hendie Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 (edited) This will be my first ever aircraft WIP. It follows on from some prompting, coercing and downright bullying from Nigel and company. My last few builds (3 in the SciFi forum, and one in the vehicle forum) left me somewhat battle scarred and traumatized and I needed an easy, trouble free build to relax me after pulling my hair out in the last few builds. I have wanted to do this aircraft for a while but it got pushed off to the side and overtaken by a couple of SciFi builds. Now it is time to give it the some attention. Not knowing much about the Dauphin, I looked at what was available and the closest kit to the aircraft I wanted to replicate appeared to be the old Heller kit. I've had it in the stash for some time and had actually started gluing a few pieces together a while back. While the kit has been neglected sitting on a shelf, I have been building a folder of reference photo's. Of course, once I really started looking at the photo's I realized there was quite a lot of work to do to the Heller kit to make it represent the aircraft I wanted to model. Starting with this screen shot of one of the Heller boxings..... Rotor Head: Kit is very basic and some scratch building will be needed to make it look better. Aerial faces wrong way on kit (easy fix) and the intake looks out of scale Some scratch building required in this area for bits hanging off aircraft Actual aircraft does not have spats. Heller kit has wheels molded into spats, so will have to find some alternative, and scratch build undercarriage More scratch building required to replicate more bits hanging off real aircraft. Heller kit tail comes to a knife edge - real aircraft has flat, blunt tail edge. Fenestron linkage is wrong Exhausts are completely incorrect. Kit exhausts are parallel with each other whereas the real aircraft exhausts are angled away from each other as they exit the aircraft. Additionally, the cowling around the exhausts on the real aircraft is markedly different from the kit profile. More scratch building required. Vents and access panels on kit cowling is different than the aircraft I am basing this build on. As mentioned earlier, this was supposed to be an easy, trouble free and relaxed build, and before I've even started, I have found a whole batch of things which need changed/fixed. Such is life I guess. Initial impressions of the kit are mixed. There is some finely molded detail which looks good, but on the other hand, there are raised panel lines (which, tbh, I really don't mind), but the biggest issue I have found so far, is the lack of positive alignment features for many of the parts. I have a few ideas of how to model the aircraft, (doors open, winch fitted etc.) but haven't fixed on a particular mode yet. As far as I am aware, there is no photo etch or upgrade parts available for this particular kit, so I'll have to make do with what I have. I should mention that I plan on doing aircraft HKG-1 of the RHKAAF around the 1982 time frame. Decals don't exist so I'll need to figure out how to do my own, and I think the paint job, though relatively simple, will be extremely difficult to get accurate. If anyone knows of a more accurate kit, please speak up before I commit myself too far down this tortuous path Edited November 22, 2014 by hendie 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Excellent! Looking forward to this. Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VG 33 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Interesting subject. Have you checked the 1/48 Trumpeter kits? Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverTorque Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Trumpeter?!Oh dear!The most inaccurate dauphin's kits on the market nowadays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 This should be fun to follow! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Interesting subject. Have you checked the 1/48 Trumpeter kits? Patrick I had considered them, but they all appear to have the elongated nose, while the RHKAAF aircraft all had the blunt nose version. I had also considered it to see if I could purloin the tail and fenestron to use in the Heller kit, but from what I have read, there are some serious issues with the fenestron, so I decided that it was probably just as easy to modify the Heller kit - in addition, I don't know how close the Heller 1/50 and the trumpeter 1/48 scales would be so I may end up spending a wad of cash and then not actually use anything. I think I can certainly work with the Heller kit. It may not end up being 100% accurate (I'm not a rivet counter) but I am just looking to get a good representation of HKG-1 at the end of the day. - and improve my general modeling skills - which will be a challenge after seeing what some people here can accomplish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 (edited) Nice chopper. At the end of the day, if you want a nice relaxing build, just do it oob and blow all the inaccuracies. Just a thought. Matt. Edited April 29, 2014 by S5 modeller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Matt, it may be okay at the time but I know it would annoy the bejesus out of me as soon as I had completed it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milktrip Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Great. Will be following this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Saw a lovely French Navy SAR one of these beasties the other day at La Rochelle airport (OK, airfield). They've sure modded the heck out of it since the early version you have there. I could never quite get use to the Dauphin; it always looked a bit like an unholy alliance between a Gazelle and a Squirrel, with perhaps a dash of Puma. Mind, you, that's arguably exactly what it is! Should be a fun build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 They're nice enough looking - and that's the problem.... "nice" To me, they don't look as if they mean serious business. They look far more like a rich boys toy, or something the CEO can expect to be pampered in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troschi Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 (edited) very nice and a very rare build kit! I will follow. It'll be a lot of work as the kit represents the prototype of the 365C. Please don't get confused. Your choice of The Heller kit is correct. Trumpeter and Kitty Hawk are 365 Ns and not suitable for your project. As the 365C early (or "original") Dauphin is my most favourite helicopter (I was born 150m away from one), I can probably help you :-) a straight build of the livery you chose can be found here: http://heli-fana.eklablog.fr/maquette-helicoptere-sa-365-dauphin-hkg-3-au-1-50-a39339452 Edited May 1, 2014 by troschi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 A small update... rather more destruction than construction, but sometimes we have to go backwards in order to move forwards. I have probably spent more time in the last several evenings looking at the kit trying to figure out how to build it as opposed to actually working on it - and I don't know if I am really any further forward! This was as far as I had got with the cabin about 18 months ago before I got diverted from this kit by a Dalek. I now realize that the seats are all wrong, and it's the wrong layout for the fit I want to use. So - Off with the seats! A little while later we arrive at this stage. I removed the angled lump in the floor - was it some kind of footrest? Anyway, the removal of that feature left me with a nice little hole in the floor pan. That has since been closed up with some styrene glued to the underside, and some filler applied and set aside to dry. I removed the other seats as I am planning to depict HKG-1 with the winch fitted. I do have photo's of this aircraft with winch fitted and seats fitted in the rear, but thought that no seats looked the better option. I am not sure what to do about the last seat remaining in the picture above. I know it's the wrong type of seat, but it does add some visual interest in the back. Do I use it or loose it? Thoughts/ideas anyone? As you can see in the photo here, (and 1st photo in this post), the front seats are also incorrect. Some butchery followed to get the seats looking a little bit more respectable... yes, cushions will need to be scratched, along with seat belts and associated hardware. A few other odds and ends were taken care of this evening (mainly some parts being primed), but none of them really worth a photo. I did add some grab handles to the cabin divider section (both sides). Due to the lack of positive location features, I decided to add a bunch of styrene strips to help alignment of the two fuselage halves. The cabin interior will have to be painted before I assemble the two halves - that may be next on the list. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 thanks troschi - I had actually come across that build a year or so ago when I was searching for photo's of the RHKAAF aircraft. It is a very respectable build and they have done a nice job on the paint scheme. I hope my attempt will be as good as that at the end of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverTorque Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 (edited) Btw the fenestron of the 365 N is the same of the C! Here you have good references for your build http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraft_genericsearch=Aerospatiale%20SA-360%2F361%2F365C%20Dauphin&distinct_entry=true Edited May 1, 2014 by OverTorque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 The angled lump might be a vague attempt to represent faired-in cable runs, or some such; the 1/48 (-ish!) Heller Gazelle has an almost identical lump behind the seats in its cockpit, and it was never entirely clear to me what it was meant to be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 I have some good'ish interior shots of the aircraft and there's definitely nothing resembling the lump in the back - it's all flat. I can only assume that since Heller apparently decided this aircraft was fitted with plush armchairs, that the lump is intended as some kind of footrest. I may leave that remaining lump in place as the floor changes angle at that point and it will help maintain rigidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted May 4, 2014 Author Share Posted May 4, 2014 Well, I am almost embarrassed by this update. It seems I have been dismantling more parts than I have been assembling. I found out during some dry fitting that the entire fuselage is twisted and warped - sort of a parallelogram. Here, I have blu-tac'd the roof panel in place, and what in this photo looks to be shadow, is in fact, gaps. (and a broken window pillar too) I did get some painting done on the interior. I have to say that I hate brush painting - I just can't seem to get neat demarcation lines, nor good coverage. That block with the hole in it that you see on the left is an attempt to try and help straighten the fuselage up by forcing the bulkhead into position - we'll see later if it works. The center bulkhead and the grab handles have been painted. One job finished - hooray! And I have now made a start on the front undercarriage. None of the HK Dauphins had the spats fitted. Hellers representation of the undercarriage is less than stellar, and needed modifying. I chopped the bottom off the undercarriage, drilled a hole in the remainder, and fitted a piece of styrene, with a pin to help reinforce the part. This needs a little bit of filling and fettling but should look okay when finished. I am keeping the other part complete for the moment as reference for the height. I also had a go at scratching a roof console, but the more I look at it, the more I dislike it so that may be coming back off. I spent today searching the interwebby for references and possible parts to add some detail to this build. The Heller kit really is very basic. I am certainly not up to the skill level of some of the members here, but I do have a modicum of self esteem, and I am afraid I just cannot use the supplied decals for the instrument panel and center console. Heller's contribution is pants. I could have done better myself with a felt tip pen. I found that Eduard do an etch set for the HH-65 Dolphin, which has some parts that I think I may be able to butcher to fit this kit, so that was ordered today. One of the issues I am facing being a relative new comer to this modeling malarkey is that I do not have a selection of scrap, or spare parts that I can draw from - in fact I have none, this being my first aircraft build. I need to source a couple of wheels to replace the spats/wheel combo of Hellers that I am removing. With that in mind, I am considering purchasing a Trumpeter Dauphin to see if I can butcher some of those parts for this kit. I know this is 1/50 scale and the Trumpeter is 1/48, so it's a long shot, and it may end up being wasted money, but I think I may give it a try. Troschi pointed out that the rotor head supplied with this kit is not the one that was used on the C1. I had spotted that the detail was almost non existant, so thanks to Troschi for pointing out that it is completely incorrect - I probably would not have caught that. I have already dismantled the head that I assembled so long ago, and had started making some scratch parts, but the Trumpeter kit may come in handy for the rotor head as well as the wheels. So, everything is going very slow, but it is progressing albeit at a snails pace. I need to go and order another Dauphin kit, so until that and the photo etch arrives there isn't a great deal that I can do. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Good start! You have already convinced me that I need one of these kits in my stash! Martin (The Weak Willed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VG 33 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Seeing what you have done so far I am convinced that you could have started with whatever kit of this bird. Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Enjoying your progress so far. I like Eduard etch, so it will be interesting to see how you adapt it for this build. Keep up the good work. Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 trumpeter Duaphin kit now ordered, hopefully both that and the etch will be here this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverTorque Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Why Trumpeter mate?!It's really inaccurate in shapes and dimension! trumpeter Duaphin kit now ordered, hopefully both that and the etch will be here this week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troschi Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 think it doesn't have to do with "shape and dimensions", hendie is quite sure about the fact that his Dauphin is a SA 365C and not an AS 365N. It's just about the Trumpeter kit being a part donator, e. g. for the rotor head. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverTorque Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) Of course it depends on which parts he is interested in. But the Trumpy kit is not a good choice imho. Fenestron, main rotor head, fuselage, engine nacelle...all wrong. We use a 365N3 for HEMS and i know what i'm talking about By the way i'm sure this will be a great WIP!!! Edited May 5, 2014 by OverTorque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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