Mil Mi-24 Hind - Revell 1/72

[Biggles87]

20 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

 I'll post everything on my profile page eventually so I don't clog up your  thread. Suffice to say it was absolutely fantastic and I still can't quite believe that it actually happened.

 

Stand by for a new avatar.

 

John

 

Sorry, change of plan, now on chat. (see Biggles Flies Undone )

[CedB]

21 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

I won't tell you the whole story just yet, I'm sorting my way through 50plus photos at the moment, sent to me by my brother in law who is a professional photographer and kindly came along to record the event. I'll post everything on my profile page eventually so I don't clog up your  thread. Suffice to say it was absolutely fantastic and I still can't quite believe that it actually happened.

 

Stand by for a new avatar.

 

John

Great news John  Looks like you had a great time and I for one am up for more pictures...

 

20 hours ago, Courageous said:

That rotor head looks very neat and with the stickers now on, the Hind is looking the biz. Nice work Ced.

Thanks Stuart, very kind  

 

19 hours ago, Azgaron said:

Nice work with the stencils!

Can be pretty time consuming.

 

Håkan

 

Thanks Håkan  I can't do more than a few at a time, much too frustrating.

 

11 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

More stencils than a Phantom? Definitely a job for the old headband magnifier I should think.

 

John

Certainly is, one double lens!  

 

9 hours ago, 71chally said:

That's looking brilliant now Ced, the end must be in sight.

 

The rule does show how small and intricate the rotor head actually is.

Thanks James  Yep, nearly there (see below)

 

6 hours ago, Andwil said:

Fantastic rotor head and decalling    I have stopped bothering with very small stencils, I only put the larger, more obvious ones on , most of the time you cant even see them when they're on - after all who looks at their models through a magnifying glass?

 

Andrew

That's a good idea Andrew - most of the smaller ones just can't be seen  

 

5 hours ago, perdu said:

I hope Gloucester is treating you well Ced, Jamie et al too.

I would love to see that much operating detail on a Wessex rotor head at 72th scale, you struck lucky with this for your foray into heliscopterration Ced

 

The paint instructions show gull grey for the leading edges of the blades but my blinking tablet is pretending you made them silvery

I don't pretend to do any languages 'cept yamyam, gornal and brummie atop of basic English so I can't read the stencils on the tailrotor blades but maybe the 'odd' one defines a fixed blade against the others for balance purposes

Jellychoppers ain't really like aeroplanes tha knows

 

She does look incredibly good, well done Ced

 

Brave brave friend, top work

 

☺

Thanks Bill  Gloucester was good and I was a good boy, just buying some more tools and avoiding the kit boxes until I get my old stash built.

You're right that the instructions show the tail rotor in 'W', a mix that approximated Gull Grey (probably) but I thought I saw a picture in the walk around where the edges are aluminium (like the main rotor) so I went with that as I'm too lazy.

 

1 hour ago, Biggles87 said:

 

Sorry, change of plan, now on chat. (see Biggles Flies Undone )

No problem John, I've been over here and commented. What a great day, what great memories.

 

 

More done on the Hind. 

I'd sprayed a satin varnish all over last night after popping the covers and doors back in. In a true 'Italian job' moment I only blew the bl**dy doors off. Phew  

 

I do like the 'D' shaped location pins that appear on many of the parts; a great way to make sure they're on the right way round: 

 

 

Not so good if you've filled the holes with paint, but the glue soon melts that out.

I've had some 0.3mm lead wire for ages so I thought I'd use it for the cable on the 'thing on the nose':

 

 

 

(Oooh look, a tiny red stencil. there are FOUR of those things!) Now cleaned up and painted, that was fiddly. The lead wire is very floppy and it bends really easily so it's easy to get more bends than you want. Ho hum. I had planned to add the cables to the flare dispensers but, to be honest, I can't be bothered to get three cables to bend 'realistically'. I'll save that for another day (or use stiffer wire next time).

 

The canopy masks are off:

 

 

... and the dangly things are on (fnaar!):

 

 

Struts there at the ready for when I have some steady-handed mojo, hopefully tomorrow.

 

When I saw John (WhoFan) at Gloucester today he asked me what's next. I've been trying to do an easy build for a while now so I'm going for something easy and OOB (stop laughing). Two Airfix Mk.22 Spitfires, one in each of the kit schemes. I won't be starting those until this one's finished and, as usual, I'll post a link to the new WiP here.

[Azgaron]

Nice progress Ced!

 

Håkan

 

[giemme]

Looking great, and the canopies turned out perfect 👏

 

Ciao

[TheBaron]

That last photo really shows how damnably complex that bunch of shapes you put together really are as a unified vehicle.  That really is looking amazing now Ced. 🏗️

[CedB]

Thanks Håkan and Giorgio, kind of you  

Thanks Tony  I should have known really; skill level 5 and a large number of parts... including the 'open canopy' option 😬

 

 

This morning I thought I was steady of hand, but that didn't last. I think all the swearing might have raised my adrenaline levels. Sadly I decided not to take the flight option and had a fight with this:

 

 

 

I'll take more care over the photos for the RFI when, hopefully, I'll be less shaky.

What's the problem? Physics.

If you have three 'legs' and you space them as a right-angled triangle, you'll be unstable.

There are locating points (but not holes) for the hinges and the strut.

 

Method:

1. Apply Glue and Glaze to the rear edge of the canopy and locate in the hinge slots, holding with tweezers.

2. Apply G&G to the bottom of the strut and locate in the lower slot with tweezers, gently lifting the canopy until it's at the right height. Locate the top of the strut.

3. Lift the model to check that the top of the strut is in the (tiny) locating point.

4. Watch the canopy pivot on the strut and drop off.

5. Curse.

6. Relocate the canopy and hold open with tweezers underneath.

7. Locate the strut at the bottom and gently ease it into position.

8. Miss the top locating hole and watch the top of the strut slide across the inside of the canopy as it gently closes.

9. Repeat step 5, louder this time

10. Repeat steps 1 and 2, this time with shakier hands.

11. Nudge the bottom of the strut into position, shake and watch it drop into the cockpit.

 

And so on.

 

It's on now and I'm wondering if my decision to start from the front was a wise one. Probably not.

Once I've calmed down I'll move on to the other bits, probably from the rear (oooer!)

[giemme]

Fiddliest pat of modelling this one, Ced  I always try to get some help from blue tack, in these cases - and I use CA gel; doesn't frost, and sets reasonably quick.

 

Keep it up, it's going to look great  

 

Ciao

Edited May 14, 2018 by giemme

[CedB]

Thanks Giorgio - I remember your great advice about using BluTak for support, of course, and made good use of it! CA gel is a thought - I could zap it with actuator when I get the right location eh?  

 

On with the cabin doors:

 

 

The support has an obvious location slot in the top part so I glued that in first and applied (perdu method) tube glue to the top to give me some wiggle.

The bottom door acts as a step so is flush to the fuselage so the glue was applied to the back and the whole thing supported with BluTak.

Finally the top door was wiggled and the support glued to the bottom location. Simples (ish)

 

The gearbox doors are easier - the strut locates in holes on the inside and the door so location is easy:

 

 

The engine cover not so much. The strut helps with location (glued in first) but the bottom of the cover doesn't meet the fuselage.

 

 

Not too bad though. Just make sure you don't bash the cabin doors when you're putting it on.

 

So, that's one side done and everything resting in the jig while it dries:

 

 

Begs the question how I'm going to support it for the other side.

Also, If the other side is open, the Tiger decal won't be seen in its entirety anywhere... perhaps I should close the cabin doors that side?  

[Azgaron]

Nice work Ceb!

Perhaps it's enough to have only one side open! It's a balance of what you wanna show!

 

Very nice detail on this kit in 72nd! I wonder what would be possible in 32nd?

 

Håkan

 

[CedB]

Thanks Håkan   I've decided just to shut the main doors as, with anything else closed, it's going to look 'lop sided' from the front. Of course we know the real thing is bent anyway but hey, there has to be some 'art' in our modelling eh? 

 

 

Did you notice the sprue on the support? Of course you did. If only I had something small and sharp to trim it off...

 

 

First use of the Swann Morton 'fine' range - very sharp and tiny. Good investment IMHO  

 

With the other side doors carefully glued shut and the transfer matched up (phew) it was time to glue the other doors and covers:

 

 

 

That done, it's just the pilot's door. Luckily the model still fits the jig:

 

 

Which allowed me to fiddle with the pilot's door. For ages.

When open, it's just fixed by the edge of the hinges and the strut.  

Quick check of the reference shots:

 

 

 

Rats. I think the only solution is some wire hinges.

Later.

[Hamden]

 

Stunning result 

 

  Roger

[giemme]

You will prevail, Ced - I'm sure you will. Great job

 

Ciao

[Azgaron]

Nice! this way you can see the cool artwork, and still be able to see interior parts where it's open!

 

Håkan

 

[CedB]

Thanks Roger, Giorgio and Håkan, you're all very kind  

 

I got the door on by fixing some fuse wire in some drilled holes and CAing them in:

 

 

As a final fiddle I decided to use some Infini Super Fine, mainly so that I could use my new micro scissors to cut the ends off:

 

 

They are GREAT! 

 

Well that's me done, exhausted and looking forward to the Mk.22 Spitfires (I'll post a link here when I start the WiP).

Thanks as always for all your help, support and companionship during this build, really appreciated chaps  

 

Some piccies not used in the RFI here.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bigdave22014]

Well, she put up a good fight but you managed to beat he into submission.

I've always thought these were weird "bug" looking things, but you've managed to make her look beautiful. Mayhaps I shall add one to my stash....

[Brandy]

Nicely fought and won Ced!

 

Ian

[Azgaron]

Excellent build Ced! It looks great!

Nice final touches with the door and the rigging!

 

Håkan

 

[Beard]

Very smart but isn't the propeller in the wrong place?

[TheBaron]

I say. Ced Triumphant. 👏

[amblypygid]

Marvellous, Ced, really good-looking outcome,  and quite a departure from your normal fare. Thoroughly enjoyed following along.

[Courageous]

You won in the end, good show. 

[Cookenbacher]

Dang Ced, that looks great with all the doors opened up.

[keefr22]

Excellent work Ced, great result....

 

11 hours ago, CedB said:

 

 

 

'Where is that flamin' mechanic with the big hammer - we want to go flying....!'

 

Top job!

 

Keith

[perdu]

As I always suspected Ced, you are a natural jellycopterist

 

Aced it mate and she's a star

[71chally]

Superb result Ced, really does look fantastic.

That hard work paid off, and it has to be said, that is the quickest that I have seen this kit built, which makes it even more impressive!

 

I've just started my Zvezda Hind A thanks to you, but will be a long time in the offing.

 

Respect, to you and the Hind!

 

 

Edited May 14, 2018 by 71chally