Dragon 1:35 UH-1H Huey WIP

Gino-  Thanks!  I am afraid you will be hearing my thanks again and again for next few weeks...

MrRabbit- I am glad you had the chance and enjoy following my build.  Really appreciate you taking your time to post your comment.

Andy, I may not have commented much as this build was going along. Im certainly no expert on hueys. But i loveed watching this build come together and the end result was amazing. Much kudos.

Great job.  It came out really nice.  Glad to have helped out along the way

Andy i still owe you 10 beers ? Your too expenssive ................either that or i dont charge enough .

Gene- Thanks for the link!  It was good seeing it again.  OK Cobra is now on my wish list along with Huey from Dragon.  It was really a nice break from building armors so I will try to build one every year if possible.

Bill- WHOA!  Good thing I am already home so I don't have to drink and drive. Thanks for the beers!   Since it is done, I can return to my StuG and finish it so I can join you finally for Pacific GB.

Andy,,,    you rock - - -    superb job my friend

A++

                That is a 5 beer rating,,,,,,,,,,  nothing better than that!

 I had my friend Joe Kline build it for me some years ago. Here's the link to some photos:

http://238awc.org/joe2/joe1.html

 He also built a UH-1H for my brother. The background painting is also Joe's work. He's a great artist.

Damn it!  This is way too tempting too. LOL  I had this awesome Cobra toy from GI Joe when I was young and it is still packed inside one of boxes at my parents cottage.  My boys play every time we visit them in the summer. 

Not bad idea... will keep that in mind.  Nothing in 1/35 scale, just 1/32 right now.  I saw couple of sets at the show I think they were from Academy.  Maybe I am wrong...

deafpanzer

I looked for a Dragon Huey UH-1D Vietnam era Huey at the show... no luck!!!  Gonna keep eyes for it on eBay but they are being sold at ridiculous prices right now...

 Maybe you should try this one

 I think Chris at Cobra still has a few of the old Revell 1/32 kits available, and all the add ons. And yeah, the boots you can barely see under the turret are mine

Carl- Actually your comments was a motivator to keep me going.  I broke a new record finishing a model just in 8 weeks and I lost nearly two weeks being sick so six weeks has to be my new record.  LOL  And that drawing of M60 by the side door was a big help at the end.  About the , are we even now?  Think I am still up by ten?

Gene-  Thanks buddy!  That's what everybody told me about the Huey for the second place.  No way I would have brought home the first place because our friend Fermis brought his Chinook and it was a really BEAUTY.  I knew right way he is going to win. 

I looked for a Dragon Huey UH-1D Vietnam era Huey at the show... no luck!!!  Gonna keep eyes for it on eBay but they are being sold at ridiculous prices right now...

Andy;

Believe me, it was an honor to be a small part of what you have done for your friend. It's guys like you that make this hobby what it is.  I only wish I had your skills for building, but any time I can be of some small help, just ask.  Thanks for sharing!

Gene

PS Should have been at least second!

Looks like he was real pleased Andy ! Sweet looking Huey .Thanks for listing me as one of your helpers . Its great to be listed with Gino and Gene . My input was minimal but i sure enjoyed following this build along and like you i learned a lot from Gino and Gene .

Are we about even on the beers yet ?

Guys- Final update... the Huey was completed just in time for the model show Roscoe Turner IMPS here in Indy.  The birthday boy with his wife joined me at the show to see his new toy for the first time.  I think he liked it.  Actually he loved it!  He said it was exactly what he flew for years...  

Black poster in the background seemed to work better for dark green... now you can see the pre-shading job this time. 

I was pleased that we could see inside the cockpit thru the windows but the dashboard was still hard to see.  If I could do it again, I would have cut one of the doors and keep it open...

Let's meet our birthday boy Bob Madigan, former crew chief of 193rd Aviation Company of 56th Field Artillery Pershing based in West Germany.

I am afraid it will be hard for me to let this Huey go when Bob picks it up later this week but at least I have something to remember at home... it picked up 3rd place at the show.

Gino, Gene and Carl-  T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U for all of your help... it won't have been done better without you guys.  One of many reasons why FSM rock!!!  Owe you many many many ....

Gene- Thanks!  I wasn't too sure but figured guys working on the engine would leave some marks.  I am just not a fan of clean stuff but I assure you my workbench is always CLEAN! LOL

Gino- That great picture of M60 was very helpful... worked on it the night before and it looked better just in time for the show. Thanks buddy!

That primer spot on ammo belt was painted black an hour before the show. LOL  Paint didn't stay on rubber too well after being glued on.

Carl- I absolutely agree.  My next Huey build will definitely be a Vietnam Era and it will be much dirtier and weathered!   Really appreciate you following my WIP...

Andy , the satinish finish looks good for this build . Dont know how much weathering you'd want to do anyway . Over in Nam they got pretty well weathered , i'm sure you've seen all of the dust being stirred up at the L.Z.'s in the films of that war .

This Huey is looking great .

Looking great.  It is coming together awesome.

M60 is usually very flat black like M16s, correct?

It is like an M16 with parkerized metal and black resin handguards and grips. I use a mix of flat black and silver to give a good dark metal look.

 I love it Andy! great job. Yes the roof got walked on with muddy boots as often as not so it was never clean, you got it just right!

Gino- Thanks man!  Almost there... 99% completed you can say at this moment.  I only need to attach the ammo box and M60 then I am going to call it done.  Painted the M60 using MM Metallic Black but I think it is little too shiny.  M60 is usually very flat black like M16s, correct? 

Gene- Again thanks for following my thread.  If it wasn't for you, Gino and others stopping by I wouldn't have been motivated to post updates. 

Update on the Huey... applied very small amount of MIG dust pigment on it except for the windows and the blades.  No way the dust can stay on blades...   Allowed it to dry overnight then I used stiff brush to rub off excessive pigment.

It is hard to see in the pictures but it really has toned down the glossiness and make it look little aged. 

Hope you can see the dust build up on the edges or inside the seams...

I felt the black top of roof was too clean so I applied two coats of pigment.  Knowing Bob, I doubt he washed his Huey every day.  Maybe his Harley he owns but not the government owned property...

More to come...

Looks great Andy! That base is really nice.

Looking good.  Ah yes, the hazards of being right at the end of a build.  Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Carl- Believe me we had pizzas for two nights in a row... leftovers on second night.  With me and my wife not feeling 100% better so delivered pizzas sounded great!   Thanks buddy!  Sorry no beer yet... maybe this weekend after the show. 

Guys- Finally an update on the Huey and its base... attached styrene rods to the ladning skid so they can be attached to the base securely.  It worked like better than I expected except for one part where I accidently thrilled a hole thru the skid. 

While removing one of Tamiya masking tapes I used to cover the base to prevent damages from drilling, I accidentally torn a part of base off.  But it was an easy fix with AK Engine Oil wash...

Now the Huey is securely attached... no glue needed at all.  That way Bob can take it off if he wishes.

I feel a lot safer carrying it around as long as it is secured to the diorama base.   However I accidentally snapped the tail rotor off while applying MIG dust pigment to the Huey.

From now on I will attach steel rod or nail to make tail rotor stronger.

The tail rotor is now firmly secured... hope it will stay that way!  Tomorrow I will remove excessive MIG dust pigment with a firm brush and hopefully it will look less clean and new...

Thanks for looking!

Get better Andy ! I think you need to go out and eat pizza and drink lots of beer ..............it wont cure the cold but a least its fun ................

Guys- Thank you so much for the comments!  Yes I will definitely go for the smaller shell bags.  The set part was huge!  I will post more pictures when I have the chance.  I have been sick with cold then now sinus infection and unfortunately my wife has it now. 

We are hoping that we can meet on Saturday at the model show here in Indy since Bob enjoyed modeling when he was a boy. 

Stay posted...

Andy;

 I'd say go with the empty shell bags and the small cans. This was Germany in the 80s not Nam where we used the big cans and no shell bags. those big cans may not have even been available in Germany at that time. BTW Gino, most of ours were 20mm cans not 40mm, but then that's what we had. Small can and bag come with the system and a "by the book" commander would require them, so that's the best bet to me for your time and place.

 Overall, I say it couldn't look better! Great job Andy!

The helo is looking great so far.  I agree that the part you got is the empty shell bag.  It looks pretty good too.  I have seen the larger 40mm ammo cans used in place of the small ones as part of the M23 gunmount.  The larger can would be removed an placed inside or stored in the arms room when not in use, so it wouldn't be a problem with closing the side cargo doors.  Either way is correct, it's up to you.

I just hope i'm correct Andy .

Carl- You have been a great help!  I wonder why the guy sent me the wrong part BUT I like this better because the original controlbag bag came with the set was too big. I will take a picture of both later tonight.  

Thanks buddy!

"Cartridge case ejection controlbag "

UH-1D/UH-1H, M23 armament system .

CH-47 , M24 armament system .

Andy , Since your short on time i'll offer my answer on what the parts might be . They could be the "cartridge case ejection control bag ". I'll post pics .

Remember I broke one of the pintles earlier while sanding and I contacted the company for a replacement.  Paid for the postage.  The replacement has arrived but it wasn't the right one.  It was not even part of the original M-60 upgrade set. 

Do you have any idea what this is?  

Because time is short, I will just add M-60 to one side of the Huey only.