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1/48 Kittybhawk AH-1Z


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Uh-huh. God, I was so excited to get hold of this kit. Now I realise it would have been better for us all if I'd just crawled into a hole instead!

Pappy, you don't fancy shooting a few more of those resin bad boys as a commercial proposition, I guess...? :whistle:

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Uh-huh. God, I was so excited to get hold of this kit. Now I realise it would have been better for us all if I'd just crawled into a hole instead!

Pappy, you don't fancy shooting a few more of those resin bad boys as a commercial proposition, I guess...? :whistle:

Nope

Pappy

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G'day people,

Well, to paraphrase ZZ Top, my Viper's got legs, and she knows how to use 'em!

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The more observant of you will have noticed the absence of the tail skid. There is a very good reason for that - I lost it :mad:

I lost it some time ago. Working my way down the list, I contacted KH directly nearly three weeks ago asking for a replacement item and offering to pay for same - I have yet to receive a reply, piddle poor customer service.

I also e-mailed the kit supplier who replied within 24hrs and offered to contact their supplier and ask how much a replacement part would cost if possible. I have not received any news from them either.

Finally, I asked a mate of mine, David , if I could use the tail skid part from his Viper kit to cast a copy.

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Great success!

Meanwhile, I have been carrying on with things under wings.

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I will be fitting a pair of AIM-9M's. The kits items are very nice, some of the nicest injection AIM-9's I have seen. I added a GCS cover to one, the other will have its cover removed to show off the seeker. The ordnance stencils are aftermarket items. I have not used any kit decals yet, but the ordnance decals supplied by KH are not very extensive.

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The M-261 rocket launchers are very nicely detailed and fit well.

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Aftermarket resin M-261's are available but I can't see what improvement they will bring.

The AGM-114's are supplied as a solid body with two choices of seeker heads. the pointy heads represent the AGM-114B through K/K-2 flavours, whilst the longer blunter heads are for the AGM-114L. The problem of course is that the AGM-114L is optimised for use with the Longbow radar of the AH-64D/E Apache, so they cannot be used with the Viper :(

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Of course, I only found out about this after I had glued four of the heads on :doh:

Luckily I have an AH-64D or two do so they won't go to waste.

Finally, I have scratched up a new APU exhaust.

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There is nothing wrong with the kit part and I am sure it will suffice nicely, but it is comprised of two halves split horizontally. I find sanding things with round cross sections tedious and you tend to lose roundness. It is also a small part. To make a replacement I simply heated some round styrene stock gently and bent it to an appropriate angle. The styrene was cut to length and the end reamed out. A small section of brass rod was inserted to act as a locating pin. It took all of about 15 mins all told.

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cheers,

Pappy

Edited by Pappy
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G'day people,

A small update. I added some nose weight to prevent a tail sitter,

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The nose weight consisted of some small lead split shot sinkers embedded into two part epoxy putty

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The putty was pushed into the cavity between the left and right equipment bays, accessed through the opening behind the TSS and the sinkers were then embedded into the putty. The edges were then neatened up so that they would not foul the TSS later.

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Result!

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cheers,

Pappy

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  • 2 weeks later...

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G'day people,

I have finished up the aircraft ordnance.

I spent some time today adding the kit supplied PR mesh screens.

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The majority of the PE fit exceptionally well. I did anneal a few pieces (the part above the APU exhaust, the curved section at the front of the doghouse and the part at the leading edge of the fin) to help them conform but I had no real problems.

cheers,

Pappy

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Great work as usual Pappy! Your Buccaneer build was a real inspiration when I was getting back into the hobby.

I bought one of these recently and your build will serve as a useful guide when it comes to building it. The wiring on the engine is effective, can I ask how you add various lumps and bumps to represent insulators and connectors etc? I would normally use PVA glue or thin strips of tape but would be interested if there is another way.

Thanks,

Sean

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Great work as usual Pappy! Your Buccaneer build was a real inspiration when I was getting back into the hobby.

I bought one of these recently and your build will serve as a useful guide when it comes to building it. The wiring on the engine is effective, can I ask how you add various lumps and bumps to represent insulators and connectors etc? I would normally use PVA glue or thin strips of tape but would be interested if there is another way.

Thanks,

Sean

G'day Sean,

I haven't really given it much thought to be honest. I usually just add the wire and paint them. Most of the effects are paint, the kit detail is pretty nice and easy to paint, or at least I thought it was!

I have seen people using various diameters of plastic rod, sprue etc, but your suggestions should work too. I don't think there is any correct way, just what works for you,

cheers,

Pappy

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G'day people,

Thanks for all your comments.

A little more progress today. The TSS is finally done.

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It is a long way from perfect, but it is better than what KH gives you,

cheers,

Pappy

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