albymoore

Thank you Mike and Chancer! Cheers, Alby

Thanks for the kind words on my OH-6 everyone, I greatly appreciate it! Cheers, Alby

Hi J.C.- Hmm, could the one you have been modified, because this is what I got my reference for the belly light- The light fairing on my model still isn't accurate compared to the photo but it'll have to work for this build. Next time I will make a master from resin or balsa, then vacuform the light fairing. I too wish Italeri would have included part from the get go. Here is the completed model. More photos have been posted in the Ready For Inspection forum- Thanks for following along! Cheers, Alby

Here's the latest from the workbench at Alby's Scale Modelwerx, a 1/72 Italeri OH-6A Cayuse in the color and markings for s/n #68-17365 'The Enforcer', C troop, 16th Calvary, Can Tho RVN 1972. This Loach was piloted by Cpt. Rod Willis and actually survived long enough to carry three names during the Vietnam conflict ('Electric Olive II', 'The Enforcer', and 'Dark Death'). A fair amount of work was done on the interior, plus I added the extra antennas and a few exterior bits found on late war OH-6's. Here is the build log for my Loach for more info and photos- Loach build on Facebook. I had to make some compromises in detail due to lack of references or skill to pull off some major scratchbuilding, like the main rotorhead (clunky and not very realistic at all), but I am happy for the most part. All comments/critiques welcomed, and thanks for looking. Cheers, Alby

Thanks Hans and Jim! I should have this wrapped up this weekend, photos to follow. Cheers, Alby

Thanks Paul! The markings were for 'Miss Clawd IV'. Hugh Mills' OH-6A, C troop, 16th Calvary. Same unit as the Loach I'm building. Fiddly bits time. Added the cockpit door frame grab-handles, tail antenna, and right side door gun ((modified Hasegawa UH-60 door M-60 made to look like a 'Free 60' on a strap). And the completed minigun mount and ammo box for my OH-6. Not 100% on-the-money, but it looks the part in the back of the model and that's what matters to me. Just needs some paint now. My eyeballs are starting to hurt. Cheers, Alby

Big hurdle cleared (no pun intended). After applying a few coats of Acryl flat clear and letting it dry, I removed the masking from the canopy. The seams aren't bad as I thought they would be so I'm happy for the most part. Time to wrap this up by adding the rotors, minigun, and other fiddly bits. Cheers, Alby

Hi Gang- decaling is complete. I also added the engine cover nav beacon. I'll spray a coat of semi-gloss clear tomorrow to knock the shine off. Kudos to Fireball Modelworks for releasing the OH-6 set (and my first time actually using them on a model). It is nice to have other options for makings for Vietnam Loaches. Cheers, Alby

Nice to see you back in the swing of things, Kolja. Looking forward to seeing some color on this. Which squadron will be depicted on your A-6? Cheers, Alby

Thanks J.C.! I didn't have to add any weight thankfully as there really isn't any room once you remove the doors. The weight of the seats, IP, and canopy add sufficient weight. The right side of the canopy is where I had the most trouble. I ended up snapping the door frame trying to get the canopy in between both door frame openings. After fixing that little bugaboo, I just snugged the canopy into place as best as I could get it without causing more damage. Thanks Smiffy! Cheers, Alby

Thanks J.C., good to see you here too BTW! Alrighty, rather large update tonight- Here's the instrument panel. The p/e piece was painted black, overcoated with Future, and then a coat of gray paint applied. When the gray dried, a Q-tip moistened with thinner was used to remove the gray paint from the raised areas, exposing the black panels. Final cockpit detailing completed- Canopy fitted and masked for painting. What an ill fitting piece of crap. Even after persuading it into place with superglue, I could not get the canopy to seat properly. Oh well, you can't win them all. Finally have some paint applied. Well, it's green. Good old army olive drab. Added a bit of gloss black as this Loach had a darker hue to its olive drab paint. I also added a fair amount of gloss clear to shine up the paint for decal application. More to come later. Thanks as always for looking. Cheers, Alby

Thanks Colin, Jim, and Julien. I appreciate the kind comments! Cheers, Alby

Thanks Oliver! Good to see you posting that awesome Huey build here for all to enjoy. More progress. What do you get for two hours of carving, sanding, and polishing on a small piece of clear red toothbrush handle? An OH-6 navigational light faring. A small hole was drilled afterwards and filled with paint to simulate the lightbulb. Cheers, Alby

Did some work on the Loach this morning. The seats and belts have been painted and added to the cockpit. Also added some bits to the back of the instrument panel (shroud top an backing plate from the Airwaves p/e set, plus wiring and bezels). The instrument panel sits too low in the cockpit of this kit so I added a riser to bring it up (not prototypically correct, but it looks the part). Cheers, Alby

Thanks. Definitely a fiddly little thing in this scale! I built it's newer descendant in the same scale a few years ago and remember how much my beefy mitts didn't like handling it at times- I guess I'm a glutton for punishment! Cheers, Alby

Hey Gang- Here are a few photos of what I have on the workbench, a 1/72 Italeri Loach (for a Facebook Vietnam War group build). This will be 'The Enforcer' s/n 68-365, from C/16 (C troop, 16th Calvary) as depicted on the Fireball Modelworks 'OH-6A in Vietnam' decal set. Left rear door mods- Right door mods and scratchbuilt crew chief/gunner's seat- Added Airwaves seat belts and right seat armor panel. left seat armor panel is from sheet styrene- Overhead windows fared into the fuselage (the Loach I'm building had these blocked of with sheet metal- That's it so far. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Alby

That looks terrific, Mike! Cheers, Alby

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind comments. I've got a Michigan Air National Guard F-16 in progress right now and hopefully a big spine F-16D will be joining the bunch later this year. Vipers everywhere oh my! Cheers, Alby

Hi Gang, One of my favorite kits to come out in the last 10 years (give or take) are the Revell line of F-16 kits. Just about any block and variant can be built with the numerous conversion sets available for this kit (or with a little work, sets made for other F-16 kits), so here we go- First up, an F-16A Netz of the Israeli Air Force (Negev Squadron). The vertical tail/rudder base had to be modified as the first issues of this kit did not have the non-parabrake tail base for A/B F-16s. The rear of the tail base came from a C model, and the antenna at the back end reshaped. I also added the all the necessary IDF/AF antennas and chaff/flare dispensers from plastic scrap. The decals are from Isradecal, paint is a combination of Humbrol and Model Masters. Next up, an F-16C Barak of the Israeli Air Force (Knights Of The North Squadron). This also required the tail base to be modified (added the parabrake housing discarded from the kit that I used above). Resin pour stubs and scrap styrene were used to make the rest of parts needed for the IAF specific bits. The Python IV missiles were scratchbuilt using styrene rod and sheet. Isradecals were used for the markings, paint is a combination of Humbrol and Model Masters. Here is an F-16C of the Colorado Air National Guard, in Tiger Meet Of The Americas markings (circa 2001). Twobobs Decals, Model Master paints. This was built straight from the box with no modifications. The ACMI Pod is from a Hasegawa weapons set- This time we have an F-16A MLu of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The markings are from the kit and depict the Dutch F-16 that downed a Serbian MiG-29 during Operation Allied Force. Again this was built OOB (except the intake cover obviously) The weapons and targeting pod are from a Hasegawa weapons set. The finish is Model Master paints. Another USAF F-16C, this time with decals to depict 'Code One Candy', an F-16 out of South Carolina that participated in Operation Desert Storm. CBUs and racks are from Hasegawa, the sidewinders, ECM pod, and fuel tanks are from the kit. The decals are from the short lived Isradecal Elite line, paint is Model Masters (except for the lighter gray on the lower surfaces, that Humbrol Light Ghost Gray). Last but not least, an F-16B of the Israeli Air Force (Defenders of the South Squadron). This is my first inflight build up. Not a lot of mods were needed to convert this to an IAF F-16 (which was the main reason for building this ), just two additional antennas is all. The 600 gallon wing tanks and pylons are from a Hasegawa F-2B kit, and the Pave Penny is a modified HARM targeting and pylon. The GBU-10 LGBs and sidewinders are from the kit. The finish is Humbrol and Model Master combo, the decals from Isradecal. The base was done by my lovely wife. That's all for now, thanks for looking! Cheers, Alby

Thanks Justin, Vitor, and Colin! @ Vitor- The Hobbyboss Ka-50 is fairly decent, though it has a very basic cockpit, and the exhaust shrouds are completely fictitious. I added a resin ejection seat and HUD display to the cockpit, and raided the exhaust shrouds from a Zvezda Ka-50Sh kit. Here are a couple more photos of the Ka-50- Cheers, Alby

Hi Artur, I really enjoy seeing your work, and your Ka-50 is another fine example of that. Your finishing skills are second to none! Cheers, Alby

Thanks guys, I am glad y'all like my model! @ Martin- The roundels came from a Hi-Decals MiG 29A/B set. @ Phil- Thanks for kind words, and for sharing your photo of the 1/1 scale '574'. I see she's a little more tattered than what I depicted on my model. I might have to add some pastel spots here and there to add a little more character. Thanks again! Cheers, Alby

Thank guys! @ Ken- There's another variation of the joke; how do you make a hormone? Don't pay her for her "services"! Cheers, Alby

Thanks for all the kind comments, I appreciate it! @ Terry- It wasn't too difficult for the tail code markings as they are dry transfer letters that were applied to decal film. The Hindu script needed to be sized in Microsoft Word, and then printed on decal film. I had to double up on that decal as my printer isn't the greatest and left some blank spots in the individual decals. Thanks again for the kudos gang! Cheers, Alby

Oh I like that big Russian beastie! Nice job on the camouflage! Cheers, Alby