Marines – The hottest way to deliver ordnance
She is all done and looking like she threw down some ordnance!
I used the Flying Leathernecks decals, so many to choose from. I decided on the Red Skeleton Jolly Roger of VMM-163. I picked up the Werner Wings decal for all the stencils. And of course you have to use some of the kit decals as well. I will say they go on swell and were thin and easy to apply. I ended up buying Eduard seatbelts to really match everything else done in the cockpit. Since i was spending money on shipping why not get more right, so i picked up DefModels 20mm gun barrels as well 🙂 And with my jolly roger choice I needed some full motion video which I got from Shapeways.
The cockpit additions are all scratch built. My favorite add is the tiny wound cable behind the gunner's seat. Lot's to see in this one. All the plastic behind the PE vents was cut away and wiring and components were added. Hard to see with my camera skills tho but I did my best to show something 😉 The 4 sensors(i assume) on the corners are hand painted and filled with testors window maker to try and simulate the glass. The pitot is brass tubing bent and sanded to shape. The seal where the stub wing meets the fuselage was painted and then coated with mask solution so upon final painting it could be uncovered for a little added detail. And lastly some inspiration from a local buddy of mine, goes by Bradley25mm over on the IPMS forum - fine detailing the tail rotor gear assembly with wiring, sensors, and wire clips. His looks awesome and he gave me lots of pointers on this build.
Paint was my usual mix with 1 addition this time. Thanks to Starfighter (LSP) for the recommendation on color choices for the upper bluish gray on these birds. I ended up with Mission Models as they were available locally. Primer is Citadel Chaos Black (satin). Color coats are Mission Model and MCW acrylic lacquer. Cockpit is all done in Vallejo colors. Weathering is all Flory Models washes. And the final flat clear is MCW to close it out.
I've been looking forward to this model for some time and am excited to show these pics.
That is one hell of a good looking bird! Menacing looking for sure, and really nice detail and paint work. Very nice decal work, looks like there was a lot of them and they all turned out great! Beautiful Job!
Nice and BIG, Chris!
You've done a great job there!
Amazing weathering, too!
That's one well-used buttugly chopperbird there. Beautiful work.
A huge beast, well done! Good weathering
You've really captured the menacing look of this beast, definitely liked.
Really outstanding weathering, Chris.
Nicely done! Having seen a few Whisky's the Vipers forbear, (but very similar in look and paint) during deployments I can say you captured the look well! Good job!
Love the paint and weathering work. Looks fantastic.
Incredible!
Fantastic build of one badass machine!
Nice job indeed
Great details, and beautiful overall look.
really big brutal looking bird
Impressive job! Great attention to detail.
Very Nice indeed Sir.
Excellent weathering and detail work, Chris. This is one of the best helicopters I have seen in this scale. The cockpit is particularly realistic and the missile detail is extraordinary. I hope we see more helos posted on this site in the future.
That is one sweet snake Chris. I'm super impressed with your attention to detail.