1/144 Revell Airbus A380 Part 3 of 3

by Pierre Greutert

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This is the third and last article about my A380 project. The three parts allow me to go into some details which I think make this build a little different from traditional “out-of-the-box” assemblies.

- Part 1: Scratch-built cockpit with illuminated instrument panel. Cabin, taxi, icon and NAV lights. Body assembly.

- Part 2: Engines with custom-made etched fan blades. Landing gear.

- Part 3: Paint job, final adjustments. Display base, with illuminated taxiway.

 

PAINT JOB

The most tedious job was to mask the 220+ windows before painting. I created an appropriate punch with a brass tube, which end I sharpened and hammered into an oval shape.

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After I applied a coat of gloss white, out of a Tamiya spray can. I found out that this pain levels out smoothly into a brilliant coat of paint. Red was next. I had to carefully cover all unpainted areas, because red paint particles fly around into any unprotected space. Again I got a smooth surface “out of the can”

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 The wings were next. They received several thin layers of Alcald II Duraluminum. I paid much attention to having a smooth, dust-free surface before applying this very sensitive paint. A few touch-ups to the landing lights, et voilà a wonderful paintjob. I wear cotton gloves to protect the fresh paint from finger prints and sweat smear.

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A special area I had to take care of was the cockpit windows framing. I applied a foil of Bare Metal, smoothed it down with a toothpick and cut along the frames with a new surgical blade. To trim the outer frame, I used a piece of transparent plastic as a ruler and guide for the blade. The result looked convincing, and at the same time hid the imperfect masking delimitations between the window and the paint.

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The windows and door framings came from the kit’s decal sheet. Again I had to apply each of the 220 window frame one by one, to compensate for the minor inaccuracy of the paintjob in this area (white primer showing through at the borders of the red paint, masking not applied exactly on the window’s center, etc). I printed the Edelweiss on a piece of white decal sheet, and protected it with a layer of transparent sealant.

The A380 model now approached completion. I thought it would make a pleasant picture to have her sitting in a circle of printed Edelweiss.

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The last major step in the paintjob – which could still ruin the entire build – was to apply the company logo on the body. Of course no decals exist, so I decided to design my own masks and actually paint the lettering on both white sides. This was not a risk-free decision, but the result met my expectations. I received the exact letter font from Edelweiss Air, as I received the Edelweiss logo. I printed the name on paper, overlaid it with a layer of transparent Friskett mask, and cut out the letters. Then I aligned and applied each letter individually (the entire mask was too large to be laid down in a single pass).

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Several thin layers of dark blue paint later, and with great fear, I started removing the masks. Surprisingly everything went according to the plans, with no major leak under, nor liftoff by the masks. Here and there a couple of paint-brushed touch-ups fixed the small glitches.

Nothing else could go wrong now, to my big relief. The airplane started showing her bright beauty in the gorgeous scheme, carrying a typical flavor of  Swiss atmosphere. I was about to reinforce this feeling even further, when building the taxiway.

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DISPLAY BASE

To build the display base, I used a photo-frame, large enough to accommodate the model, and offer some space for a personal addition. The wooden base is MFD. I spent a lot of time on the Net, and harassed my friends, to find information about taxiway widths, marking colors, central RWY light colors, and outer edge border lights. Later on I would change the aluminum frame to a nobler, scratch-built, wood frame.

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Again I crafted the taxiway light out of fiber optics (FO). I flattened out (mushroomed) one end of a FO, dipped it into Crystal Clear to accentuate the bulge and painted the FO accordingly. Then I pulled each FO into place, through a carefully drilled hole. On the last photo below, you can see the back-side of the taxiway, where all FOs connect to a single light source: a regular white, 9V powered LED

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In the center of the taxiway, you will notice the two small springs, acting as connectors to the model’s landing gear strut, and powering up the aircraft’s lights. A full-scale try with the model sitting on the taxiway made me now feel certain that the build was approaching a bright and happy end

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In the bright sun outside in the garden, the red-white Edelweiss scheme stands out particularly well in front of the dark greens of the garden. The second photo is an earlier close-up: I still had to weather the diorama grass, which I made with model railroad scenery grass.

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THE STORY OF THE COWS

I wanted to add a funny story to this “high-tech” built. So I came up with a humorous, although mostly unlikely scenario.

Swiss cows are well known for their milk, hence the famous Swiss chocolate. All cows of the world are famous for their natural pleasure in TRAIN SPOTTING. The two specimens in the diorama however are a little bit different: They couldn’t have missed the maiden flight of the Edelweiss’s first A380. So they broke through the fence at Zurich Airport and went in for some BIRD SPOTTING. The A380 pilot had no other solution but to step on the brakes, bring the aircraft to a full stop and kill the engines. On the diorama, the security staff tries to convince both stubborn cows to clear the way… please!

A final picture of my model gives a clue of the sheer size of the A380. The red minivan could drive safely under the belly of the aircraft…

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FINAL NOTES

The model won a Gold Medal and Best of Show at the recent model contest HISTORIA 2004 in Switzerland.

The paint scheme is both REAL and FICTITIOUS. Reality is that Edelweiss Air is an actual Swiss charter company, performing well for many years now. The current fleet is comprised of three A320s and a single A330. The fiction is that there is no A380 on order.

I was happy to “upgrade” their fleet with my model, which I could not have achieved without the help of my friend Leander.

My family flew Edelweiss Air several times to Sharm-el-Shek and Mahle. I shared many evening chats with the crew at the crew house. Neighbors - who were lucky to escape the tragic Tsunami events - confirmed the friendly and efficient help the Edelweiss crew provided to tourists trapped in the South-East. I must confess Edelweiss Air is a top-notch company

Pierre

Photos and text © by Pierre Greutert