Ex-FAAWAFU Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I started this for the Helicopter II GB 3 ½ years ago, and ran out of time because an elderly relative died near the end. It sat gathering dust almost complete for a while, and then I dropped it when my dog was around; he ate the starboard skid and starboard horizontal stabiliser end plate before I could get it from him. Anyway, as people who have been kind enough to read my Sea King WIP thread know, a few days ago I decided it was about time I resurrected my lovely Gazelle. A couple of hours of scratch building later, to replace the terrier-ingested parts, and here she is. I will take some better pics over the weekend. Original build thread here: Finished helicopter here: the airframe in which I flew my first rotary-wing solo, on Trafalgar Day 1985. Hope you like it! Crisp 30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Nice one, Crisp. The other day I found an Airfix one I built decades ago. Yours is a lot better! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon382 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Now that looks stunning, excellent result. What we need now is a good quality model in 1/48! A man can dream 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Very nice, looks the business. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 That's double cool! PS - "My dog ate my helicopter!" 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Tidy work on a tiny but most worthy subject 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodmin Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Nice "Floppy". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Beautiful aeroplane, beautiful build Crisp 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 lovely job - well worth the wait 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murdo Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 That's a wee cracker! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Lovely job. Those Fujimi helos are a challenge at the best of times (I'm on my second one at the moment) but can be built up nicely, as you've shown. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Gruntfuttock Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 A petite little shark - great build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 I remember the distinctive sight and sounds of 705 over and around EGDR back in the late '80's. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Said it before Nice Crisp, very very nice Tssk tssk bad boy Fido 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 And here's another Gazelle memory coming along... Somewhere between '81 and mid '83 and again Odiham. I think it was 7 Sqn Chinooks had helped in a chase after cross channel drug smugglers who used a Gazelle. We wandered over to their hangar. I remember the Gazelle was grey, can't remember any markings but I do remember that the main rotor seemed to be disconnected from the drive train in that it could be turned freely, can't be right surely? I wonder what happened to it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 You'd be able to turn the main rotor fairly easily if the rotor brake was off - though you would be turning the whole drive train, the fenestron means it isn't terribly obvious when things other than the main rotor are turning. The Gazelle is a very light aircraft, so not much oomph required to turn the head by hand - especially if you are used to Chinooks! Not a bad aircraft to choose for the smugglers; fast, small radar cross section, relatively quiet (though that very distinctive fenestron whine) and not unusual, so it wouldn't stick out in people's minds. It's been a while - aside from this week's finishing scratch stuff - since I worked on this build, so I have re-read the WIP thread. The kit is very much of its time; some of the detail is a tad sketchy, to put it mildly - the cockpit and instrument panel are very iffy - but the basics are sound and you can, with some effort, turn it into a nice Gazelle. The rotor head and transmission mast in particular can be made to look very nice after a lot of careful knife / file work and some detailed painting, and they are the focal point of any helicopter build (and so often they look nothing like busy enough). I also have the Heller 1/50 kit, which I have yet to tackle, but of the two I think I prefer Fujimi. As someone said, oh for a modern 1/48 tooling, though I am not holding my breath. Anyway, thanks everyone for your kind words. On with the Sea King (which is a whole different level of complexity and is going to take me a long time yet!). Crisp 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrish Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 that's gorgeous...excellent work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 21 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: ....a few days ago I decided it was about time I resurrected my lovely Gazelle. Good decision Crisp, that is indeed a gorgeous little helicopter! Beautiful job! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fearless Phil Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Excellent work, very inspiring. (Also brings back happy airshow memories) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huvut76g7gbbui7 Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 A beautifully done Gazelle in 'proper' colours. Thanks for posting Crisp Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 That's nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niles Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) Death and dog deter him not. A 3 years dog-gone helicopter. Nice. Congratulations on rescuing it from the dog pound. Edited January 26, 2017 by Niles 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F4u Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Lovely Gazelle great work. Guy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraftkit Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 I like that. A lot. The rotor head area looks very realistic, nice and "busy" just like the real thing. Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Great result on such a small kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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