Revell Fokker 100

In the early 1970s Fokker Aircraft began studies on a 100-seat airliner based on the smaller F-28 short-haul jet. Fokker hoped to market the new plane as a replacement for short-to-medium haul jets such as the 727- 100 and DC-9-30. By 1986 the definitive design, designated the F-28-0100 but known as the Fokker 100, had attracted numerous orders before its f1rst flight. The 100 became one of the company's most successful aircraft programs, and won large orders from American, KLM, Mexicana, and US Airways.

Mexicana's 10 Fokker 100s were delivered in three markings variations depicting the art and culture of Mexico. All three are on decal sheets from Liveries Unlimited (LU), intended for the 1/144 scale Fokker 100 kit from Revell of Germany.

The Revell kit (No. 04258) requires just a few minor changes to the fuselage to accurately represent a Mexicana Fokker 100.

Let's head to the workbench.

Modifying the fuselage for a galley door

Before starting to work on your model, decide if you want the windows and windshield clear or if you'll use decals to represent those areas. I use clear windows whenever possible. The Liveries Unlimited sheet includes window decals. The kit has no bulkhead between the cockpit area and the passenger cabin. If clear windows are your choice, fit a 13/16" diameter (20 mm) circular bulkhead of behind the nose-wheel well. Use a circle template as a guide to scribe out the bulkhead from sheet plastic. Without a bulkhead, you'll be able to see the passenger windows through the windshield.

Mexicana's aircraft were ordered with a rear galley on the left side of the fuselage. The kit is molded with uninterrupted windows down the left side, which is accurate for many other customers' Fokker 1OOs. Making the change is not difficult. Starting with the second window from the rear, mark off four windows to be filled in.

Glue in sheet plastic to provide a backing for the filler, allow it to dry, then fill the windows with super glue. The super glue will shrink as it dries; once it is dry, it will shrink no further. This makes it a good choice for filling the windows since the goal is to have a smooth fuselage side, with no evidence of windows having been there. Several applications may be needed to get the filler to fuselage level.

Sand the filler smooth. Hold this area up to a light to check for imperfections. The windows should still be discernible as outlines after you've finished sanding, but the surface should be smooth.

If sanding the filled-in windows hasn't eliminated the panel lines, carefully fill the panel lines in that four-window area and sand smooth.

Using a cut-out photocopy of the galley door decal (marked "L" on the LU sheet) as a guide, re-scribe the panel lines up to and touching the galley door but not underneath. Scribing the door is unnecessary, as the decal is sufficient for representation. If you're building the model with clear windows, paint the interior black before assembling the fuselage halves.

Modifying the tail

Do not cement the one-piece stabilizer to the fuselage. Cut the stabilizer into two pieces and wait to cement them to the fuselage until after painting and decaling; sliding a stabilizer through after it is painted could mar its finish. Likewise, build the nacelle subassemblies but do not cement them to the fuselage. The tail pattern decal runs underneath the trailing edge of the nacelle pylons, so they would interfere with decal application.

Modifying the wings

The lower halves of the wings, parts 5 and 7, are too thick, and when cemented together they leave a "step" between the wing and the flaps. Correct this by rubbing the inside surfaces of the lower halves with coarse sanding sticks, or by rubbing the gluing surface on coarse sandpaper tacked to a board as if you were sanding out vacuum-formed part. Sand the parts until you have a smooth wing undersurface; it takes time but it is worth the effort. The raised guidelines on the upper wing surfaces for placing the flap actuator fairings (parts 11/14 and 9/13) are a little off as compared to the wing-walk stripe decal. Use a photocopy of the wing-walk decal to locate where the parts should go; this will save headaches later when the decal goes on. Placement also will be more accurate, as the wing-walk decals were taken directly from Fokker factory drawings.

After the wing is cemented together and the leading-edge seam is finished, add the stall fences. The kit items arc too thick and do not fit well; .005" brass is thin and durable, so it works well as a replacement. Cut a slot in the leading edge coinciding with the raised guide lines on the leading edge. Insert an index card into the slot, then trace a rough outline of the leading edge onto the card. Using the traced outline as a template, cut the wing fence from brass sheet using scissors. Cutting the brass to the exact outline of the fence is not necessary.

Super glue the wing fence to the model and allow it to dry hard. Once the glue is dry, file the wing fence until it has the correct outline. The result is a durable and realistic-looking wing fence. Turning back to the fuselage, all antennas should be cut off as they are oversize and interfere with finishing scams. New antennas will be added later from thin sheet styrene.

Making masks for the windshield

After cementing the wings to the fuselage and finishing the scams, it is time to paint. First, though, the windshield will need to be masked off if you're building the model with a clear windshield.

Use a photocopy of the decal windshield as a pattern for the masks. Cut out each pane of the windshield decal copy, leaving excess paper on one side as a "handle." Next, rub the pane on the end of a glue stick (Post-it Note adhesive works well), and trim the remaining excess paper.

Carefully place the paper pane on the clear wind hicld and press firmly. After rubbing off the excess adhesive from the edge, you'll have a tight-fitting mask that is still positionable if necessary. I tarred painting by spraying the leading edges of the wings and stabilizer with Floquil bright silver. While the color coats will have a glossy, clear-coated appearance, the natural-metal area should not look clear coated. By praying the metal areas first, I was able to mask them off once dry, and protect them for the remainder of painting and decaling. For the exhaust area on the nacelle, I used Testor Metalizer magnesium, then coated it with Metalizer scaler to protect the finish from masking off. The wing fences arc gray, so leave them exposed when making off the metal leading edge . The white and gray are both from Testor's Model Master line. Insignia white (FS 17875) was used for the fuselage, and gloss gull gray (F 36231) was used for the wing, under surface of the fuselage, and horizontal stabilizers. My tried-and-true method for airbrushing gloss paints i to thin them with Pactra Aero Gloss dope thinner at three parts paint to two part thinner. The mixture sprays well and I can control the amount of gloss by varying the distance of the airbrush from the model. The mixture quickly dries to the touch, but I recommend at least 48 hours' drying time between colors.

The one-piece tail-pattern decal look intimidating, but can be handled easily with some preparation. Cut our the eagle's head portion of the tail logo (represented by clear film), so the blade antennas on the fin will protrude through once the decal is on. Next, trim the excess film from all trailing edge , and cut two small "darts" in the corners of the decal that will cover the corners of the rear fuselage.

Placing the tail-pattern decal

When applying these big decals, have plenty of Micro Sol handy, and be patient. Place the decal so the lower edge runs exactly down the center line of the fuselage. Lay down the decal a best as possible, maintaining alignment down the lower fuselage center line, and apply Micro Sol to the decal once it is on the model. Keep a close watch, but let the setting solution do it work; the LU decal is printed on Microscale decal film, and it will conform to all curve . This is especially true for the vertical fin to fuselage junction; with otherwise proper alignment, the decal initially will not settle down into the area on its own, but it will do so with repeated applications of Micro Sol.

When both tail-pattern decal arc on and dry, carefully cur out the stabilizer openings with a new No. 11 blade.

The rest of the decaling is straightforward, with one exception. The red rings under the windshield arc supposed to fit over raised moldings in this area representing the angle-of- attack vanes. Punch a tiny hole in the center of the red circle to allow this raised molding to protrude through; this will save lots of setting solution! After the decal arc on and the surface is washed down, give the model a clear coat. Allow it to dry, pull all remaining masking off the leading edge and windshield, and cement on the stabilizers, nacelles, and landing gear.

Cabin windows were represented by Micro Kristal-Kleer; when applied according to the directions this produces a realistic-looking cabin window.

As a final touch, I added new blade antennas made from .005" sheet plastic. Since the antennas are white on the actual aircraft, white sheet plastic can be used unpainted. Simply cut the blade antennas from the plastic and attach them to the model with white glue.

Airliner models such as this one build up into attractive replicas. With the plethora of markings available there arc many choices for modelers looking for something different to build.