Next Civil Project?

[kfutter]

OK guys, I haven't built an airliner in a little while now, so I've been toying with tackling another one soon, but have enough in the stash now that I'm suffering from option anxiety. Due to various other commitments, I can only model at the speed of life at the moment, so I'm limiting my scope to 1/144 scale projects. Having said that, none of the builds I'm contemplating are shake'n'bake projects, and I'm having a really difficult time deciding! So I thought it might be fun to toss my options up here (sounding vaguely suss, there...), and see what you blokes reckon. I'm planning to do a build thread here, so I guess you can help pick what you're most interested in seeing, collectively.

Here's the current list. First, the tricky ones:

• Minicraft C-97 with Cobra Company engine upgrades and Airway Graphics Pan Am decals
• Minicraft 757 with Iron Maiden "Somewhere in Time" decals
• Welsh Models 757 with Iron Maiden "The Final Frontier" decals
• Masterkit 757 with OOB United decals (kit is very rough, and actually scales out to around 1/150

And a couple that are a bit more straightforward:

• Minicraft Electra with Hawkeye Qantas decals
• Airfix Trident with TwoSix BA decals

I have some other straightforward options at my disposal, but for some reason they don't interest me at the moment. I have an Airfix 737 that I'd love to go to town on, too, but I don't have any stickers for that one at the moment. I also have some more complicated builds and conversions to get to some day, but just don't have the resources to do them justice right now.

FWIW, I'm currently leaning towards the very first project in the list.

What say ye?

Kev

[tor lives]

My advice........start em all, get them to various stages of completion, and then hang the unfinished projects from the "curtain rail of doom" . But seriously, I would be most interested in watching the big Boeing C-97 come together with the Cobra conversion, and the Pan Am markings.
Just a word about the Minicraft Electra kit.......it's a bitch!!!!!, and is not as straightforward as it would appear because of fundamental design and dimensional issues with the fuselage. Consequently it is always a problem to accurately apply fuselage decals with windows/doors in correct alignment and position etc. The only way to get a good 1:144th Electra is to hybrid/combine a Welsh Models fuselage with the rest of the Minincraft kit.
TOR
PS: I will see what spare decals I have for an Airfix 737-200. I will throw your way if I have anything that may interest you.

[kfutter]

My advice........start em all, get them to various stages of completion, and then hang the unfinished projects from the "curtain rail of doom" . But seriously, I would be most interested in watching the big Boeing C-97 come together with the Cobra conversion, and the Pan Am markings.
Just a word about the Minicraft Electra kit.......it's a bitch!!!!!, and is not as straightforward as it would appear because of fundamental design and dimensional issues with the fuselage. Consequently it is always a problem to accurately apply fuselage decals with windows/doors in correct alignment and position etc. The only way to get a good 1:144th Electra is to hybrid/combine a Welsh Models fuselage with the rest of the Minincraft kit.
TOR
PS: I will see what spare decals I have for an Airfix 737-200. I will throw your way if I have anything that may interest you.

Thanks Ray. I was aware that there are accuracy issues with Minicraft's Electra, but I figured most aftermarket decals would be designed to fit it. I don't mind doing some correction work, but I'm really not sure what's actually wrong with the kit. Is there a tweak list or guide anywhere?

With the Airfix 737, mine has Air France and BA markings, but I'd prefer to build it as an Aussie bird (any suggestions?). Airfix decals are crap, anyway.

Some of my other, more complex options include converting Revell's 767 to a -200 and applying some Liveries Unlimited Ansett decals, converting Minicraft's 777 to a -300 and applying some custom Hobbit decals, and converting the Airfix A300 to Compass config and using Hawkeye's sheet (which I don't have yet). In 1/72, there's the recently acquired Heller 707 (thanks Ray!), Academy's KC-97G kit to build as a Pan Am Stratoliner, Airfix's Constellation with Fisher upgrades and Qantas markings, and the Hasegawa Orion to convert to an Electra. (If anybody has a Heller DC-6 they want to offload cheaply, let me know!)

Other 'easy' options are fewer, but include a couple of Daco 737 kits, Revell's 1/144 Constellation, 737-800 and A320 kits, a Minicraft MD-80, and maybe one or two more lurking about. Who knows in my stash?

Kev

[hrtpaul]

With the Airfix 737, I had no dramas with the kit Ansett decals at all. They went on very nicely. TheC-97 gets my vote. Do you already have the Cobra Company engines? If so, are they a worthwhile upgrade? Cheers Kev

[kfutter]

With the Airfix 737, I had no dramas with the kit Ansett decals at all. They went on very nicely. TheC-97 gets my vote. Do you already have the Cobra Company engines? If so, are they a worthwhile upgrade? Cheers Kev

Yeah, the newer Airfix decals aren't too bad, but the older ones (like mine) aren't much chop at all. Still, I'd prefer to do an Aussie livery anyway, so the ones in the kit aren't of much interest to me.

I do indeed have the Cobra Company engines, and had a hard time getting hold of them, too! The guy behind CC (I forget his name) refuses to sell to customers in Australia (among a raft of other countries), but there's a local guy (forget his name too - Just Plane Stuff?) who can actually get hold of their stuff, so I went through him via Facebook. As to whether they're a worthwhile upgrade, we'll find out!

Kev

[Graeme H]

Thanks Ray. I was aware that there are accuracy issues with Minicraft's Electra, but I figured most aftermarket decals would be designed to fit it. I don't mind doing some correction work, but I'm really not sure what's actually wrong with the kit. Is there a tweak list or guide anywhere?

Other 'easy' options are fewer, but include a couple of Daco 737 kits, Revell's 1/144 Constellation, 737-800 and A320 kits, a Minicraft MD-80, and maybe one or two more lurking about. Who knows in my stash?

Kev

The biggest problems with the Minicraft Electra are in the Fuselage, the nose is quite a bit off and the Tailplanes are set too low down on the fuselage, making the cheatlines look odd, of course you could do the Ansett Shooting Star Cargo version, and it wouldn't look too bad as there is no cheatline, otherwise do as Ray suggested and get the Welsh fuselage.
I don't remember ever seeing anyone doing a correction of the Minicraft kit without substituting the fuselage.

My vote from your first lot would be the KC97, and the second lot the Daco B737

I would also steer clear of the Minicraft 757, there are more errors in that than the Electra, the Welsh one should come up nicely

[kfutter]

Thanks Graeme. It looks like I'll be going for the Minicraft C-97 project then! I have the "Angel of Deliverance" boxing, and have no interest in building it in those markings. And since no Aussie airline ever flew the Stratoliner (that I'm aware of), my other two favourite airliner liveries are BA and Pan Am, so Pan Am it is!

Those of you who know my work will know that I'm too stupid to steer clear of poor kits. They tend to be my default option, actually, and I (usually) enjoy bashing them into submission. I can't actually afford Welsh kits (the 757 was a gift from Eric), so I'll have to work with the fuselage that Minicraft provides in its Electra kit. I tend to build airliners as decal carriers anyway, without too much concern about accuracy. If it looks dodgy, though, I usually try to address any obvious issues that might improve it. It's a balancing act between available time, level of interest, and specific project goals. Right now I'm trying to backdate Trumpeter's 1/32 F4U-1D kit to birdcage configuration, with a cockpit intended for the Revell kit, despite having the Tamiya kit in the stash (it's a long story).

Kev

[tor lives]

G'day Kev,
The only real option you have for an Aussie 737-200 is an Ansett aircraft, (which would be great for next year's A/CAM display ). The only other major Aussie operator of the type was Ozjet, but, as far as I am aware, there are no decals yet available for Ozjet. Maybe you may want to consider other "local neighbourhood" operators such as Air New Zealand, Air Pacific, or Air Nauru. All of these are quiet interesting and colourful colour schemes, with decals available for all.
TOR
PS: you might also wanna consider the Indonesian Air Force 737-200s, although sourcing decals for these aircraft would be a challenge.

[kfutter]

Thanks for the info, Ray! Assuming Hawkeye does the appropriate Ansett decals, I'm happy to go that way. Air New Zealand is also an appealing option. After that, it doesn't really matter all that much, and I might as well do the included BA option. Does anybody have spares of the kit decals - the one where it came with Ansett markings?

Oddly, I'm not the least bit interested in airliners converted for military use, even though I mostly build military aircraft. Not really sure why that is. I have Revell's C-17 kit in the Qatar boxing, and plan to build it in that option - a purple airliner! (Yeah, I know - only sorta.)

Kev

[tor lives]

Kev,
Are these of any interest to you????

If so, they are yours, as they are surplus to my requirements.
TOR