jean Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Hi all, Against my better judgement, here I am, taking part to a GB I swore to myself I would not enter... Not sure where I went wrong... Anyway, here is my intended victim: the 1/72 UH-1D Huey from ESCI. I bought this kit when it came out, in 1983 or 1984. Toyed with it for a little while back then, but hardly any work was done. So I am looking forward to build a bit more of this beautiful chopper. Here is a look at the runners. As you can see, the decal sheet has suffered at the teeth of the local wildlife... But the decals for the IP are still looking fine. It could be worse! The clear parts look perfect. 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Well done for giving in Jean! And with one of the most iconic helicopters ever built. I built one of these around the same time as you made a start on this one and loved it, well whats not to love especially as it comes tooled up with rocket pods and miniguns!! I think that I built mine in the RAAF markings. Looking forward to this one! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Glad you're joining in Jean,enjoy! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 OH YES HE'S IN THE GB WITH A CLASSIC 😁 Delighted to have you with us, now please just enjoy this build, and let the rest of us encourage you along the way ! cheers Pat 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 A classic kit of a classic subject Jean. Hopefully it gives you a straighforward project 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 Hi guys, thank you for your good words. In parallel to finishing the Stuka, I am gluing the odd bits and pieces and cleaning small parts prior to painting. Slightly tedious as the dark green plastic is damn hard and brittle! But really nothing worth showing pictures of I have noticed that the control sticks have broken over the years as well as two of the rudder pedals. Found 1 pedal... For the rest I am going to have to empty the box the kit has been in for years... unless it fell to the bottom of the box it was in for years before that, or the one before that... Bottom line, short of a miracle, I am doomed! I may have no option but to scratchbuild (badly) something! On the upside, I have found the decals I bought a couple of years ago for this very kit. I have heard some worrying things about Print Scale decals, but I hope it is the exception rather than the rule. We shall find out, hopefully soon. Thanks for watching. JR 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Some nice options on that sheet Jean, shame most of them are B's and yours is a D but there are still a couple of options you can use. I have used Print Scale decals on a couple of occasions and had pretty good results with them, they are very thin and care needs to be taken with them but pre-warned you should be okay. I'm also sure that you are perfectly capable of reproducing the missing pedals if necessary. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/26/2020 at 1:14 PM, jean said: Hi all, Against my better judgement, here I am, taking part to a GB I swore to myself I would not enter... Not sure where I went wrong... I'll tell ya where..... You started hanging out with the lot of us in GBs. Looks like a fun little project. Enough small detail bits to keep it interesting.....but not so much that it'll turn into a tedious build. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 10 minutes ago, helios16v said: I'll tell ya where..... You started hanging out with the lot of us in GBs. My mum did warn me not to mingle with bad company, and throughout my life I have met some really bad dudes. But this GB crowd on BM is definitely the baddest. Not good... but fun! JR 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 8:23 PM, modelling minion said: Some nice options on that sheet Jean, shame most of them are B's and yours is a D but there are still a couple of options you can use. I have used Print Scale decals on a couple of occasions and had pretty good results with them, they are very thin and care needs to be taken with them but pre-warned you should be okay. I'm also sure that you are perfectly capable of reproducing the missing pedals if necessary. Hi M.M, Thanks for the heads up re the Print Scale decals. I feel better knowing that at least one human being in our galaxy has used them successfully! I have more than enough choice, so I am good! Just not sure what shade of OD to use... Oh well. Thank you for your confidence in my pedal-making ability. I shall try not to disappoint you! I am struggling with the small pieces, as this plastic is so hard and brittle! Quite a bit of breakage, but nothing that cannot be repaired. As my late catholic mother used to say: "we must all carry our cross!!!" Damn. Photos of some progress to come soon. Cheers JR 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Hi all, it is now official. This kit has the worst plastic of any kits I ever built! As mentioned before, it is very hard, hence difficult to clean up, and very brittle. I managed to break the corner of both cargo doors, just wile cleaning them up!!! As if that was not enough, the plastic does not melt well under the glue... If I did not want a Huey that badly, I would bin it! As it stands, I will try and finish it. Still a nice-looking kit despite the above gripe. Have fun with your respective models! JR 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted July 8, 2020 Author Share Posted July 8, 2020 Hi everyone, here is a photo of the first lot of parts ready for a spray of primer. This will be done tomorrow and not to mention outside and downwind from wherever my wife may be. Any error in judging the wind direction, and my life won't be worth that much.... These bits and pieces have been cleaned, broken, glued, re-broken and re-glued, and I am sure they will look just fine once primed! Fingers crossed. Have fun! JR 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Good to see that you're not letting the brittle plastic defeat you Jean. Hope the priming goes well and that you don't accidentally spray your wife. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 The Esci kits of UH1 are really nice, I built an Israeli one when they first came out and I recall it being a straight forward build. Not sure what happened to mine and do I look forward to following your build. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 9 minutes ago, Mr T said: The Esci kits of UH1 are really nice, I built an Israeli one when they first came out and I recall it being a straight forward build. Not sure what happened to mine and do I look forward to following your build. I certainly believe that these Huey’s are the best in the 1/72 range .... Love it to see one built again👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 cheers, Jan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikolay Polyakov Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 It’s nice to see these rare kits on the bench, Jean! The sprues looks excellent, I’ll take a look... 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 Hi guys, thanks for the nice comments. @Nikolay Polyakov and @janneman36, you are right. Despite the questionable quality of the plastic, this Huey looks really good. Nikolay, I did not know it was now a rare kit. My LMS was selling it early this year, along quite a few other Esci kits. But I guess you are right as we are talking of a +/-40 years old kit... @Mr T, I was tempted as well by the Israeli version, but somehow a Viet Nam chopper was in my mind. So... @modelling minion I am still in one piece, hence I did not spray my wife! Here is a shot of the same parts after some primer. I really love this Tamiya primer. The result is always perfect. Whatever, I can now start some painting and clear parts gluing! The one advantage of this brittle plastic is that any break is a clan break. After some extra thin cement, any evidence of the break disappears. Cheers JR 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 16 minutes ago, jean said: I am still in one piece, hence I did not spray my wife! That is very good to know Jean, you live to spray another day! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikolay Polyakov Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 6 hours ago, jean said: Nikolay, I did not know it was now a rare kit. My LMS was selling it early this year, along quite a few other Esci kits. But I guess you are right as we are talking of a +/-40 years old kit... I haven’t seen any ESCI kit since the mid or late 90s, so it’s very rare here in Russia. It would be great to have some of them, along with the Fujimi! 6 hours ago, jean said: Here is a shot of the same parts after some primer. The primer revealed excellent surface details. Ah, the cockpit ceiling is a separate part - very nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 17 hours ago, Nikolay Polyakov said: The primer revealed excellent surface details. Ah, the cockpit ceiling is a separate part - very nice! Hi Nikolay, yes the parts' breakdown is pretty clever and the separate ceiling is a nice touch. It is my first UH-1 AND my first helicopter, so I have no idea how other helicopter kits are designed. But the fit is excellent. Let us hope it carries on! Cheers JR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Excellent 'perseverance' so far Jean - keep up the good work sir - Steve 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikolay Polyakov Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 On 10/07/2020 at 16:08, jean said: It is my first UH-1 AND my first helicopter, so I have no idea how other helicopter kits are designed. The last «long» Huey in 1:72nd scale I’ve seen was from Hasegawa in Revell boxing. As for me, it was a very rude representation of the real thing. On 10/07/2020 at 16:08, jean said: But the fit is excellent. It’s nice to hear it. I hope these old IP decals will transfer well! 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 Greetings from a freezing Lowveld! As I was looking for some needed aftermarket to finish my Stuka, this is what I found! I had no recollection to ever buy this PE! Now, I vaguely remember ordering it from Hannants and collecting it at Colindale when was last in the UK in December 2017... I almost missed it, buried as the pocket was inside a box... That will teach me not to store things straight away where they are supposed to go! Anyway, I am not sure what to use out of this PE. Definitely the safety belts and the windscreen wipers! Thereafter, not too sure yet. Whatever, it is an unexpected surprise. A good one... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Great progress JR Really sorry the kit isn't playing nicely. I had a Russian kit years ago which was made of a plastic which seemed virtually indestructible and impervious to any glue I owned. I still have it, well we do have a reputation for being careful with our money in Scotland ! 😉 cheers Pat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 15 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: Great progress JR Really sorry the kit isn't playing nicely. I had a Russian kit years ago which was made of a plastic which seemed virtually indestructible and impervious to any glue I owned. I still have it, well we do have a reputation for being careful with our money in Scotland ! 😉 cheers Pat Hi Pat, I must have some Scottish ancestry as well, unless it is all the single malt I have drunk through my life, but I have never thrown a kit away either... In the back of my mind, I know I will regret to have got rid of it, especially when the next ice age sets in and Hannant's is closed for a few thousand years, on account of the weather! This is when the word "stash" will take an all new meaning! Yes, I am an optimist! Have fun Mate. JR 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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