albymoore

Hi Gang- Here is my latest build up, a 1/72 Airfix Kamov Ka-25 Hormone, reboxed by MPC. This was a fairly easy kit to build for its age so I was able to knock it out over a 10 day period (that's über fast for me!). Aside from some missing rotor linkages and a blade antenna under the tail boom which were added, this was built OOB. I wanted something a little out of the ordinary user wise, so I went with Indian Navy markings. I made the "VVZ" tail codes from dry transfers, and the Hindu script on the right side was made on my computer and then printed on decal film. The rest of the decals came from the spares bin. The paint is good old boring Neutral Gray. The photos that I used as reference showed these helicopters to be in pristine condition so I went light on the weathering. Family shot- The Ka-25's deadlier brother, the Ka-50 Black Shark (1/72 Hobbyboss kit), in the background. Thanks for looking, all comments and critiques welcomed. Cheers, Alby

Excellent work, Tango! I always enjoy seeing a well built classic kit OOB. Goes to show that those older Monogram kits are still relevant and can be made to look show quality with a little elbow grease and skill. Cheers, Alby

Hi Darius, Well built, and very unique! I had no idea there any models anywhere for purpose built agricultural aircraft. Cheers, Alby

Hi Ilan, Excellent Mustang, and photography! Good to see an IAF Mustang in a natural metal finish too. Cheers, Alby

Thanks for the kind comments gang, much appreciated! Cheers, Alby

Howdy Fellow Styrene Fanatics,, Here is my just completed Italeri OH-13S built as a US Army TH-13T Sioux trainer. These were a common sight in the skies over Fort Rucker, Alabama and Fort Wolters, Texas in the 1960's and early 1970's where primary rotary wing aviation training took place (still does at Fort Rucker- Wolters has been closed since the mid 70's). Inspiration came from a small photo in Wayne Mutza's US Army Aviation In Vietnam book (Squadron/Signal Publications) which showed a TH-13T at Fort Eustis, Virginia circa 1969. Aside from the solid panels and loop antennas on the fuselage, it is primarily built OOB. The color is Model Master International Orange, with kit decals (except the 65E markings on the fuel tanks- those came from a 1/72 Hi-Decal Apache set).I like to build bright shiny things every now and then, so this fit that nicely. Not one of my best by a long shot, but it is a nice "look at it from 3ft away" model. Thanks for looking, all comments are welcomed. Cheers, Albert

Not only is this a very irregular subject to build, but it is built very, very well. The paint job alone is worthy of top shelf status. In other words, awesome job! :worthy: Cheers, Alby

Thanks for the kudos Python, Jim, and oldhouse, mucho appreciated! Cheers, Alby

Thanks for the all the kind comments, I greatly appreciate it. I plan on doing another one these in this scheme here. That's what I like about this helicopter, lots of military and civilian possibilities. Thanks again! Cheers, Alby

Hi Everyone, This is my build up of the new 1/72 Hobbyboss PZL Swidnik (Mil) Mi-2T Hoplite. I built this completely OOB (and it felt great! LOL), decals included. The moldings are up to current standards in that there are finely recessed panel lines and rivet detail. Interior detail is light but looks the part, with pilot/co-pilot seats, collective and cyclic sticks, and cabin seats in the cargo area. The overhead console and instrument panels are represented with decals. The overall fit is exceptional, with just a little filler needed where the forward engine cowling meets up with forward fuselage/wind screen piece. Speaking of the frontal area, Hobbyboss gets major kudos for getting this area spot on. The other 1/72 Mi-2 kits that were released prior to the HB kit all fall short in the windscreen/nose/forward engine cowling area. The only let downs that stick out to me are the oversize main rotor and tail rotor. The main rotor-head and swash-plate assembly are way too big. The main rotor-blades are too long and the trim tabs need to be relocated forward a bit. Lastly, the tail rotor blades are too long and a little narrow in chord. Raiding these bits from an Intech/Mastercraft Mi-2T/URP-G kit will resolve the rotor issues in the Hobbyboss kit. The finish was done with Model Master Enamels (FS34079 Dark Green, RLM 78 Hellblau for the lower surfaces). As mention, the decals came from the kit (the tail band however was painted). The markings represent an Mi-2 from the defunct air arm of the Civil Defense Regiment. All in all this was a very fun kit to build. The oversize rotors do give it negative points, but its still the best Mi-2 kit now available. In progress photos are here. All comments and critiques welcomed. Thanks for reading and looking at the photos! Cheers, Alby

Thanks for the kind comments, they're much appreciated. I just wrapped this kit, here's a couple of teaser photos. More will be in the Ready For Inspection forum with a review to go with them. Thanks for following along. Cheers, Alby

Thanks for the kind comments, I greatly appreciate them! All the shading was done after the base color was applied. Light gray was added to the base color (Model Master Medium Green FS34102) and then applied semi-randomly. Felix- The shroud portion of the IP does look rather big compared to the way it looks on the 1/1 Mi-2. Once I have the window masks removed, I'll get a better idea on how it'll look on the finished model. Here's the latest, all seven decals were applied today. Definitely one of the quickest decal jobs I've done. Thanks again chaps! Cheers, Alby

Hi Gang, Here are some in-progress photos of what I have been tinkering with on and off over the last few weeks. It is HobbyBoss' newly released PZL-Swidnik (Mil) Mi-2 Hoplite kit. After seeing one of these cool little helicopters on the back of flatbed truck on I-55 in Tennessee headed to wherever its new home was a couple of years back, I've wanted to build a model of the Hoplite. No decent kit existed until the arrival of this little gem (there are/were three manufacturers who kitted a 1/72 Mi-2, but all had some pretty significant shape errors, namely in the windscreen/forward engine inlet areas). The HobbyBoss kit has a few errors too (main rotorhead to large, tail rotor blades too long to name a couple), but they are the first to get that front engine cowling and windscreen area spot on. An Intech Mi-2 can be acquired to replace the the rotors if the kit one won't suffice for your build. For simplicity's sake, I'm doing this one out-of-box, just to get a feel for the kit. next Mi-2 I build will have the rotor corrections done. The interior/cabin area. Light on detail here but looks the part from outside the cockpit (ie looking through the glass). HB provides decals for the instrument panel and overhead control panels. I wasn't sure if weight would be needed but I added a little anyways to keep her on all four wheels (crushed fishing weights under the cabin seat riser). Interior color is RLM 78, and the instrument consoles are Floquil NYC Jade Green (a railroad color). And with its paint scheme. I went with the old school Eastern Bloc green/blue helicopter scheme. Markings will be for a Polish Civil Defense Regiment bird (as signified by the blue/white tail band). The tail band was airbrushed with Tamiya white and Model Master Ford Engine Blue. One little artistic liberty I took was adding the external battery box under the tail boom, and the gun camera housing in front of the right side windscreen. These items are usually found on the URN and URP-G gunship variants (though there are some Mi-2Ts that were converted from gunship use to transports that retain those two features in the Polish Air Force and army). And that's where she stands at this point. Should have the panel wash and decals done by this weekend. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Alby

Hi Paul, Sharp looking Sufa! The camouflage especially looks well done. Needless to say I need to add one of these to my stash. Cheers, Alby

Nice clean build up. Anything IDF/AF me likes. I wonder if this is the came tooling that the Academy MH-6 "Stealth Helicopter" originates from. Cheers, Alby

Terrific looking Mirage! The camouflage is particularly well done. Cheers, Alby

Hi Gang, This is my just completed 1/72 Revell F-16B built as an IDF/AF Netz. This the first time I've done an in-flight display and it was quite liberating I must say- no fiddly landing to deal with! I chose the B variant cause it was the least involved conversion as far as Israeli F-16s go. Two antennas is all it took to get there- GPS antenna on the spine behind the canopy and the small black antenna under the intake. The load out consists of two GBU-10s from a Monogram Block 50/52 F-16 kit (the Pave Penny Pod is a modified HARM Pod from the same kit), two 600 gallon wing takes and pylons from a Hasegawa F-2B kit, and kit AIM-9L Sidewinders. The belly tank is from the kit as well. The finish consists of Humbrol and Model Master enamels (Hu121, Hu119, MM Sky Type S, and Hu127 for the lower surfaces). The decals are from IsraDecal and were terrific as usual (though the sand tail art is a bit darker than the sand paint I used). The camo pattern as applied using Blu-Tak rolls so feathered edges would result. An oil wash was applied to the panel lines, and the whole works sprayed with Acryl Dull Coat. My lovely wife is responsible for staining and finishing the display base. Thanks to Ken Middleton over at ARC for the acrylic rod and brass sleeves which made this display possible. Thanks for looking, all comments and critiques are welcomed as usual. Cheers, Alby

Excellent job overall on your Mi-8, especially on the finish/weathering. Cheers, Alby

Sweet looking Dauphin, Oz! The paint looks smoooooth! Cheers, Alby

Hi Joseph, Thanks for the kudos! You were right about Hu121, but the other two colors were Hu29 and Hu30. Coincidentally, if anyone ever produces a proper SAAF Agusta A109 kit, these colors will work as they are the same for both helicopters. Cheers, Alby

I think that most attack helicopters fall in the category of "a face only a mother could love". The Kamov Ka-52 and first generation AH-1 Cobra are the exception to the rule. Thanks again for all of your kind comments. Overall I had an enjoyable experience in building this kit. The vacuformed canopy nearly did me in, but in the end I won (thanks to copious amounts of beer, and the AOL Heavy Metal radio channel). Cheers, Alby PS- @ Dave; just posted a few photos on the GRSM site.

Thank Joachim! It is a rare bird in that there are only 11 in service with the SAAF. The Rooivalk is a mostly indigenous design, though it is based on the dynamic components of the Super Puma. More info here- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denel_AH-2_Rooivalk Thanks again for the compliments! Cheers, Alby

Thanks for the compliments, they're much appreciated. I forgot to add the link for all the gory details in regards to this build up --> Click me please. Suffice to say a normal styrene kit with a one color scheme is on the menu now. Cheers, Alby

Howdy Y'all, Here is my just completed Scaleworx 1/72 Denel Rooivalk attack helicopter of the South African Air Force. Lots of swearing, epoxy, brass pins, red glazing putty, and superglue, this is the end result. This is my first full multi-media kit, and a learning experience it was. Tons o' blue resin, plus two vac canopies (spare in case you muck up one, as I did), and a photoetched fret that contained various fuselage bits. The finish is all Humbrol enamels, except the rotors and weapons color, which is Model Master medium green. This is also the first aircraft model that was finished without my trusty Aztek A470 (RIP). I still need to dial in my technique with a traditional airbrush, but I am happy with how the paint turned out for the most part. All comments and critiques welcomed. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Alby

Skii, Hope you saved some room for all the bling that that build will garner at future contests and shows :worthy: Mighty fine work all around. Cheers, Alby