Eagle90

So....I've been taking pics of the progress of the Kenyan chopper...but forgot to post them!  That's pathetic huh?  LOL!

So, here are the progress pics of the MD500.  It has been a really nice kit, fit is good, the only thing I have found to be a bummer so far is the fit of the "glass".  I little awkward, but managable.  Here she is so far.

 

 

 

 

Bobby,

Great job on the MD500. Hey, you can always paint it like TC Chopper! 

Gamera

Chad: Thanks, the decal looks good enough for me in any case. 

Bobby: Two sets of pilots? Hmmm, might have to pick up one of these too for the spare parts box. 

 

Yeah, the kit can be done up in three versions.  Israeli, Kenyan, and a test chopper..I think for some new optics package.  There is a different optics for that one.  So I'm thinking they are like "test" pilots or something.

Chad: Thanks, the decal looks good enough for me in any case. 

Bobby: Two sets of pilots? Hmmm, might have to pick up one of these too for the spare parts box. 

damouav

Great work Bobby, looking forward to seeing the next round of updates.

I need to add a helo to my collection one of these days.

 

Thank you!  It is a nice kit.  And for my first helo....I'm looking forward to doing another one now.  It's a nice break from my usual builds.  Thanks again!

Bish

Thats looking good Bobby, figures are a nice addition and well done on the masking.

 

Thank you sir!  I hope I'm doing the Kenyan Army proud.  LOL!  I'm having a great time with my first helo!

Mopar Madness

Cliff - Those instrument panel decals actually look really good.  So if they're visible, it won't detract from the cockpit at all. 

 

Bobby - I like your little pilots!  Kuddos on masking all that glass.

 

Thank you!  The kit actually came with two sets of pilots.  One set was military and one set was like test engineers or something.  Pretty cool.  Thanks again!

Great work Bobby, looking forward to seeing the next round of updates.

I need to add a helo to my collection one of these days.

Thats looking good Bobby, figures are a nice addition and well done on the masking.

Cliff - Those instrument panel decals actually look really good.  So if they're visible, it won't detract from the cockpit at all. 

Bobby - I like your little pilots!  Kuddos on masking all that glass.

Gamera

Hey Bobby, nice work there- I love the pilots. Musta been a bear to mask all that plexiglass. 

 

Thank you!

LOL!  It was.  Had to do it a little differently then I'm used to.  With the odd fitting and odd shapes I masked the clear parts, then glued them in.  I little trickier, but it turned out pretty well.

Hey Bobby, nice work there- I love the pilots. Musta been a bear to mask all that plexiglass. 

So....I've been taking pics of the progress of the Kenyan chopper...but forgot to post them!  That's pathetic huh?  LOL!

So, here are the progress pics of the MD500.  It has been a really nice kit, fit is good, the only thing I have found to be a bummer so far is the fit of the "glass".  I little awkward, but managable.  Here she is so far.

Mopar Madness

Thank you everyone for the kind words! So, here is the final result after a dip in floor wax and a final polish.

Before and after...

 

 

Chad,

Outstanding job on that seam! You can not tell at all. Great job!

Gamera

My seatbelts came in Friday. I used these Eduard 'Superfabric' which I think is new, I've haven't heard of them before. They look more like a thin flexible plastic material to me than fabric. I don't think they don't look anywhere near as good as the fabric and metal ones but in 1/48th scale they look good enough. 

I just used the decal for the instument panel. Again shoved down in a dark cockpit it looks good enough for me. I rubbed a silver Prisma coloured pencil over the controls and raised edges, it seems to give me better control than normal dry-brushing.

 

Cliff,

Your office looks fantastic! IMHO, I do like the look of the seat belts.

Superb work Chad, i agree with Cliff, would not even know there had been a seam there.

Chad: That looks much better!!! 

I can't see where the seam was at all. 

Thank you everyone for the kind words! So, here is the final result after a dip in floor wax and a final polish.

Before and after...

Thanks guys! 

I haven't bought any new PE seatbelts in years so I probably just missed them when they came out. They're only a single piece, they look a lot like the glossy plastic coated paper you see in magazines. You just peel them off the backing, apply a little white glue to the back, and stick them in place. As said overall they don't look anywhere near as good as the HGW belts with the fabric parts and the PE buckles but with a spray of matte varnish and snuggled down inside the cockpit they look good enough for me in 1/48th. In 1/32nd I think I'd go with the HGW ones like Damo.

Looks like I missed a few posts back on the last page: 

Theuns: Wow, that Stearman looks awesome! That's amazing to get to work on the real thing!!! 

Chad: Lol, nice cat!!! 

Chad, nice job removing that seam, things loike that are annoying and seem easily avoidable.

Did your kit inspector pick up on that issue.

G, i think those belts have been out a couple of years. I have seen them on hannants but never in the flesh. Is there any assembley needed on those.

Theuns, really well done on that pit, i agree about the belts, really nice.

Mopar - Great start, didn't know some manufactuers included living cats with kits... Great work removing the seam from your canooy, looking forward to your build.

Gamera - Excellent work on your pit mate, great looking belts to boot as well! Looking forward to seeing your build progress as well.

That pit looks top notch Gamera. The pencil thing worked aces. It pops. 

Hey big thanks guys!!!

Chad: Great job on getting rid of that seam. I can understand why they have to cast the part like that but it's still annoying to have to carefully sand and buff it out.

That cockpit looks super Cliff.

Cheers

Tony

Gamera, that cockpit looks the business!

After a spot of coffee I decide to tackle the dreaded canopy seam!  It’s, 2018, can’t these folks mold a canopy without a seam, lol! So, after 20 minutes of fine sanding and polishing, I removed the seam.  Next, I carefully brushed it with a Tamiya anti-static brush to remove the dust, then dipped it in clear floor wax to remove any residual scratching or hazing.  Fingers crossed here! 

My seatbelts came in Friday. I used these Eduard 'Superfabric' which I think is new, I've haven't heard of them before. They look more like a thin flexible plastic material to me than fabric. I don't think they don't look anywhere near as good as the fabric and metal ones but in 1/48th scale they look good enough. 

I just used the decal for the instument panel. Again shoved down in a dark cockpit it looks good enough for me. I rubbed a silver Prisma coloured pencil over the controls and raised edges, it seems to give me better control than normal dry-brushing.

Time to enter the frey!  So many nice kits coming together here!  My contribution will be this Bronco 1/48 Pakistani JF-17.  I don't know much about modern aircraft or Bronco kits so this will be an interesting build.

CN: Love the Gnat, beautiful model and I love the red!

Colin: Great job, love that camo.

Theuns: The cockpit looks fantastic, hope you're leaving the canopy open to show it off.

That looks incredible!  Especially the seatbelts!