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Kittyhawk AH-1Z Viper 1/48 Completed !!!

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36 replies
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  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Sunday, February 28, 2016 11:09 AM

Huey638
what type of tape are you using for masking the canopy? 

I used the eduard canopy mask and filled in the centers with Tamiya tape. This one came out quite crisp and sharp around the frame. Certainly worth the extra cost.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments, gents. I highly recommend this kit.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

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  • Member since
    May 2014
Posted by Huey638 on Sunday, February 28, 2016 10:00 AM

 

 

 

Fantastic build!!

 

From a rookie, what type of tape are you using for masking the canopy?  I’m struggling with keep the windshield/windows clean through the build.

 

  • Member since
    January 2016
  • From: A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Posted by Hunter on Sunday, February 28, 2016 8:34 AM

Brandon - 

Well Sir, I don't know what too say...Absolutely wonderful job! That is a great build and I WANT ONE.

Outstanding job on the paint and detail job...perfect 

Hunter 

      

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Monday, February 22, 2016 9:20 AM

allan
A really beautiful build of a really beautiful helo.  Love the work.

Thanks Allan. I appreciate the kind words.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    June 2003
  • From: Cavite, Philippines
Posted by allan on Thursday, February 18, 2016 7:52 PM

A really beautiful build of a really beautiful helo.  Love the work.

 

I wish theyd come out with a kit of this and the UH-1Y in 1/72.

 

No bucks, no Buck Rogers

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Thursday, February 18, 2016 9:18 AM

Slingshot

what an amazing kit, build and final result.

Thank you for the write up!

 

Thank you for the kind words. It's definately a must build kit.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    February 2016
Posted by Slingshot on Monday, February 15, 2016 10:17 AM

what an amazing kit, build and final result.

Thank you for the write up!

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Sunday, February 7, 2016 5:32 PM

Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate the kind words. It was fun.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Auburn, Alabama
Posted by rotorwash on Sunday, February 7, 2016 12:39 AM

Beautiful build!  

   Ray

  • Member since
    December 2006
  • From: N. Georgia
Posted by Jester75 on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 8:24 PM

I love every bit of this one Brandon, excellent! I have talked myself out of buying this kit so many times since its come out but I still want it so bad. May have to splurge and pick it up.

Eric

 

  • Member since
    May 2013
  • From: From the Mit, but live in Mason, O high ho
Posted by hogfanfs on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 8:19 PM

Wow, Brandon! You have outdone yourself! Outstanding! Ha, I bought this kit when you first posted, now after your commments, I'm glad I did. Great job!

 Bruce

 

 On the bench:  1/48 Eduard MiG-21MF

                        1/35 Takom Merkava Mk.I

 

  • Member since
    October 2013
Posted by infofrog on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 7:11 PM
Thats one awesome bird . I really like the paint job Rick

  • Member since
    March 2009
  • From: Yorkville, IL
Posted by wolfhammer1 on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 6:58 PM

That is one mean ass looking helicopter.  Awesome build and thanks for sharing.

John

  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: Far Northern CA
Posted by mrmike on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 6:29 PM
Outstanding! Thanks for bringing us along and for the excellent finished photos.
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: East Bethel, MN
Posted by midnightprowler on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 6:10 PM

Wow! I am speechless!

Hi, I am Lee, I am a plastiholic.

Co. A, 682 Engineers, Ltchfield, MN, 1980-1986

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1 Corinthians 15:51-54

Ask me about Speedway Decals

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 4:34 PM

HeavyArty

It came out looking great.  Very nice.

 

Thanks, it was a pleasure to build.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Valrico, FL
Posted by HeavyArty on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 4:22 PM

It came out looking great.  Very nice.

Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!

Check out my Gallery: https://app.photobucket.com/u/HeavyArty

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 4:16 PM

Well, now we can call this one done. Final assembly and some painting of odds and sods finished it off. I really liked the kit, it is well done and of very high quality. Aside from some of the handling of the really tiny bits, of which there are many, the kit went off without any real issues. I am really pleased with how it turned out. If you guys are wanting to get this kit but just couldn't decided; get it, it's worth every penny.

Till next time,

BK

 

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Tuesday, February 2, 2016 3:23 PM

Ok, so all the weathering is now complete. I just need to paint the nav lights and some bits here and there, then final assembly.

I first gave the whole kit a overall wash using Detailer grey so that it wouldn't contrast too much with the colors. Black would have been too much on the rivets and panel lines. The grey is just dark enough to highlight them. I removed the wash over the whole kit with a wet cotton Qtip leaving only the recessed areas darker. 

I then sealed the whole kit with MM flat clear and followed that up with an overall dusting of pastels is a tone in between the two primary colors to help fade and blend them together. I then used progressively darker tones to show dirt around panels that are used accessed often and some panels that exibt some stainer over time from moving parts, etc. I also applied some staining on the exhaust nozzles and on the tail as I saw in some photos. I sealed all this in with artists Fixative so as not to disturb the pastels. Other clear coats will cause them to run and pool up and ruin your look.

Anyway, hopefully I should be buttoning this up this weekend. Thanks for looking.

BK

Here with the wash applied.

And here is with the wash cleaned off.

And finally, the pastel weathering is done.

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    October 2013
Posted by infofrog on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 3:23 PM
Thats really nice looking Rick

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 12:34 PM

I'm gonna stop using my flash because it washes out the colors in my photos. Here is a shot without the flash. It is more representitive of the actuall colors.

I also built up my PE main gun assembly. Wow, that was tricky to build and quite delicate to handle, but it looks way better than the kit parts.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 10:28 PM

midnightprowler

Wow!Heart

 

THANKS !!

 

Well, more slow progress. I have the decals mostly complete. It took nearly 9 hours to add all the stencils. Tongue Tied I have most of the assembly done, some small bits yet to go and lots and lots of work still to do. I have to seal the decals, give it a panel line wash, flat coat it, weather it up with pastels and seal that and then final assembly. Not sure at this point, but I hope to be done by next week.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: East Bethel, MN
Posted by midnightprowler on Saturday, January 16, 2016 6:10 PM

Wow!Heart

Hi, I am Lee, I am a plastiholic.

Co. A, 682 Engineers, Ltchfield, MN, 1980-1986

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1 Corinthians 15:51-54

Ask me about Speedway Decals

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Saturday, January 16, 2016 5:40 PM

Well, I am slowly making headway on the Viper. I have most of the major detail painting done. I'll finish up the weapons and I should be ready to add decals. This is a lovely kit but it takes tons of extra time to detail paint all the little stuff it comes with. But, it is beginning to look pretty good.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Sunday, January 10, 2016 3:35 PM

I've been pretty busy with other builds lately, I have 7 going at once right now. So, I managed to get this one to the paint booth over the weekend and get the two primary colors down. It went well and the paint laid down quite well. I used Mr Color 338 FS36495 and Mr Color 335 BS381C for the colors. I found this exact aircraft online and the colors I chose are very close, so I am pleased. I will post up more later but I have tons more to paint yet on this kit. Thanks for looking.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: East Bethel, MN
Posted by midnightprowler on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 6:46 PM

Great work so far.

Hi, I am Lee, I am a plastiholic.

Co. A, 682 Engineers, Ltchfield, MN, 1980-1986

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1 Corinthians 15:51-54

Ask me about Speedway Decals

  • Member since
    October 2013
Posted by infofrog on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 6:02 PM
That looks like a great model .. I have Kitty Hawk Huey . I'm stuck on this ch53e build .. Rick

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 4:22 PM

Quick update.

I decided to go with a closed cockpit for two reasons. One, it's a lot easier to mask and paint, and two, you can still see the vast majority of the pit anyway so it will stay clean in there better that way.

I have the majority of the building done and I have to say that this kit comes with A LOT of very small bits. I mean VERY small, almost too small to work with. But, it adds a lot of detail and looks great once done. On the other hand it can be quite difficult to work with so many small bits that are really easy to loose. So, that's a win/lose situation.

The PE that comes with the kit to make up all the screens is very nice and will certainly make the kit look wonderful once painted. I lost two really small bits and I have Emailed Kittyhawk for replacement fret, no word back yet. I'll keep you informed of their customer service.

One thing to note on this kit is the ejector pen marks have a great deal of overflow and nearly all of them, if not all, will need to be cut off before assembly. Most are hidden once assembled though, so not that big of a deal. Flash so far has been very minimal. 

I  managed to rig up a jig for my rotor blades to get a tad bit of a droop from them and then used my hot air gun and a few moments of heat to get just a tad of a bend. It worked great and they should display wonderfully.

No real issues with the kit thus far but I can say you really need to follow most of the construction steps in order on the main body or it will be difficult to assemble. I didn't but managed to pull it off.

I did take the time to clean up the intake plenums as they have locator pins that show when you look inside. SO, I removed them and filed the surface smooth and now you cannot see anything that shouldn't be there.

Thanks for looking guys, more to come later.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Virginia
Posted by Mike F6F on Monday, December 14, 2015 7:57 PM

The two colors I listed in last post are the correct exterior colors.

Mike

 

"Grumman on a Navy Airplane is like Sterling on Silver."

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