Very impressive, especially at 1:72.

arkhunter2002

Modified from copper wire, yes

 

I sculpted 7 figures...  Here's some more pics.  Two of the guys were a little bit smaller, they seemed more like 1/76 or 1/87, very noticeable to me, so I sculpted them again.

Number from left to right, I sculpted 100% #1, 5, 7, 8.  Figure 2 I used feet from some caeser miniature figure for the boots.  Figure 3 I used a head from CSMC but added the goggles and gloves from a Navy Deck Crew set.  Figure 4 I used one boot from a caeser miniature and hands from the Navy Deck Crew set.  Then figures 6 & 9 were Hasegawa legs, resin copies of body armor that I sculpted and then resin copies for heads, and sculpted the rest.  The M4's are resin copies of an edited M16,  The M240 is PE from OKB Grigorov, and the M249 is from dragons humvees.

 

The crew was just modified from Hasegawa and Modern Hobbies.

 

Take care,

Austin

There was a demonstration of this manouver at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Coke 600 race.  You might be able to find someone who was there to supply you with some good pictures.  Mine are from pretty far away and don't really show the soldiers part way down the lines.

jimmyg

Modified from copper wire, yes

I sculpted 7 figures...  Here's some more pics.  Two of the guys were a little bit smaller, they seemed more like 1/76 or 1/87, very noticeable to me, so I sculpted them again.

Number from left to right, I sculpted 100% #1, 5, 7, 8.  Figure 2 I used feet from some caeser miniature figure for the boots.  Figure 3 I used a head from CSMC but added the goggles and gloves from a Navy Deck Crew set.  Figure 4 I used one boot from a caeser miniature and hands from the Navy Deck Crew set.  Then figures 6 & 9 were Hasegawa legs, resin copies of body armor that I sculpted and then resin copies for heads, and sculpted the rest.  The M4's are resin copies of an edited M16,  The M240 is PE from OKB Grigorov, and the M249 is from dragons humvees.

The crew was just modified from Hasegawa and Modern Hobbies.

Take care,

Austin

Wow, those figures look good in the close-ups---nicely done...looks like most have been modified?

Wow, great dio! I think the rotors look great the way they are and you must have very steady hands to do such a great job on 1/72 figures.

Kudos all around sir!

Thanks guys!  I really appreciate it!

The rotors can spin though, while the helicopter balances...see

The rotors aren't permanent at all, and who knows, I might try it, but that would require building another rotorhead which I'm not too crazy about right this instant.  I have a few other dio ideas that I want to get done including this one:

Which I'll try the 'fuzzy' rotor idea for sure.  It's going to be based on a scene in black hawk down.  I'm also itching to do a zombie horde dio and I have a stryker dio in progress....

Anyways, Manny, you said you wanted to see some close ups on the figures, so here's some:

Take care,

Austin

Bocks Suv

Or you could craft something like on PropBlur.com: P-E brass with carefully sliced props. You'd have to use a material or techniques that wouldnt let the blades droop.

You could always R/C the dang thing and have it actually hover there .....

There's also a good idea about this subject in the current FSM mag. It was a really good reader tip from Ken, found on page 54. Give'r a look and see what you think.

... bottom line ... to each is own. Change it or keep it, you've done a fine job.

I cant wait to see the base.  The rotor thing is a toughie. Use clear discs and they'll dominate the model; do nothing and it looks kinda half-baked (in my opinion). I dont agree w/ the post about a "moment in time". I'm not sure how permenantly the rotors are attached to the chopper, bu you could try clear discs that have beeen muted a bit to eliminate the shine and perhaps lightly paint or draw on blurred blades. Experiment and see how it looks. Or you could craft something like on PropBlur.com: P-E brass with carefully sliced props. You'd have to use a material or techniques that wouldnt let the blades droop. Good luck. Still a great dio.  

The discussion of "spinning" props vs "static" props has been talked about over and over ..... IMO I think that HVH said it best awhile back when I was considering whether to do the same thing on another helo .... maybe it was my "Littlebird" dio ... I can't remember. Basically, the idea is that the model/ dio is a snap-shot in time. When I thought about this, it made me think that if the props where spinning then the guys should almost be "moving" on the fast ropes!?!

I think that in some instances, smaller A/C like single engine fighters, etc, spinning props look really nice. However, w/ something like this, something w/ a lot of action and movement, I think that the previous thought is more "appropriate".

Again, VERY nice job on this one Austin. I've been staring at my 1/35 UH-60 thinking about it, but I'm not going to copy the idea .... I'm thinking more about a sling load op. Great job and thanks for all the inspiration....

arkhunter2002

Thanks guys!

 

Manny, anyone in particular?

 

Take care,

Austin

Perhaps the ol' clear plastic sheet to simulate the spinning rotors. A smaller base is a good idea. I still think you need some street level action - curb, thrashed pick up truck, shrubs etc. Random and simple is better than tidy and contrived. The indian rope trick is a great idea. I may have to use microscope slide covers to support the aerial action on my 1/72 dio...or really thin tempered wire if I can find it.

very cool austin. glad to see this one completed. i dont know how you did it with such a small scale but fantastic none the less.

Thanks guys!

Manny, anyone in particular?

Take care,

Austin

This is cool and impresive in this scale. Its similar to another one I think I saw here months ago, but this is much better. The other i think was 1/35 but was pretty toy-like. You got all the angles right--cool action--very neat model

Hi Austin,

Honestly when I was going to view this post I was expecting guys hanging from the side of a cliff...Lo and behold!!!...it's a helicopter suspended in mid air. I must commend you on a very good execution. The rope lines that help to support the heli is so thin and almost the right scale to pull off this mid-air trick. I also like what you've done with your 1/72 figures... so many in different poses.

You've given me inspiration to also suspend my 1/72 UH-34 in mid-air for my Vietnam Dio build. Thanks for sharing this build.

Cheers,

Richard

Now this has been a long time coming!   From the pics I see it looks pretty good---would like to see some close-ups of the crew and figs...

One addition that I  think would make a world of difference would be to replace the static rotors with either a clear disc to represent movement or try to replicate those PE "moving props" that really look like they are turning...

Outstanding work, Austin .... simply outstanding.

May just have to give this a go in 1/35 as we talked about way back when .... HAHA!!

Nice job, buddy. I'm almost speechless .....

Been checking this out for a long time..good to see it done...OUTSTANDING WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It really came together.....

Thanks guys.  I tried fooling around with some HDR stuff, and it didn't really turn out too well, but here are the pictures with the base attached.

Anyways hope you all enjoy!

Take care,

Austin

DAMN!  I really liked how you made the helicopter hooving over the roof using just the ropes!  Priceless...

WOW!! Now that looks great! I still can't believe how tiny it is.

I really like how you have the corrugated roof blowing off from the rotor wash

Very well done and great work getting the Blackhawk balanced on the fast ropes, it fits in perfect with the whole dio and doesn't look model-like as the result of a stand. If you get a chance to take it out to a show I'm sure you'll walk away with some nice awards.

Any time for a new project or.. what's next?

</intermission>

Hope you guys like it, cause I love it (although I might be slightly biased).  I've been posting various stages of this on about 4 different websites, and there's some overlap of people between such sites, but each one has been able to guide me to the end result whether it be sculpting or building construction or the size of the fast ropes, etc...  So a big thank you to everyone who watched and helped me!

Take care,

Austin

Thanks.  I used Vallejo paints and they were Green Grey, Stone Grey, and Deck Tan.

I haven't updated this in a while apparently, but I resculpted two of the figures and finished up the dio.  Now I'm working on varnishing the base....  So here's the initial finished pics and hopefully by next week I'll have the varnishing done and have the building mounted, and pictures to prove it.

Anyways, I'll take it step by step in two posts.  First up, the resculpted figures and the building...

<intermission>

Hey, first off, the diorama looks fantastic.  What colors did you use for the ACU uniforms?

Thanks camo,

I've been working on the figures as well as some decals for a UH-60 from the Colorado NG, which will be one of my next builds...

I dislocated my shoulder while lifting on Friday, so yeah, progress will get even slower, not to mention a big test tomorrow and another one on Tuesday.

Here's where the figures are as of now (I knocked off one of the guy's hands...)

Take care,

Austin

yeah, i was wondering where this was at. nice to see an update (not that i can talk). im with scott...if you dont need glasses after this one i dont know...

Thanks Chris and Scott.

I can't wait until the long Easter weekend, but literally every class has something due before the break, and in two classes I have tests (strength of materials and statistical process control).   I ordered some stuff from Tracks n Troops (specifically some OKB Grigorov PE) that I'm pretty excited to see in person over break.

Take care,

Austin