Dave -

Put me in the solidly impressed column, I truly enjoyed seeing it. The open tail rotor drive line is extremely well done, I can imagine the delicate work that it entailed.

Thanks for the post and photos.

Patrick

That is a beautiful build.  I just got a 1/48 scale kit and was looking for a more unique paint scheme for it than we normally see and I found this post.  That is an absolutely gorgeous bird!!!!

I just came up your old post, and I love your Apache.I just completed one In 1/32 nd  scale .w/ the same detail w/ scratch build parts and a second opened up scratch build engine w/a little help from the academy 1/35 scale UH-60 engines .i will try to post it in the FSM reader Gallery .Its hard to do that because they do not like super detail projects To show up.My email is benzay@comcast.net  Take care and happy modeling

I know it has been a while back.But;I seeN your project and it inspired me in building the 1/32 nd scale version like yours.I had to scratch build engines and everything else.They look identicle.Thanks.

Gentlemen, thank you all for the outstanding comments. It is the feedback from fellow modelers, like yourselves, that have made this build worthwhile. Thanks again.

Dave Fassett

Amazing detail and at that scale all the more so!

Wow. I normally build german armour and do WW2 german dio's so don't scan this forum page. I just happened to randomly look through this forum page for something different and this AH-64 absolutely blew me away! That is one piece of work to be proud of. Stunning. I am speechless.

That would be amazing work in 1/48 let alone 1/72!!

Mike

Subfixer and Gamera , Thank you so much gentlemen for the outstanding feedback on my build.

Dave Fassett  

Mike, Thank you so much Sir, your compliment means a lot. It is always good to hear feedback from a member of a unit I portray in a build. I have a couple of more "Blue Max" builds scheduled  in 1/48, so any pictures you have would be outstanding. You can never have enough reference material, I will drop you a line ASAP. Again thank you Sir for your outstanding feedback and offer.

Dave Fassett  

Wow, how did I miss this- awesome work there!!!

Bad-Azz!

That's amazing Dave! I had to sign up for an account just to post and tell you that. I was a Blue Max member and 202 was there with me when I was serving. It "belonged" to a very good friend. When we deployed to Bosnia we had custom head cushion covers made and I found this picture taken 12 years ago of 202. I thought you would like to see it. I don't know if I have any other pictures, but drop me a line sometime if you want.

SGT Mike

Thank you Ish. Man it sucks you couldn't make it this year, oh well there is always next year.

Holy crap, Dave!  Nice, man!  Now I'm friggen angry that I wont be there to see it person at SuperCon.

Thank you very Milairjunkie.

The tail rotor was for me the most challenging. The challenge was to represent the actual assembly and its major parts, but not to over do it and make it to busy. The next challenge I faced was getting everything to fit and scaled properly. In the end it took three weeks and 56 scratch built pieces to get it just right, but I feel it was worth it.

Dave Fassett

Wow, that's a build & a half!

Like has been said, the disco ball & anti-slip are excellently done, the open panels are something else as well, in particular the tail rotor shaft.

I can't put my finger on exactly what does it, but it has something very realistic going on (to my eyes anyway).

Thank you all for the excellent feedback and comments, it means a lot.

Centerdeck2,

The non-skid was done with Mr. Surfacer 500. First what I do is mask off the area to be treated. Second use a stiff short bristle brush and "dab" the Mr. Surfacer onto the area. Work the area a little until you have the texture you are looking for, (A small note here, work a little section at a time, Mr. Surfacer does not take long to set up).  While it is still somewhat wet you can rescribe your panel lines by just running a sawing needle down the existing panel line.  Finally paint the area once it is dry and your done. The nice thing about using Mr. Surfacer for this is that if you don't like it ,or you mess up, you can just sand it off without a problem. Give it a try, it's pretty easy and the results are pretty convincing.

Dave Fassett

EXQUISITE! Want to eventually do the same to my 1:48. Will be happy if it comes out half as nice. Just can't find the tail rotor shaft bay detail and a couple of the smaller compartments in my scale.

Great job mel!  My question is about the non-skid.  

Absolutely amazing!  Great detail work!  Looks like the real thing!  My hat is off to you!  

Incredibly awesome detail for a 1/72 scale.  very nice!

Wow that is 1/72 scale. Absolutely stunning build.

Thank you very much Hercmech and Gene for the outstanding feedback.

Dave Fassett

Superlatives abound on this example you've done!  Awesome work.  I did a 1/48th scale example, starting with that really bad Revell kit and adding a TON of extra details to it, and didn't produce ANYTHING close to what you've done here.  Very, very nice craftsmanship!

Gene Beaird,

Pearland, Texas

Absolutley stunning build...not one thing to nitpick on it. Hats off to you.

Thank you all so much for the outstanding feedback.

Thanks for the question Stikpusher.

I made the "Disco Ball" by sanding the Eduards PE piece until all of the silver coating was removed and the brass was revealed completely.  Next I polished the brass with a piece of fine sandpaper to give it a high shine look, and sprayed a coat of Model Master Acrylic Clear Red over it. I Let this dry for a day or so. I then cut a piece of clear Mylar film, which was purchased at Hobby Lobby, to fit over the PE piece. Make this a little bigger than the piece to be covered, this will allow you to handle it better. I brushed a coat of future over the PE piece and lay the Mylar over it while it is still wet. Gently press this down and let it set for a while. 

After this was dry I used a new #11 blade and scored the recesses between each of the lenses on the disco ball. After this was done I brushed another coat of future over it,and let this dry. Finally I trimmed all excess Mylar, folded the piece to shape, and covered it one more time with future. You may have a lense pop off here or there, if this happens just cut a piece of Mylar to the correct size and reattach it with future.

I hope this answers your question and please feel free to ask more.

Thanks again,

Dave Fassett 

That is one fantastic build!!!

Makes me think that 1/72 scale is worthwhile.