Here's a little example of the simplicity of converting some types of airliner. On the left, the Airfix 737-200 cut down to a -100 and on the right, Revell's -800 cut down to a -700.


The -100 will wear Lufthansa's colours while the -700 is going to be Malev.

A little more progress to report. The Boeing grey is on, and the -100 is wearing Lufthansa's basic colour scheme. I still need to do its corogard inspars. I'm probably going to do painted decal film rather than mess about with all sorts of masking.

Hi Jessica
Conversions looking good!
I hope we have a Civil Airline campaign in the next year!

How did I miss this thread? They look great! I always admire kit bashing, nice project.
I imagine you had to take a section out ahead of and behind the wings of each plane? Four saw cuts and two butt joints in each? That's a heck of alot of careful fitting work.
now theyre gleaming. what is "Boeing gray"?


also, +1 for a civil airliner campaign.

I strengthen the cuts by using a piece of the cut-out fuselage behind the join. Then it's just a matter of making sure of keeping the fuselage halves straight while they're drying so you don't end up with a banana. It's the simplest conversion going.

Boeing #707 grey is the default Boeing colour for wings, fairings and other parts not left bare metal. It's a warm light grey almost indistinguishable from FS#16515 Canadian Voodoo grey.

IIRC Lufthansa was the only operator of the -100. I think I have the OLD Airfix 1/72 737-100 with United markings and possibly missing glass.

Lufthansa was the launch customer, but Malaysia Singapore and Avianca were the other customers that bought them new. All other operators bought theirs from one of those three. See this thread on Britmodeller for a discussion of the -100's foibles. Given that there were only 31 -100s built (incuding the prototype), they saw a lot of service with many different airlines.

Mark, unless your kit's been cut down, it's the -200. Don't worry too much about the clear parts being missing. You can either use plastic strip to make the window pillars, or fill them and use decals. All of the 737's cockpit windows are flat panes. The kit I made my -100 from didn't have windows, and it's not suffering from the lack.

I was assured by some modelers from Boeing that since it was the 1968 boxing it was a -100. Whatever it may be years before I get to it. It's only been waiting 44 years.

It's definitey the -200, especially since the -200 was current Boeing issue in 1968.
Compare your kit to the current issue and you'll find that the plastic is exactly the same.

OOPS, I lied... it was the Aurora 1/72 B-737. I've had it since Christmas of 1968, so it sort of predates the Airfix release.

Hannants also do boeing grey in their range of Xtracolor enamel paints Xtracolor X301 and apparently Tamiya XF-14 is a close match for the grey but personally I feel its a little on the darker side.

That Aurora kit is better used as a collector's item these days. It was produced when the 737 was on the drawing board, and has many inaccuracies when compared to the real thing. The shape of the fuselage sides behind the cockpit windows is too flat, there is no wing-to-fuselage fairing, The wings are too short, the engines are incorrect even for the original short nacelles, the top of the fin is sloped far too much and there are no flap track fairings. It would take a lot of work to make an accurate model from it (and you would destroy the collector's value...). It's still an impressive model when it's built. I did the Monogram boxing way back in the '70s in the then-current United colours.

If you're looking for a 1/72 737 to build, the Welsh Models resin and vac kit is far superior.

Decals have happened!

Of course now that the cheatlines are on I see that my masking job was less than precise. There should not be any white showing under the cheatline. This means that I'm going to have to do some very difficult trimming with sliver trim film, working around the door outlines.

Or I'm going to have to find some Lufthansa blue door outlines to replace them once I get the silver up to the bottom of the cheatline. I'm not sure yet which will be more difficult.

Your 73 Jessica looks marvelous!! Good work. Looks like the decals performed too. Russell

Ray Charles at Two Six decals responded to my plea, and is sending some extra door outlines so I can salvage the paint job on the -100. That's teriffic customer service
Now some more paint has been splashed about.

And now a little more is done.

A little more progress. They're up on their wheels now, and awaiting final fitting out.

All done.
Lufthansa 737-100 D-ABEA, the very first production 737:





Malev 737-700 HA-LOL

Nice Builds!
Time to set up a"Civil AC" Forum and campaigns page!

Good job Jessica. I always have believed, from personal experience, that the civil aircraft, like airliners are actually a more difficult build than the military ones with there camouflage and such! They simply require more precision in painting and masking. Good job, Russell.

Those are really nice.
The -100 is really striking. If I saw one of those today, I'd really have to stop and gawk, it's alot different than the common-as-ants 737s that seem to dominate US airports nowadays.

I'll also agree that the decalling work on both of those models is much more challenging than most military models.