1/72 737-700 conversion from Heller 707-300

Gallery Article by Frank McVeigh on Sept 29 2009

 

I built this big Heller 1:72 scale Boeing 707-300 when I was a teenager. I found it in my parent's basement (covered in dust and paint) and thought, "what a waste of good plastic". I decided to transform it into a current Boeing 737-700 or BBJ (Boeing Business Jet). The under carriage needed to be gutted and redesigned. New wheel wells would be needed and the wings will be cut apart much like a jig-saw puzzle and reassembled in the 737-700 layout.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

The wing roots and belly have been formed by using black PC-7 plumbers paste: (a 2-part epoxy) that allowed me to 'sculpt' the shape using a wet finger. This was a particularly stressful phase.  The forward portion of the nose had to be slit horizontally reducing the height to make the 737-700 accurate.

Once all components are in place, the panel lines are all re-scribed. The entire plane is given several coats of Alclad II gray primer to identify any problem areas.  Yes, the engines are not accurate: I was forced to use CFM56's instead of the CFM56-7 737 NG engines. They were all I could locate. Detail was added in the wheel wells. I obtained a close up photo of the inside to be as accurate as possible.

Whew! A long, hard conversion process. In the midst of this project, Welsh models in England introduced this very aircraft in 1:72 scale. But this was personal and special considering where it began.

This could not have been possible without the inspiration provided by Fred Harris's same conversion he built earlier - here on ARC. He was very generous with his time and information regarding this conversion. Thank you Fred..!  Also, special thanks to Mark Borer for sizing up his Continental decals for me to use in 1:72 scale.

Frank McVeigh

Photos and text © by Frank McVeigh