I’ve been working on this project for a couple of months now. It’s still a work-in-progress, but I’m excited to share what I’ve made so far. This is a model of the "old" Bangalore International Airport, which served the city until the current airport opened in 2008. It's commonly referred to - both retrospectively and when it was operational - as the "HAL Airport" because, in addition to commercial operations, it did double-duty as a military airfield and a testing facility for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, the national air defense company. Designed to handle 3.5 million pax a year, the airport handled over 10 million in its final year of operation, and served numerous destinations across India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as daily flights to London-Heathrow, Paris, and Frankfurt.
I chose this as my first subject for a model airport because it's personally significant to me, having been a big part of shaping my fascination with commercial aviation as a child. It has also been a good way to learn and experiment with modelling techniques on a relatively small scale. I still have to paint the terminal buildings, and fix some of the apron road lines that haven't come out too well. I also need to add in a Blue Dart cargo building that was present at the original airport. Any other feedback or suggestions are welcome!

Here's VT-ESP "Ajanta" preparing to head out to Frankfurt, and onward to Chicago-O'Hare. This was the first regularly scheduled 747-400 service at VOBG that I was aware of. Given that the flight only operated a few times a week, and that most international flights operated late at night, I've never actually seen this aircraft type there in person.



I chose this as my first subject for a model airport because it's personally significant to me, having been a big part of shaping my fascination with commercial aviation as a child. It has also been a good way to learn and experiment with modelling techniques on a relatively small scale. I still have to paint the terminal buildings, and fix some of the apron road lines that haven't come out too well. I also need to add in a Blue Dart cargo building that was present at the original airport. Any other feedback or suggestions are welcome!

Here's VT-ESP "Ajanta" preparing to head out to Frankfurt, and onward to Chicago-O'Hare. This was the first regularly scheduled 747-400 service at VOBG that I was aware of. Given that the flight only operated a few times a week, and that most international flights operated late at night, I've never actually seen this aircraft type there in person.


