Bigkev's Work in Progress No.5 Revell Airbus 319 'BMI' 1/144th

[Bigkev]

Hi All,

Now the Kulula Boeing 737 is finished, I looked in the 'Pile' and came across this Revell Airbus A319 in 'BMI' colours which I had for one of those days.

The kit is moulded in white and clear, with some very fine panel lines. The Decal/Transfer sheet is printed by 'Daco' for Revell and is superb.

So far I have painted the undercarriage bays, stuck the wings together , but the fuselage needs some attention at the nose on my kit, as it seems to not meet at the very nose without excessive force, so a little work will be needed.

For now, I have taken a few pictures to show the kits contents, the parts are reasonably few in number, but I think this will let me get onto the painting stage quickly, something I relish.

Bigkev

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[Wizzel]

Looking forward to seeing this one take shape.

[Bigkev]

Hi All,

Just started to prepare fuselage in readiness for filling the windows. I intend to use the decals provided in the kit for the cabin and cockpit windows. (the kit does not provide any cabin glazing anyway, you need to use a glazing medium such as Clearfix or Kristal Klear if you want transparent windows).

I will use Milliput to fill the apertures, applying it from inside and pushing into the apertures so it comes slightly out of the fuselage. To prevent unwanted filler in the panel lines I have applied thin strips of Tamiya tape over the panel line. On the main doors, I have put some thicker strips to protect the door/panel lines and hinges on cargo doors.

I have put some photo's here to clarify.

Bigkev

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[Bigkev]

Hi All,

just a couple of pictures showing Milliput in place and 'pushed through' to seal windows.

Bigkev



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[Bigkev]

Hi all,

just to let you know that I have placed excess filler at nose to aid balance on undercarriage.

Bigkev

[Bigkev]

Hi All,

Well, the Milliput has set and I first cleaned off most of the excess with a sharp curved blade, then used wet n dry to sand smooth. I will also use some Mr Surfacer 500 to cover any miniscule gaps and clean up when airframe is put together.

For the nose area I have stuck in place a piece of plasticard, which has been sanded to a feather edge on one side. the excess will be cut away once it has firmly set.
You will also see in the pictures that I have added tabs to the insides of each fuselage halve to give extra strength to the joint when glued together. Airliners because of the long fuselages are difficult to prevent gaps appearing in the joints. This added tab solution will help prevent any flexing in the joint.

I have stuck in place the nose wheel undercarriage bay.

The wings have had the unrequired flap fairings removed and sanded smooth, a final clean up will be necessary once main airframe is together.

Coming along nicely........

Bigkev

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[Kiteman]

It´s great to see how these things are put together professionally. I can certainly learn a lot from you guys. Thank you for posting your work!

[Bigkev]

Hi Kiteman,

Thanks for your comments, but professionally built, sorry I'm not in that league.

More progress pictures and descriptions to come over the next few days.

Bigkev

[Bigkev]

Hi All,

Well now the tabs have dried I checked the wing to fuselage join and could see that there would be a small gap all around the forward edge. Rather than use just filler I decided to glue some 0.10 plasticard to the front edge. I glues it in place ensuring it stood proud of the contours of the fuselage shape. The excess will be trimmed off when dry. It will probably still need some filler but now it will be a surface job not a deep fill.

Whilst the wings were in place I checked the balance of the aircraft to check it would stand on its undercarriage okay. By balancing the model on two fingers where the undercarriage legs fit, I found it was almost there, with the excess Milliput I had added earlier. So to make sure I added some plasticine and some .177 Air Rifle pellets to the front of the nose. It now has a definite nose heavy tendency.

You can also see the wedge added to the nose, which filled the gap described earlier. The excess was cut away and roughly sanded to shape before the fuselage halves were stuck together.

Finally I lightly sanded the exposed tab edges to make sure that they did not force the fuselage out of shape when joined. Next I used Revell Contacta cement with the long metal needle type applicator, and Tamiya thin cement to glue both halves together. Lots of Tamiya tape was used to help bind the two halves as well as Berna clamps, and a 'G' clamp where the fuselage refused to mate up cleanly.

I added the windscreen at this time too. It will be covered with a decal so I was not too worried about glue on the clear part, rather aiming to ensure a good fit.

That's it for now, have to leave it for a day or two to really set.

Bigkev

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[zak]

Interesting stuff Kevin. Yes, I am back from the wilds of Northumbria.

[Bigkev]

I've now got the fuselage and wings together, and filled. I've used 'Green Stuff' as a filler initially as it shows up well against the white of the kit moulding.

I have used 'Wet'n'Dry' to rub the gaps down, revealing where filler was required. Once rubbed down with a finer grade I use TOOTHPASTE to clean off the parts.
This is because the cleaning action, not only removes any grit, waste, but puts very fine scratches into the plastic, which will help the paint to adhere.

A coat of primer will be next and any remedial work undertaken, before 'proper' painting can begin.

Bigkev

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[Bigkev]

More Pics

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[zak]

Coming along nicely.
Keep the nose to the grindstone.
Great modelling.

[Kiteman]

Looking good! Can someone please tell me what the green stuff is that is to be seen in the Joints.

[Haddock]

Squadron green putty!
or in Kevin's case, pound notes!