Handley Page O/700 airliner conversion - Airfix 1/72

After much research, head-scratching, scratch-building, and a lot of exercise looking for missed small parts on the carpet and diverse places in the general vicinity of the building board, the model is completed.

The replica portrays the plane as it was while located in the USA in 1923 at Curtiss Field, being displayed and flown for the general public, during events and demonstrations.

The plane was originally exported to create an airline, but the USA school of doing business/trade (for those unfamiliar: "we will push our stuff into your market and will not be very happy to allow your products to compete with ours in our own market") prevented that, and the plane was confiscated, the project torpedoed, and much later the plane was released to Curtiss, where it became little more than a curious prop.

Changes are noticeable during this plane's life, in its marks, details and color. You may find photos of it (earlier in its life) as G-5414 with radio masts on nose an tail (reputedly one of the first planes to carry a Marconi radio), and as -an also early- G-EAAF with different placement and size for the regs and some color changes on the extended cabin and nose area.

This is a conversion of an O/400 into a O/700, for both, the original plane, and the model, which started as a rather not very enticing, outdated, Airfix effort of many decades ago, and nothing like the fine products Airfix cranks out nowadays.

The represented plane itself as said was a converted O/400 that was upgraded to a O/700 standard.

For those -understandably- remiss to read the very long building post, this conversion implies having to delete all military-related detail, produce a full-length passenger cabin interior with bathroom included, all the windows and door, noticeably extended engine gondolas, a new fuselage front and nose, and several minor adjustments and changes.

You have, needless to say, to commit to extensive research and a long build.

I can state, very frankly, that this was a much more protracted and complicated voyage that I ever thought, and my dreams of doing at least one more in civil guise are absolutely dismissed. At least until a better kit appears, something I am not inclined in the least to believe that will ever happen.

The WiP is where many details and clarifications con be found, so perhaps will be a good read if you have an interest in using the old and very dated Airfix kit for a civil conversion (of which there were very many, some that need just little changes on the kit, by the way):

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2019/10/handley-page-o700-airliner-conversion.html

There were also minimally modified machines that were used for civil transport during the armistice, another bunch for the European routes, and even some that were sold to India and China.

So you are not condemned anymore to build a "bloody paralyzer", and instead can explore the glamorous dawn of civil passenger transport and airliner industry.

 I wanted to take some photos with figures, but the boarding ladder I had was too tall. Another one was made for the purpose:

A few more images to give a sense of scale:

 It seems that her ladyship is having some trouble climbing that stepladder. Must be the sherry:

Looking at the photos, as it sometimes happens, I discovered a missing item.
In this case the Pitot:

 There, now back to the box, good bye!: