Heart Failure Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 (edited) Good day to all. Here is my recently completed 1/72 EC-135 AUSTRIAN POLICE helicopter. This kit is a struggle to do especially the cockpit front glass (this is likely true to most helicopter kits). The build is 95% out of the box and the rest are scratchbuild parts to improve the kits original over scaled items. It was a constant struggle for me doing "tug of war" with the kits. The colour scheme is a challenge let alone the complexity of the decals due to its size and needs to conform to the fuselage shape. At the end I managed to "tame" it. For those of you who have build this exact kit then you will understand the short coming of this kit. I did minimal research on this subject and I'm not aiming for 100% accuracy (whatever than means) but to build it to my liking and standard that I'm happy with. Parts I have improved via scratch building includes the front canopy pitot tubes, thinned down both top and bottom wire cutters, replace wire cutter brace to scale, grab handles for engine maintenance and repair, rotor support, engine exhaust , all arials, 0.5mm tail navigation light (turned clear sprue) and the near impossible to scartch built wind screen wiper. Points to correct are the landing skids and blade rotation. I read somewhere that the tail fin is too high but I did not bother to correct this. I skip the windows black perimeter decals as I damaged it beyond repair and it makes the windows looks a tad smaller. At the end I'm happy that I finished the build. This was painted with Aclad, Tamiya acyslics, Game workshop and Vallejo. Sealed with Future/Pledge for the glossy finish of this civilian helicopter. Weathering is very minimal to non existent as this helicopters are kept in pristine condition. Enjoy and fire away with your comments. Note the improved pitot tubes The notorious scratch built windscreen wiper. Note the wire cutter blade support replaced to scale. Note the maintenance grab handles. Tail arials, painted white as per reference. Front canopy blended to make it "seamless" to the fuselage Tail navigation light. This was turned on my lathe using a clear sprue. The diameter is 0.5mm. Shot is taken using a Nikon 105 D micro lens at f8 with 1:1 magnification to show the details of the light as nearly impossible to see. Birds eye view Scale comparison with a Tamiya Acrylic paint bottle. Edited November 15, 2020 by Heart Failure 39 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djos Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 Great little model. Crazy precise painting with lot of details...on so small bug Simply beautiful Regards Djordje Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmerboy Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 That is so well done, your eyesight must be 20/20 to be so precise in this scale, really good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swralph Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 Very nice.😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 Superb! I'm always impressed by precise paint jobs on small scale subjects. Great skills Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispisme Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 Amazing level of detail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart Failure Posted November 15, 2020 Author Share Posted November 15, 2020 Cheers guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisbob12 Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 That's a little gem! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orso Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Beautiful. I built mine as a Swedish police helicopter but it didn't end up as nice as yours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 I think that is superb! A miniature masterpiece in detail and finishing. So many times I have considered buying one of these kits at my local Hobby Shop (but resisted 'til now). Your precise work is such an inspiration for me to reconsider (not that I could execute as well as your build). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Very nice! I didn't know there was a chopper called EC-135; when I saw the title I wondere why the Austrian Police needed something like a Rivet Joint/Air Seeker! 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 great model! fantastic!, I am a bit biased maybe :thumbsup: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart Failure Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 6 hours ago, Lord Riot said: Very nice! I didn't know there was a chopper called EC-135; when I saw the title I wondere why the Austrian Police needed something like a Rivet Joint/Air Seeker! 😂 Thanks! They don't need the RC-135. 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxhandybread Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Really great job, and the paint pot makes a really striking reference for the tiny scale of this model! Particularly love the upgraded wire cutters and aerials. I'm waiting for someone to make an H175 now in this scale!! Might be waiting for a while though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart Failure Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 9 hours ago, foxhandybread said: Really great job, and the paint pot makes a really striking reference for the tiny scale of this model! Particularly love the upgraded wire cutters and aerials. I'm waiting for someone to make an H175 now in this scale!! Might be waiting for a while though! Thanks! Yes a H175 would be nice. I will definitely do one in yellow scheme. Keep our fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_alfisti_ Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Very well done.👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Awesome little whirlybird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 On 16/11/2020 at 07:50, Lord Riot said: I wondered why the Austrian Police needed something like a Rivet Joint/Air Seeker! That is a scary thought! Your local police with that level of surveillance! Edit; I wonder if Facebook would sponsor them? All that data they could harvest.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cessna Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Very nice small copter!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Simply superb!!!! With the tiny nature and complex color pattern, this is one impressive presentation of the EC-135. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart Failure Posted November 21, 2020 Author Share Posted November 21, 2020 Appreciate all the kind words gents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Stunning build of such a small subject. The Austrian police scheme is much more attractive than the blue and yellow EC-135s and EC-145s of the National Police Air Service (NPAS). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Looks sharp, very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart Failure Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 On 11/21/2020 at 9:34 AM, Alpha Delta 210 said: Stunning build of such a small subject. The Austrian police scheme is much more attractive than the blue and yellow EC-135s and EC-145s of the National Police Air Service (NPAS). Thanks! On 11/21/2020 at 9:38 AM, James G said: Looks sharp, very nice! Great, Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfman Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 A beautiful build and finish, great stuff ! Wulfman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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