1/35 CH-47D Chinook ... Finished, APR 2011

The exhausts and your Helo Drab mix look good.  Good job so far.  Keep it up.

Here's the next update ... 

I started in on fixing my "oops" on the paint job and for a few, I thought I was going to be out of the running. I couldn't find "helo drab" to save my life (w/o paying to have it shipped and then wait for it to get here....). HOWEVER!, I finally found something on the net that gave me just enough info to mix my own color. Didn't come out to be the helo drab I was thinking of, but I think that it's a better fit for this build ... but I'll get to that ...

I'll start of with the engines. I added in the .... well, I don't know what they are, so I'll just call them the exhaust thingies. These things have been bugging me since the beginning and I really didn't know how to tackle them. But then it just came to me. I added in a short piece of copper tube, drilled, and added pieces of straight pin. And ... wha-la!

To start the painting process, I began with another preshading using Tam acrylic bronze, followed by a couple thin coats of copper. I sprayed the inside with the same, but followed by a thin coat of primer grey to show signs of high exhaust heat.

Turned my attention to the figures ... adding a visor and mask out of milliput to the crew chief.

Then I laid out all the figures to get my scene right before doing anything else ... .... but I'm going to make you wait on that. :) But I did get them primed and I'm starting on the flesh tones ...

Worked a little more on the base and got it to the point where it's got black primer on it now. I used milliput to make a mud-brick "foundation" to the house. I used broken up plaster to cap the "yard" with "river rocks" and then used wood glue to give the plaster rocks some texture on top. I then used wall spackle to dirty things up ....

And lastly, repainting the A/C ... I added a new layer of preshading, followed by the new color (this is before the second coat of the new shade...). I then mounted the engines and closed them up. It's been a big day ....

Like I said ... its been a big day. :)

As always ... all C&C welcome. Thanks for checking things out ....

hey, use it for what you want. if you get something from it...hey, more power to you. my joy is seeing everyone else enjoy it! anyway, yeah...phsychic....

camo junkie

looks great scott...but u knew that already!

WOW!! Somehow I knew that you'd say that!!!!! ..... I must be PSYCHIC!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!

Thanks for the comments Tom. I'm still google-eyeing your little dio build .... pulling some ideas from there if I can!

looks great scott...but u knew that already!

Holy cow! Those pics are PERFECT!!!! You have no idea how long I've been looking for some of those shots. They're going to help out more than you know. Thanks too for the heads up on the front gear brake lines. I'll take care of them accordingly.

I know that I'm not done yet, but I haven't enjoyed building a kit/ dio this much in a good minute. Thanks everyone for keeping me on track.

I'll be posting a new update shortly ....

Here are a few pics of the one I did, I used the nose art from on of our aircraft "Lucky 99" it's been shot more times than a rap artist but always brings us home. I looked back through your pictures and noticed you were putting the brake lines on the forward landing gear, those lines are blue just like the brake lines you put in the cockpit. I scratch built the flare and chaff buckets and the radar detectors on the forward and aft pylon, other than that the exterior is OOB.

.

Combining Transmission Cooling fans

Interior of the Tailcone, I cut up a plastic mechanical pencil to make this part

Flare buckets and engine, just to show how dirty things get.

Forward rotor head. All the fluid level sight glasses are yellow. The red band on the pitch varying housing identifies the blade, there is a green, yellow and red blade

These things get really dirty over here. If you need any more pictures let me know.  Also I remember when I built this model there were 2 "V" shaped antannea on the bottom. They are for VHF Navigation. In reality there is only 1. On the kit the forward most V antannea is not there so you can just fill that in with putty.

You know ..... I got to thinking about that .... I guess that's what happens when you step away from the bench for a good minute and then jump right back into it w/o getting up to speed first! HAHA!!!

Not too late though .... It'll be easy enough to respray .... Might have to redo the preshading again, but I'm not worried about it. .... Guess I'll have to take off work a little early tomorrow and go get some helo drab. ... Leaving work early ... DANG IT!!!!

Thanks for watchin' my back, Gino. I'll get right on the correction.

(And since I use acrylics, maybe the OD color underneath will help with the lighter HD color??? Thanks again ....)

It looks like it is coming along great.  I hate to break it to you, but OD Green is the wrong color for a modern CH-47D.  The correct color is a very dark green called US Army Helo Drab (FS34031) and is available in the Testors Model Master line in both acrylic and enamel.  The acrylic is a little lighter and more correct in scale, but the enamel is not too bad. 

Testors Model Master US Army Helo Drab enamel on my UH-60L model.

Sorry for you to find out this late, but Chinooks haven't been OD Green since Vietnam to the late '70s.

Thanks for the comments, Dave. I know that the D carries the 240. They're just a little hard to find. However, since finishing the mini's I came across Dragon's Modern MG set. It's go 2x of the L7 A2 which is the same thing. A little conversion work and everything should be good. .... and Dave ... I'm ALWAYS up for reference pics!!! Anything you can send my direction would be appreciated.

I had to take a little time off from the bench here recently, so I haven't posted anything in a good minute. But, I'm back and here's a MUCH needed update.

We'll start with a schmorgesborg of random shots ... some fitting of engines, gaps that need to be filled, replaced some antenna with wire, etc, etc.

You see the size of this thing!! .... And yes, that's a full size laptop in the background .... Like I said, I'm going to need a new garage!

And now the fun part begins ... I've never done pre-shading on something this big before, but I just went for it. Pre-shading was done with Tam acrylic flat black. Tuned down the AB to a fine line and dialed back the pressure to about 10psi.

I also took the chance to add in a light black shade to darken the underside of the a/c.

As the pre-shading was drying, I turned my attention back to the base. I bought some plaster cloth and went to town, laying out the terrain.

Some Tam acrylic NATO Black to finish off the rotors ...

And then some OD .... oh HELL yeah! ....

Added the gear and coats of Future in the last pic. Getting ready to paint the engine exhausts, mount the engines, and then close of the engine covers. Decaling after that, then a sludge wash on the panel lines, a matte seal, then dot filtering (another 1st attempt), another matte seal and the bird will be DONE! The figures and the base will be worked on as things are drying ....

That's it for now. Don't think I'll get any work done tonight, but tomorrow's a new day. Thanks for checking things out .... and as always .... Any and All C&C is welcome.

I don't know if you are too worried about this, but the aircraft in the photo is a D model so it would have had M240s in the door guns, instead of the mini guns, but they do look awesome

Not sure if you finished the rotor hub yet, but if you need some detailed pictures, I can run out to the flight line and take a few pictures, or if you need pictures of anything else just let me know and I can get them for you. Great work, can't wait to see the finished product, Dave

We're unique is all I can say. We like our models safely rooted to the ground.

Cheers,

Richard

I think most of the local hobby stores here cater to the R/C people.

modelchasm

Hey Crash, I think I know which shop you're talking about ... the one that used to be down off South 45, down off El Dorado or something like that..... Pretty good store, but it was WAY out of my way.

MM, I'm a HUGE fan of G&G. That shop is great!!! Go there every chance I get. Haven't been over to M&M but I keep meaning to. Thanks for the list of places.

Yep.  Hobby Shop on the Gulf Freeway at El Dorado.  It's sad to see them go.  They had a decent inventory, and assortment of paints and supplies.  Now there's only Odyssey Hobbies on Bay Area Blvd.  Their kit inventory is not as good, but they have a better paint and supply collection.  They seem to cater more to R/C modellers, so they have more of that stuff, but have a lot of styrene and brass stock, and tools. 

Come to think of it, I need to hit Odyssey up for some paint for the Predator that's next up.  Maybe this weekend.  Before they're gone, too!

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

No problem. Anything to help.

Hey Crash, I think I know which shop you're talking about ... the one that used to be down off South 45, down off El Dorado or something like that..... Pretty good store, but it was WAY out of my way.

MM, I'm a HUGE fan of G&G. That shop is great!!! Go there every chance I get. Haven't been over to M&M but I keep meaning to. Thanks for the list of places.

CrashTestDummy

Thanks, MedicMan, I have bookmarked these, and hope to visit them soon.  Unfortunately, one of the LHSs local to me recently closed.  I try to support them as much as possible, but I'm only one person.  ;-)

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

 

Medicman71:

 

modelchasm:

 

Thanks MM ... and spill the beans brother! If there are places to go in Houston, let me know. I'm always up for checking out new places to get supplies.

 

 

No problem. Me and my wife are experts when it comes to the crack.....i mean art and hobby stores here in Houston. I know Michael's carries some. Texas Art Supply (http://www.texasart.com/) used to carry it but for some reason (and much to my wifes dismay) they stopped carrying it. But Texas Art is another great place to get supplies of other sorts. There are two good hobby stores near me as well. One is called is G&G Model Shop in Rice Village (http://www.gandgmodelshop.com/). Great place for paints, glues, and building/scratch building supplies. Tones of styrene. Another place is M&M Hobby (don't know what's up with the names). Lots of kits and supplies (http://www.mmhobby.com/). One other place that carries tones of Golden is Jerry's Artarama (http://www.jerrysartarama.com/). Probably a long drive for ya but you can order online from them as well. It's worth the trip for thier selection. I'll post more if I missed anything that my wife tells me about.

 

Hey no problem. I'm not going to have a really good one near me soon as i'm moving to Spring. There's one up here but it's 80% RC stuff. Thank God for the internet!!! If you ever go to M&M Hobby, let me know. I live right around the corner. Well for the next month anyway. Lol.

Thanks, MedicMan, I have bookmarked these, and hope to visit them soon.  Unfortunately, one of the LHSs local to me recently closed.  I try to support them as much as possible, but I'm only one person.  ;-)

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

Medicman71

 

modelchasm:

 

Thanks MM ... and spill the beans brother! If there are places to go in Houston, let me know. I'm always up for checking out new places to get supplies.

 

 

No problem. Me and my wife are experts when it comes to the crack.....i mean art and hobby stores here in Houston. I know Michael's carries some. Texas Art Supply (http://www.texasart.com/) used to carry it but for some reason (and much to my wifes dismay) they stopped carrying it. But Texas Art is another great place to get supplies of other sorts. There are two good hobby stores near me as well. One is called is G&G Model Shop in Rice Village (http://www.gandgmodelshop.com/). Great place for paints, glues, and building/scratch building supplies. Tones of styrene. Another place is M&M Hobby (don't know what's up with the names). Lots of kits and supplies (http://www.mmhobby.com/). One other place that carries tones of Golden is Jerry's Artarama (http://www.jerrysartarama.com/). Probably a long drive for ya but you can order online from them as well. It's worth the trip for thier selection. I'll post more if I missed anything that my wife tells me about.

modelchasm

Thanks MM ... and spill the beans brother! If there are places to go in Houston, let me know. I'm always up for checking out new places to get supplies.

No problem. Me and my wife are experts when it comes to the crack.....i mean art and hobby stores here in Houston. I know Michael's carries some. Texas Art Supply (http://www.texasart.com/) used to carry it but for some reason (and much to my wifes dismay) they stopped carrying it. But Texas Art is another great place to get supplies of other sorts. There are two good hobby stores near me as well. One is called is G&G Model Shop in Rice Village (http://www.gandgmodelshop.com/). Great place for paints, glues, and building/scratch building supplies. Tones of styrene. Another place is M&M Hobby (don't know what's up with the names). Lots of kits and supplies (http://www.mmhobby.com/). One other place that carries tones of Golden is Jerry's Artarama (http://www.jerrysartarama.com/). Probably a long drive for ya but you can order online from them as well. It's worth the trip for thier selection. I'll post more if I missed anything that my wife tells me about.

Thanks MM ... and spill the beans brother! If there are places to go in Houston, let me know. I'm always up for checking out new places to get supplies.

modelchasm

Any and all tips/ suggestions are MORE than welcome, Chris! Thanks for the tip ontthe Golden's molding paste. Might have to check into it.

There's a TON of Golden products in this house. LOL!! My wife uses the brand a lot. Paint and all the other stuff. If you need to know where to go to get it let me know. I can tell you a few places.

Any and all tips/ suggestions are MORE than welcome, Chris! Thanks for the tip ontthe Golden's molding paste. Might have to check into it.

I have actually built a ton of terrain!  I used to manage a game store where folks played Warhammer 40k and other table top games.  I was going to offer a suggestion for the foam, but sounds like you have your technique down pat!

I will mention a product, Golden's hard molding paste.  When we built castle walls, we used pink insulation foam, carved and shaped with a wire foam knife.  Then a slightly watered down layer of this paste really seals the foam and makes it quite hard.   I use black tempra (poster paint) from Michaels to prime my foam after the paste dries.  Super cheap, high pigment count, and can be watered down a bit without losing adhesion or coverage.

Hope any of this helps, looking forward to seeing the paint fly!

Chris

Hey Chris ... Thanks for the question.

This is my personal technique in constructing scale buildings of this type. I rough out the shape with styrofoam, using white school glue to bond it together. Sometimes I'll rough up the edges a bit to show more wear and tear. Once I'm happy with it, I give it a thin layer of light duty dry wall spackling. Mostly to help fill in all those little holes and gaps. After that's cured, I'll give it 1-2 more thicker layers. While the final layer is curing is when I'll go back in and scribe out details such as bricks, bullet holes, etc. Before painting, I always prime the building using cheap rattle can black. Using expensive model paints is a waste as the spackling will tend to soak up a good bit. The cheap paint helps seal everything up and the black color asts as a pre-shade. After that ... paint to your desired look.

Hope that helps.....

Hey, just a quick question.  What are you planning to coat that foam with prior to painting and weathering it?

Chris

Just a quick update for you guys ....

Well, I went back and took a look at things and I hated what I saw. I don't know how, but the building and the base just seemed to be WAY off. But instead of starting over with them I took at second look and devised a simple plan. I ended up cutting about 2 1/2" off the length of both the building and the base. I think it really helped bring things together. Plus, it let me turn the building JUST slightly to get that canted look I was going for.

Here's a couple of pictures of the new set-up ... and yes, the internal support frame is the only thing holding up the nearly 2 lb fuselage (and I still have to add the rotors!!!) I also doubled the height of the base's terrain. I think it really helped bring out the idea of the mountains.

Got some other parts together and ready for primer ... engines, landing gear, canopy/ nose ...
Kit parts are pretty good here, just wanted to add some brake lines to the gear and will be adding in some more plumbing to the engines ...

... And added a little detail to the rotor heads. Had a very hard time finding good detailed pictures of the heads, so I had to make do with piecing things together. Might add just a few more details here and there, but I have more detail plans when it comes to painting...

That's it for now. I'm working to finish up the rotors and get them primed today. Then, while that's drying I'm planning on getting back to the engines.

As always, all C&C welcome. ENJOY!!

Yeah, that might work ... Might have to look into some alternative materials. I'd hate to find something that's a little too soft though and come in one morning to find my "hook" trying to make a NOSE landing! HAHA!!!!

I think some coating  would work. I think the other option would be replacing the nails with thick copper wire. Such wire you can find for example in an old, wrecked automotive starter motor. Once again good luck

Pawel