While Hasegawa used to be the main dealer of airliners, other companies have began to shape the airliner side of model building. Perhaps the best airliner manufacturers now are Revell and Minicraft. They have aircraft which you don't see everyday, especially since they are in a 1:144 scale.

Major Airlines:
The aircraft flown by the majors are numerous, but the problem is that the main manufacturers of airliners put Japanese, Asian, and European names on the planes. A truly American airline is tough to find, but now this has changed. With the help of a contact I found on the internet, Airline Hobby Supplies (AHS), airline decals are now numerous if you wish to order them. The new paint schemes of TWA and Continental are just a couple of what they have to offer.

Airline Fleets:

About a year ago, I decided to build a fleet of airplanes from an airline, and chose to build the 2000 fleet of Continental Airlines. Part of the reason to build Continental was that I used to work for them through a strategic code-share, but the other reason is that their fleet is fairly simple, but still offers a variety of planes. I had toyed with the idea of building a fleet consisting of United Airlines planes, but since they have the entire Boeing family and a couple planes from other aircraft manufacturers, I decided it would be overkill, and so I settled on Continental. 

The current Continental fleet consists of Boeing B737-300, -500, -700, and –800; Boeing B757-200; Boeing B767-400; and Boeing B777-200 aircraft. Recently Continental ordered a hand full of B757-300 aircraft, so I decided to build this model too. Also, the current fleet has DC-10-30 and MD-80 aircraft too. The MD-80 is not available yet, but I have been told that Minicraft might release this kit in the winter of 2000 or spring 2001. My current fleet of Continental models include the B737-300, -500, -700, -800, B757-200, -300, B767-400, and DC-10-30. Below are all the explanations of how I built each airplane. 

Before I discuss each plane individually, I would like to say that all the decals were bought through Airline Hobby Supplies of Canada. AHS also sells airplanes that are hard to find, and has helped me in my quest to find many planes that you will not find in hobby stores due to the fact that they don’t carry them or they believe they are out of production and reach. AHS has many airline kits that have been discontinued, but are still available for sale. They can help find any decal you could possibly want, including Continental. 

As for the color scheme of Continental kits, it is fairly simple. The fuselage was painted a gloss white on the top and a light sea gray on the bottom. A gold cheat-line comes in the way of a decal, so it combines the white and gray perfectly. The wings and stabilizers were painted light gray with leading edges silver. The engines were the light sea gray for all kits except the DC-10-30, in which case the engines are painted silver. 

The decals go on with no problem at all, with the tail decal the blue and gold logo. Just remember, when I say that the tail logo is blue, I mean it is blue, so when you paint the plane initially, paint the tail white too. The only other idea to think about is that on all of my Continental planes, I place the aircraft type information under the windows in front of the rear exit doors. Continental might not do this on their real planes, but it helps distinguish between some of the planes and that way people won’t have to ask what kind of a plane it is. 

The only other hint is that for weight and balance, I glue five pennies in the nose of each kit. This will keep it nose-heavy so the tail won’t hit the ground when sitting on a shelf. Most models are tail heavy with the horizontal stabilizers, so it is a good and cheap trick. 

Boeing B737-300 (Continental Airlines)   

Of all of the B737 family members, the –300 is by far the most popular in this family, and possibly the world. With approximately 960 of the type flying, it is by far a plane that consumers and professionals both love. With a crew of two, this twin-engine aircraft can carry 128 in a typical two-class layout. A backbone for many airlines, the B737 is by far a plane that will live forever. 

When Minicraft decided to put out a model of the –300 a couple years ago, they made a great decision. The –300 was taken off shelves as quick as they could go on at the beginning, and while the demand has gone down, they are still an item of interest.  The kit, like all by Minicraft, is an easy one to assemble, with the exception of the windscreen, which comes as a part of the upper-forward portion of the fuselage. It is hard to explain, but if you buy the kit, or any jetliner kit by Minicraft, you will know what I mean. This isn’t really a big problem as long as you take your time and putty and sand the “canopy” before you paint the plane. However, I suggest using tape to “mask” the actual windscreen of the plane. 

After the plane was built and painted, the decals went on with no problem at all, with the tail making the plane all worth it. The gold globe brightens the entire room, with Continental being one of the top companies to work for in the United States. Just one thing to remember when painting the Continental planes is to paint the tail white since the decals have the blue tail that fits just fine. 

I decided to leave the gear in the extended position since I wanted to line my fleet up as they were finished. This project is now about halfway complete, but the other planes are either on order or haven’t come out yet. I hope to have it completed by the end of this year if all goes correct. But for now, I await to work on more planes as they arrive. If you decide to do a fleet, have fun, and enjoy the airline of choice and their paint scheme. If you see this kit in your local hobby store, I would suggest buying it and then ordering decals for an airline that flies the –300.   

Boeing B737-500 (Continental)   

When I was finished with the B737-300, I decided to try my luck building a –500. For comparison purposes, the B737-300 is 109’7” long, the –500 is 101’9” long, and the –200 is 100’2”. This gives a good look at how Boeing basically made a new and improved –200 planes and named it the –500. It isn’t really that simple, but the –500 has an updated flight deck, engines, and wiring. It might be about the same length as the –200, but it is much more fuel-efficient and meets stage III noise requirements without losing weight. But to further compare the aircraft, when you look at typical two-class layouts for the family you end up with the –300 holding 128 passengers, the –500 seating 108, and the –200 carrying 105. The conclusion is of course that the –500 is an updated model of the popular –200. 

Though currently no model company makes a scale –500 in 1:144^th scale, I decided I had to have one for my Continental fleet. After looking at the dimensions of the –300 and –500, I decided that to make a scale model of the –500, I would need to buy a –300 and shorten the fuselage by 1-inch. Minicraft or course is a manufacturer that has been good about the B737 family with models of the –300 on the market currently. So with this in mind, I went out and bought a –300 by Minicraft and went to work. 

I cut a ½-inch section forward of the wing root and another ½-inch section aft of the wing root to shorten the plane by the “12-feet” on the real plane. After this, I had three parts of the aircraft, and so I had to paste these together and then use putty to fill in the gaps. After I let the putty dry, I sanded the plane down until the joined sections were smooth with the rest of the fuselage. The rest of the assembly was easy enough, but like all Minicraft kits, the exception of ease come with the windscreen. It comes as a part of the upper-forward portion of the fuselage. It is hard to explain, but if you buy the kit, or any jetliner kit by Minicraft, you will know what I mean. This isn’t really a big problem as long as you take your time and putty and sand the “canopy” before you paint the plane. However, I suggest using tape to “mask” the actual windscreen of the plane. 

I decided to leave the gear down so that I could set it on a shelf with the rest of my Continental fleet. If you want a –500 aircraft in your fleet, I suggest that you buy the –300 and challenge yourself to make your own –500. It is a creative challenge, but the end result is a masterpiece of a model that doesn’t exist.   

Boeing B737-700 (Continental)   

As time moves on, aircraft manufacturers must keep pace. It has been said that you cannot re-invent the wheel; rather you can only improve it. Boeing seems to have this ideology when it comes to aircraft. Not that it is a bad idea since they have found merchandise that the consumer likes. The B737 family is a perfect example to this theory. The –300 has seen many improves since it has been stretched and shortened, but through it all, Boeing must keep pace with the times. And while it costs so much to make a new airplane, Boeing has decided to upgrade their planes. 

The B737-500 was based on the old –200. The improvements were a glass flight deck, more fuel-efficient engines, and overall a newer airframe. The B737-700 is an upgrade to the –300. In fact it is just a little over 1-foot long than the –300, but holds the same amount of passengers in a standard two-class layout, being 128. The flight deck is all glass, the engines are the newest on the market, so they same fuel, and the airframe is hot off the assembly line. For airlines that wish to stay with the 737, this new old plane is the answer for an upgraded fleet. 

Luckily for all enthusiasts worldwide, Minicraft decided to put out a model of the –300 a couple years ago. The kit, like all by Minicraft, is an easy one to assemble, with the exception of the windscreen, which comes as a part of the upper-forward portion of the fuselage. It is hard to explain, but if you buy the kit, or any jetliner kit by Minicraft, you will know what I mean. This isn’t really a big problem as long as you take your time and putty and sand the “canopy” before you paint the plane. However, I suggest using tape to “mask” the actual windscreen of the plane. 

Of course since Minicraft and no other company makes the –700, a –300 kit has to suffice. But since the real plane is only a fraction longer, and the main differences are the internal parts of the plane, a kit of the –300 can easily be made into a –700. In fact, the only difference is a decal, since on my –700 I’ll have a title that says “Boeing B737-700. Easy enough, right? 

After I built, painted, and placed the decals on, the plane was finished. I left the gear in the extended position so that the plane sits with the rest of the Continental fleet. If Minicraft wanted to capture the attention of the model industry, all they would need to do is repackage the –300 kit and name it a –700, but get different decals. No one would know the difference. So if you yearn for a –700, get a –300 and put different decals on it. Just remember that when it comes to modeling, you have to be creative.   

 Boeing B737-800 (Continental Airlines)   

With success of the rest of the B737 family aircraft, Boeing decided to continue to lengthen the fuselage to make the –800. This airplane is 19-feet longer than the venerable –300 and can carry 162 passengers in a two-class layout. This in addition to a “glass” flight deck and fuel efficient engines make the B737-800 the newest airplane to fly with the “737” name. 

Continental has quite a few of the –800 on order and in its fleet, so I had to buy it. Luckily some decals are now available for the next-generation B737s in Continental livery, which I also ordered from Airline Hobby Supplies. 

Revell of Germany decided to recently make and release the B737-800 in 1:144^th scale. The model, like all of the airline kits from Revell, is an exceptional kit. Gear well detail and even pitot tubes give the little additional detail that people love to see. The kit is in one way like those made by Minicraft in that the windscreen comes as a part of the upper-forward portion of the fuselage. It is hard to explain, but if you buy the kit, or any jetliner kit by Minicraft, you will know what I mean. This isn’t really a big problem as long as you take your time and putty and sand the “canopy” before you paint the plane. However, I suggest using tape to “mask” the actual windscreen of the plane. Other than that, the kit is awesome. 

While the model comes with Hapag Lloyd decals, as I stated before I ordered Continental decals instead. There are other airlines that fly this new plane, and you can order these decals as well from AHS. 

The decals went on fine, and with the next generation 737-decal sheet, I noticed that they have the titles for the “Boeing 737-200” up to the “Boeing 737-900”. So of course I placed the “Boeing B737-800” title on the plane, and saved the other decals for a later date. In fact, Continental has some –900 aircraft on order, so I might have to buy a –800 and lengthen it some time. 

I kept the gear extended so that I could either hang it or set it on the ground. This kit is a must buy for any enthusiast. If it is not in your local hobby stores and you want to order one, I’d suggest going through AHS of Canada.   

Boeing B757-200 (Continental Airlines)   

For the longest time, no model manufacturer had made a scale model of a Boeing B757, perhaps the second most popular single-aisle aircraft in the world, second only to the B737 family. Enthusiasts waited and hoped that soon Revell might release a version of the B757, but it came as a surprise when Minicraft launched the B757 project. The B757 came out in late 1999, and when it hit the shelves, people bought them as fast as they could. 

The kit of course came with America Airline decals, but for many people, they wanted a variety of decals for the B757. When it was first stated that Minicraft was working on this kit, decal companies began making numerous B757 decals of airlines such as Continental, Eastern, and United. The B757 became a success after the first day it was on the shelves. 

Even though I have bought many kits, I decided to buy yet another one, but this time I would paint it in a livery that would go with a special fleet in my house, Continental. I decided to build a Continental fleet of the 2000 fleet, meaning no B727 or DC-9 aircraft. The B757-200 is of course one of the main types of aircraft in the Continental fleet, so I had to buy a B757 and paint it in the Continental livery. 

The kit is like all of those made by Minicraft in that the windscreen comes as a part of the upper-forward portion of the fuselage. It is hard to explain, but if you buy the kit, or any jetliner kit by Minicraft, you will know what I mean. This isn’t really a big problem as long as you take your time and putty and sand the “canopy” before you paint the plane. However, I suggest using tape to “mask” the actual windscreen of the plane. Other than that, the kit is awesome. 

While the model comes with American Airlines decals, as I stated before, I wanted to paint the plane in Continental livery, so I ordered Continental decals instead. There are other airlines that fly this new plane, and you can order these decals as well from AHS.The decals went on fine, and with this airplane being the next generation 757, I decided to place on the place a title of “Boeing 757.” Unfortunately Continental doesn’t place the type of plane on their plane, but in this case I have placed these titles on the rear of the plane by the last windows. Once again the tail decals are blue so don’t try to paint the tail blue since the decal fits on very nice and snug. 

I kept the gear extended so that I could either hang it or set it on the ground. Currently, the B757-200 sits on my entertainment center with the rest of my Continental fleet.

Boeing B757-300 (Continental Airlines)   

Even though I have bought many kits, I decided to buy yet another one, but this one would be very unique in that it would be a kit that didn’t exist. Some of you might be thinking “this guy has sniffed too much model glue” but you’re wrong, I decided to build a kit that didn’t exist. In late 2000, Continental Airlines ordered a hand full of Boeing B757-300 aircraft from Boeing, with a delivery date of the first on in 2001. Of course since I have been working on a Continental Airlines fleet, I decided to buy a –300 and paint it even before they got their first aircraft. 

The problem I immediately ran into was that there are no kits for the –300, so I decided that I had to make one of my own. I went out and bought two B757-200 kits, and from one kit, took out 2-inches of the fuselage forward the wing root. The other plane I cut in half right in front of the wing root, and glued the 2-inch section in. The result was a scale B757-300. It took some putty and a lot of sanding, but the plane finally looked right, and so my goal to have a kit of a –300 was well on its way. 

The kit is like all of those made by Minicraft in that the windscreen comes as a part of the upper-forward portion of the fuselage. It is hard to explain, but if you buy the kit, or any jetliner kit by Minicraft, you will know what I mean. This isn’t really a big problem as long as you take your time and putty and sand the “canopy” before you paint the plane. However, I suggest using tape to “mask” the actual windscreen of the plane. Other than that, the kit is awesome. 

While the model comes with American Airlines decals, as I stated before, I wanted to paint the plane in Continental livery, so I ordered Continental decals instead. There are other airlines that fly this new plane, and you can order these decals as well from AHS. 

The decals went on fine, and with this airplane being the next generation 757, I decided to place on the place a title of “Boeing 757-300.” Unfortunately, I didn’t have any titles for this kit, but I did have extra titles from a 737 kit that had them for the “Boeing 737-300”. I cut the –300 off this decal and placed it behind the “Boeing 757” title, making it look just fine. Unfortunately Continental doesn’t place the type of plane on their plane, but in this case I have placed these titles on the rear of the plane by the last windows. Once again the tail decals are blue so don’t try to paint the tail blue since the decal fits on very nice and snug. 

I kept the gear extended so that I could either hang it or set it on the ground. 

Currently, the B757-300 sits on my entertainment center with the rest of my Continental fleet. Hopefully later this year or early next year, Minicraft will release a MD-80, so I can complete the current fleet, of course I am now juggling the idea of buying some of the older planes and using the older livery, but I’ not sure yet. I’ll have to think about it some more.  

Boeing B767-400 (Continental Airlines)

 After working with my first couple B767s, I had a period where I really didn’t care about building anymore of the type, but then as I began to work on my Continental fleet, the B767 crept back into my life. Of course Continental would have to be getting the B767-400, and so I had to buy the model. The problem of course is that there is no kit on the market for the –400, only the –300. This problem was easily dealt with.

 The –400 is 21-feet longer than the –300, and even though I have cut and lengthened models before, I decided that I wasn’t going to lengthen the –300. Instead, I just painted a –300 kit like it was a –400. In all reality, how much is 21-feet? Okay about 2-inches, and while a –400 would be nice, sometime down the road I might just build a –400 and put different registration numbers on it. Or maybe Revell will build a –400 kit sometime.

 While there is a considerable difference, I wasn’t about to lengthen this model kit. So I bought the kit, ordered the decals through Airline Hobby Supplies of Canada, and got to work. Of course with life being as difficult as it has to be, it came to my attention that since Continental didn’t have any B767-400s in their fleet, no decals would be available. This problem was solved when I decided to order A300 decals for the B767 kit. The A300 and B767 are comparable in size, so I assumed the decals would fit, more or less anyway. I was right, and they worked fine. So I got to work on the plane. 

On this model, I left the gear extended so that it could join the rest of my fleet on a shelf. The decals fit on the plane perfect and thus, my plane was almost complete. But when I finished the B767, Continental didn’t have any in their fleet, so I had to wait until the first B767-400 in Continental livery came on line and then I put on the registration numbers. I did this since I wanted an authentic B767 in Continental colors.

If you see this aircraft, go ahead and buy it. Decals for the B767 are nice that come with the kit, but as always, you can order other decals from AHS if you want something other than KLM, and in my case, if you want a Continental plane, order A300 decals.

  Boeing B777-200 (Continental Airlines)

 In 1994 Boeing released their largest twin-engine wide-body aircraft known as the Boeing B777-200. Though smaller than the B747 and larger than the B767, the B777 was the latest in technology from Boeing. Able to seat 305 passengers in three classes, this twin-engine, two-crew behemoth was by far one of the most beautiful aircraft to take to the skies, and so far, one of the safest. As soon as Boeing launched this project, airlines began jumping on board for orders, with many of them going to United Airlines, American, Continental, and Delta, but the launch customer came in the way of All Nippon Airways of Japan.

 With an aircraft like this flying around the skies of the world, and being so new, it is amazing that any model manufacturer would jump to the challenge of producing a 1:144^th scale kit of this magnificent plane. Doyusha was the only manufacturer to do this, and yet, their kit is by far one of the best on the market. This Japanese model company released the B777 with All Nippon decals, a tribute to both the plane and launch customer. Though priced at about $50 USD, the kit is well worth purchasing. Unfortunately, the kit has since gone off the shelves, with only a limited number made so far, so I had a dilemma.

 When I originally got the B777, I was happy to see such a great plane in scale, but instead of painting it in the ANA livery, I decided to go with the US launch customer, United Airlines. I ordered decals through AHS, and began working on this plane. The detail is simply amazing, with a choice of engines (Pratt & Whitney or Rolls Royce) and gear that even swivels once put together. This is possibly the best-constructed model on the market today, especially since I didn’t need to place any weight in the nose, it is balanced already. However, since then, I have worked on a fleet dedicated to Continental Airlines. I have been trying to get a hold of a B777, but so far I have had no luck. I finally decided to repaint my United B777 in the livery of Continental, and so I ordered Continental decals through Airline Hobby Supplies of Canada. 

When I repainted the plane, the top was gloss white and the bottom was a light sea gray. The wings were painted gray with silver leading edges. The engines were of course the light sea gray, like the underside of the plane. The cheat-line of gold came in the way of a decal and went on perfectly, completing the main paint scheme. 

When I pained the tail, I painted it gloss white too, since like all Continental kits, the decals have the blue tail as a decal. The logo and titles went on finally, and I had before me, a B777-200 in Continental Airline colors. This airplane is now sitting on my entertainment center as a centerpiece for my Continental fleet. All I need now is a MD-80 and the 2000 fleet will be complete. 

If you see this kit, get it fast. I haven’t seen any for about two years, so they are a collector’s item. If I do find another one some day, I might paint it in United livery, but that is a big if.

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (Continental)

Launched in 1968 with orders from American and United Airlines, the DC-10 was to be a direct competitor to the Lockheed L-1011 Tri-Star. This three-engine behemoth was to carry approximately 260 passengers and have a flight deck of three. It is no wonder that this aircraft has made a name for itself over the years with 400 of the type built and almost 300 still flying in the airways of this planet.

Revell of Germany of course was the only model firm to make a 1:144^th scale kit of this aircraft. The only problem was that it wasn’t a commercial version, rather a KC-10 Extender. I of course wanted a civilian airliner kit in this scale, and so I decided to buy a KC-10 and go to work on a conversion. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be. In fact, all I had to do was cut off the refueling portal and cover it up with putty. After this was finished, it was work as usual.

The kit is a great one to work with and has great detail. Of course the KC-10 is a DC-10-30, so you have the third gear in the center, which worked perfect since many airliners have this aircraft in their fleet, including Continental. I ordered decals for a DC-10 through Airline Hobby Supply in Canada, and once I got them, slapped them on the DC-10.

The plane was painted white on top and a light sea gray on the bottom. The gold decal cheat-line went on between the gray and white, and thus that part was complete. The engines were painted silver as well as the leading edges. The wings and stabilizers are gray. The final touches were to put on the "continental" titles and the tail logo. Remember not to paint the tail blue since a decal comes for it.

The finished product is a main aircraft for many international flight of Continental’s right now. It will be replaced by B767-400’s in the years to come. This is a model to get, but right now it is in limited supply. In fact, the only place that I know you can get it from is Airline Hobby Supplies, so if you want one, get it before they are gone forever.

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (Continental Airlines)   

On October 18, 1979, the DC-9-80, commonly referred to as the Super 80, took to the skies. This stretch DC-9 was to make history as being one of the most popular aircraft of the McDonnell Douglas line. This two crew, twin-engine aircraft was able to seat 142 passengers in a two-class layout. In 1983, McDonnell Douglas decided to change the name from the Dc-9-80 to the MD-80, and hence, the MD-80 was born. As of 1998, orders for the MD-80 stood at 1191, of which 1165 were currently in service around the world. 

In December of 2000, Minicraft released the MD-80 in an injection-mold kit. The kit comes in TWA livery, and looks very nice. While a TWA MD-80 would be a great airplane to paint, I have been working on my Continental fleet all this year, and the MD-80 is the last airplane that I need to complete the 2000 fleet, so when I was beginning to work on the fleet, I bought some MD-80 decals which have been sitting around until now. These decals were ordered from Airline Hobby Supplies of Canada, and are very nice once on the aircraft. 

The kit itself is fairly easy to put together, but like all by Minicraft there is an exception. The windscreen comes as a part of the upper-forward portion of the fuselage. It is hard to explain, but if you buy the kit, or any jetliner kit by Minicraft, you will know what I mean. This isn’t really a big problem as long as you take your time and putty and sand the “canopy” before you paint the plane. In the past I have suggested using tape to “mask” the actual windscreen of the plane, but in this case I wouldn’t worry about it since Minicraft put in a decal of the windscreen, a great thing to do. 

Since the Minicraft kit comes with TWA decals, and I wanted to make it into a Continental plane, I ordered the decals from Airline Hobby Supplies of Canada. They of course have decals for any airplane or airline you could possibly want as well as kits that are hard-to-get.  

The fuselage was painted a gloss white on top, and a light sea gray on the bottom. The engines were painted this white too. The decals have a gold cheat-line so that where the white and gray come together; the cheat-line lies on top of that. The decals also have a blue tail and globe logo, so just paint the tail white. The wings are a normal gray and the leading engines are silver. The decals go on smooth and the finished product is a Continental MD-80.  

I also left the gear in the extended position so that the plane sits with the rest of the Continental fleet. I did add about 5 pennies to the nose for weight and balance. This aircraft kit is great, and if you see it at your local hobby store I would suggest picking one up. I plan to buy some more as time goes on and paint them in other liveries, including TWA and possibly Midwest Express.  

Of course one item that really impressed me about this kit more than anything is the two types of tail cones. In theory if you wanted to, you could cut the fuselage down some and make the entire series of the DC-9/MD-80 family. There aren’t instructions for this in the kit, but if you see the curved tailpiece, it should show that you could modify this model, of course possibly this is a hint from Minicraft in the ways to come. Could we possibly see a DC-9 in the near future? Only time will tell.

Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia (Continental Express)   

On July 27, 1983, the Embraer EMB-120 took to the skies, and two years later entered service in the world of commuter airlines. Many airlines took the two-crew, twin-turboprop aircraft capable of carrying 30 passengers. The speed of this small aircraft was 300 knots.  

Unfortunately there are no injection-mold or resin kits available in the EMB-120 kit form, but there is a vacuform kit by Welsh available. A couple of years ago I built a vacuform ATR-42, and wasn’t too impressed with the kit, mainly because I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but since I saw the Brasilia, I wante4d to get it and try my luck again. The main reason for wanting the EMB-120 is that a umber of years ago I went to Milwaukee and worked on the Brasilia for America West Airlines through a code-share. Though there might not be anything special about this plane, I work on it, and therefore respect it. 

The plane I worked on those years ago was in the livery of Continental Express. It was my first Express airplane, so I was happy to work with it. When I ordered the Brasilia from Airplane Hobby Supply of Canada, I knew I wanted to make it into a Continental Express airplane, but wasn’t sure how to go about getting decals for it since there are none. It came to me a week ago that I could simply buy some Continental DC-9 decals in 1:200 scale and they should basically fit on the 1:144^th scale Brasilia. It worked fine, of course I didn’t have the “express” title, so at some point I’m going to have to try to make that decal myself, but as for the rest of the decals, they worked fine, but then again all I used was the tail and “Continental” titles. The doors and all came from the actual kit, so they of course fit fine.  

The vacuform kit was tough, but I think I found the solution to making it. I cut the pieces out of the plastic and then sanded each piece a bit to get a little edge where I could glue the two of them together. The plane looks pretty good if I say so myself. The best part is that the gear and props are metal, which adds to the plane. The kit did not come with gear doors, but I have some sheet plastic lying around and cut the doors from that. 

I painted the plane a gloss white; wings too, and then put a coat of light sea gray on the underside. The engine nacelles are blue angel blue with black props. The leading edges are black to represent the de-icing boots. As I said before, I said 1:200 DC-9 decals for the plane, and they worked fine. All I need to do at some point is make the “express” title myself, but that will have to wait for a while. 

The finished product is a Continental Express Brasilia. It sits with the rest of my Continental fleet. The fleet in my mind is totally completed now, with an example of each plane from the mainline fleet and of course an example of a plane from the Express fleet. Though if the ERJ is released, I might have to buy that and place it in the fleet too. The Continental fleet is completed with the following aircraft:

Boeing B737-300, -500, -700, -800; Boeing B757-200, -300 (which will be in service in 2001); Boeing B777-200; McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, MD-80; and Embraer EMB-120. 

International Airlines:
The aircraft flown by international airlines is many. B747-400, B777-200, A340, A330, A320, A300-600 Super Transporter, and even Fokker F100s. The model companies have began focusing on the airliner side of models, and the consumers have responded by taking them off the shelf as fast as they go on.

As I said before, Hasegawa is responsible for the best 1:200 scale models. Two recent models in this scale are a Virgin Atlantic B747-400 and a Korean Air MD-11. The detail is there in some form, but since they aren't that large, detail is left out. Besides, anymore it seems more logical to buy the Flight Miniatures planes with the better detail than to waste time and money on the unassembled planes in 1:200^th scale.