DesTROYer's 1/35 AAAvn CH-47D Chinook

Very nice build, thanks for sharing the build thread with us as it was fun to watch and learn from you.

Ben

Wow really nice build.  That ramp alone... really nice.   Well done.

Though I still do need to take some better photos and do a RFI post.  I present my Trumpeter 1/35 CH-47D, Chinook A15-104 'Crux Australis'.

As you can see, under different lighting, the paint colour changes quite dramatically.

I am pretty happy with how it has come out, though of course there are a few things I would like to have done different and better, the fitting of the nose to the body for one thing. The piece ended up being wider than the body and there is a step on the crew entry door side.  I need to get new batteries for my SLR and am waiting on a special patch that has been gifted to me for this project. Glamour shots to follow soon.

Kit: Trumpeter 1/35 CH-47D
Paint: Model Master 
Decals: Ronin Graphics and Werners Wings. 
Aftermarket: Big Ed Photo etchand masks. 
Scratch built items: CSAR hoist, Ramp internal details, Avionics bay curtains, First Aid Kits and Satcom X antenna.
Special thanks: Craig Hartnett 'Australian Army 5th Aviation Regiment', Paul "Padubon" 'US Army Reserve CH-47 Pilot, Rod C and Bruce and Ben O'Dowd.

Good afternoon.  I've spent the day making, painting and fitting additional parts onto the Chook and then finished up by spraying the sealing clear coat.  Starting with sorting through my spare parts bin, I found suitable parts to make the hook for the CSAR hoist. A bit of glue and paint, and it was ready to fit.

While there I finally got around to fitting the upper door inside the cabin.

Then it was onto painting and fitting the heavy lifting hooks and I all so used some more spare parts to make up the rails for the lower door.

One of the parts that I still have to make up is the X comms antenna.  I've had a play with a couple of ideas so far, but I don't have any good photos of it and no measurements, so this one, though it looks alright, could be massively oversized.  If anyone can help out here with photos and or measurements, please post them or let me know.

With that all done and the last of the decals applied, it was time to head back out to the garage and spray the next clear coat to seal the decals. This has gotten rid of the film lines for the most part, but it has revealed some ting spots of silvering where air must be trapped behind the film.  They'll need to be pricked, but I'm worried that if I apply any more decal setting solution now that the lastest clear coat has been applied, I might get a bad reaction.  What's everyone's thoughts on that? Today's warmth made the paint dry nice and quick.

Decaling began Saturday afternoon.  After half a day of bench time, by nightfall had the first side done. The Ronin decals, as always went down perfectly and looked great.  Steves research and eye for detail brought to light a few errors on the kit.  I did stuff up one decal though, through a stupid rookie mistake. The tail serial number went down great, but after I applied the setting solution as I was getting ready to pack up for the night, I noticed a couple of air bubbles under it.  Instead of waiting for the decal to settle and dry, I took my hobby knife and put small little cuts on the bubbles, then even more stupidly applied even more setting solution, and of course, the decal warped. You would think that I would have learned and set it aside until the morning, but no, I cracked the shits and tried to remove the decal, and with it, removed some paint.  Idiot.

I applied some paint to touch up the stuff up and set it aside until morning. While watching a movie later that night, I jumped on my Silhouette Studio programme and using a photo of the remaining decal, made up replacement serial numbers to be sprayed on later. The lighter colour where the touch up has been applied will darken once the clear coat is applied.

After 6 days straight of 5 AM wake-ups, Sunday definitely called for a sleep in, and this morning I got one and after a breakfast of a muffin with honey and a mug of Earl Grey Tea, it was back into it.  Determined to make no more stuff ups, I forced myself to take my time on the second side.

After turning nearly a whole decal sheet into confetti, I was done for the weekend. There are still a few decals left to apply to the underside, but really not as many as what is left on the decal sheet, So that does have me a bit confused.  What is not shown on the decal instructions?

Time for the end of weekend progress shots.  There is still a lot to do. I have to scratch build two new antennas for the top spine of the chopper, make up a hoof for the CSAR hoist, make up some arms/brackets to hold the bottom hatch open n the right spot, fit the three undersling hooks, fit the crew door inside the cabin, seal the paint, weather, matt coat and last but not least, remove the masks and pray there is no bleed through on the clear bits.

A late start today, but once I got started, I didn't want to stop.  Started off paintings more more details and making some corrections. 

The colour charts say these rear lights are yellow.  They may have yellow lamps in them, but they don't look right to me and the photos I have show them as a crazed white.  I may have to fix them somehow, but I'm not sure how I'll do it yet.

With all that done, it was time to head out into the garage and put down the gloss coat. Pretty straight forward, but by the time I was done and it was dry enough to handle, it was cold and wet outside so these photos are a lot, lot darker than it really looks.  It's my brothers birthday tomorrow, so I'll be out much of the day with family, still I hope to get in and start on the decals later in the afternoon.

Painting day.  Being the first time (sort of) that I have used Model Master paints, today started with a small false start, but after finding a suitable thinner in my stock (Vallejo thinner did the trick), I got stuck into painting the Chinook. The paint went down real nice, gives a nice coverage, and when thinned down still allowed for the pre-shading to come through where I wanted it to. 

Then it was detail painting time. Taking my time and constantly looking through my references I've noticed that a lot of details have changed over the years.  From colours of antennas to the configuration of sensors, there is a lot to take in, and my primary reference photos don't answer a lot of them, so what I have decided to do is go with what I think looks the best from each era. There are still a few things to figure out, but I'm in no rush.

At the end of the day as the sun was getting down close to the horizon, so once more I slipped out the front to take some pics in the dying light.

I need to go through my spare parts box and find a suitable hook for the CSAR hoist, but next up it's time to apply the clear coat and get stuck into the decals.

I've been back at work for the last two days, but the last two nights have been most productive.  Yesterday the long-awaited CASR hoist for the Chinook arrived from Russ French at DMA.  Unfortunately, upon inspection, it seems that the Blackhawk hoist is way smaller than the one on the Chook.

[img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4889/45905104741_b55cda854a_b.jpg[img]I carried out some more fine adjustment after taking these photos, mainly to the bracket mounts and the cable gland, but it's really looking great, and I'm getting ever closer now to getting some paint on this weekend.

I had to make some changes over the weekend due to new information I received regarding the colour rings on the rotor heads. I had seen photos of red and yellow bands in photos, but due to not seeing a complete head, did not know that the three arms each had a different colour band, red, yellow and green, and I had just assumed that the bands were dependent on what time period the photos were taken.

So they have now been touched up to properly render this. As the rotors are linked to turn in concert with each other, to make sure they are aligned, when one colour band is facing forward on the front mast, the same colour rotor blade must be forward on the rear mast. As the rotors spin in opposite directions, the bands go in the opposite order too. 

The Chinook's been in a bit of a holding pattern this last week. I've been held up on it whilst waiting for the CSAR hoist that Russ French offered to make, to arrive, but as I have been home from work recovering from hernia repair surgery since last Monday, I have had some time on my hands and finishing off the B737-800 didn't take as long as I expected. So I started by doing some pre-shading on the fuselage and finished painting and assembling the rotors. 

I was happy with the pre-shading lines, but although I had followed the colour call out for the rotors, it was rightly pointed out to me that they were too dark, so back into the office I went and laid down a new coat of NATO black, then added some grey to the NATO black, added some feathering to the leading edge, and then finally ran a very thin line of tan to the edge. This I was then very happy with. 

This morning I rubbed them back with some micro mesh, made up some masks for the rotor markings and sprayed the yellow lines.

Continuing on, I applied the 'No Step' and rotary wing serial number stencils to the rotor blades, added some extra details to the heads and then to finish them off I dry brushed some flat aluminium onto the rotor head.  Here is the result.

And here is where we're at now. Hopefully, I'll have the hoist mounted and some paint down on the fuselage in the next couple of days.

I was going to spend today working on the 737, but instead I decided to start work on the Chooks rotors. It took a bit of experimentation to figure out how to put them together in the right way that everything lines up, but I got there in the end.

Man these suckers are huge.

That done, I sat the rotor blades onto the shaft assembly and after some clean up, laid down a black primer coat.

Tonight, the temptation got the better of me and I had to A) see how the Chinook looked with the rotors on, and B) see if the beast will fit into the display cabinet when finished. 

As you can see it fit in length wise, but unfortunately it does not width wise.  Damn.

Fortunately for me however, It will fit into the Coffee table, So when finished, it's going to be time to rearrange the cabinets again.  A good thing I have Coffee Table Mk.II planned for later this year.

The Flare dispensers are folded up and assembled. I’m a little disappointed with the flare boxes themselves, as the fold lines are, in my opinion, not in the right place and do not line up properly with the mesh face corners. Still, they’re tiny and I’ve done the best I could with them and they’ll look alright with a coat of nato black and when fitted.

I've just noticed that I'll need to fix up a fold on one of the brackets.  That's an easy one to get too at least.

I’m now after a decent photo of them Fitted in place on A15-104. I have some close ups of them on other chooks, but they are fitted in different configurations to 104.

Lots done.  Where to start? There was a late start yesterday as I worked in the morning then went out to Station Pier to have a tour of HMAS Warramunga which was in port.  

During the week I ordered a new razor saw from BNA for some areas on the Chook which I needed to cut out.  First I replaced the grill on the tail after cutting the required area a little bigger to suit. This also required the hole for the light be moved up. That done I then replaced the piece of drilled out sprue I had for the APU exhaust with some 4mm brass tube. Looks much more the part now. 

I then used my new razor saw to cut out the two missing vents on the front mast.  I like my new razor saw.

Next was the extra sensor blocks on the nose and tail.  More detail would follow Sunday.

Checking my references, I noticed three vent tunes on the port side. photo etch from the spares box, some evergreen styrene sheet and some drilled out evergreen rod, and I had made up a close enough approximation.

Finally, I filled in the two vents moulded into the rear mast.  That was it for Saturday.  I was starting to get a headache from the optivosor and my stomach was growling for dinner.

Sunday was a new day and a lot more progress was made.  Using my punch and die set, I knocked out some rings to add detail to the sensors i made yesterday.

I folded up and fitted the photo etch rails for the engine filters.  At least that what I think they're for.

The antenna wire configuration on the Aussie D's is very different to those shown in the instructions.  So first I had to shave off, bog and sand the excess mounts provided.  I then cut to the correct length the mounting rods and after punching out some 2.2 mm discs, capped them off and fit the rods in place.

Then I spent a while going through dozens of photos trying to figure out which antennas needed to be fitted, and where.  Again, all very different to where they were fitted in the kit instructions. You could go cross eyed trying to figure them all out. Not only were the placement of the antennas different from aircraft to aircraft, but even photo to photo of the same aircraft over the years.  I am pretty sure I have got the underside right, but Im sure the top is probably wrong for A15-104, but finding a photo showing me where I was wrong proved to be too hard, so I have settled on simplicity for now, pending more evidence.  My spares pile is dwindling too.

And that's another weekend done.  I'll start on the rotors during the week hopefully, if not they can wait until the weekend.  I still need to sort out the CSAR hoist, so painting will have to wait until I can get that together.

I was only going to spend only a little time on the Chook today, but ended up spending all day on it. Nose sensors, some more PE grills, landing gear and the APU exhaust pipe all fitted. 

The exhaust is a piece of sprue drilled out and sanded down to the correct diameter.

It's been a few weeks since my last update.  Last weekend was taken up with spring cleaning and the Bathurst motor race, but today I was able to get back into the office and get some work done. I started off installing the cockpit seats, control columns and instrument panel. I also played around for a while trying to figure out a way to reproduce the hydraulic hoses for the pedals, but everything I tried just looked way over scale. I've decided to leave out these little details.

I then moved on to masking up, painting and decalling the windscreen. Whilst the outside of the clear part is nicely detailed, the inside is smooth and plane which is a pity, but painting it black  and adding the decals has made it less apparent. The only detail pieces I added are the emergency release handles for the doors. The decals were repurposed from the Werner Wings decal sheet, sliced up and fit to match the reference photo.

Finally, when all was done I attached the nose to the fuselage.  I'll fill any gaps in the join tomorrow then set it aside for a week and let the glue cure.

It's looking great!  I'm enjoying your build thread.

Coming along nicely... I can remember some trips in these lovely birds. 

Ben

The three day weekend is almost over, and though I didn't spend as much time at the bench as I expected, I still got a lot done. I started by filling in the seams where the tail attached to the fuselage, along with the underside and up near the rotor heads. I also fitted the side fuel tanks.  It really is looking like a Chook now.

I then moved onto the engine turbines.  The photos I have show tubes within the exhausts, as shown in one of the photos in an above post. I was all set to buy some styrene or aluminium tube to replicate this, but when I was cleaning up the kitchen, I found some straws left over from a meal of KFC. They, when cut to a suitable length, held in place with a wire cross and glued in place with drops of superglue and painted up, did the job perfectly.

I then misted some clear blue onto the exhaust cans to simulate heat staining.  Looks pretty good, yeah?

Then it was time to fit them in place so I could get the engine covers on.

As the turbine hubs would not be able to be painted once the filters were fitted, I had to paint them first.

The filters are fitted now, but as I want to prime the model before paint is applied, but don't want paint too thick on the filters, I have temporarily masked them, as well as the windows for now.  I need to move onto fitting the cockpit seats and controls next, but that can wait until next weekend.

It's going to take up some space in the cabinet, but I think I should be able to get the Blackhawk when done in there too.  If not, it will fit with the Huey perhaps.

A little bit of Wednesday night bench time.  I’ve started painting up the turbines and making plans up for the interiors of the exhausts. I need some styrene tube. I hope the Hobbyman is open Friday. I need supplies.  I'm going to try a light misting of clear blue over the exhausts to give them that heat treated look.

I've also installed the photo etch mesh in the filter covers.

The interior is incredible!

No modelling done yesterday, but I did get to take the Vintage Airways Tiger Moth at Lilydale Airport for a fly.  An amazing experience I have my work to thank for.

But today, I got stuck into it, and made a lot of progress. One of the hold ups were the seat belts, so I decided that before I did anything else, I made myself sit at the bench and just get them done. 30 sets of belts done.

I then fixed them to the seats and glued the seats in place, and thats were the fun began. I checked my check list and figured out it was time to join the two halves of the fuselage. Getting the floor in under the legs of the seats was the first issue. They're pretty springy, so I thought that I would be able to lift them up a little and slide the floor under.  This was easy for one side, but getting the other side in was more difficult.  The length of the seat made it difficult to lift them all at once. It took a couple of goes, but I got it done.  Not as straight as I would have liked, but I'll see what I can do to improve them.

Then came the task of gluing the two halves together.  What a *** that was. Massive gaps. The bottom first. Out came the clamps, CA glue, Tamiya quick setting and tape. It's going to need a lot of filler and sanding.

Then the front and rear rotor stacks. Another big gap on the top, but thankfully that will be covered with a transmission cover.

Thats it for today. Three day weekend coming up, so I hope to make some good progress then. Until next time.

Another weekend is over.  Got the red cross decals on the first aid kits and the kits put in place. Also added the last of the internal decals.

I then masked up and painted the aluminium legs, support clips and poles for the seats.  They really look the part now. Now I just have to assemble the seatbelts.

After spraying the interior green in the engine and rotor mounting areas, I did a test fit to see how it was all looking. I'm very happy with it.

The deck is really popping now the wash as been applied.

Thats it for the weekend.  I've put the porthole windows in and begun painting up the turbines. I hope to get the seatbelts done during the week, but we'll see how we go.

Check list to seal halves up. 

Step 15

- [ ] Drill holes in fuselage halves where shown.

- [ ] Fit Photo Etch grills to halves. 

- [x] Paint inside engine and turbine areas (interior green) 

- [x] Fit windows and cut masks.

- [ ] Finish painting seats and add side details. 

- [ ] Assemble and fit seatbelts.

- [ ] Fit seats on side wall pieces.

- [x] Place first aid decals on first aid kits and glue kits to bulkhead.

- [x] Add decals to walls where required.

- [ ] Fit top door to ceiling.

Step 17

- [ ] Paint and fit in place.

- [ ] Join two halves, floor and ceiling.

A busy day today.  I started off painting up the rear seats with a coat of red, followed a few hours later with a clear coat to help prevent the paint from scratching. 

This was followed by a test fit to see how we were looking with them in place.

As you can see from that last photo, I also scratched up and painted the hoist control panel. 

Then it was onto painting up the radio shelves.

When dried they were glued in place.

I then went on and applied a wash to the floor and walls.

Lastly I started on the first aid kits for the rear.  Using some Tamiya epoxy putty I made for packs in the right shape and size. Then when cured I applied some Auscam decals left over from my Bushmaster build in small pieces with copious amounts of decal sol to help them settle. Tomorrow I will add the little red and white crosses and glue them in place.

Tomorow's plan is to fit the windows, continue painting the rear seats and fingers crossed, get the cockpit seats and controls installed. With those things done, I will be a whole lot closer to closing up the fuselage and starting work on the outside, but there is still a long way to go before then.

Vey impressive and good way to spend your day off!

I took a day off today and spent it at the bench.  Got some good solid work done and totally enjoyed it.  Both sets of seats are assembled and now in primer.  I re-did the legs with brass rod and soldered them onto the base.  A lot of hours involved, but I think its been worth it. 

Last night I had a go at redoing the shelves using photos provided by a guy on LSP, who was the flight engineer on the final two delivery flights of the Chinooks to Point Cook and the AWM. I sketched them up on the Silhouette cutter, and quickly knocked them together.

Though they match the photos, they don't fit the model. They're too high.

So it was back to the Silhouette software to make some changes using measurements from the ceiling piece, and other lessons learned from doing the first set. Not accurate, but will look better, and accuracy isn't really an option.

A quick test fit and they're just about perfect.  Just need to be painted up and fitted to the ceiling.

So I filled the ends of the foam padding tubes with putty and put down a coat of primer.  I'll paint them this weekend, add some electronic components, decal the stripes on the bumpers and maybe get them installed.  

A few more things to scratch before I can seal up the fuselage, including first aid kits, hoist controls, interior lights, door tracks, painting up the seats and making up the dozens of seat belts.   This is going to take a while. LOL

Thanks, Mate.  

I've spent most of the weekend feeling under the weather, sleepy on the couch, but got a little bench time in this afternoon.  I finished folding up the cargo seating and assembled one set.  The legs need a little more work, but the assembly generally went well.  I need more 1mm brass rod, So I'll have to pick up some this week.

After the general assembly, I did a quick test fit to see how it would look and how I would attach them.

Then I cut and assembled one set of legs. I may replace them with brass once I get some more rod. Soldering them in may be a fun challenge though. Otherwise, I will add some more glue as filler on the joins.

The second set of seats awaits assembly.

Finally, do any of you have recommendations on a good etching primer?

I have some shots of Aussie -47s from 2009, bu they arent the best resolution, but I'll find them over the weekend.

This is an underside shot of the lower rescue door. I should have more in my files.

Thanks guys.  I appreciate it.

Ish47guy

Hey Des, I've been in the CH-47 community for almost 30 years, so let me know what refs you could use.  The errors in the kit that I see are from the design of the kit, which you would have to do a fair amount of  scratchbuilding to correct.  I wish I had seen this earlier, there are some easy corrections I could have told you about before the parts were painted.

Ain't that always the way.  Any assistance would be appreciated.  At the moment I'm looking for references on the hoist fitted to the Aussie Chinook D's in 2009. Also the underside hatch that covers the belly winch/floor hatch.

Cheers.