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Zvezda 1/144 scale Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Carrying more than 200 passengers, the 787-8 is designed to replace the 767 for long flights.
RELATED TOPICS: AIRCRAFT
144 scale Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner_box
144 scale Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner_2
144 scale Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner_4
144 scale Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner_5
144 scale Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner_3
Boeing’s newest commercial aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner, took to the air for the first time in December 2009, two years behind schedule. But Zvezda’s 1/144 scale kit has arrived just in time.

Just as Boeing’s creation is an engineering marvel, Zvezda’s kit is an ingenious tour de force – in fact, the finest scale plastic airliner I’ve ever built. I said this about the Russian company’s 767-300 in November 2009’s Workbench Reviews – but Zvezda has outdone itself.

The medium gray molding exhibits extra-fine recessed panel lines, a nice touch in a small-scale kit. Unfortunately, the lines are almost too fine and likely to disappear under primer and paint; I deepened them a bit, especially around the control surfaces.

The lower wing is a single piece incorporating a section of the plane’s belly; it fits well while setting the 787’s distinctive dihedral, including the slight change in angle outboard of the engine mounts. The upswept, curved winglets, molded as one piece with the upper wings, are beautifully thin, as are the trailing edges.

The fuselage halves capture the graceful lines of the Dreamliner’s nose and tail. Cabin windows are molded open with strips of clear inserts provided; I left those out in favor of filling the windows with Testors Clear Part Cement & Window Maker. The windshield is an insert that fits well with a little work. The framework is clearly molded, making masking easier.

The landing gear, like Zvezda’s other airliners, is finely molded; several parts come together to form a deceptively strong component without compromising scale appearance. There is detail in the gear wells, but they are boxed in.

The kit’s true marvel is the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines; easy to build, easy to paint, and effectively detailed. The front fans comprise interlocking sets of blades that form see-through disks that can rotate. These mount to the framework, and make up much of the intake trunk. Once these and the rear hot sections are sandwiched in the cowlings, the result is the most realistic model turbofan I’ve ever seen. The intake rings and the cowling rear, including the noise-reducing scallops, are single pieces, eliminating filling and sanding.

Everything fit well; just a little filler on the fuselage seam eliminated all traces of it. The fan blades are very fragile, and a couple had broken at the hub on my example, but I was able to fix them easily. I left the intake rings off for painting, as well as the wing and horizontal stabilizers.

Decals provide markings for the first test aircraft, N787BA, but include only titles, registration, and door surrounds. This means lots of masking and painting to achieve Boeing’s attractive house scheme.

I primed with Tamiya white fine-surface primer, which also served as the base white, then masked the swoopy white line that circles the fuselage and masked the upper surfaces to remain white, using paper masks raised at the edges for a soft demarcation. The lighter blue is a mix of Polly Scale GN Big Sky blue and St. Lawrence blue. Next, I laid sheets of Mr. Hobby 1mm Mr. Finely Slit Masking Sheet (No. GT53) on the rear section of the cabin, removed every other strip, then sprayed Polly Scale CSX blue.

The decals were thin and went down OK, but they reacted to Micro Sol and wrinkled badly.

The model looks like photos of Boeing’s test aircraft and is impressively large. And the kit even includes a stand! It was a fun, easy build except for the difficult paint scheme – but I suspect we’ll see a flood of aftermarket decals as the Dreamliner enters service, addressing the kit’s only drawback.
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11 COMMENTS
Added 16 years ago
AARON SKINNER
Dennis,

Thanks for the compliment. The mix for the lighter blue was about 50:50, but it was more a case of add a little of each until it looked about right.

Cheers, Aaron
Added 16 years ago
DENNIS SCHLENZ
Aaron - Great looking bird, but what else should we expect from you?

Can you please tell us the mixing proportions for the light blue?

Thanks,
Dennis (Stinger)
Added 16 years ago
AARON SKINNER
Thomas,
Thanks for your comments, but the kudos should go to Bill Downing.
Personally, I like scribed panel lines to give the surface a little definition. Zvezda's are pretty good in this respect.
Added 16 years ago
THOMAS ENG
I would like to thank Mr. Aaron Skinner for his insight on the Boeing 787. I always wondered why manufacturers add scribed lines on airliners of this scale. I would rather think it's much to fine to see.

Best Regards,

Tommy Eng
Added 16 years ago
JARROD P BOOTH
G`day, Aaron,
So you`re a Brissy` lad. I`m a SandGroper from Perth, but living in Kansas for 6 years, now.

I built Revell`s B 737-800 about 4 or 5 years ago, with aftermarket winglets. If I remember the Revell ones are the wrong shape and too short. A pity, as the rest of that model went together really nicely. I think I used Draw decals for Qantas. It came out OK, especially as It was one of the first times I`d used an airbrush!

I have the Revell 767 still to be built with those Australian decals and orange & white. Also have the Wunala Dreaming Decals for the 1/144 scale 747-400. Those last two should look spectacular.

Maybe, I`ll write an article on those and send it in??? No promises on if or when, though.

I`ll be looking forward to building something with stars and bars after all that!!

Cheers,
Jarrod
Added 16 years ago
AARON SKINNER
Jarrod,

Thanks for the comments. A grew up in Brisbane so I'm very familiar with Qantas' livery – definitely a good looker. I have a 737-8 slated for that scheme. Zvezda's 767 is almost as nice a kit as the 787; I'm doing one as an Australian (the later airline, not TAA) with the orange and white scheme. What part of Australia are you from?

Cheers,
Aaron
Added 16 years ago
JARROD P BOOTH
Hi Aaron,
You`ve done a spectacular job painting the Boeing scheme, and the build looks fairly straight forward.
As I`m an Aussie, living in the US, I`d look at an easier livery and do a"Red Rat", as some of us affectionately call our national carrier, Qantas. Will look great with that red tail with the huge Kangaroo. One of the best looking airline schemes around, I think!
I`m excited to see the range that Zvezda is bringing out. I have never built their kits, but might just go and get one...or three. Look forward to seeing what they bring out next!
Great article. As always very informative. Thanks.
Added 16 years ago
AARON SKINNER
Thanks, Frank. I'm having some trouble getting out of the bushes with the 757, so I haven't made as much progress as I'd have liked to.

Cheers
Aaron
Added 16 years ago
ROGERIO S JOSE MARCZAK
Great model Aaron! "Terrific fit", as you wrote, may sound a bit odd for some modelers. This is not a typo, boys... Zvezda is gradually improving the quality of their molding technology and their latest offerings are up with any other mainstream manufacturers.
Added 16 years ago
FRANK T CUDEN
Hi Aaron,

It's as pretty as it looked the first time I saw it. How's that 757 coming along?

Frank
Added 16 years ago
MARK ANDREWS
Great article on a great kit. I hope we will see aftermarket decals soon.
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