Whirly Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 With the moderator permission I'm attempting a race build near the end of the GB I'm entering with the very nice Hasegawa kit + Fireball Modelworks decals + Maestro resin Sanders smoke pods, so here are images of the starting point: ....no, no images: Photobucket is currently down, will add them later I started the kit yesterday, it is really a gem with very fine details and few pieces. I painted the cockpit black and the seats a slightly lighter shade, will add later the seatbelts. Decals are supplied for the consoles and instrument panels, they are enough since the canopy is closed. Closing the fuselages requires some care to position the cockpit tub in the right place, unfortunately the instructions are quite small and vague in this respect. Before glueing the underside panel I attached with Patafix a pair of 10g weights to balance better the model on its skids. Cheers Fabio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight_Flyer Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Good luck, certainly will be quite a challenge considering how close we are to the deadline... unless the GB host decides to extend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 Thank you Knight-Flyer! Here are the first images as promised. The box top: The decals I will use: and a look at what's in the box: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 As Knight Flyer says good luck to you. Nothing like setting yourself a challenge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 6, 2016 Author Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) Thank you also to Modelling Minion: actually I the kit is very easy and the painting too, hope I will not have any accident along the road! Now to more images, Photobucket is still fighting me so I'm lagging behind with the updates here. First some flat black for the interiors and the decals applied to the instrument panels. As I wrote before, some weight is needed to balance correctly the model, unless you plan to glue it permanently to a display base. After joining the fuselage a very slight step all around was treated with Mr.Surfacer 500. A rapid application of sanding sticks and flex-i-file completed the major assembly. Now the model is on his skids: I added the sponsons, tailpanes and front turret, everyting good. All the other main parts prepared for painting. I retouched with proper putty the upper nose which had a more pronounced step and added the machine gun. The main canopy was also prepared and it is a very tight fit, actually I feared a crack upon removing it! Now I'm checking all the tiny bits with images of the real thing which, being civilianized, differ in some respect from the combat planes. See you later. Fabio Edited November 6, 2016 by Whirly 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Blimey that's some quick work! Very nice too, at this rate you will be able to build another 2 before the end of the GB. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Nice work fabio. You certainly got through that quickly. Hope you make it in time. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 8, 2016 Author Share Posted November 8, 2016 Hi Craig, I'm going at lightspeed compared to my usual pace but I doubt I could complete more than one! Some more updates. I finished the cockpit adding the seatbelts and some minor details. Then I punched some paper disks from paper to cover the holes for the VOR antennas which are not installed. The instructions tell you to fill the holes but in reality there is a metal cover. Did the same for the underside of the tailboom, don't remember why there are two holes but they should be covered. Another disc was used to simulate the cover for the missing IR jammer. More antennas installed. The basic kit provides a very comprehensive fitment, I omitted just parts F1, F2 and B6 which are not installed on these civilian machines and added a small fairing in front of the main rotor mast which seems to be missing. Strange, since it's also there on the military Cobras and is the mounting for part F1... Now ready for painting. Masking the canopy was quite troublesome since the frames are not well defined and I had to resort to transparent sellotape otherwise I couldn't locate were to cut with the scalpel. Now I'm facing a problem with the underwing rocket launchers: I mistakenly assumed they were the same as the 'live' ones but on closer scrutiny I found they are slimmer and longer than what is provided in the box, they also hold only 7 rockets instead of 19. I'm no expert in this field, anyone knows if these are decoys or another type of rocket launcher that I can find in some 1/72 kit? This is the resin set produced by Fireball Modelworks in 1/48, wonder why they didn't do the same in 1/72... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 Airbrushing session went well: Mr Color gloss black gave a brilliant finish, it smells like hell but if you need a durable and fast-drying coat it is unbeatable. Flat white over the main rotor is Alclad primer, will follow with flat black after masking. Next stop is decal application, hope I won't get surprises. Cheers Fabio 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 (edited) On giovedì 10 novembre 2016 at 10:04 AM, Whirly said: Next stop is decal application, hope I won't get surprises. The last famous words... Decals are a nightmare, I still haven't finished despite the low numbers because they refuse to conform even to the slightest bump on the model. I hate when this happens! Edited November 11, 2016 by Whirly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 sorry to hear of your troubles.... some good setting solvent and patience might help your effort looking very good for now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight_Flyer Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 (edited) Yes, I'm also having the problems with my decals as they're silvering all over the place. Microsol removed some but not all. Might have to leave it as is due to the looming deadline. Edited November 11, 2016 by Knight_Flyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 Thank you for your advices. Actually I used plenty of Micro Sol and when nothing happened i applied stronger solutions up to pure acetic acid which is the base component of Micro Sol. Well. these decals are impervious to everything! I never experienced that with ALPS printed decals which, on the contrary, are usually extremely delicate. SO, my fight continue, hope to reach a presentable finish for tomorrow's deadline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 Smoke generators ready for paint, actually the resin parts proved very basic and little more than shaped sprues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 Nearly there! Last paint sprayed, some touch-ups to the decals and canopy masking removed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 just wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 Thank you Exdraken! Just posted some images in the gallery. In the end I had to leave out the rocket launchers for lack of time, however I found out that they are regular equipment for the Army helicopters and are coded M260 as opposed to M261 which is the bulkier tube usually provided in Cobra kits. Whew! It was a race build but I did it: thank you to all who contributed and especially to the hosts for provided this space! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight_Flyer Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Fantastic work and in the limited time available. Good seeing a stand out livery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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