Moments of Zen

[DogfighterZen]

Well, finally got the Kiowa off the bench and into the display cabinet... and i'm still working on the Mustang Mk.XX and the Alouette III so, instead of starting another model, i have to turn my attention to the other builds on the bench, now that the hardest part of the Alouette build is done and the Mustang just needs a few panel lines rescribed....

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[kerick]

Progress is beautiful!

[Rick Lowe]

 

[DogfighterZen]

Cheers, gents! 

Progress is beautiful!

It does feels good to finally get something done and move forward with the rest of the stuff on the bench. I've been dragging these builds for too long... and that doesn't feel good but i've busy at work and tired because of it so, it is what it is.
Anyway, just started rescribing the lost panel lines on the Mustang. It's much closer to the finish line than the Alouette build so, i'll try to give it a good push to see if i can get it ready for paint before the end of the week...

 

[kerick]

Cheers, gents! 

Progress is beautiful!

It does feels good to finally get something done and move forward with the rest of the stuff on the bench. I've been dragging these builds for too long... and that doesn't feel good but i've busy at work and tired because of it so, it is what it is.
Anyway, just started rescribing the lost panel lines on the Mustang. It's much closer to the finish line than the Alouette build so, i'll try to give it a good push to see if i can get it ready for paint before the end of the week...

 

Sounds like a plan to me! I need to do the same myself, but I'm bogged down in kitchen remodeling.

[DogfighterZen]

It does feels good to finally get something done and move forward with the rest of the stuff on the bench. I've been dragging these builds for too long... and that doesn't feel good but i've busy at work and tired because of it so, it is what it is.
Anyway, just started rescribing the lost panel lines on the Mustang. It's much closer to the finish line than the Alouette build so, i'll try to give it a good push to see if i can get it ready for paint before the end of the week...

 

Sounds like a plan to me! I need to do the same myself, but I'm bogged down in kitchen remodeling.

Similar situation also going on here. Some cracks on the walls needed some work and paint so time for the bench hasn't been much.
Still, the Mustang is ready as it only had a couple of panel lines and rivets to fix. Now it's time to mask the canopy and paint but it's very hot around here today, well above 30ºC  with just a light breeze that doesn't really do much to cool things down so, painting will be done later when it's cooler.

 

[DogfighterZen]

So, it's past midnight, the temperature in my hobby room is around 30ºC and it feels like i'm melting into my chair...
Lots of heat and work have been taking their toll... still, i have been slowly moving forward with one build, the real world PoAF Alouette.
The 1/72 Heller kit is not an easy build, even more so with the mods i've done and work i've been putting into it... Still, i think i've only seen one built as a gunship and that one was a South African "K-car" so, i'll have one of the few models ever built of the "Lobo Mau". 

The Mustang has had most of the panel lines rescribed but it ended up needing yet another layer of sprue-goo on the canopy to fuselage seam and is waiting for a sanding session to see if i can get the canopy frames well defined from the rest of the fuselage.

Moving on to other projects, my "Blue Thunder action trio" project has recently become easier to achieve with the acquisition of the correct skids for both the Bell Jet Ranger and the OH-6.
The Heli-scale quality 3D printed parts are ok but will need some work. The surface of the parts is a bit rough so they'll need some careful sanding before they can be glued on.
I'm also a bit worried about the Jet Ranger's skids not being strong enough for the weight of the built Revell kit. I want to include the respective figures for each chopper so the Ranger will need 4, the pilot, observer and two SWAT operatives with M60 machine guns... That brings me to the next problem to solve which is finding what i need in terms of figures... I've looked around and there is nothing close to what i need in 1/32... not even the M60s! 
That means that i'll have to make the whole bunch like i did for the Blue Thunder build. For pilot/observer, i just need to buy some helmets and the rest will be made from Magic Sculp two part epoxy putty. The SWAT guys will be the same but no helmets... will have to scratchbuild the M60s, though but having built the 1/72 MG 151 20mm cannon for the Alouette gunship so i think i can manage the 1/32 M60.
Still, i'd rather spend some money have save me the time and work but nobody does them in this scale.
The crew and guns for the MD-500 are a different story because the kit Hobbycraft kit includes two crew figures but i only need one... and, although i'll still have to scratchbuild some details for the guns, the AH-64 Apache's 30mm gun is easy to find in 1/32. And yes, the guns on the movie's MD-500 were inspired by the Apache's gun, as was the #02 prototype number, which was a small tribute to the second Apache prototype that had crashed just a few weeks before the final details and markings were decided for the BT.
This means that, other than what i mentioned above, all i'll have to scratchbuild is the Jet Ranger's search light, 5 blade rotor hub and 5th blade for the MD-500...
BTW, i'll also have to draw and print decals for the Astro Division's badge and serial number to put on the Ranger.
This will be a lot of work but it'll be worth it to have all the main choppers of the movie.

 

[DogfighterZen]

So, it's time for an update here...
Lots of stuff going on in real life but regarding models, i haven't done much in the past couple of months...
Last night i finally got some work done on both of the builds i had on the bench, the real world PoAF Alouette III and the whiff Mustang.
The Mustang is finally at a point where it's good enough to move on, as described in the build thread in the Aircraft section and the Alouette had been waiting for some minor details to be attached before i could spray some paint. All the bit were attached in their place and today i got the compressor running...

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Can't promise anything but i can say that i will try to finish these two before the end of the year...  

 

[Old Wombat]

Tiny! But ...

[NARSES2]

Tiny! But ...

Indeed 

[DogfighterZen]

So, LF models is coming out with a 1/72 Alouette 3 and all the aftermarket bits for the gunships... right when I'm getting close to the finish line on my Heller oldie...
This weekend I've had a few moments to get the engine painted and begin the fit tests before I try adding the "elephant ears" dust filters from Croco models.

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The Mustang is still waiting for me to get some paint sprayed on it...

[DogfighterZen]

Progress!! 
Got the Mustang masked and ready for some paint, maybe during the weekend but, what i'm more excited about is that i've made significant advances on the Alouette III.
Got the tail rotor guard rails painted and glued on without making a mess of the fuselage's paint job but some of the most significant details of the build, which are the engine and the "elephant ears"dust filters, were glued in place. Had to be done in three steps: main rotor mast first, then the engine and fiolters last. This allowed me to adjust everything while the glue was setting to ensure that the filters would sit properly aligned. There are still a few details to add in that area before i call it ready, but it's just a small tube going from the engine into some type of tank that sits between the rotor mast and the engine. It's more to finish "filling" that area to disguise the fact that it's not an open engine bay like the real thing.

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I've gotta say that the Croco models resin dust filters are not very accurate. The shape is not correct, the way they're supposed to be installed on the kit parts for the intakes makes the attachment area completely inaccurate. Also, no support struts are provided so those will have to be added later with some thin Evergreen styrene rod.
Unfortunately the quality of the masters/molds themselves isn't very good because, besides having to remove excess resin on the most fine details of the set which are the filter panels, the shape of the ducts is not correct and the left side part is different from the right side part and needed a bit of sanding to dial in the shape to match the part that looked closer to the real ones.
Does this make me regret using these parts? No. They weren't expensive and they're not bad, just not the best. They'll do just fine for this build and if i ever get the urge to build this again, LF models will make that easier and i hope, more accurate.
Getting close to the finish line on a build is always exciting for me and seeing that i've been so lazy this year, i'm hoping that finishing these two builds will have a snowball effect and get me more motivated to sit at the bench... let's see if i can do more on both builds during the weekend...

 

[NARSES2]

Does this make me regret using these parts? No. They weren't expensive and they're not bad, just not the best. They'll do just fine for this build and if i ever get the urge to build this again, LF models will make that easier and i hope, more accurate.

That's the attitude that enables progress 

[Pellson]

Progress!! 
Got the Mustang masked and ready for some paint, maybe during the weekend but, what i'm more excited about is that i've made significant advances on the Alouette III.

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I find it rather inspiring to view your progress on this venerable kit. Great work indeed! 

[kerick]

That looks really good to me! Even the dust filters.