Ian Shumsky Posted June 30, 2012 Posted June 30, 2012 If no one objects, I'm going to jump into the group build with a pair of 1/72 Kamov Ka-50 "Hokum" attack helos: They will (hopefully!) be built OOB with very minor detailing if needed. It will be a short while before I start, so instead of progress here are the box contents, Dragon first, then the Italeri offering: I'll be finishing off the Dragon kit in standard camo, but the Italeri one will be completed in the black "Werewolf" demonstration colours: Right, hopefully I'll get started in the next few weeks! Cheers, Ian
Ian Shumsky Posted July 8, 2012 Author Posted July 8, 2012 Hi Parabat, thanks for looking in! At the moment I’m not sure which of the kits has the edge. Both have their better points – on first inspection the Italeri has a far better tub, but the Dragon’s main airframe details is much finer. I’ll try and pull out details on each stage of the build. As much as possible I will try and build these in sync, i.e. do both cockpits at the same time, armaments, etc., so it’ll be easier to compare them. Initially I was just going to build these OOB, but after looking at the kits I really think they will benefit greatly from updates here and there. Both tubs will be updated as they are not great -- to help with this I ordered a couple of Pavla Models’ K-37 seats. The main gun and undercarriage on both models will need some pipe work and the rotor heads on both kits will need some serious looking at. The Italeri kit looks to be missing at least three push rods, and I think the Dragon one more. I’ll also be cutting out the engine mesh covers and replacing them with some fine metal mesh. I’ve also ordered the Begemot Kamov Ka-50(52) Hokum family decal set to help with the details and stencilling as I’ve heard some nasty things about the Italeri decals. In a nice surprise, Hannents came through and the Pavla Models’ K-37 seats turned up yesterday and they look excellent: So with some spare bench time I started looking at what needs to be done to the tubs. So here is what you get (Dragon in their usual grey, Italeri in dark green): And dry fitted with some PVA glue (K-37 for comparison): Closely examining some on-line references it actually looks like the Dragon offering is closer to what is needed. The shape of the main instrument panel is closer to the actual one and the seat is somewhat recessed between the side panels and nestled against the bulkhead, where as the Italeri kit has the seat very proud of the bulkhead. Unfortunately with the Dragon kit the space for the seat is a little too narrow to accommodate the K-37. The Italeri kit has some nice surface detail to represent the instruments which should look good when painted, though Dragon provide this through decals... Not actually sure which is best in this case, the details or the decals! So... I plan to use a combination of the kit pieces and some scratch work to produce a more accurate tub which I’ll then cast up and use for both models. Updates will follow! Cheers, Ian
Parabat Posted July 8, 2012 Posted July 8, 2012 Good looking update there, I knew Russian kit could be pretty austere, but Dragon really outdo themselves providing the pilot with that bench! Interesting to see these built side by side and your views on both. Those K37 A/M seats look great.
Ian Shumsky Posted July 9, 2012 Author Posted July 9, 2012 Hi Andy, didn't see you sneak in there! Welcome along Parabat, yup, the Dragon kit is pretty sparse! The kit does come with decals to dress up the tub, however after careful review last night they are all about 10% oversized as as such pretty useless as they just don't fit on the parts So I spent quite a bit of time last night trying to decide what to do with the tubs. Unfortunately they are not really interchangeable so I can't really make one and fit it to each model. As such it looks like I'll need to fix up both offerings to add the details. The Italeri tub will need the firewall sides bringing forward so the seat sits snugly in, while the Dragon kit will likely need a new bulkhead as well as details added to all the instrument panel parts. I also noticed that neither kit comes with a collective, so I'll need to add that as well. I'll start on the Dragon tub tonight and see where I get to. Cheers, Ian
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