McDonnell Douglas DC 9 -32 NASA, Fly models 1/144 - inbox review

McDonnell Douglas DC 9 -32 NASA

FLY 1/144,plastic scale model kit # 14402 - inbox review

McDonnell Douglas DC 9 - History

 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 (initially known as the Douglas DC-9) is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner. It was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights. The final DC-9 was delivered in October 1982.

 The DC-9 was designed for short to medium routes, often to smaller airports with shorter runways and less ground infrastructure than the major airports being served by larger designs like the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. Accessibility and short field characteristics were called for. Turnarounds were simplified by built-in airstairs, including one in the tail, which shortened boarding and deplaning times.

 A total of 77 DC-9 aircraft (all variants) were in commercial service as of January 2014. As of July 14, 2015 operators included USA Jet Airlines (10), Everts Air Cargo (4), Aeronaves TSM (6), LASER Airlines (3), Fly SAX (2), African Express Airways (2), Fly540 (2) and other operators with fewer aircraft. It is estimated that less than 60 DC-9s are flying commercially as of 2016, with the majority operating as freighters.

  A C-9B was chosen by NASA for reduced gravity research, replacing the aging KC-135 Vomit Comet.

source: Wikipedia

McDonnell Douglas DC 9 - The Kit

 This plastic scale model kit of the McDonnell Douglas DC 9 in NASA livery comes in small, side opening box with picture of the real aircraft as a box art.  On the back of the box there is a four way view diagram of the aircraft in full color. On the sides there are pictures of other DC 9 variants offered by Fly models. The kit number is 14402.

 Inside the box there is one white plastic sprue, one block with resin parts, one decal sheet and assembly instructions.

  

McDonnell Douglas DC 9 - Assembly Instructions

The instructions are quite simple. In step one you have to install the nose gear bay and put some weight (the instructions does not say how much) inside the nose, then close the fuselage halves.  Steps 2 and 3 explain how to assemble each engine pod and steps 4 to 9 are for the rest of the assembly. That is all on one A5 size page. On the next page there is the antennae placement guide for the specific model.

McDonnell Douglas DC 9 - Marking options and decals

This kit represents airplane with board number N932NA used by NASA for reduced gravity research. The decals look very good. The colors are rich and everything seems to be in register. The carrier film looks thin and trimmed close to the graphics. The windows (both for the pilots cabin and foe the passangers) come as decals. For the pilot cabin there is a option with ot without aluminium framing. 

        

McDonnell Douglas DC 9 - On the sprues

  There is only one plastic sprue and the whole aircraft model is on it with the exception of some antennae. This white plastic is a bit different from the usual beige plastic, used by Fly models, not only in color but it feels different to the touch. With the beige plastic there is a certain problem with liquid cement drying time so I hope this is a better one. Overall the flash is not very much but there are some really bad parting lines on the Landing gear legs.

 The level of detail is quite good. The recessed panel lines are restrained and consistent. The fuselage is full length, split in two vertically. On the nose cone detail is raised and looks in scale. The horizontal stabilizers are single pieces. There is positive location provided for them as well as for the engine pods and the wings. The wings are split into upper and lower halves in a way that may lead to quite thick trailing edge. The Flap actuators are separate pieces. The turbofan engines are four piece assemblies. They are comprised of two piece shell, fan face for the front and low-pressure turbine and nozzle for the back end. The landing gear legs are looking well detailed for the scale but have nasty paring lines which will be PITA to clean up. The wheels are single pieces and the main wheel rims have nice detail. Again some parting line clean up will be necessary. The gear bay doors are separate pieces. Weight is supposed to be installed in the nose area but the instructions doesnt say how much.

                  

On the resin block there is a massive array of antennae. There are 10 antennae types with several spares but on this kit only 4 are used.

McDonnell Douglas DC 9 - Conclusion

 This DC 9 scale model kit seems to be quite easy to build and offers sufficient detail for 1/144 scale. There are a few flash and parting line issues but they are fixable. How it actually builds I can hopefully tell you soon.

Best regards and happy modeling

Metodi Metodiev

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