Italeri 1-72 Kamov KA-52 +++FINISHED+++

[Jasonb13]

Hi all,

I had no idea this GB was on, so I was rather happy when I spotted it, 'cos this kit is next on my list, and it's always good to have a GB to encourage you.

Anyhow, here's the box:

And the plastic:

When looking up this kit online, Scalemates mentioned a Resin Cockpit set, so I bit the bullet and here it is (along with the canopy from the kit as well):

It's far superior to the kit cockpit, though there are some obvious casting issues here and there that'll need some work done on them.

As you can see from the box, there are a lot of yellow lines in this scheme (the 'demonstration' scheme) and I was hoping you might get them in the kit decals, but no such luck. I really don't even want to try to mask them all, so I thought I'd be clever and I bought these:

Unfortunately I don't think that's going to work either, as the yellow decals aren't opaque enough, and the black on the airframe will show through. So I'm not sure what I'll do yet, we'll see. Hoping to get started on this soon.

Thanks...

J.

[S5 modeller]

Oohhhh nice.

Looking forward to this.

I have a kamov 58 I might do for a second build.

Matt

Edited March 13, 2016 by S5 modeller

[CliffB]

Those resin parts do look like a massive improvement

Cliff

[Jasonb13]

Thanks, and yes, the resin is much better!

All I've done so far is a bit of filler to fill some of the holes in the resin, but I'm hoping to get started on this either this evening or tomorrow.

Thanks...

J.

[Jasonb13]

Well, the resin looks great, but the sheer lack of any instructions/colour callouts means I'm trawling the web looking for pictures. In the end there are very little of the cockpit of the KA-52, especially the back, but there's a lot more of the KA-50, so I'm using them as well. The interior also seems to have gone from the Russian 'cockpit blue' to black over time, but as this kit is of the Prototype, I'm sticking with the Blue. Not if I can just figure out how this all goes together!

J.

[Dermo245]

Good stuff Jason and look forward to following!

Dermot

[Nigel Heath]

Great choice for this GB.

Unfortunately I don't think that's going to work either, as the yellow decals aren't opaque enough, and the black on the airframe will show through. So I'm not sure what I'll do yet, we'll see.

Maybe get some equivalent white decal lines and apply those first?

[Killingholme]

Re yellow lines: I think I'd be tempted to spray the model yellow first and mask off the lines using very fine .5mm masking tape. I use 'Jammy Dog' tapes for this purpose, but other very fine tapes are available.

And if you really get stuck, HMRS (Historical Model Railway Society), who are an institution of old-school railway modelling, make a series of pressfix and methfix decals including generic lines. These are obviously intended for model railways, but I can vouch that HMRS pressfix transfers are very dense and would easily cover black. However, the thought of actually applying these 'one shot' decals to a 1/72 plastic aircraft kit makes me feel rather faint....

http://www.hmrs.org.uk/transfers/transferdetails.php?transferid=1037

Good luck!

Will

Edited March 19, 2016 by Killingholme

[Jasonb13]

Those pressfix tranfers are interesting Will, thanks. Not only are they opaque, like you say, but they also come with rounded corners, something that I don't have and the scheme requires. Are they really 'one-shot', or can you take them off and try them again? And are they thicker than 'normal' decals?

I finally found a couple of pics of the IP that matches the resin one I have, and it's in black, so it looks like I'm going from the Russian Cockpit Blue back to black again!

Starting on the cockpit tonight, I'll see how I get on...

J.

[Jasonb13]

Just to show I have been doing some work!

While some online pictures of the Resin Cockpit set I got show that it comes with Collective Controls as well as Cyclic ones, mine didn't. So a little bit of wire and some spare styrene does the job just fine, especially at this scale:

I then did some work on the main tub, adding the Collective controls and painting it up, most of it guesswork really. I've added the rockets for the ejection system, but the seats and the Cyclic controls aren't done yet:

And here's one in the airframe, to show that it thankfully fits!

Finally, here's the Instrument Panel, which is the only thing I can get pictures of online (and that's just two small pics):

Unfortunately the HUD has a crack in it, but it can really only be seen in this straight on shot. This IP replaces the plastic at the front of the cockpit in the kit, so I'll have to cut that away and hope it fits well.

Next up is finishing the seats, sidewalls and Cyclic controls.

Thanks...

J.

[Killingholme]

Those pressfix tranfers are interesting Will, thanks. Not only are they opaque, like you say, but they also come with rounded corners, something that I don't have and the scheme requires. Are they really 'one-shot', or can you take them off and try them again? And are they thicker than 'normal' decals?

I finally found a couple of pics of the IP that matches the resin one I have, and it's in black, so it looks like I'm going from the Russian Cockpit Blue back to black again!

Starting on the cockpit tonight, I'll see how I get on...

J.

Hi J,

they're like any pressfix- you can usually get a scalpel blade under them to lift them off. You need to do it before you burnish them down tight, and before the tackiness 'sets'. They are quite thick, but I have never had any problems with them- and the lack of carrier film on such small details is a boon. I've used them on 1/43 scale model railway steam engines obviously, but also successfully used them for canopy frame seals in 1/72 aircraft too.

Will

[Nigel Heath]

That 'pit looks great. Nice detail painting.

[Jasonb13]

Thanks Nigel, I'm pretty happy with it so far.

Thanks for that description Will. I've never used (or even heard of) Pressfix, hence my question. I was asking about their thickness as I'd be worried that they don't look painted on, and look more like stickers! But apart from that fear they look ideal for me!

J.

[Killingholme]

This might be useful;

http://www.jimmcgeown.com/FAQ%20Answers%20pages/FAQ%20Answer%2020%20Livery%20and%20Lettering.html

http://philsworkbench.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/pressfix-transfers.html

Will

Edited March 22, 2016 by Killingholme

[Jasonb13]

*Very* helpful, thanks Will! I'll go order some I reckon...

J.

[SoftScience]

Very nice instrument panel.

[Jasonb13]

Thanks SoftScience...

Well, isn't it always the way? You make a decent start and then don't get near the bench for a week! Anyhow, I got back to this on Tuesday and got the seats and cyclic controls done, but I only got a chance to take a pic this evening. So here's how it's looking now:

I'll be honest, a lot of those colours I just made up really, as I can't get any decent pics of the cockpit of the Demonstrator version, and any other 'standard' cockpit pics show different versions of seat colours etc. Anyhow, I'm fairly happy with it. I also took a chance and used a sliver of a cotton bud tube to make ejection handles. They're not great up close, but they give the general idea!

I still have to figure out how best to attach the sidewalls (i.e. do they go on the tub or on the inside of the fuselage - which will fit/look better) and then I have to cut away the instrument panel 'cover' that's built into the fuselage, and see how the resin panel with its own cover fits in. I reckon (hope) this should be an easy build once I get the fuselage halves together, but I'm a while away from that yet!

Oh, and I ordered the Pressfix yellow lines as well, we'll see what they're like!

J.

[Jasonb13]

A small bit of progress has been made.

I've mainly been working on trying to get the resin to fit into the fuselage. To be fair, the cockpit 'tub' fits fairly well, but the Instrument Panel is another beast entirely. I've been shaving and cutting bits off it again and again to try to get it to fit, as well as taking bits of the fuselage and the cockpit tub.

I finally now have the cockpit glued in place, along with the start of the rotor assembly, which has to be done before you glue the fuselage halves together. Here's how it looks now:

The fuselage halves themselves aren't glued together, I just have the cockpit glued to both fuselages, the front wheel glued to both fuselages, and the bottom of the rotor assembled also glued to both fuselages. I can then glue the fuselage halves together using thin glue once I'm happy the cockpit itself is firmly in place.

However, like I said, it's the Instrument Panel that's putting up the biggest fight. Here it is dry fitted:

Not too bad actually, and fairly flush with the fuselage halves after I took a good bit of plastic/resin away. However, the gunsight (on the left, barely visible at this angle) is still causing issues, as it's too tall and the canopy won't go over it. And this is after I've already lowered it. So I'll have to think about that a bit more and see what I can do with it.

Thanks...

J.

[Nigel Heath]

Looking good to me.

[Killingholme]

Cool; the extra 'busy-ness' looks like it's worth a bit of fettling.

Will

[Dermo245]

Niiiiice!

Dermot

[Jasonb13]

Well, it's been 2 and a half weeks since I posted, but I have been working on this, albeit very slowly!

After a lot of work, I finally got the cockpit finished, and even managed to get the HUD to fit under the canopy, though I had to cut away a fair bit of the HUD, and the IP, to get it all to fit. It doesn't look too bad though, especially as it's mainly painted black! I got the fuselage halves glued, and I've started what looks like a long process of sanding to get it looking decent, as while the fit isn't terrible, it's not great either.

So I'm now focusing on getting the main airframe assembled so I can prime the model. Here's how it's looking now, with the engine housing, nose cone and 'wings' fitted:

A good bit of filler will be needed around the engine housing and nose, as well as a few other places!

I've also got the inside of the canopy painted, and the next step is masking the outside of it.

That's it for now, I'll hopefully have more done soon; sooner than 2 weeks anyhow!

J.

[Jasonb13]

Hi again...

Got a bit more done last night. It still needs a lot more sanding/filling/sanding etc., but everything that needs to be glued on before I prime the airframe has now been glued on. It's big enough for a Helicopter I have to say, pretty much the same length as a Eurofighter Typhoon for example. and that's not including the rotors!

Thanks...

J.

[Dermo245]

Looks great Jason.

Without the rotors, it's got a look of something from the Sci-Fi forum...

[Jasonb13]

Thanks Dermot... Yep, it looks like some sort of drop ship or something, doesn't it?

J.