Hallo Chris!
A real beauty! And you're right: It looks better than the Verkuyl-707. I especially like the polished belly and wings. Also the engines look very authentic.
Where did you get it? Did you do any touching up besides painting the model? Was it difficult to find a Mecater-stand?
Like you I also have a Mecater 727 in my collection. Here's a pic...
What I don't like is the nose section - Verkuyl captured this part of the real aircraft much better. I once read somewhere that Lufthansa often ordered models before the real aircraft was put into service. So could it be that in the early 1960s Mecater had to guess what a 727 really looks like???
Also the intake for engine No. 1 does not look very realistic... But still, the model is in good condition for its age. I bought it on eBay in 2002 with the stand. This was my first travel agents display model. Before that I only collected tin airplanes (Tipp&Co, Gama, Arnold, Nomura etc.).
Viele Grüße nach Darmstadt!
Michael