In 2005, 35 years after the 747 began commercial service, Boeing announced the first stretch of the airframe to create the -8. The new aircraft was almost 20 feet longer than previous 747s (with the notable exception of the 747SP, a shortened version of the -100 aircraft designed for extra-long-range flights), and is the longest airliner ever built. The aircraft uses the same engines and cockpit systems as the 787, and has a new wing designed for greater efficiency.
Boeing offers two variants of the aircraft — the -8F Freighter and the -8I Intercontinental passenger aircraft, which entered service with Lufthansa in June 2012. The latter, with an upper deck extending back to the wing, is the subject of the Zvezda kit.
Molded in medium gray plastic, the parts feature the beautifully fine detail for which Zvezda’s airliners are known. Panel lines are as fine as they can be and look good under paint. Unfortunately, the control surface outlines are just as fine; I’ve learned from experience that deepening them slightly with a scriber makes them look better on the finished model.
The cabin windows — molded open and designed to be filled with clear plastic parts — are the correct ovals, and the door windows are square (as they should be). The upper-deck windows look a little too tall, though.
Fans of Boeing’s jumbo have wanted a kit that captured the big airliner’s nose, and Zvezda has done a great job. It matches drawings and photos both from the side and top better than any previous kit. Unfortunately, the wingbox looks a little anemic at the rear, and the detail is a little soft around the front.
Decals are provided for Boeing’s bright red, orange, and gold house colors, and, unlike Zvezda’s Dreamliner, you only have to paint the lower red. My sole complaint is that photos show that many of the markings, such as the tail, have soft demarcation lines. But that’s not too hard to fix. There are few items missing, notably a registration and a prominent hull number worn by the test aircraft.
Fit was outstanding. I applied a little filler along the fuselage join to be sure it disappeared. I left the cabin windows off for ease of painting and filled them with Microscale Kristal Klear at the end of the build.
Typical of Zvezda’s airliners, the wing has a single lower piece and includes part of the belly and two upper pieces. The upper halves include the entire trailing edge, so you get a sharp line. Unfortunately, the join doesn’t always follow a panel line, necessitating filling, sanding, and re-scribing. The completed wing fits tightly, but I glued it on before painting to ensure a solid join and no headaches later.
The General Electric GEnx engines are works of art, with open fans, one-piece intake rings, and crisp detail. Separate pieces re-create the characteristic scallops on the trailing edges. I carefully painted and assembled the components, using super glue and sanding to eliminate gaps around the cowl and pylon.
I left the engines, horizontal stabilizers, and landing gear off for painting. The instructions call for the wings to be white, but images of the test aircraft show they are light gray. I airbrushed the wings and stabs Testors Model Master Canadian voodoo gray — a good match for Boeing gray. I sprayed the fuselage with Tamiya white fine surface primer, followed with Tamiya pure white, and applied masks created from a photocopy of the decal sheet before applying Tamiya spray-can Italian red.
After painting the leading edges Alclad II aluminum, I applied the decals. They are very thin and can be easily damaged with setting solutions. So, I used water only to float them into place. The markings are opaque, but they yellowed on the model.
I sealed the decals with Pledge Future floor polish, then lightly masked the markings that needed soft edges and airbrushed white and red, respectively.
Final assembly was a snap. Take care with the complex landing gear to ensure alignment. The aft legs were a tad short; add the wing gear first, then use slow-setting glue to position the rear legs.
The finished model looks like Boeing’s big, new bird. It’s a relatively easy build, but some of the small parts, as well as the complex paint scheme, make it more suitable for moderately experienced builders.
A version of this review appeared in the December 2012 FineScale Modeler.