Airfix 1/72 Kamov Ka-25 Hormone-C

[TimV1969]

My entry into this group build, a recently-acquired Airfix Ka-25. An ebay bargain, complete and practically un-started - the rear seat had been glued in (in what I think is the wrong position but Airfix weren't to know that in 1983!) and the radome had been glued together:

 

 

Have made a slow start so far, just filling and sanding the inside fuselage halves and cabin floor and removing the base of the rear seat - as far as I can see from interior photos of the Hormone-A, there is a seat facing starboard just behind the cabin, not as Airfix portray it facing forward.  I haven't found any photos of the interior of a Hormone-C but I am assuming it will have a radar operator's position in the same place, and the rest of the cabin will just have folding canvas seats, in the style of a Seaking or Wessex SAR variant, or indeed a Kamov Ka-29, which are much better documented online.

 

 

[Col.]

Nice start Tim. I can remember this kit from my childhood and thinking back then, as I do now, what a cool subject it was. It went together well from what I can recall so will be watching your progress with particular interest.

[Valkyrie]

I've never seen this one. Might have to look for one to extend my Russian navy project...

will be following this closely, good start

[modelling minion]

A very interesting subject indeed, good luck with your build.

 

Craig.

[Jabba]

As others have already an interesting subject. good luck with the build.

[TimV1969]

The joy of taking an extra day off work before Easter!  Scratchbuilt some of the interior today - the Airfix instrument panel, although well-detailed, didn't actual match the photos I've found of the real thing, so I made one that was a better match from plasticard and glued it over the Airfix part.  Also added a central console, not in the kit. 

Then in the cabin I glued the seat in, roughly matching its position in a Hormone-A, and added a box immediately behind the cockpit on the starboard side, and a table with some instrumentation around it behind that.  I am assuming that this represents a radar operator/navigator position that would also be found in the Hormone-C.  Oh, also I reversed the cockpit bulkhead as the photos I have found show it open on the starboard side, and possibly closed on the port - or at least, there is a larger electronics(?) cabinet on the port side that blocks the view:

 

That's it until Monday, off on a short holiday!

 

Tim

[Col.]

Good work so far Tim. Enjoy your holiday.

[TimV1969]

Small update:  have added a few plausible-looking ribs to the cabin sides, a cabinet behind the cockpit bulkhead on the port side,and the outline of the emergency hatch on the starboard side:

Then primed these, ready for suitable top coat:

(After taking the photo I noticed how wonky the crew seat was in the cabin so that has now been 'adjusted'!  After the interior has been painted, next additions will be a fuel line on the port side (matching what is therefore presumably a fuelling port just forward of the main cabin door), some cabling fore-to-aft on the starboard side - both indicated by the photos I've found online of the interior of a Hormone-A - and then some folding canvas troop seats, which I haven't found photos of but will be basing on those in a Ka-29, which should be similar.

 

Tim

[Col.]

Simple but effective detailling work there Tim. 

[TimV1969]

Another small-ish update:  I have painted the cabin sides (in Humbrol 145 which looked about right compared to photos online of Ka-25 interiors), also using this for the seat frames, instrument panel and centre console.  I used various shades of red/brown for the cockpit floor and seat cushions.  Oh, and I replaced the kit cockpit seats with those from a scrapped Kaman Seasprite, as they better matched the reference photos. (I would have replaced the cabin seat as well but (a) I'd already glued it in place and (b) it won't be noticeable once the fuselage is assembled.).  I painted the crewmen - the cockpit crew are from the original kit, the rear crewman is a generic Airfix one from the spares box, for a bit of variety.  I had to perform some 'plastic surgery' on his legs to get him to sit in the right place ("In Soviet Russia, you adjust to the seat...") but again, the shortened legs won't be obvious in the finished article.   I couldn't find any colour photos of 1970s helicopter crewmen but more modern (Russian) ones seem to wear orange flight suits and white helmets, so this is how I painted them - Humbrol 82 in this case.  If they don't make it as Soviet helicopter pilots, they can always apply to the Rebel Alliance as X-wing pilots...

and

 

(Close-up photography has revealed a few blemishes on the figures, which need touching-up).  Next up, fitting the instrument panel, making some canvas seats for the cabin, moulding replacement windows, etc...

 

Tim

[Valkyrie]

Love the crew a lot of effort going in to this, keep it up, coming on nicely 

[TimV1969]

How time flies!  Have spent an age casting and re-casting clear resin replacement 'cheek' windows until I finally got a pair I was happy with.  I'm sure the current heatwave would have helped things set quickly but I wasn't having much luck - plus being distracted by another couple of projects.  Anyway, I fitted the new windows - the other cockpit windows were mercifully free of flaws, and I replaced the flattish cabin windows with various ones from the spares box - and scratchbuilt some canvas seats (which probably won't be visible in the finished aircraft):

 

then I turned my attention to the undercarriage.  The front legs don't look too bad but the rear legs, especially at the top, don't look much like reference photos so I am half-way through scratch-building replacements for the top of the legs:

With a .45mm rod in the middle for strength and for fitting into the holes in the bottom of the legs, and the fuselage, 1mm alu tube making up the upper leg itself, and the fitment at the top (a shock absorber?) made from two pieces of 2mmx0.8mm plastic strip with 0.5,1.0 and 0.5mm holes drilled in them, separated with a 0.8mm space, and then carved and sanded to shape. One leg is done and the other should follow tomorrow. The fuselage has been assembled and is in the 'paint shop' and should be ready tomorrow also...

 

Tim

[MikeR]

Coming along nicely!

 

Mike.

[TimV1969]

Another quick update - although it looks like I've made plenty of progress, thanks to finishing the main undercarriage (I added the black 'rubber' bits to the top of the undercarriage leg)- I notice from this photo that I need to tidy-up the top mount of the leg and also touch-up the paint around the windows:

If I had spare wheels of the right size I'd probably have cut the kit ones away and replaced them, but I don't so I have tried to get away with painting the integrally-moulded Airfix parts.  Also I have painted the fuselage (although now I look at the photos I can see a couple of areas where I didn't mask properly):

(also the port 'cheek' window fell into the cockpit while I was removing the masking, so I had to remove the port cockpit door to give me enough access to retrieve it and fit it back in place - fortunately I'd only lightly attached it with clearfix, anticipating something like that would happen.  When I glue it back it may be in the 'open' position. The fuselage colours are Halfords FIAT White 210, which I often use as a less-stark alternative to Appliance Gloss White, and VW Mars Red #2, which is pretty close to Signal Red and looks about right to me for this job.

 

Next steps - tidying up the paintwork (and tops of undercarriage legs) and thinking about the rotors and rotor head!

 

Complete Build Photos so far

 

Tim

 

[TimV1969]

Finished, in the nick of time!  The remaining work was building the rotor head, which entailed replacing the plastic control rods with brass wire, and adding extra rods connecting the bottom and top swash plates (?), as seen in reference photos:

which doesn't look too bad painted up:

Then I painted the rotorblades:  overall halfords aluminum first (for the leading-edge protection), masked that, white at the tips where the tip markings were, masked that, then grey primer all over, and then satin black on the lower surfaces of the upper blade, and vice versa - that seems to match reference photos anyway.  Then applied the decals - the stars on the tail and flags on the fuselage look fine, the numbers are less convincing (but still not bad for a kit of this age) but I didn't have anything else suitable in the right font.  also fitted the winch, fitted the port cockpit door in 'open' position, painted the navigation lights, added the fore-to-aft aerials, painted the engine intakes and exhausts, and I'm calling it done!  (for now anyway, may replace the ID numbers later):

Now over to the Gallery to post the completed photos!

Edited June 11, 2017 by TimV1969
said 'nickel' wire, obviously meant brass...

[Col.]

Nicely done Tim. Helocopters have been a rare subject lately and a contra-rotating set-up all the more so.