1/144 Minicraft 737-400

by Max Tollens Jr.

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I am not an airline modeler; that being said, this is my second completed airliner ever!  My first one was also the Minicraft 737-400, done in US Airways markings OOB.  This Piedmont 737 was actually supposed to be the first until a problem with the US Airways decals caused me to put it aside as I contemplated pitching it.  I tackled a second Minicraft 737 kit until I found a set of Piedmont decals online and decided to give the kit a reprieve.  I peeled off what was left of the US Airways decals, wet sanded and primed the surface in preparation for the natural metal finish.  The gray areas are Model Master Voodoo grey enamels, the natural metal is Alclad II Aluminum and Polished aluminum over top of the Alclad Primer/Microfiller.

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I noticed that even with low tack tape a bit of the polished alumimum came up with the tape; fortunately it is easy to go back and touch up with Alclad II, I used wet newspaper masks as I did my touch ups.  This is the second model I've painted with Alclad II after attending Meteor's webinar and I'm getting better at using it; metal finishes aren't as scary as I used to think!  Proper filling and priming will reward you with a great finish, and this isn't even as good as it could be.  The decals are from Draw; they go down very well and you can't see the carrier film.  Keep in mind, the whole sheet is one film so you must use caution when trimming the decals.  I finished off with a light watercolor weathering.  I saved a kit and now I have a start on a Piedmont/US Airways heritage collection!

Max

Photos and text © by Max Tollens Jr.