Page 1 of 11

My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 11:24 am
by F-27pax
Having eventually got over making all those 747s, it's now time to get on with my Boeing 727 project. This is something that I've had in mind for a long time, which is demonstrated by the three Airfix 727-100 kits that I bought decades ago when I heard that the company was reissuing the kit as a 727-200.

So here's where we start, with a pile of kits and decals, My original plan was to make four models, two each of Ansett and TAA and two each of the -100 and -200. As it turned out, over the years I picked up a few other 727 kits and then I looked at the Hawkeye catalog and saw that they offered all the various schemes that Australian 727s flew in, and now I need another kit to enable me to make them all.

Image

The only difference that I can see between the -100 and -200 kits is the fuselage. The obvious difference is that one is longer than the other, another is that there are no open doors in the -200 and also the -200 has that double bubble fuselage.

Image

I started by doing the basic assembly on the -100s. Two of them went okay but on the third one the fuselages were badly warped so it ended up looking like a mummy with all the masking tape holding the two halves together until everything had set.

Image

Later I added the wings and began the process of knocking off all the rough edges and filling all the gaps. Either the kits are less than perfect or my assembly technique is not what it should be because there was a lot of work at this stage to get the models ready for the next stage.

Image

The other of the -100s has been pushed on a little and is ready to enter the paint shop. It will be finished as one of Ansett-ANA's -100s and so I've masked it to do the lower fuselage first before going on with the upper side white and red tail.

Image

Just in case some of you are too young to remember, or are so advanced in age that you can no longer remember, here is what the Ansett-ANA 727 looked like. If you were to ask me, I'd say that this was one of the most attractive schemes that 727s flew in.

Image

Having got to this stage, I have a couple of little problems that you might be able to help me with. The first is, does anyone have some photos of these Ansett-ANA 727s that shows the upper wing surfaces or a suggestion of how they should look. The Hawkeye instructions suggest that the leading edges were polished aluminium followed by a corigard panel and then the rest of the wing white. This seems unlikely and it is likely to be Boeing grey rather than white. Any suggestions?

The other question relates to the decals. i have the Hawkeye set for the Ansett-ANA 727-100 and also the old Microscale set which does not give any of the fuselage striping. If anyone has made this model, I'm wondering if they have any suggestions about which would be best to use. All suggestions welcomed.

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 1:06 pm
by VH-WAL
Image
gorgeous innit

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 4:43 pm
by hrtpaul
I'll be watching this with interest for sure. Lovely work so far mate :)

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 5:30 pm
by tor lives
Great project Leigh.....does this help with the coroguard question???
Image
Having been through all my 727 reference/research material there is absolutely nothing that suggests that either upper or lower wing surfaces were white. On that basis, (plus the evidence presented by the photo above), I would agree with your assumption of Boeing Grey, (and perhaps some natural metal).
TOR

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 6:42 pm
by F-27pax
You're a gentleman and a scholar. The photos tells me everything I need to know, and then some. Thanks.

Leigh

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 12:18 am
by F-27pax
No, I hadn't forgotten. Real life events keep getting in the way of modelling - I'm sure you all know this problem.

So here is the Ansett-ANA -100 out of the paint shop and about to get some decals. The tail planes have also been painted red and await their decals too. The engines are only stuck on and are still need painting in their bare metal colours. In looking at lots of photos I discovered that the engines are not aligned parallel with the fuselage but are set to give a gentle downwards thrust of two or three degrees. So if I hadn't noticed this and done the masking and applied the decals along the line of the pods they would have been out of alignment with the centre line of the fuselage, which would have looked a little sad. So I'm going to wait for the fuselage decals to go on before I do the rear engine pods, hopefully on the right alignment.

Image

And here are the Hawkeye decals that are going to make this look beautiful

Image

More photos in a few days, hopefully.

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:29 am
by Graeme H
That is really looking spiffy there Leigh, can't wait for the decals to go on

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 10:28 am
by RayS
Looks good Leigh, do you worry about saving any raised detail ? Or just sand it all back?

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 11:39 am
by Cap'n Wannabe
Lovely work Leigh. Those older schemes really look great!

Re: My Boeing 727 project

PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 7:19 pm
by F-27pax
All the raised details goes in this scale. And I don't bother rescribing most of the details because you can't see that either in this scale. I'd guess that something like a 727 in 1/72 would be a rather uninteresting thing with all those acres of glossy white paint.

Leigh