Helicopter GB

Yeah, I was thinking about some diorama ideas too.  I doubt that I will make one anytime soon, but eventually I might build something for it.  I've never made a dio before.

I spent some time drawing out ideas for my paint scheme.  I eventually landed on the two below, and I'm currently leaning toward the green one (although I've flip-flopped a few times already )  The red one is purely a product of my imagination, but the green one is closely based on an actual Bell 212 that was flown by Northern Mountain Helicopters in B.C. Canada sometime in the past.  I'm not sure if this helicopter still has the same paint scheme, or even if NMH is still in business.  Incidentally, both schemes do not show the ski-carrier basket that will be slung from the starboard side.  I will be scratch-building that piece.

While one side of the helicopter will have a ski basket with aircraft doors closed, the other will have doors open to allow better viewing of the interior.  This necessitated cutting out the pilot's door.

I tried something quite new on this build.  I used some tan women's stockings (growwwllll....) as a seat-covering material.  The fine weave scales down to look quite like canvas or other coarse fabrics.  I think the end result looks pretty neat.  It should: because I just spend some 2 hours doing it!   The pilot and co-pilot seats have seatbelts, but I'm not sure if I will add them to the rear seats.  I probably should, since it is a civilian aircraft. 

I still have quite a bit of scratch-building to do on the cockpit and cabin.  I'm going to try and scratch-build some ski equipment for the interior, and early tonight I was toying with the idea of putting a 'hula-girl doll' on the dashboard.  This latter idea may be well beyond my scratch-building skils, but it would be funny I think.  I hope I can come up with something.

Cheers, fellas.

Gentlemen we are now under the two month mark so lets see some progress Cheers

Progress continues on the Bell-212 interior.  I've been scratch-building odds & ends inside the cabin.  I built the FWD divider walls from plastic stock, then I built some maps, a first aid kit, and a fire extinguisher.  I also built a cargo net under the passenger bench, which was quite challenging.  I have a few more things to add before I can close up the fuselage.  I'm trying to keep patient before leaping into that segment of the build.

The windows have all been Futured, with exception of the sun-roofs which were painted with Tamiya transparent green on the inside surfaces.

I've just been in a modeling funk, but I've got some ideas for the Comanche that should help perk me up, just need to keep my fingers crossed that I stay motivated on my days off.  

The Comanche is a pretty simple build so I'm hoping a day or so of real motivation should get me close to done.

we've all got till the 20th of december to finish our heli's-only 5 weeks to go!

my second OH-13 is well on its way to being completed,so i'll make the finish date.

paul

More progress pics.  Almost done with the interior (finally! )

ok,it looks like the finished model on page 2 is going to be my only entry.

i went to spray a gloss coat onto the 2nd heli i was going to enter and it totally ruined the topcoat to the point where its not useable.......ever!

humbrol enamels with a humbrol gloss topcoat,you'd think it would be fine but it totally destroyed it. the colour coat had been on for at least 2 weeks so it was totally dry.

c'est la vie 

paul

Hellcat man wrote:

Jeaton i dont mind handing out any extensions

Thank you.  I'll do the UH-34.

I'm still making slow but steady progress on the Bell-212. 

She's almost fully assembled: I'm about to start the external putty-work / profile sanding.

Ok, here is where I'm at, I have most assembly done, just needs some paint and decals.

Getting close, the main painting is done, just a little detail work and decals. After today I have 5 days off to finish up.

I'll try to get some current pics up tonight.

BTW if anyone is interested in more rotary wing fun I'm trying to get an aerial rescue GB going, not a pure helicopter GB as fixed wing are allowed but we all know what kind of aircraft rules the rescue world these days. There are posts in the helicopter and aircraft forums if you want to throw your name in.

Ok, here is the Comanche so far.

That RAH-66 is looking sweet, Aaron

Here's some progress photos of the Bell-212.  I've closed up the canopy and assembled the engine compartment, but I have yet to permanently bond the latter.  I will be working on the engine compartment interior before I bond it in place.

Finally got my UH-34 done this weekend.  I did this in the markings I found in a photo of an Army UH-34 in Italy.  I went to maintenance school on the UH-34 in 1966 at Ft. Eustis, so it has a soft spot in my heart.  After going to school on the 34 they sent me back to my Cal ARNG unit to work on CH-37's.  It's the Army. 

I thought it was a nice kit.  I fit the windows a bit different so they would lie flush with the outside skin, added a top cabin bulkhead, a door in the aft bulkhead (why did they mold the bulkhead without the door?), and added a brass tube in the fuselage top and a carbon fiber block in the tail for attaching the rotors so they can be removed.  The color is Tamiya Olive Drab overcoated with Future, my memory tells me it could have been a bit darker but it looks close to me.  I did the ARMY and S/N markings in Corel Draw and printed them on my ALPS printer.  Still trying to get a deeper yellow for the S/N, a bit light, call it faded.  I put a wash of Model Master Oily Black and Flat Black on the engine and transmission screens to get a bit of contrast.

There are a few more build pictures on my web site:

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/ch34/1ch34/1ch34.htm

Can you guys mind-read?
Yesterday I was looking through the GBs and thinking "It would be nice to have another Heli-GB".

This being said I'M SO IN!
As soon as we have a time frame I'll pick the model to build.