TonyOD Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 (edited) From the Africa GB... Sud Aviation Alouette III, the personal helicopter of corrupt despot and noted sartorial icon General Mobutu Sese Seko, 1967. Heller 1/72 kit with Brengun etch and a bit of scratch work here and there. Not the easiest of kits to work with simply because it's so small and I'm chronically clumsy. The fit isn't great and is downright rotten around the front transparency. As always close-up photography is brutal but it passes the three foot test and I'm quite pleased with the result, although it was a lot of hours for a tiny outcome. I'm indebted to Martin @RidgeRunner who supplied the Berna decals (twice as it turned out 😉) and Mr. Pierre Gillard who runs the outstanding www.alouettelama.com website, surely the definitive online resource for information about this versatile little chopper! He kindly allowed me to reproduce pictures from his website in my build thread, here: Mobutu had a very fancy red leather interior (he was all about understatement) which I had a go at reproducing, it's about a third kit, a third etch and a third scratch. I suspected it would be invisible (and I was right) so I took a pic along the way. A (whirly)bird in the hand... ...and there are some pics of the real thing here. https://pierregillard.zenfolio.com/drcaf Thanks for looking! Edited April 13, 2021 by TonyOD 30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Very impressive build of an unusual subject. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 She’s gorgeous, Tony!!! Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Beautiful work! The question is: could he board it without first removing his leopard-skin fez? That's the most important thing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Cracking job Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 1 hour ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: could he board it without first removing his leopard-skin fez? 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphin38 Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Great work, I'm fighting one of these myself as a French navy machine hope it turns out half as good as this. well done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 18 minutes ago, dolphin38 said: I'm fighting one of these myself Enjoy! And thanks for the kind words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Well done. It's a novel colour scheme too. I see you cut out the holes in the fuselage. I did that too in a half completed Alouette. So fiddly. I really must finish it. It's a tiny model. As for the real thing I hope Mobuto had a good set of ear defenders. Fancy upholstery or not the noise inside the cabin is insane. 😖 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted April 14, 2021 Author Share Posted April 14, 2021 (edited) 19 hours ago, noelh said: So fiddly. The fiddly part was the grab bars - cutting tiny lengths of painted 5 amp fuse wire to length and gluing them in place (especially the upper step on each side, as there's a "T" shaped arrangement.) Thought I was going blind... Edited April 14, 2021 by TonyOD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfman Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Great build on the old Heller ! Wulfman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 Very nice effort. I intend to build a Rhodesian Allouette but cant find any useful pictures of them. Anyone got any ideas? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted May 18, 2021 Author Share Posted May 18, 2021 On 4/17/2021 at 3:01 AM, Rik said: I intend to build a Rhodesian Allouette but cant find any useful pictures of them. Anyone got any ideas? Got these. https://pierregillard.zenfolio.com/zimbabweairforce/ha1071607#ha1071607 http://www.alouettelama.com/photos/001808.pdf Not sure where you'd find decals though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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