MAC Forum

In addition to my two die-cast Convair 880s are a few kit model examples...



One of the better ones is this Glencoe reissue of the Hawk kit. Quality control at Glencoe is pretty hit or miss though. I've bought several of them only to fine misshapen or missing pieces and since no plastic batch is ever the same it's hard to mix and match and the 1:126 scale is an odd mate with the two 1:144 707s I have. Still better than having nothing and the only 880 kit currently being made.



This Aurora CV-880 is a pretty awful looking model. For no good reason they squared off the fuselage and the nacelles are poory proportioned. For its size there's very little incised detail. It's pretty big though, almost HO guage.



And it has a cool stand....



Last and certainly least is the Lindberg line's awful rendition. The tailfin looks nothing like a real 880 - though it looks like early prototype sketches - and the engine pods are poorly placed. I don't even consider this an 880. I bobbed the wings on mine so it'd look more like a stretched McDonnell 220. I like the results so much I think I'll have a go at trimming the fuselage when I can get another kit. Fortunately this was reissued in Mexico during the 80s and they show up on eBay regularly.

You can find very nice 1/144 resin CV880 and CV990s from In-Formation. I'll post a link later. They are at the Draw Decal site.
Welsh Models also make a nice 1/144 resin/vac kit in 1/144. The Glencoe is the old Hawk kit, and it's quite nice, but it's really better thought of as a "classic" kit - not a "modern" one...build it for nostalgia sake...but if you want a scaleable one to display...get one of the new resin ones.
Here's another recommendation for a yahoogroup: airlinermodellingdigest (AMD)...best experts in the country...
Michael

Been staring at the Lindbergh model... the nose gear looks like that of matchbox skybusters

The little Lindberg has shape problems...and look at the engine positions on the wing. The Hawk/Glencoe model is much better, but is still an antique. The Microscale 880 is very nice if you can find/afford one.
F-RSIN makes a very nice kit in 1/144.
http://www.f-rsin.com/pages/collection/ ... 54142.html

pendulum19 wrote:Been staring at the Lindbergh model... the nose gear looks like that of matchbox skybusters

They are. When 'converting' to a stretch McDonnell 220 I loaded it with a spare set in addition to bobbing the wings.



Here's an example of an unaltered Lindberg 880 - note how the engines are too close together.





A couple ads showing early concept sketches for the 880 - note the fin shape.

Here's a gray version of Hawk/Glencoe's Convair 880 model. I had wheels left over from a darker kit...






...which makes for a nice effect.

Say what you will about Elvis's contribution to pop culture but if there's one thing he should be remembered for it's the preservation of one of the only surviving examples of the Convair 880...



Too bad Matchbox didn't think to use a four-engine jet casting for their collectible series. I think their original 747 mould could've passed for an 880...

Now that I have a few... time to line 'em all up for a picture...



The lineup from left to right

Aurora - Lindberg - Dubena - Aermec - Glencoe





Of the lot only the Dubena (Siku) and Glencoe (Hawk) models have any sort of basis on the real thing with the Glencoe looking the most accurate. Very fond of the little Dubena as it scales nicely with my AeroMini collection.

The Glencoe (which is a re-issued Hawk kit from 1960) is an excellent kit for shape and outline.
I am currently working on a Siku/Dubena Electra and it looks great! Their Convair 440 does not!
Michael