Manufacturer: Revell AG (Germany), distributed by Revell-Monogram, 8601 Waukegan Rd., Morton Grove, IL 60053-2295, 847-966-3500.
Kit: No. 04238
Scale: 1/144
Price: $N/A
Comments: Injection molded, 63 parts, decals.
Pros: Great detail for this small scale, excellent decals, good fit.
Cons: Small parts too thick for scale, sinkholes in thick parts, color suggestions seem incorrect, small decal placement drawings.
The first three words of the kit instructions in Revell's new 737-800 are "Faster, higher, further"; they could've added "bigger," too. This latest version of the "next generation" 737 is closer to 727 size.
Revell's parts are cleanly molded with no flash, and possess petite, recessed detail; most parts break at actual panel lines. Some sinkholes occurred on the thicker parts such as the flap track "canoe" fairings. Revell's white plastic will make the painting of most airline liveries easier.
The fit of the parts is excellent, and the only putty I used was along the lower fuselage/wing joint around the belly bulge. The wing tops fit perfectly. Small parts such as the gear doors, engine strakes, and antennas, need to be sanded to achieve scale thickness.
The landing gear deserves special mention. Wheel-well boxes provide excellent detail, particularly for 1/144 scale, and the kit features real gear trunnion mountings, not peg-in-hole fittings. The outboard ends of the main gear braces should be thinned down where they extend as supports for the inner main gear doors. They don't reach the doors but they should. Revell has provided the correct inner and outer main wheel hubs. I trimmed the nose gear drag brace to fit and sanded down the three separate oleo scissors for a more scale appearance.
The -800's new wing and stabilizers are captured well. However, the cross section of the horizontal stabilizer's airfoil should have the curved surface on the bottom. You could reverse them and enlarge the fuselage slots to allow the correct dihedral, but then the access panels will be on the tops instead of the bottoms. It's easier to ignore this slight problem than to fix it. The CFM56-7B engines are well represented but the exhausts in the central "hot" section are molded solid. The nacelles seem to angle up slightly in side view.
The cockpit windows are scribed into the clear upper flight deck enclosure. This allows you to add nose weight after the fuselage halves are closed. Be careful on the bottom edge as you glue it to the fuselage, so you don't mar the windows.
Hapag-Lloyd's new -800 exterior scheme has a light gray lower fuselage and engine nacelles. Revell's suggestions for this color and the darker BAC gray of the wings and tail seemed too dark, so I used Gunze Sangyo H311 FS 36622 for the lighter gray, H325 FS 16440 for the darker gray. The orange on the fin is Gunze H14 which closely matches the fuselage stripe decal and a color photo Modern Boeing Jetliners.
The decal sheet is exceptional in quality and completeness, containing all the stencil information present on the real aircraft. They are thin and adhere well (maddeningly so, in some cases - they are difficult to position). The fuselage stripes contain the natural-metal frames for the cabin windows and the clear carrier film provides the "glass" - very effective. These stripes need to conform to wing-illumination lights, door viewports, static ports, etc.) but they were slightly too long. I lined up the majority of cabin windows and accepted the other items' being just a bit off. The small decal drawings are difficult to follow. Still, I have to rate the decal sheet as one of the nicest I've seen in any kit.
I spent about 20 hours on the model, mostly during the finishing stages of painting and decal application. Overall, a nice kit of Boeing's Baby - er, Thunder Guppy.