Dragon 1:35 UH-1H Huey WIP

Carl- Always happy having you tagging along.  You are a good friend!

Gene- I drool every time I look at that helicopter especially the displayment case.  The wife has seen it and she likes it.  I am hoping Michael or Hobby Lobby have a readily available displament case for that size.  There is no way I can make one at short notice.  Again thanks for the information... those pictures will help me paint the black top for sure.

Interesting about Plywood... doubt it was for better protection... maybe it was put in there to make it easier on the knees and butts of troops?

Gino- You are a lifesaver did somebody ever tell you that?  I just placed an order for the 1:35 decals and 1:32 upgrade resin set from Fireball Modelwork.  Joseph has been very responsive... he replied within few minutes!  I thought I already ordered the decals few days ago but I didn't.  I am fighting a very bad case of cold so my mind isn't with me today.  You are right for only few more dollars I get more goodies from that company... thank you!

Guys- Like I said I have bad case of cold so I doubt I will do much today or tomorrow.  I will do two tone color for the cockpit as shown in the picture from the FB page.  At least my black paint job isn't lost... I will handbrush the medium grey for the rear since all rods and pipes are still black then paint the padded wall with lighter tone of grey. 

Glad to help.  It is looking great.  I can't wait to see it further along.  Keep up the good work.

deafpanzer

Interesting about Plywood... doubt it was for better protection... maybe it was put in there to make it easier on the knees and butts of troops?

Gino- Thanks again, glad you are enjoying my WIP so far. 

Gene- AHHH!  Crew cheif has a bad case of OCD?  Just like me... I usually keep my workbench like this...

That's why I only do four builds a year because it takes alot of time to keep my workbench clean. LOL  Shooting for five builds this year... keep your fingers crossed.

Andy , you said this it what the bench looks like whenits clean ? So , whats it looking like now ?

LOL!  You don't believe me?  OK I will take a picture of my workbench in a minute...

Little messy at this moment... doing two builds at the same time which I haven't done before.  Oh, is that a StuG on my workbench?  Yes, it is back on the workbench as I applied decals today.  I wasn't in mood to paint the details of the Huey interior while fighting a cold.

OK Andy, after seeing the picts of your work bench, there's no way in h*** I'll post pictures of mine! Who is the 1/6 action figure watching over you?

Hi matey,

Looking really good Andy - I'm going to definately have to try building one of these. I think they look superb.

I'll keep checking now I've found your thread.

All the best,

Ben

Hello, nice workplace deafpanzer, i really like it. I dreaming to have something like that :)

Andy your workbench dont look like mine , yours is still too neat . Where's the donut crumbs and coffee stains ????     Dog hair  ? 

Gene- LOL Sometimes it is nice to have OCD but it can be a curse sometimes.  Glad my case is mild unlike my wife's father.  That doll is from GI Joe... my son got it when he was young and he stopped playing with it so it is mine now.  German infantry... he has been helpful making sure I finish my builds.

Ben- Hey my friend!  It was great of you stopping by.  Building this Huey makes me want to build another one but from Vietnam War only one day.  The guys here have been so helpful so you should try. 

Marge12- Thanks for the nice words.  I bought those sets from Lowe's.  Lowe's and Home Depot sell 'Gladiator' storage sets... little expensive but they are so easy to assemble and they look great.  I am not that handy so I'd rather to buy.  Here's better picture of my man cave... 

Carl- Dog hair?  Plenty of them... love my Border Collie and you are right.  His hair is every where now.  Nightmare for OCD folks like me... we have to clean our house more often now.  That's why I have to use plastic bins more to keep everything free of hair and dust...  

 Andy;

 Here's the guy that watches over me, and yeah he even looks like me!

Andy , hang in there (you have no choice anyway )

Gene- Nice doll!   All men should have a doll or two...

Guys- I never have been that sick for long... cold then sinus infection for nearly two weeks. But I am finally feeling better.  Returned my workbench last night to paint the interior of the rear cockpit.  Fortunately the birthday party has been pushed to March 3rd so I still have time to finish this...

More cool stuff has arrived this week...

Decals from Fireball... $15

I am very impressed with amount of decal I bought for $15 and instructions are very helpful.  Joseph from Fireball suggested this decal set because it fits the period Bob flew his Huey. 

Upgrade set from Fireball... $16

Instruction from Fireball is great!  It comes with pictures... don't we all love pictures?!?

Gino- Thank you for your suggestion to buy this set.  You are right... I am getting more just for 3 or 4 more bucks.  I don't think I will use all... I will definitely check with you guys first. 

Andy , looks like that will fill the bill !

Carl- Thanks buddy!  Can't wait to try those resin parts... some of them are better than the PE set that came with the kit. 

Guys- Finally a real update... applied base coats inside the interior.  Clean up, highlighting, and dark washing are next...

I have to say I love those PE parts... life saver for me because of time restraints. 

OH!  I am not sure how the last picture got here.  I apologize!  It was really a great game especially for my city Indy being the host. 

Thanks for looking... hope I can finish the interior so I can put the Huey together.

Andy that interior is a beaut ! Too bad its going to have a fuselage around it .

It is looking good.  One issue though, on the black (NVG-compatible) cackpit, the instrument panels should also be black, not grey.  Also, the seats should be more of a dark green, not OD.  Sorry to keep being the bearer of bad news.

Gino- Bearer of bad news?  Hope you are kidding me!  I am very happy to have you here helping me with my build.

About the instrument panel PE, why did Dragon use grey instead of black?!?!?  I don't think I will be able to paint black on those panels without ruining them.  For now I will leave them alone and explain Bob why if he asks me.  Let's hope he will have one too many during his birthday party to notice it right away.    Nah, I will just tell him after the party if he hasn't... LOL 

For the seats, yes you are correct.  I used your WIPs as my references ALOT and I am not sure why they look so brownish in the pictures.  I used my new iPhone 4s.  They are more greenish as I used LifeColor Olive Drab.  However I do agree they look too light now.  It will not be a problem for me to paint darker green and they will look darker after couple of dark washes using Burnt Umber oil paint.  

Thanks again for your feedback! 

Carl- Overlooked your comment!  Thanks buddy!  More to come with couple of changes... 

Guys- I forgot to ask you this question... 

What color should I use for the head rests?  I am not sure if I used the correct term.  I added an arrow to help you what I am talking about.  Right now I am leaving them as black until I know the correct color.  

Thanks again!  

Glad it doesn't seem I am picking on your build.  Dragon left them grey since they are representing a Vietnam UH-D/H with the kit.  Grey is correct for that era.  I think you could paint around the instruments carefully with black and it would look good.  It's up to you though. 

The headrests should also be green.  They had a removable fabric cover.

Keep plugging away, it is looking great.

Gino-  like I said earlier I know very little about helicopters but I have learned so much since I started this kit.  Guess what I did do tonight.  

Applied washes of dark green... They look better now. 

And...

I couldn't leave the instrument panels alone... Figured it will bug me for rest of my life so I went ahead and painted them black. LOL  Also Cleaned up paint around the details.

Hope you guys like the improved look now.  Now highlighting is next...

Great job.  The IP looks really nice.  Much better.

Thanks Gino!  I am feeling a lot better now... however after studying the great pictures of the panels you posted earlier I noticed how shiny the glasses were.  So I applied drops of Future on the panel... 

BEFORE...

AFTER...

I probably will apply another drop of Future after work.  Like Carl said, hope we will be able to see much of the interior after the fuse are glued together.  I plan to keep the rear doors open... 

Again, thanks for looking! 

Lookin' good Andy! Nice attention to detail! I like to follow WIPs like this where people chime in and builders take their advice / input seriously! Well done!

LOL!  Thanks Oddmanrush!  Happy to have you tagging along.  I have both OCD and ADHD... bad combination!  I try to take modeling seriously especially this time because it is my first commission build for my friend's 50th birthday and he will be happy if I do it correctly especially his wife who is paying for all of this.  Of course no labor fee... I will never charge my good friends especially a veteran!  

Guys here have been big help especially Gino and Gene!  I look forward to finish this build in 2-3 weeks before the birthday party.  

Andy , what did you use to blacken the I.P. ?

Hey buddy!  I used same paint that was used for the cockpit... Model Master enamel "Aircraft Interior Black".  I can not remember the number... I think I took a picture of it and posted here earlier.  It offered softer tone of black which I liked... that's why I bought it for the Huey.  

OK , i dont need the number . I was wanting to know if it was a wash with oils but i see you were speaking about the head rest with the wash . Looks like it could of been a bit tediouse . Gotta get it correct though .