The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series are twin-engine, medium-range, single-aisle commercial jet airliners. The MD-80 aircraft were lengthened and updated from the DC-9. The MD-80 series can seat from 130 up to 172 passengers depending on variant and seating arrangement.

The MD-80 series was introduced into commercial service on October 10, 1980 by Swissair. The series includes the MD-81, MD-82, MD-83, MD-87, and MD-88. These all have the same fuselage length except the shortened MD-87. The MD-80 series was followed into service in modified form by the MD-90 in 1995 and the MD-95/Boeing 717 in 1999. Production of the 717 ceased in May 2006 after 156 were produced.

Douglas Aircraft developed the DC-9 in the 1960s as a short-range companion to their larger DC-8. The DC-9 was an all-new design, using two rear fuselage-mounted turbofan engines, and a T-tail. The DC-9 has a narrow-body fuselage design with 5-abreast seating, and holds 80 to 135 passengers depending on seating arrangement and aircraft version.

The MD-80 series was the second generation of the DC-9. It was originally called the DC-9-80 series and the DC-9 Super 80 and entered service in 1980.he DC-9 family is one of the most successful jet airliners with a total of over 2,400 units produced; it ranks third behind the second place Airbus A320 family with over 4,000 produced, and the first place Boeing 737 with over 6,000 produced. 

Hasegawa really hit on something back about 30-40 years ago when it released the first of its 'Love Liners' series. These were modern airliners in 1/200, a scale that had not been used much for anything besides a few ships. Choosing this over the more 'normal' 1/144 was planned as it would allow more Japanese modelers to build airliners and have room to fit them in their smaller homes. The initial range went from the 747 to the DC-9 with several others in between. The results were such that these kits are still being released today, though the subject has changed with the times.

The initial kits in the series were rather simple with no cockpit, though often with a clear cockpit transparency. The kit included a weight (actually a large screw) so that it would sit on its simplified landing gear and it was provided with a stand as airliner models are frequently seen with this item. What it was not provided with was an option to display the plane with the gear up, requiring the modeler to do some cutting and filling to duplicate this. .

Move to the more recent kits of the last 15 years or so. These are different in that there are no transparencies, the fuselage halves are split horizontally instead of vertically, and in addition to the gear down option, there are parts for gear up. Gone is the screw which was placed in the cockpit rear bulkhead, replaced with a cylindrical weight that is trapped between the fuselage halves. The engines are also a single piece construct where in the past they were an upper and lower nacelle with fan and perhaps a rear exhaust piece. This alone helps to simplify the building. Still included is a display stand and that is very much appreciated. There is a hole in the fuselage for this stand and if you want the plane on its gear, a circular plate is provided to cover this hole.

This is a dual kit in that there is an MD-82 and an MD-87, both in American Airlines livery. These differ only in the fuselage length and the upper fin so both kits are nearly identical in how they build. The kit instructions show only one build sequence with the different bits highlighted. Each kit is bagged separately as Hasegawa does box these planes individually in most kits.

Markings are nearly identical, but each plane is painted somewhat differently. The smaller MD-87 is overall white with a light grey (FS 16440 according to the instructions) underside and unpainted vertical tail. The larger MD-82 is mostly unpainted metal with light grey limited to nose, tail, engine pods and the area around the wing roots. The wings on both are basically unpainted metal with grey corroguard inserts. Decals are well printed but old school Hasegawa in that the white areas are closer to ivory than pure white.

CONCLUSIONS

If you like airliners, this one is a no brainer. With American still flying planes, this can be done as an example of current aircraft types. Its simple construction means that you'll have your models on a stand in record time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD-87

February 2011