you are going to get a tail sitter.

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Mopar Madness

Jon that is a LOT of plastic right there! Thats probably 4x bigger than my little 737!  I do love a nice 747 though.

 

haha yes, it is the biggest model I've done yet. having to make adjustments to my workspace to accomodate this thing! 

Nice.  I have the Zvezda kit.  Looking forward to the rest of your build. 

Moving along nicely.

Jon that is a LOT of plastic right there! Thats probably 4x bigger than my little 737!  I do love a nice 747 though.