Consulting the Experts:

During the planning stage, links with a wide community of helpful modellers through internet and IPMS contacts proved absolutely critical - not least in getting hold of a suitable kit! I first considered an overpriced kit of an early 737, Aurora (or was it Lindberg?) available from a secondhand kit dealer. I then noticed that Aircraft In Miniature had a 1/72 737-300 vacform kit in their ‘Transport Wings’ range, but on checking with them, this was temporarily out of production. But once I had the photo of the jet, I really wanted to get underway. After a dozen or so emails, followed by pestering in person at the IPMS UK 2002 ScaleModelWorld event, Steve Gardner of AIM caved in to the unrelenting customer demand. He very kindly ferreted around his workshop to gather a full set of parts to make my day. Having got the kit, another possible stumbling block was how to depict the South African Government coat of arms on the tail. By then, I’d have resorted to handpainting a rough match if push had come to shove - but luckily, this was promptly scanned and emailed to me by Charlie Hugo in Johannesburg. Some general detail of the BBJ was also unclear. Another SAAF enthusiast, Sinuhe Hahn, over in Switzerland, kindly provided a second photo of the BBJ departing Basle, where it had been fitted out prior to delivery. Sinuhe also provided a pointer to an excellent feature on the Revell 1/144 737-800 kit at the www.InternetModeler.com site, by airliner modeler Tim Bradley. (Yes, that’s modeler with one L, as he’s American, and therefore can’t spell modeller.) Despite the linguistic gulf, I emailed Tim, who promptly provided detailed photos of the B737 undercarriage, along with some general pointers on 737s and BBJs.