"Disco ball" IR Countermeasures antenna painting

You didn't say what scale you're working in but for 1/72 I use these glass beads from the craft store. They probably have larger ones.

Here's a suggestion. Paint each lens to look
like a mirror then apply a very light gold tint. After that's
dry add your other colors as tints also very lightly.
Haven't tried this method yet it's still a theory.
I'm going to try it myself on a kit in progress. Hopefully
sooner than later. My theory is based on years of cleaning
the real ones . Bugs are hard to clean off them too.
Hope this helps.
fuzzy

Whoops! Guess I didn't include the scale. Its the 1/48th Academy kit. Cool idea with the beads. The painting theory sounds pretty sound. I think I'm gonna try that, since I've already got the antenna installed on the kit. Thanks guys!

Hey Jon, I think Godl foil and clear blues and reds will do the trick.
Lee

Lee... you may be on to something! Sounds very doable, gets the right sheen to it too... I may do that!

Getting this little item correct has given me fits for years. I tried everything from irredescent easter grass to craft beads but nothing seemed to work. I haven't tried this medthod in 1/48 but it works pretty well in 1/72. I took some Walthers brass "hex nuts" and "hex head machine screws", size #1-72, part numbers 947-1252 and 947-1146. I stacked 2 nuts under the screw head to get a faceted, layered cylinder. It's already metallic gold and by carefully applying a little flame, you can slightly discolor the brass with a blue/purple tint.

Happy landings
Doug

Jon,
I'm going to order some Pearl-EX Pigments on the net (do a Google search and you'll find several sources). There was an article in FSM reader tips to use this. They say it works great on optics for armor and aircraft and comes in several shades from golds to greens to purples, blues, etc. It's supposed to provide the variable shades you see from different angles. It probably would look good over a base of Bare Metal foil. Let me know what you come up with and how it looks. I'm starting my IMEX Apaches soon and will try the Pearl-EX and will let you know about that. By the way, how's the book selling?
Paul

Paul,

The book comes out Sept 25. You can check it out on Osprey's website under their "Combat Aircraft" series. Its Volume 41. Not sure what volume number this next book on the Apache is going to be, but it'll be part of the same series.

I just won an old Revell Apache on Ebay, so I think I'm gonna dress her up as the D model I spent some time in this past monday with C Company, 1/229th Attack Helicopter Battalion. Gonna take a little bit of redoing, but it should be a nice build. I'm definitely going to get the Eduard photoetch for it though!

FIGURED IT OUT!!!

I was eating a Twix bar while working on my thesis the other night when it hit me. Looking at the wrapper, the color and irridescence of the gold foil is just PERFECT! I super-glued a strip of it to the antenna, and voila! It looks fantastic! Gotta make sure its pulled tight to enhance the faceted look, but overall, it looks perfect.

Thanks for the ideas guys!

Cobrahistorian,
You mentioned the 229th. Were they part
of the 229th Attack Helicopter Battalion or were they
reorganized as the 229th ? Just wondered , spent a lot of
time with Aco 229th.
fuzzy

Fuzzy,

The current 229th Attack Helicopter Regiment has taken the lineage of the Vietnam-era 229th AHB. With the massive reorganizations in the military over the past thirty years, determining the exact lineage is kinda confusing, but the 229th is now a regiment with two active and one reserve battalion.

The 1/229th is now at Ft. Hood doing workups with their brand new D model Apaches. 3/229th is currently in Afghanistan and I'm not sure where the 8/229th is right now.

1st Battalion is in the process of renaming its companies to more accurately reflect the unit's lineage. B Company is going to be switching back to the "Killer Spade" callisign within the next few weeks. C Company is "Blue Max", a personal favorite of mine, as I've done a lot of work with Blue Max pilots from Vietnam. A Company is currently using the nickname "Stalkers". Not sure what their plans are for a new callsign, since "Load Hackers" is not really apropo for an attack helicopter unit! Would be nice to see them as the "Smiling Tigers" though.

The entire first battalion is known as the "Tigersharks" and they returned from a six month tour in Afghanistan this past January. Fantastic Americans, all.

The 229th is assigned directly to XVIII Airborne Corps. Also, the 227th Regiment (lineage taken from the Vietnam 227th AHB as well) is part of the 1st Cavalry division and the 1st Battalion fought in Iraq attached to the 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment. In fact, AH-64D 99-5135 that was brought down and the crew captured was a 1/227th bird and not an 11th AHR bird as reported on CNN.

It was kinda eerie. When I was at Hood, I was sitting in the cockpit of a brand new Longbow. I happened to glance down at the serial number on the control panel. It read 99-5136. One off from the one we lost.

Ok, I've rambled on for a while now. Feel free to drop me an email anytime!

Without straying from the topic, do any of you guys kown whe Italeri's SB-60B Seahawk 1/48 scale kit is coming out.....


TRINIMOD
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, WEST INDIES