Mick Drover Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 (edited) G'day all, I've dragged this one out of the box and given it a shake and an airing. Good mate Bruce (pacificmustang) has lent me the Verlinden Publications Lock On No. 6 photo file on the AH-1S. It won't be a detail jobby but handy to have none the less. The compulsory box top shot for the kick off. I've been working on the sub assemblies today. Nothing has paint on it yet so I'll save you from the bland unpainted parts pieces. Cockpit tub, wings, gun, rocket launchers and engine exhaust has been done with a lick of Mr Surfacer 500 to check for any problems. None encountered so far although the perforated exhaust has a lovely seam running right down the guts. Near on impossible to remove entirely but it ain't a comp model so I'm not too worried. Pics of the major stuff to come in the following days. Hope everyone else's builds are progressing well. Looks like there's plenty on the go!!! Mick. Edited February 6, 2010 by Plastic_nuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 A little bit of progress over the last 24 hours or so. I did say I wasn't going to detail anything on this kit. I lied. my mistake. It's not a lot but it adds a little bit of interest to the kit. The first pic shows the replaced fairings at the end of each stub wing. The kit has a God awful seam running through the guts of them. I sanded off the offending parts and then with my trusty Lion Roar templates, cut out some teeny weeny plastic fairings to glue onto the end of the wing. These will be blended in more than what they are as they are not so pronounced on the real item. A quick swipe with a sanding stick and some Mr Surfacer will knock them into shape...god those macro shots certainly bare all don't they??? Some 34 gauge wire substituted for the electrical cables that wrap themselves around the gun housing. A few bees wiener drill holes and some CA and voila!!! It's only simple stuff but it adds a bit of interest to the model. Hope you like what I'm doing. Comments and tips appreciated. Cheers Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 More progress over the last day. The basic interior has been assembled an painted. All over Tamiya NATO black with some dark gray dry brushing to highlight the otherwise featureless cockpit. Simple instrument decals applied using a bit of Mr Mark Softer to help with adhesion. I'm going to add the crew to help dress up an otherwise spartan interior. The first green was shot with Gunze H52 Olive Drab however I thought the colour was too light and decided to reshoot the figures using a darker H80 Khaki Green. This photo shows them in the lighter green. I'll dry brush them with the lighter Olive Drab. I only noticed in the photos but the figures do have different heads. The gunner has his visor down and the pilot is wearing shades with his visor up. Dry fitting of the tub in the fuselage halves is promising with no problems encountered. I'll glue it up during the week. Thanks for looking. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedy Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Coming on nicely there. I love these birds, ever since I saw on on the Op Telic build up at Ali Al Salem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Love the Cobra too Mick, progress looks good. Keep the updates coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 G'day again fellow shakers and groovers, The Cobra is progressing well at the moment with a few more small additions to help bring an otherwise green helicopter to life. The fuselage has been buttoned up with stub wings and a few other bits and bobs attached and I've test fitted the skids which reveal that it's a tail sitter. I've got some small lead sinkers that I'll shove into the forward fuselage via the open exhaust with a bit or epoxy to hold them in place. Glad I checked that... There's still a bit of clean up to do on the seam but it's mainly Mr Surface cleanup now. This is the current state of the model. The pilot IP has been installed however I haven't added the gunner as a test fit revealed that the crew figure can't be positioned once the IP has been installed. I'll leave it off until the figures are painted and ready to be added. The replacement of the lumps/bumps on the ends of the stub wings has paid off as the final result can be seen in this photo. I knocked out a few plasticard discs using my Waldron punch set to achieve these two small covers. The kit would have you fill them in with putty however reference photos indicate they are circular blanks which cover the offending hole. I think they were orginally some form of antenna fit out??? Identical for the port side too. The mounting point for the IR disco ball on the upper engine deck was removed as the fuse seam runs right through the guts of it. Here I've replaced it with a bit of plasticard. The underside of the tail boom has a gusset with two small elevated discs with a hole through each. Again, as the fuse seam passes through all of it, I replaced the discs and covered the hole as per the fuselage. I've reinstated the rivets on the gusset plate. You get the idea though. Last of all, it ain't a big piece of plastic. Not the greatest set of piccies but this ain't a photography course! Hope you like it. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 I like the refinements you are making mick...taking notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Nice going, Mick. The extra efforts certainly make a difference and will look even better under a coat of paint. I like the improvement you made to the ends of the stub wings and look forward to more of your progress. Cheers, Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 Nice going, Mick.The extra efforts certainly make a difference and will look even better under a coat of paint. I like the improvement you made to the ends of the stub wings and look forward to more of your progress. Cheers, Andrew. G'day Andrew, Glad to hear you're liking it. An update. I've had a test fit of the canopy and it has revealed that the canopy sits a fraction inside the sill on the starboard side. I'll need to put a shim of plastic outside the armoured panels to force the window out a tad. Not a biggy, but i pays check and then re-check. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 How's the Apache going Mick? Any update? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 How's the Apache going Mick? Any update? G'day Ray, The Cobra has slowed to a halt. I've had next to zero time at the bench over the past two or so weeks. Unfortunately I won't be finishing this one within the allocated time frame although I'll be sure to post up the finished item in one of the helo sections. I see that you finished your UH-1N. Nice work indeed BTW, did the other TSR items front up? Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 G'day Ray,The Cobra has slowed to a halt. I've had next to zero time at the bench over the past two or so weeks. Unfortunately I won't be finishing this one within the allocated time frame although I'll be sure to post up the finished item in one of the helo sections. I see that you finished your UH-1N. Nice work indeed BTW, did the other TSR items front up? Mick Mick, Too bad, it was going along nicely. My current modelling as slowed to zip at the moment due to my stash sale. Yes the TSR bits turned up (this is one I am keeping ), I thought I had Pm'ed you about it! Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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