Recent content by Phantom

Yes, winglets on the 350 are optimised for the airframe's specific wing profile - and there are three different profiles hence three different winglets. The PIP wasn't just a winglet, but an upgraded wing profile requiring an adjusted winglet. "Old wing" = "old winglet" "new wing" = "new...

What counts is true to scale accuracy regarless of material. Whether this is achieved via plastic injection moulding or diecasting, I don't care. At least as long as plastic parts are primed and painted instead of using uncoated, pre-colored plastic granulate. Keep in mind, the very best...

Just for completeness, here's a few pics showing the two painting patterns commonly seen on early 747s: The top two are painted just like Qantas' 742 mentioned by Ciderman. Wings, wing-body-fairing and underbelly all medium grey. Later often repainted for a lighter grey (what the internet knows...

Yes, Qantas' early 747s were painted in a standard pattern seen on quite a few operators. Same as D-ABYA for example (IIRC). This pattern or a real bare belly back in the early 70's. Nothing I've ever seen correctly replicated on anything diecast. But also not something I'd expect to be honest.

The real noteworthy difference between "as delivered" and 1990's are the wings. Post D-check the wings usually received the "standard" light grey (matching the wing-body-fairing und underbelly) but when new, the wings were painted medium grey (BAC 7025) with corogard on the undersides too...

LIke I said, these grey underbelly coatings are damn hard to spot. They are either shiny and reflective when fresh or as dirty as the bare metal when older. Here's a good example how reflections (and image compression) can fool the eyes. Factory fresh HB-IGD, the very same scene taken from two...

The grey is there, just barely to not vissible side on. Here she's factory fresh:

Same reg. different timeframes. Keep in mind, such airframes were usually repainted with the next D-check. However I'm not aware of a Swissair 747-300 that did not have the light grey FOD-coating running all the way aft and up the underbelly to the cheatline - just like HX did on HB-IGF. If you...

What would you like to see? This 332 was an early model with an early taller v.tail. Kylin obviousely doesn't have a mould for this (NG at least had a sample for it but never used it) What Kylin has is modified tail (later built 332s), but not a really great one.

Decided not to be the one to call another v.tail off, but I'm glad you mentioned it.

You're comparing different tails there😉

747's control surfaces were composite structures hence always painted. What you see on Swissair's h.stabs is Boeing's usual grey for 747s. You know, it's this shade of grey that is 99% neglected in the world of scale modeling. The shade I've been ranting about a dozen times already. Btw, it's...

It's the "dark" aluminium shiny coat on wing inspars (walk areas). Nothing you'd have on an elevator.

Yes, material expands with a temperature increase, but that obviously also applies to said space. Heating/cooling hub-shaft connections for assembly/disassembly tight fit joints is a common practise in engineering. If the models gear is also made of Zamac (which it usually is) heating doesn't...

Is that corogard on the elevators?!🤦‍♂️