1/144 Aeroflot Iljushin IL-86

Here's another summer Zvezda, the first Soviet widebody airliner from the 70's. This Zvezda kit is a bit like a modern day version of an old Airfix classic airliner, hugely fun to build and looks mighty nice when finished. Other than the horrible engine front fan disks details are fine and the surface texture is pleasant to the eye.




Decals are very sparse and minimal, yet in a finished model one
doesn't see anything really missing just like with Airfix kits.







Nose shape and cockpit windows resemble the original well, this model oozes Russian utilitarian and rugged design.







Zvezda decals have usually a yellow shade in the decal film, which unfortunately can be detected on a white surface like here. On the other hand the effect isn't entirely bad, it adds an unique flavour to this Russian scale model and weirdly becomes it!





This model was airbrushed mainly with Revell 04 and 374 enamels, I like the final result all right but am tempted to try Brazmodel's resin engine parts and TwoSix Soviet livery decals for another Aeroflot Iljushin!

1/144 KLM Boeing 737-800 PH-BXU "Albatross"

This is my first "aftermarket decal" airliner model inspired by the good reference photos and seeing the real ones flying above my house every week. I'm glad it turned out nice, the Revell kit is a good starting point for this kind of project.



TwoSix Decals has a new sheet available for the KLM 737 fleet, these decals are high quality and very well crafted. Besides they fit the Revell kit dimensions just perfectly. Here's the sheet I used:
http://www.twosixdecals.co.uk/epages/62035508.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62035508/Products/STS4418


Kit winglets were originally absurdly large, I filed them down to a more realistic size. Painting was done with Revell enamels and my Iwata HP-C airbrush, paint codes are gloss 50 for the KLM blue fuselage, satin 371 for the gray areas and satin 301 white tail and winglets. Tikkurila Miranol was used for leading edge silver and engine intake ring.

The engines and winglets partly notwithstanding, the overall shape is good and it looks like the original airliners. The slight "nose down" attitude on the ground is ok too.




Kit engines are acceptable, but they are too simplified for otherwise such a nice kit. The characteristic flattened intake and nacelle shapes are close enough for my tastes.




All small prints from the decal sheet are just like the real thing. Dark blue cheatline is a decal, for the cabin windows I used the dark gray alternative from the box sheet just to be sure they fit well.



Just another example of the decal sheet quality, remember this is in 1/144th scale! Johnson Floor Wax sealed the finish nicely, as per the reference photos this plane is very clean and shiny. Building this model was quite satisfying, it looks just like I wanted and now it's a real gem in my airliner collection.