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1/72 Revell EC-135 - Garda Air Support Unit - DONE


Dermo245

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Hi all,

So with the F-16I Sufa almost done, it's on to the next build and one I've wanted to do for a while using this wee kit...

 

Revell_EC-135_04939_zps5z4kr3ax.jpg

 

And hopefully turn it into an EC-135 of the Garda Siochana (Irish Police Force) Air Support Unit

 

1024px-Eurocopter_EC.135T.2_Garda_Air_Su

(Photo by Jerry Gunner; Wikipedia Commons. No copyright claim intended)

 

Some of the police bits will need to be scratched while others (including the high skids) come in a spare sprue that's included in this kit. Decals will be from Max Decals.

 

Thanks for looking.

Cheers, 
Dermot

Edited by Dermo245
Photo wouldn't upload first time.
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And we're off with this one! Started by testing some nose weight in the instrument panel and drilling holes for the seats.

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_zpsbgaearej.jpg

 

Revell_EC-135_interior%20floor_zpsuzpfpm

 

I added some plasticard "screens" and "keyboard" for the rear observer (squint and you can imagine them) I also cut out the Port side canopy door.

 

Revell_EC-135_interior%202_zpsgxbnizkr.j.

Revell_EC-135_interior_zpshoccvoij.jpg

 

A bit of paint and looks ok for the tiny scale. Added the cockpit decals and there's about 1.5 weight hidden in the instrument panel. Some more will go under the cabin floor.

 

Revell_EC-135_interior%204_zps9l6c9xid.j

 

Revell_EC-135_interior201_zps5snwdn1w.jp

 

Need to go back and repaint the front belts as they should be grey, not black. Doh!

Thanks for looking.


Dermot

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11 hours ago, Blue Monday said:

I had a close-up look at the Garda 135s and only the pilot's side has the collective, cyclic and tail rotor pedals fitted. Good luck with this build.

 

BM.

 

Hi BM,

Thanks for the info and out with the X-acto knife so.

I found it hard to find close-up photos of this one so if you had any you could share would be appreciated :thumbsup2:

 

Cheers,
Dermot

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On ‎21‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 8:01 AM, Blue Monday said:

I had a close-up look at the Garda 135s and only the pilot's side has the collective, cyclic and tail rotor pedals fitted. Good luck with this build.

 

BM.

They're removable - blanking plates cover the stick stubs and the pedals are installed with quick-release pins. Most operators who operate single pilot take them out when a non-pilot is in the co-pilot's seat. Either configuration would be accurate.

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Thanks for all the comments which are very helpful. I'm going with the best photo refs I could find online...

 

I've added some weights under the nose to help with the stance and also added a comms cable of some sort to the rear ceiling. I know, not 100% accurate but takes the plain look off it. I also removed the front controls/pedals from the left side.

I know the rear observer seat is a bit too far forward...I can live with it and my fault when I drilled the hole for the seat mounting.

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_2_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

Buttoned up with the tail added. Still some filling and sanding to go..

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_3_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

Cheers,

Dermot

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So a bit more done on this.

Started last night on the tech pod that's underneath the a/c using paper card as a template and then tracing on plastic card.

Measurements were Mk.1 eyeball using reference photos online. The small squares are stiffeners to keep it rigid and I'll cover it with more plastic card.

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_4_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

Looks ok for starters!..

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_5_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

Cheers,

Dermot

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So a little more done on this.

Finished the 'pod' for under the fuselage and added some weight to the front section to help ensure I don't have a tail sitter. The dividers are there for structural strength.

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_6_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

And then the long skids glued in place and the pod glued on top of those.

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_7_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

I also added some card and a piece of sprue as a spacer so that the FLIR turret sits level. And will fill the gaps around the pod of course!

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_8_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

I'm happy with how it stands though the pod is possibly a little too deep compared with the real thing. But I was working off photos and Mk1 eyeball so happy with the result.

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_9_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

Thanks for looking.

Dermot

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Hi Dermot 

What  72nd Revell EC135 kit did you get the extended landing gear from as every one(I've got 5 of them) in my stash seems to have the short skids as I would like to make the west midlands police EC135 hoping you can help all I need is the Revell box number. 

thanks in advance.

Geoff Arnold

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20 hours ago, Geoff Arnold said:

Hi Dermot 

What  72nd Revell EC135 kit did you get the extended landing gear from as every one(I've got 5 of them) in my stash seems to have the short skids as I would like to make the west midlands police EC135 hoping you can help all I need is the Revell box number. 

thanks in advance.

Geoff Arnold

 

Thanks Geoff. 

The extended landing gear (and camera/searchlight/speakers) is on a sprue marked "EC-135 Accessories" that comes with this kit.

 

 

EC-145_Police_Revell_72_Box_zpsxw4dwdvp.

 

And here's mine almost ready for a coat of primer..

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_11_Garda_Air_Supp

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_10_Garda_Air_Supp

 

Cheers,

Dermot

Edited by Dermo245
Grammar!
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So a couple of coats of white later, here's where we're at.

For the Blue, the colour of the real a/c looks different depending on the light and conditions and I couldn't find a reference for it.

So I tried out some blues that I already had and another two that I bought...results below..

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_Garda_Air_Support

 

From looking at photos, I think #51 on the left is the nearest match..it's Revell's Ultramarine Blue 36151. (For what it's worth, the other colours L to R are Revell Gloss Blue 52; Night Blue 54 and Matt Blue 56)

 

With the door  open, I also added a helmet in the back which was donated by a pilot in the spares box.

God, that Macro really shows up all the flaws! 

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_Garda_Air_Support

 

Thanks for looking.

Dermot

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

So got started with paint on this one and really happy with the colour. Two coats, brushed with hairy stick. A little mask creep here and there but nothing that can't be tidied up.

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_pai

 

Then started on the decals...these seemed to be going well at first, thin backing, solid colours.

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_dec

 

But then, trouble. First up, i hadn't masked exactly correctly for the blue to match the curve of the fuselage decal so that will need to be filled in..

Then the tailboom decal refused to meet the fuselage one and when I tried to get it to conform to the fuselage....snap, crackle, pop. 
Shattered into multiple pieces.

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_dec

 

While the decals were bought 2nd hand, they were totally unused and sealed in a ziploc bag.  

Not a happy camper. Unfortunately, there aren't spares on the sheet.

 

So plan B was to repaint the yellow sections and match in the blue cheat line somehow.

As this is a police chopper, the yellow has a particular flourescent hue to it, if you know what i mean. 

 

Without a readily available paint match, then it's on to plan C! These a/c have now gone to a plain blue and white scheme so I'll work to matching that.

 

Getting there....

 

Thanks for dropping in!

Dermot

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks everyone and got some more work done on the 135.

To go with the new scheme, I extended the blue upwards on the tailboom - this was done on the real a/c when the dayglo yellow faded.

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_Garda_Air_Support

 

I wasn't happy with how the kit windows looked so I took them all out and replaced with acetate instead, leaving the windscreen and lower nose windows in place. I used the kit parts as templates for cutting the acetate. Not bad for a first time trying it but a lot of fettling to make them fit. Not sure I'd do that again!

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_win

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_win

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_pai

 

Got the decals finished which aren't many, just the aircraft number (256), national flag and police force name and badges. I also used the window frame decals from the kit.

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_pai

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_pai

 

For the thin blue cheat line, I was going to use decals cut to fit and so got on the hunt for blue decal strips. I then remembered I'd used a very fine tip permanent marker on my Pride of Boelcke Tornado and had been really happy with the result...and the control using the pen. So, I got a permanent blue marker that was as near a match to the blue on the chopper. 


After some time spent masking, a deep breath and got drawing! This is probably modelling heresy and while there were some areas needing attention, I was happy with how it looks. 

 

I went light with a wash as these a/c are usually clean so just kept it local..

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_was

 

And cleaned up. I've also added many of the lumps and bumps from card, sprue and some of the kit parts.

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_Cle

 

Home stretch now!

As always, thanks for looking.

Dermot

 

 

Edited by Dermo245
Photo wouldn't upload first time.
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Thanks very much lads.

She's finished and while she has some little issues here and there, I'm happy how it turned out. Good from the '6-feet-away' rule!

Will post some more pics in RFI.

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_2_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

Revell_EC-135_fuselage_2_Garda_Air_Suppo

 

Thanks for all your comments and until the next one, enjoy your modelling!

Dermot

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On 3/31/2017 at 2:09 PM, Dermo245 said:

So got started with paint on this one and really happy with the colour. Two coats, brushed with hairy stick. A little mask creep here and there but nothing that can't be tidied up.

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_pai

 

Then started on the decals...these seemed to be going well at first, thin backing, solid colours.

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_dec

 

But then, trouble. First up, i hadn't masked exactly correctly for the blue to match the curve of the fuselage decal so that will need to be filled in..

Then the tailboom decal refused to meet the fuselage one and when I tried to get it to conform to the fuselage....snap, crackle, pop. 
Shattered into multiple pieces.

 

Revell_EC-135_Garda_Air_Support_Unit_dec

 

While the decals were bought 2nd hand, they were totally unused and sealed in a ziploc bag.  

Not a happy camper. Unfortunately, there aren't spares on the sheet.

 

So plan B was to repaint the yellow sections and match in the blue cheat line somehow.

As this is a police chopper, the yellow has a particular flourescent hue to it, if you know what i mean. 

 

Without a readily available paint match, then it's on to plan C! These a/c have now gone to a plain blue and white scheme so I'll work to matching that.

 

Getting there....

 

Thanks for dropping in!

Dermot

 

 

 

Actually the yellow reflective stripe decals on both EC (Eurocopter) 135 T2 helicopters and on the BN (Britten-Norman) 2T-4S Defender 4000 fixed wing aircraft had faded overtime and what was left was eventually just peeled off. You will see this from many photographs from 2008 (introduced into active operational service) to 2016. They were meant to be redone late 2016 or in early 2017, but it was decided to leave them as they are, white with blue trim. Nicer to see it in it's original colours as intended. Great work done by the way.

Edited by ÉireGoBrách1922
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