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Dennis Meyers
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Academy AH-6J & Live Resin SOF Helicopter Assault Team 1/35

December 30, 2021 · in Figures · · 19 · 1.8K

This long term project began when I saw a pre-release article on this 6-figure set. I'd built a fantastic Live Resin figure a few years earlier so I was confident that they would be great figures. I had also been wanting to build a helicopter for sometime. I preordered the figures immediately and it took several months for them to be released and arrive. While waiting, I obtained the 's 1/35 Little Bird Night Stalkers kit.

The figures are excellent. Each one is a full kit unto itself with more than 15 finely detailed parts. The lack of assembly instructions and the small size of some of the parts (note the microphones) are the only drawbacks. I had to rely on the CAD-rendered box art images and on research to determine equipment placement and paint colors.

The Academy kit was pretty good. The most difficult step was gluing on the big clear windscreen as it didn't align with its frame precisely all along the edge. Also, the attachment points for the passenger sleds were too small to hold the SOF figures. I added metal rods to support them. Painting was fairly easy since to facilitate night operations, they are totally black. I used Tamiya Nato Black with some slight mottling hear and there.

Reader reactions:
14  Awesome

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.


19 responses

  1. Very nice work on display here and a great result.

  2. This one is amazing! Great job, Dennis!

  3. Very nice setting, Dennis @dmeyers
    The figures do add a lot of action into this display.
    All build to high standards.

  4. Congratulations, Dennis!
    An excellent result!

  5. Wow amazing job on the figures Dennis ,I can't look at this without hearing "Fortunate son" by CCR in my head !.
    Well done

  6. Wonderful work, Dennis. I really like the design of camouflage clothes.

  7. Stunning work! The figures are really life like miniatures, this is the best Heli composition I’ve seen

  8. Top notch all around, Dennis, especially the figures. Well done!

  9. The sculpting of the figures is some of the best I've seen. Looks like someone took a LIDAR scan of six guy's . The figures don't look wooden, and the bio-mechanics . . . they are holding a natural pose. They're riding in a Loach.
    The figure painting brings out the best in the figures and the copter. This is a great collaboration of Modeler and two manufactures practicing their craft to its fullest. Museum quality Dennis.

    Thank you for sharing.

    Two thumbs up.

  10. Exceptional work Dennis, especially with the figures. I trust you'll be entering it a model show in the future as it's a real show stopper.

  11. Wow! Those are the most realistic figures I've ever seen. Your painting and detailing is superb. To quote Tom above, "A real show stopper"! Excellent!

  12. Freakin' AWESOME!
    Really great figure painting- I have some SEALS sets I am trying to paint up- you need to put out a blow by plow on how you achieve your stunning results!
    Gorgeous work! Congrats!
    Dan from Bermuda.

  13. The figures look so real I thought you had taken photos of humans. Top notch.

  14. Wow, this is amazing work. Looks very realistic too.

  15. I know it’s the obvious thing to say, but, those figures really bring your model to life, brilliant addition to the helicopter.

  16. This is one amazing build!

  17. Wow Dennis, this is one of the best helicopter builds I've seen, so awesome with the figures, and you've painted it perfectly - I love the camo on the uniform. And I like the helicopter how you've done it nice and clean so that the focus is on those incredible figures, man I want to get some of them now.
    Excellent work.

  18. Very cool, can't help but check this out...nice job Dennis.

  19. Dennis, ran across this in one of the footer articles. This is great work. The figures are very well done. Sorry the comment is almost two years away from your post date.

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