Double 1:72 OH-6A Loach WIP - FINISHED AT LAST! - Page 3

Wow Pawel, fantastic build! Your research and attention to detail is superb! Congratulations for taking the time to make the corrections and add the additional detail on such small models.

Looking forward to future updates.

Cheers,

Russ

Hmmm;

 I gotta say , It's nice to see a model helo with the collectives in place .They won't fly without one will they ? 

Oh Pawel;

 I definitely Think your scratch part looks 100% better . Keep up the good work ! 

Hello everybody!

Sorry for taking so long to reply - it's amazing how time flies sometimes! I'd never say it's over two months since I last posted here!

Russ - thanks a lot for your kind words! Thay mean a lot to me! Today is the next update!

TB - thank You very much! I'm glad you like the part I've built. You're right, without collectives choppers (won't say helo's because those are ARMY choppers!) aren't nearly as much fun as they normally are! To be fair, those babies here have pretty complete set of controls out of the box.

Same is also true for the swashplate - which is very visibly absent from both kits (Italeri and AZ-Models). In reality the space under the rotor head should look like this:

I had to do something about it. So I took some 0,5mm styrene sheet and some thin copper wire and I have scratchbuilt something like this:

Now the trick is to do it again on the AZ-Model kit, the 1/9 Cav chopper. Work is well underway, together with the rotors!

Thanks for lookin' and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello everybody!

I didn't do all that much on the model, but I had to take a photo for a friend, so I thought I'd post it here for completeness. Here it is:

I'm generally working on the main rotors and on fitting out the rear compartments. Added small detail like those wire handles inside the front door openings. I'm making lots of 1:72 smoke grenades.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello everybody!

And here are the rotors, fianlly done:

First thing - the Italeri tells you to put on the blades so that the rotor would turn in the wrong direction. Fortunately turning them over is easy. I have also added a scissor assembly under the rotor hub, four links connecting the blades to the vibration dampers and four little counterweights under each blade on two rotors.The Italeri blades have the correct little, round vibration dampers, the AZ-model kit has the later telescope-style dampers. I had some Italeri blades extra, so I used them on both models. According to some veterans and some photos the blades were black, and I have painted them faded black (Humbrol 32). Some decal manufacturers have you paint them OD. On the 1/9th CAV bird I have painted yellow stripes on top of the blades, because some their birds were marked this way. Rotor head components were painted OD.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

That's some nice detailing there, Pawel! These two are going to make a beautiful display!

Cheers,

Russ

Hello Russ!

Thanks a lot for your comment and your kind words, I'm glad you like the details!

Paweł

The little twins are looking good.  I can't wait to see them on the flightline.

ridleusmc - thanks a lot! You're right, it's kinda time to finish this project - and I hope to do just that soon. The problem is I don't have so much time to build lately.

Have a nice day!

Paweł

It's not easy getting the build time we deserve.

Hello everybody!

It's been some time where I had a bit of a "block" but I think I have overcome that. My problem was how to show all the various "stuff" people used to carry around in the scouts. Here's how I tackled that:

Apart of the match given for scale reference there's also a wooden crate, below that are M16 Magazines, next to some frag grenades (not allowed on board in some units - too dangerous!). Below those are smoke grenades and in the lower left portion of the picture are the Willie Pete grenades. Now I took the stuff and packed it in the wooden crate. The next photo shows what is going into the rear cabin of "The Enforcer":

The ammo belt for the M60 comes from the same ridiculously expensive set that I got the minigun in. I had to save some for the Cav bird, so I only used up a half of the belt.

When I put the stuff onboard "The Enforcer" will actually be done. I'm lookin' forward to that! Thanks for lookin' and have a nice day

Paweł

That's fantastic, Pawel! Either you've had experience with these copters or your research is excellent. Very nice work!

Cheers,

Russ

Hello Russ!

Thanks a lot for your kind words! I'm proud to tell you that I've never had a chance to take a good look at a loach, and I'm born in the late seventies, so it's all research. But I'm having real vets looking at my builds in case I get something wrong, I'd like to have it as accurate as I can.

Thanks for lookin' and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

Hello everybody!

It's been some time where I had a bit of a "block" but I think I have overcome that. My problem was how to show all the various "stuff" people used to carry around in the scouts. Here's how I tackled that:

Apart of the match given for scale reference there's also a wooden crate, below that are M16 Magazines, next to some frag grenades (not allowed on board in some units - too dangerous!). Below those are smoke grenades and in the lower left portion of the picture are the Willie Pete grenades. Now I took the stuff and packed it in the wooden crate. The next photo shows what is going into the rear cabin of "The Enforcer":

The ammo belt for the M60 comes from the same ridiculously expensive set that I got the minigun in. I had to save some for the Cav bird, so I only used up a half of the belt.

When I put the stuff onboard "The Enforcer" will actually be done. I'm lookin' forward to that! Thanks for lookin' and have a nice day

Paweł

 

 

Pawel,

I have spent the last hour looking at all the latest techniques to model building sense I did it as a boy, LONG time ago.  I have collected several LOH models for awhile.  These being of particular interest to me, and I decided it was about time to put one together.  Then I discovered this site and was amazed to find the same model I am about to begin.  You see I had the honor of being an Outcast and even flew in Miss Clawd a time or two back in 1971.  You have done a tremendous job and obviously learned a great deal about those wonderful Little Birds.  There were none finer for low level combat missions, thank you for trying to preserve an accurate model of that time period.

WK

Hello WK!

Thanks a lot for your kind words - they mean a lot to me! I especially value the opinion of people who "been there, done that"!

Have a nice day

Paweł

Hello everybody!

This WIP sure does go on longer than it should. But I thin'k I'm already in the home stretch, so let's hope for the best. In the meantime, thanks to Wes who has helped me a lot with the rear cabin stuff I was able to make some more of it for the Cav bird. I have also installed the rear gunner there:

I have also installed a wire antena of the older type along the tail boom. It is made of stretched sprue:

In the rear I wanted to show a hack that I have seen on youtube, on a Cav chopper:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whAJRnvuo0w

While I can't confirm that it was done this way on this particular machine, I decided to pull through anyway:

It's a seat armor used in the rear as a bulletproof "stuff" container. Would sure make a lot of sense for grenades, ammo or "bombs" made of C4 plastic or TNT taped around a grenade. There will be also a coil of rope made out of stretched sprue and some tarp made out tiny piece of tissue.

That'd be it for now, hope to post the finished photos soon - thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello Wayne!

Thanks a lot for your kind words, they mean a lot to me. The Loach is another Vietnam model where I find out how important it is to get to know the individual unit I'm trying to show in my model. Without getting this info, just randomly gathering bits and pieces from different photos, I would end up with a model that is wrong in a sense that it just doesn't tell the right, true story.

Have a nice day!

Paweł

When I am looking on this project I have only one question to myself: when I will be so strong and precise as you for such little models and their small historical and technical details :-)

Carry on with yours eggs ! 

Headhunter88, you're far too kind to me! Thanks a lot! I'd say you're getting there right now - getting better with every model, that's just the way to go.

Thanks again and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello everybody!

I thought I'm done with my babies, but then I (hardly) remembered, that there's the jet exhaust to be done! That's how it is ith those projects dragging on sooo long. But luckily I was not only able to find the kit parts, but also they weren't so bad. Here's how they turned out:

It's worth mentioning here, for people wanting to build a small Loach, that the exhausts are meant to be installed before joining the fuselage halves. Installing it in the end makes painting easier, but requires the parts to be sanded down from conical to cylinder shape - otherwise it won't fit, the cone base is larger than the opening in the fuselage. Also, in the AZ Model kit its good to install some kind of a brace for the exhaust before closing up the fuselage. I'm glad to say that I thought about it way back then. Otherwise the fit of the exhaust would be pretty iffy, and the modeller would risk dropping the exhaust inside the hull, where it might be different to fish it out again.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Wonderful job Pawel!  Of course I am partial to the Outcast bird myself.

Wes

Hello Wayne!

Thanks a lot for your kind words! Outcasts, of course, understandable!

By the way, could somebody help me understand better the platoon designations here?

What exactly C/16 (Outcasts) or C/1/9 mean? Or more precisely what is the exact name of 16th Cav and 9th Cav, what size units are those? Thanks in advance and have a nice day

Paweł

They came out really nice.  Good job on them.

As to your questions...

C/16 CAV is Charlie Troop (roughly a company), 16th (Air) Cavalry Squadron (a Bn-sized unit), which was assigned to the 1st Aviation Brigade in 1970-1973.  With the war winding down and passing most fighting duties to the ARVN (Army of the Republic of VietNam, S. VN) they mostly supported them, not Americans, in the Mekong Delta of S. VN.  Outcasts was the name of the Scout Platoon which flew the OH-6s.  Darkhorse was the troop name.

Patches/insignia.

Collection of insignia from C Troop includes Scout platoon unit scroll and 1st Aviation Brigade patch (as worn on left shoulder), "Outcast" Scout platoon patch (worn on right pocket), "Darkhorse" troop patch (worn on left pocket) and stamped brass Scout platoon "Kill" pin presented upon the occasion of the first confirmed enemy kill by a member.

C/1/9 CAV is C Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Air Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).  The 1/9th CAV participated in such pivotal battles as the Ia Drang Valley, Khe Sahn, Binh Dinh, and QuangTri. During that time period, troops from the 1/9th Cavalry earned fourteen campaign streamers, three Presidential Unit Citations, five Valorous Unit Citations, and the reputation as one of the finest combat units in Vietnam. Two Troopers from the 1/9th Cavalry earned Medals of Honor in Vietnam. On June 28, 1971, the 1/9th Cavalry (less B Troop) returned from Vietnam, the most decorated Unit of that war.

Patches/Insignia

Scout Plt patch worn on right pocket, C Troop patch worn on left pocket, 1 CAV Patch worn on left shoulder.

Hello Gino,

Thanks a lot for your kind words and for the great info here, no I have a better idea on how to write it up for my web page. I hope to post the finished photos soon.

Have a nice day!

Paweł

Very nice builds Pawel. Always amazing that a guy in Poland has so much interest in this war.

The attrition rate of Loaches was just awful. 842 were lost, almost all in combat.

Thank you for sharing.

Bill

Hello Bill!

Funny how things sometimes turn out - and somehow I started studying the Vietnam War, and here I am!

Them scouts sure didn't spare neither the machines nor sweat, nor blood.

And today I've got my babies finished, about time, huh?

Let me show the finished photos:

First the "Darkhorse" chopper:

And also the "1/9 Cav" chopper:

More details on my web page:

http://www.vietnam.net.pl/LOH_1_en.htm

http://www.vietnam.net.pl/LOH_2_en.htm

Thank you for following this build. Have a nice day!

Paweł

Hello, Pawel!

I've been away from building for some time so I missed your finished post. Really a nice job on both models! Congratulations on completing them and I hope your eyes are still ok :).

Cheers,

Russ

Hello Russ!

Thanks a lot for your kind words, and I'm glad you like my work, it means a lot to me.

I was a little worried, that after all the work and posting the finished photos, I didn't get absolutely any comments for over two months... - well, I guess it happens. I imagine I have tired people with my slow building tempo.

And yeah, my eyes are quite OK, I'm already working on another 1/72 projects, it's a lovely scale - but you already know that, don't you?

My best greetings for you and have a nice day

Paweł