1/32 BK & 135 base paint started.

They look good so far.  Good luck with the weather this weekend.

How many of you actually use a final clear coat (gloss, satin, etc) after final paint and prior to decaling? Does it make a big difference. (pro-con?).

You should always use a glosscote before decaling.  It smoothes out the surface and prevents the decals from silvering (when tiny air bubbles get trapped between the surface and the decal and the film looks silver).  Once the decal is dry, be sure to seal them with another coat of gloss or matte, depending on what you are building.  This will prevent them from coming off later and levels out the surface.

 

Good luck.

Hey!  Thanks.

Thanks for the info.  That'll give me some direction now.
So the same will apply to custom printed decals?
Thanks again!

John

AirMedical wrote:

So the same will apply to custom printed decals?

Yup, same deal.  As long as they are water-slide decals, they should be treated the same.  I make my own all the time and they are applied the same way.

Wahu! Great paint job! Metalic green :D Love it! Keep it up! Can't wait to see the next phase.

Hi John,

As usual: great work. The metallic green indeed is a winner. I can't wait to see the final results!

 

Good Luck, Gertjan

Hay Guys!

You like the green ones the best!?  That's funny considering those are bad pictures.  LOL!

It was a too chilie to do the final coats over the weekend so I went to work on the third BK adding the external oxygen covers and finishing up some detailing on the vacuum tooling.  We'll see what this coming weekend will bring.   Thanks again guys!

Cheers

Looking good so far. What is the 135 kit like? I am planning on getting it, and repainting it in the current EMQ colours.

Hi,

Nice kit!  I've always been a 1/32 Revell fan.    This was my first EC.  I did learn the following.
Do a dry fit with the canopy.  The nose section of the canopy on the body may be slightly warped too far in, leaving an indentation from the canopy.  It wont fit flush.  Easy fix though.

The rotor head is incorrect from the actual aircraft in that it spins in the wrong direction. So you may need to do some modifying if you like things to be correct..  An easy and lightly fix.  Not a big deal.

Watch the assembly of the rotors.  Those little tabs are brittle.  So you may want to bore the holes slightly larger and or sand the little rotor tabs.  Take your time on that and work slow.  You'll be fine.  Yah, I broke two blades. DOWH!!!

Oh yah, you'll want a weight for the nose.  It's tail heavy.

A good habit is to do some dry fits before any painting and construction to give you a heads up as to what you might run into.

I have two more EC kits if that tells ya anything. ;-)

Here's some of my last latest pics.

The UH Medevac BK's in white.
Medlfight EC & BK.
Workbench


Cheers,
John

Hi

I have roamed the interent looking for BK-117 kits and have found this site and indeed yourself as modelling such a kit.  My interest comes from a previous post that you have modelled a 1/32 scale nose cone for your BK-117.

I am looking to make a 1/32 BK-117 in the colours of my local police helicopter.  I am in the force and have flown in the actual chopper to and thought it would be nice to make a model for show and present to the air ops unit.

For some pics click here http://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/v3/about/departm/AirOps/index.htm

I am a novice modeller looking for help!  Would you be prepared to sell me a couple of nose cones for this model that you have made yourself ?

Kind Regards

Steve

Steve,

Welcome to wonderful, wacky world of rotary wing modelling, glad to have you on the forum.  A while back Revell Germany released a 1/32 package for the German ADAC system anniversary. It comes with the 117, 105, and 135. Three large kits for a good price. You can still find them on-line and pick it up for about $40.00 (US). I know they have it at www.worldwar2aces.com .  Try searching under "1/32 Revell ADAC". Enjoy your build and be sure to post some pics for us!

Thanks!

Hi Steve!

 

Not sure if you got my last couple emails.  Love the picture you sent.  That's one decked out BK. 

There's been some report that Revell was suposed to re-release the 117-A3 kit this summer but haven't seen it yet.  You can sometimes find a decent deal on ebay.  I've seen a lot for sale out of the UK.

 

I'm needing to get through this month and hopefully next month I'll be able to do some BK nose cone runs aswell as some external oxygen housings for 1/32 helos which can be used on the BK-117, BO-105, EC-135 and EC-145.  I have the plastic just need to do some minor fine tuning and make a few extra resin molds for masters.  I'm currently finishing up some decal artwork (worked on that yesterday)and will be sending that out by the end of the month for print. 

 

I still have your email so I will be in touch.  Let us know when you find a BK and get started.  Good luck.

John

Hey John. Sawm your BK's and EC's. Looking great so far, can't wait for the decals. Those pics on the web site that you link us to, can you supply us with a bit more larger photos, as those are a bit small for my eyes to relax on.

Jure

Hey Jure,

Thanks!  I'll try and e-ya a couple pics.

John