1/144 Revell Avro RJ85 flybe

by Federico Kunz

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An Airliner! While looking for the Il-86 with no results in my local hobbyshop, my wife suggested this rarity out of the shelves.  Personally I wasn’t aware of its existence but, well, let us take the task.  After looking at some photos & realizing about the importance of this airplane, the spirits went higher.  Assembly was good.  Pay attention to the main wing assembly with the fuselage.  Some sanding was required.  Turbines went OK except for the union that shows in the inside of it & I had no idea of how to solve it. 

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The challenging issue was the paint.  First, trying to cover the whole thing with white paint took me several (and a I mean, several) passes.  I took the risk of heavier passes to the end of the process in order to get a shinny look.  I think I’ve got it.  The Fly be scheme was appealing, but required a new color in underneath.  After cutting some curves & careful masking it was achieved.  Also, Revell includes a bit in the decals labeled as “color match”.  Pretty convenient & I was lucky to get the mix in the first attempt.  Wheel-wells are OK.  The front wheel covers are a kind of thick, though.  Going back a little, I had always wondered about clear parts in these airplanes (comments are welcome).  I realized that the decals of the front windows were great, so a glued the transparencies at the front and sanded it.  Then, the small ones were covered by the transparency of the decals themselves.  Is that OK?... only time will tell.  Finally, after year of military aircraft, I couldn’t resist to apply some weathering.  This time, after a layer of Tamiya Clear, oil based washes were applied with satisfactory results.  Or, is it too dirty?

A great experience this airliner business.  The following weekend, I bought the Il-86 & the Tu-154.  It seems that in the near future, airliners are going to be a great option, though I have to admit that a whole new bunch of techniques have to be acquired.  Hope you enjoy.  Feel free to e-mail me any comments & best regards from Mexico City.  

Federico Kunz

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Photos and text © by Federico Kunz