Green Hornet Hueys

Man, those are AWESOME!  Thanks for posting them. That's probably more new 20th SOS Huey pics than I have seen in several years! 

    Ray

Well with special thanks to Dick "Lurch" Monroe of the 20th SOS Green Hornets who was kind enough to send me a CD loaded with pictures of the Hornets, many of which including my wife's Grandfather, Ken Brooks.  While the helicopter project is on temporary hold while I finish up his much easier P-51, I thought I'd post some of these pictures for you all who have been so helpful during this project. 

Actually, that's still a P-51 if I remember correctly.  The shot was probably taken in early 1947, since it has USAF-style coding.  But since it begins with a P and not an F, it is pre-September and thus is a P-51, not an F-51.

Fantastic pic!

Jon

Who says spending time with your Mother in Law is a bad thing?  As my wife's mother is in town for a few days I thought I'd show her the progress I was making on her father's tribute.  She soon proved to be an extremely valuable resource and unfortunately made my efforts all for not.  Turns out her father only served with the Green Hornets up until '68.  As she was thumbing through the book of the Green Hornets she did recognize most of the names and knew most of the stories.  She confirmed that he never flew the UH-1N, so any attempt to pay tribute to the man with the Dragon kit is now a lost cause.  I still plan on finishing the kit in the Green Hornet's markings but it will not be for him.  As much as he loved the Huey, she said, he loved the Mustang as well, and happened to have a wonderful picture of him standing aside a P-51D (Though I think since the picture was post WWII we are looking at an F-51).  Since I only have 12 P-51s in the closet and they take all of a weekend to build, I'll use that as my tribute. 

Yes and no.  If they used the same artwork in their profiles it would be.  But the profile drawings are all black and white placement diagrams rather than the full color artwork.  Since they are on a US military aircraft (and therefore public domain) there is a lot of wiggle room as to how they came up with the artwork.  Just funny how every US helicopter on that sheet is profiled in my book.

Jon

Cobrahistorian wrote:

The font for the "UNITED STATES ARMY" and the tail number are incorrect.  The decals for the gray AH-64As are completely wrong and missing artwork.  I was rather frustrated with that sheet, since instead of contacting me for references (which I would have been happy to provide), IsraDecal chose to just hijack the artwork from my book.   Jon

Isn't that illegal, if I remember right it was a drawing?????????????

Yikes!! Did I siay Isra Decals, uhhhhh I meant I SAW some decals, yeah that's it.  Wow, and here I thought it was a good sheet.  This is what I get for burying my nose in fixed wings for 20+ years.  And of course the US Army and tail number are both already on.  Oh well.  Guess this one won't go to the museum either.  Maybe the next one......

Thanks for the info, much appreciated!

The font for the "UNITED STATES ARMY" and the tail number are incorrect.  The decals for the gray AH-64As are completely wrong and missing artwork.  I was rather frustrated with that sheet, since instead of contacting me for references (which I would have been happy to provide), IsraDecal chose to just hijack the artwork from my book.  

Jon 

Apache armament is pretty easy, but it gets a little dicey when you're doing live missiles. 

M261 rocket pods are the same color as the aircraft (although the paint is probably newer, since pods wear out a LOT faster than aircraft do).  Hellfire racks are also Helo Drab.  Hellfires themselves are ALWAYS black.  The noticeable differences are between training, dummy and live missiles and then between different types of live missiles. 

The Hasegawa kit gives you the option to build AGM-114K, M, N Semi-Active Laser missiles (SAL), AGM-114F dual warhead SAL missiles (nearly gone from the inventory, but they have been used a LOT in Iraq from 2004-08) or AGM-114L Radar Frequency (RF) missiles. 

Stay tuned for decals for the Apache too. If you're building a Longbow, there are NO accurate decals currently available.

Jon

Can't help you much with the Hellfire color, the rocket pods are painted the same color as the Apache, color differences are caused by the usual factors

Hi All.  Just a quick update and some questions.  Ive glued the fuselage halves together, must say that the fit was incredible here.  Kudos to Dragon on that part.  Virtually no seam after a touch of Tamiya liquid cement and a seam scraper.  That's about where my luck on the fit ended.  The small door panel for the tail boom was aweful and required filler, as did much of the engine housing.  As the putty is drying I started pondering the various antennae and such that dot the fuselage.  I've got reference photos for much but one photo I don't have is the underside of the "N".  There's a mount for a hoist.  I've got no pitures that show if the Vietnam era N's had that hoist.  Also, there seems to be some sort of zig-zag antenna on the port tail boom, Does that need to be filled in as well?

Also as a side note, I was also building Hasegawa's AH-64D Apache  along side of the Huey as I decided to take a break from  fixed wing and try something new.  I'm to the point where I need to paint the weapons and need some pointers on the colors of the Hellfires and rocket pods are.  Some pics seem to show them a lighter olive compared with the copter itself, and some look like the same Helo green.  Seems to be hit or miss.  My kit was an e-bay JDSF Apache so my instructions are no help for a US Army Apache.

Stu,

  Looking good!   Glad those CC parts mde it.  I can't wait to see her finished.

       Ray
 

Well with no small thanks do to Ray I've got the kit ready to complete in earnest.  No more waiting!  As you can see in the pic there is a substantial size difference between the kit pieces and those from Cobra.  Thankfully the cobra pieces are going to give me that extra room for some much needed detail pieces.  The rear bench is not yet glued in as I'm still toying with the idea of leaving them out as some reference photos show the benches, while others don't.  With these pieces, a 3 day weekend and the fact my AM Vindicator is one bomb away from finishing, the workbench is clear!

 Thanks again!

Well it's been a while.  Feel a need to explain myself here, but it's just been slow going.  I've been trying to do this right and plan each and every move. That and my wife decided to adopt a puppy, which has turned me into a babysitter during the times I usually retire to my "office".  Little plastic bits and sharp puppy teeth with an urge to chew don't mix. 

 Anyway, I'll try to post some pictures tonight to prove that I am, in fact plugging away.  Especially with the amount of help and resources you all have provided.  I feel I owe you all a top quality build.

 A couple of points I'm noticing about the kit that I'd like to bring up:  The scale of some of the Dragon parts seem to be questionable.  The bases for both minis seem to take up 2/3 of the cabin space.  My pictures show the seats behind the pilots are removed, but the benches towards the back sides of the cabin remain.  In addidion, the instructions call for the minis to be placed far aft, my pictures show the guns  as close to the front as possible. 

I have yet to receive the "promised" Cobra company X-93s, but since they were offered for free I'm not holding my breath, so I am plugging away using the kit pieces for references, and have gone ahead and built up the kit items, "just in case".  In dry fitting the cabin pieces minus the fire extinguishers, clip-boards, tie-downs and comm cables, I am re-thinnking the amount od detail I throw in the cabin.  Basically I am just running out of room, especially if I have to use the kit's minigun bases.

In planning to also use the kit's guns, I went and purchased a ton of brass tubing of various sizing (I needed it for other projects anyway) and will look to re-create the minis in a more accurate look.

Glued down are the seats, sticks, collectives, seatbelts and rear bulkhead.  Everything else is loose as I figure out where to put items to make it more realistic.

Well all, tonight's update reflects a bit of the work I've done on the cabin.  Now that I have the correct gray down I went to work busy-ing up the bare cabin.  I added some ribbing and coiled wire based on some of the pictures I have.  Not shown yet is the floor as I'm still working on some additional details.  The picture included really exemplifies what I was referring to about the Grays being dramatically different.

Gino,

  Your probably right, but if you had the raised instruments and some good instrument decals, it might look OK.  I still like the PE stuff myself, but I guess I'm lazy.  Of course if the PE isn't accurate that is frustrating.

      Ray

Gino,

  I went back and looked at both the 1/48th Italeri and the 1/35 Dragon/Panda kit which was scaled up from it and you're right about the 1/35 kit.  Here's what the IP looks like in the 1/48 Italeri D/H and, I assume, the 1/48 N model:

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That definitely looks like a N panel to me and the shape is the same as the 1/35 kit. A shame they didn't carry the detail over to the 1/35 version.

     Ray
 

You know I could be wrong about this, but isn't the IP on the Italeri 1/48 and Panda 1/35 UH-1D/H actually a N panel?  It sure looks like there are two sets of guages for both engines and it doesn't look like the proper IP for a real D/H.  I have never seen the UH-1N kit, but I figure the IP is the same.  Is that right Gino?  By the way, I'm not talking about the PE, but the original plastic part.

    Ray
 

Yup, its hard to match the PE color, Dark Gull Gray is close though.  The best instrument panel is in teh Cobra Company N set, the only true N panel.  The old Revell 1/32 H model or the Academy C model panels work well too.  You can also take the inner B piller parts from the Academy Cs too, plus lots of other better interior parts.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Ah. Of course the sides of the consoles are gray .  Well I repainted, re-washed, and dry brushed a bulk of the cabin's main pieces. But I followed the instructions and left the console black.  I'm starting to think I should just toss the instructions. Well since I've already put in the seat frames it looks like I'm stuck with it. Argh.  Good thing I'm keeping the doors closed.

 A couple of build notes so far.  I think if I were to do this again I would look for either a resin instrument panel and consoles or cannibalize them from the Academy kit.  Several posts ago, I voiced my disdain for PE parts like instrument panels as I felt it's a cop-out.  Well going against my own advice I chose to use the kit's PE parts and while I knew the grays were off a shade or two, it was only after I attached the instrument panel, top and bottom consoles that the differences really stand out.  Not happy with the results there.  Again, glad this will be done with the doors closed.  I'll rely on the back of the cabin, the little "danglees" I'll put into the ceiling and the minis to draw the eye away.

Tonight begins the scratch-built additions.

Well, I promised photos and here's one.  Don't get too attached to it.  Only after deciding to brazenly go ahead with the build while I waited for Squadron's Walkaround, did I prime, pre-shade, paint, seal and wash did I finally get the book and find out I used the wrong Gray.  Let this be a lesson to anyone painting based off of Dragon's instructions.  Light gull gray is NOT the correct color, rather dark gull gray (Which I should have known based on pictures. *sigh*).  So I'll re-paint and re submit photos.