Helicopter Group Build 2009

That's really well done Jeremy, and interesting. When are you gonna unmask the windows so we can see the tie-dyed curtains??

The worn effect on the tan looks really good too. I primed the Phrog this morning and am going to start coating green on it tonight. It has kind of a bizarre construction sequence since I have to build an inside-out helicopter and put a right-side out one over it, with  windows trapped in between.

Here's a question for the experts. The fuselage is Marine Green, but the instructions call out for the tops of the blades to be Olive Drab. Does that seem right? I looked at the box side photos, where I discovered that whoeever built the prototype has both rotors turning the same way, so i can't rely on anything Academy states.

That camo scheme on the Hind totally reminds me of those anti-slip flower shapes you stick to the bottom of the shower!  

Groovy.

Now,I just realized, that I did not paint the ,i guess they are exhaust coolers? right near the rotor shaft...I have since gotten paint on it...

during assembly, the front panels just wouldnt line up...I didnt notice how bad it was until I added the front windscreen...I can only hope that the Revell Apache is a much better fit!

Yay... pictures!

She looks great Justin! I like the custom camo.

After seeing first hand what comes in that box, you get an extra thumbs up from me just for attempting to build that thing!  

Justin, those are the engine air inlet screens.  Sorry about that windshield fit, that shoebox shape the Huey has looks like it leads to problems.  Looks good every where else, though.  The AH-64 is probably better, it is a much newer kit, isn't it?

The front page is updated with your finished build, you are number four to finish.

 I've made some more progress on my Super Frelon .

I must confess , joining this Helicopter Group Build , I really do feel like I've suddenly found myself in the "Big League" with the pro's . All the scratch-building , detailing , paint masking etc is just awesome . I'm not sure if what I've done so far is up to the high standard everyone else is doing .

Anyway here is some more progress pic's , I glued the main rotor blades to the hub and then placed the rotor assembly upside down on a dinner plate , I then added a small amount of weight to the center [rotor hub] and placed the plate and rotors outside in the sun for a few days , I wanted to get a slight droop in the blades .

The only seats I had were a little short in height so I cut the backs from the seat section and extended them with masking tape .

Next I airbrushed the insides of the fuselage halves , filed the cabin windows to fit , found some pilots and painted them , added some stretches because I didn't have enough spare seats and everything is about ready to close up .

There is a small roof consol which fits nicely into the top of the canopy , so I painted out the instrument panels and added some wire handles and mic cable to give it a busy look .

I've painted the main rotors and tail rotor , I'm pretty happy with the droop on the rotor blades , I dont think it's too over-done .

So everything is going along okay ;

I just can't believe the amazing builds you guys are doing , I hope mine turns out at least half as good .

Thank's for looking ...                     

                                      John .

 I forgot to add this pic ,

                                    John .

bondoman wrote:

When are you gonna unmask the windows so we can see the tie-dyed curtains??

Don't forget the orange shag... floor to ceiling.

Helo - Your work looks pretty good to me! I like your method for getting the rotor droop... I'm definitely going to try that.

Jeremy - good job , I am looking forward to see more pictures of your build.

Justin - nice one:)

Klaus - I realy can't wait to see more of your progress and as I said before I wish my Cobra was as good looking as yours.

Ok guys here's a little update from me, after gluing, filling, sanding them filling , sanding and some more sanding it is slowly getting shape. Next step is to put all the parts together and start working on the canopy which is going to be probably the most diffcult part of this build as from the test fit I noticed that it doesn't fit perfectly. Even some changes with the cockpit are required as some parts are to wide and they are blocking the canopy. I will post some pictures later on but you guys probably know what I am talkin gabout.

Thanks for watching guys.

Okay, sorry for no in-progress pics, been busy. This is my Monogram 1/48 AH-1S done as an AH-1F from the US Army Sky Soldiers demonstration team.  Other than the decals from Fireball, it is OOB.  This is going to to spend life on my desk so I didn't do any detailing.  Hope you like it.

Whoa... snuck that one right in there didn't ya, Chris?!

Well, the big boss has doled out your punishment for no progress pics but I'm in awe at the way you can just hammer out a sexy Cobra and throw it in our faces like that!

Well done!  

Love the paint scheme and she looks pretty darn good OOB to boot. You should be proud to have her sitting on your desk... I would be.

It can't just be to put the parts together without any problem.

Trying to put air intakes I  noticed that the bit marked on the picture in red doesn't look nice

and when I move intake to front a gap appears so I decided to glue some plastic to the intake, in other words a lot of sanding for me.

and guys this is my work station:) tiny coffe table and everything's packed in the box or shelve so whenever I need something need to pick it up.

 Thank's everyone for the kind words on my Super Frelon build , they certainly are gratefully appreciated .

Well , I got the two fuselage halves together okay ; I was half expecting it to be a real struggle to get everything match up evenly and much to my suprise , the fuselage join wasn't too bad , certainly not perfect as I did need some Tamiya putty all the way around the join .

The canopy fit was okay I guess , it needed some filing with a sanding stick along some of the edges to get the canpoy to sit back against the cockpit , I glued the canopy on with some white glue which dries clear and afterwards just added some selleys "no gaps" [water clean-up] around the frame/fuselage join .

So , she's ready for masking and I've decided to go with Bondoman's suggestion and finish her in the Blue/Brown over light Gray scheme , which should go nicely with my other helicopters and aircraft of the same era . I'll start masking later this evening and hopfully tomorrow I'll start airbrushing . I'll add all the antena's etc after painting .

Thank's again for the ongoing complements ; I still think everyone else's work is absolutly amazing .

                           Kind Regards John .

Avus wrote:

The scheme looks great Justin, as does the faded paint. Completely agree on what arki30 says: looks like "those anti-slip flower shapes you stick to the bottom of the shower"

AHEM... Jeremy?

I love the flower shapes... had to do it when I saw 'em. You should see her now though... lookin' kinda rough.

Polak - I don't know how you work in such a small area. I have so much clutter that it annoys me sometimes. Maybe I should clean up!   

Helo 53 wrote:

So , she's ready for masking and I've decided to go with Bondoman's suggestion and finish her in the Blue/Brown over light Gray scheme , which should go nicely with my other helicopters and aircraft of the same era .

That will be a good looking scheme. You're moving right along... can't wait to see some paint on her.

jmabx wrote:

Avus wrote: The scheme looks great Justin, as does the faded paint. Completely agree on what arki30 says: looks like "those anti-slip flower shapes you stick to the bottom of the shower" AHEM... Jeremy?

That's what happens when you don't read the post before clicking that darn "Post" button!

Sorry, Jeremy!

John, you're proceeding very well. I'll have to keep that filler trick in mind for my canopies.

Rest assured, Polak, once the fuselage halves are together, the intakes and engine covers are in place and all is filled and sanded you're done ... unless you start chopping around you helo like I did!

Talking of which, there might be some more chopping on the way: I've been told that the fuselage is about 5mm short and this shows particlarly in the area behind the cockpit ... soooo, where did I put my Dremel?!

Okay... a quick peek at what I'm trying to accomplish with my weathering on the Hind...

So far it's looking the way I had hoped. Over in the aircraft forum, I saw that KJ200 did a dot filter wash to his Bf-110. I really like the way it looked so once I get another coat of Future on this gal, I'm going to try out that technique... hopefully it works. 

AaronJeremy,  the Hind paint looks very good.  Just right, a nice thin layer.  I like the dot filter wash method, it has worked well for me.

Bill, why can't you work on both, you got two hands and only need to stand on one foot at a time!

Things are going to get lively soon...

The thought of all those rockets got me excited.

Your Hind is looking superb jmabx .

Just a quick update on my Super Frelon progress .

I airbrushed the underside of the Frelon light gray and when that dried I masked and srayed the sides and top brown .

When it comes to masking for camouflage pattens , I like to use 'Blue-Tack' , it's used for sticking posters on the wall etc , it's non greasy , so I just pull small pieces from the strip and roll it into little lengths of spaghetti and place it onto the fuselage sides .

I then cut small pieces of tamiya masking tape and cover the area I wish to stay brown .

I realize it's not the fastest way to airbrush camouflage finishes but I'm happy doing it this way .

After the blue color dried , I gave the Helo and allthe other parts a few light coats of tamiya clear .

Tomorrow I'll add some black wash to the engine inlet screens and other recesses and then decaling and add all the bits and pieces .

My next post should be the finished bird .

Thank's for looking...

                                 Kind regards John .

I told you guys, John is the fastest helo builder I have ever seen. Nice work on the cammo, John.  I haven't been commenting regularly like I should, but the other builds are looking great as well.  I love the retro cammo on the Hind! All the snakes seem to be coming along great as well.  I fear that I'll never get the UH-1V done by Christmas, but I might sneak in with a couple of 1/72 Hueys if that is OK.  Gonna do a buildoff between the Italeri and Hobby Boss UH-1B's.

    Ray

Your Hind is amazing, Jonathan, Jonas, Jeremy! That faded color effect turned out brilliantly.

Wow, John! Already done?! Looks good!

Weekly update: finished TSU, will ad some wires maybe, fixed skids and started planning canopy.
Here are pics:





Last picture shows how to improve the canpoy: the green is the supposed correct shape (got it from a scan of Squadron's walkaround) and red is the actual shape.
Not much of a difference, but still in need of a correction.

I'm comitted to cutting the fuselages in two during the week, so stay tuned for slaugher-pictures!

John - Love the dark blue in that paint scheme. Reminds me of a USAAF P-36 I built with dark blue, olive drab and light grey camo... strange combo.  

Klaus - Our fearless group leader, John, referred to me by someone else's name also. I expect that from him because he is very old... maybe approaching senility even.

If you keep up this cutting and slicing, we're gonna have to start calling you Sgt Slaughter! I sure hope you can fix them up all nice without them looking like Frankenstein...

With all the work you're doing, those Cobras will be a sight to see!

 Ray , That's bad luck about your UH-1V Huey build but a comparision build between Italeri and Hobbyboss 'Bravo' Huey's sounds interesting .

I also like the unusal camouflage scheme on your Hind Jeremy

And Klaus , I just can't believe all that plastic surgery your doing on your Cobra , your skills sir are absolutly amazing .

If it's not against the rules , I was wondering if it's okay to add a second build to the Helicopter GB .

I've had a Fujimi , Sikorsky SH-3D/H Seaking in my stash since May 2002 . These kits are so hard to find that I have been too afraid to build mine in case I messed it up

Well much to my suprise I picked up a second one recently , so I'm really excited about finally getting around to adding a U.S Navy Seaking to my display cabinet .

I would like to build her as an SH-3D version of HS-2 with the American flag on the fuselage sides . It would be a Straight out of the box build with lot's of progress pic's along the way .

Probably a nice 14 day project...

I'll wait for the official go ahead from the boss [jeaton] first .

                               Kind regards John .

Well, I'll have to check the code book first, to see if an SH-3D is permitted.....Oh yes there it is, go ahead.

I'll get the front page updated.  Should be a fun build after the Mach 2 Super Frelon.  Thanks for the interest in the GB, makes it all fun.

Jeremy, I'm way past senility, I'm retired!  I did fix the misnaming though, check the offending post!.

Ray, I have added the UH-1's to the front page.  Things are going so fast even a youngster might find it hard to keep track!

jeaton01 wrote:

Well, I'll have to check the code book first, to see if an SH-3D is permitted.....Oh yes there it is, go ahead. I'll get the front page updated.  Should be a fun build after the Mach 2 Super Frelon.  Thanks for the interest in the GB, makes it all fun.

 Thank's Boss

I'll start on the Seaking today .

Also not to confuse anyone with all the other Helicopter builds I have going ; I know I posted a pic previously on getting a nice rotor blade droop , so I tried it again with two sets of main rotors from Lindberg's HH-3E Jolly Green Giant kits .

I think it makes a plain looking set of rotors look a little better ; I just thought I would post a couple of additional pic's for reference purpose .

Now it's back to the Super Frelon and the "Holy Grail" of helicopter kits the Sikorsky SH-3D Seaking ........ ooooooh , I'm already giddy about this one

                               Kind regards John .