43 - 1/48 Italeri Bell AB-212 / UH-1N
I enjoyed this kit so so much, what a beautiful helicopter. As always it needed a few upgrades but those are what makes it individual and interesting.
I decided to do the Italian ISAF version that was used in Afghanistan.
I started out in the cockpit adding some seatbelts using chocolate foil wrapping (that was a nice treat) and I cut the buckles from plastic and painted them.
The instrument panels were pained and detailed up and the seats added inn, I dirtied up the main area's floor to show some heavy usage.
The seats in the main bay looked very empty and bland so I decided to do a little extra work and add in seatbelts to them as well using the same method, I then added some extras to add some detail like, wire coils, radio wires.
Then onto painting with black basing - adding the mottling with shades of grey, with reds and browns in the grey and yellow and greens in the green.
One detail I noticed on the helicopters that weren't present in the kit were the ring hooks beneath the helicopter. I wanted to find away to add them, and after a lot of trial and brain wracking I cut a plastic q-tip and found the perfect ring, glued it to a piece of plastic card and had the perfect hooks.
Then finishing off with decals, weathering and finishing touches. What a fun build. I absolutely loved it. You can follow the build log at https://imodeler.com/groups/helicopters/forum/topic/ab-212-isaf/?topic_page=1&num=15
Great build, Anthony, your extra detailing has really brought this model to life.
Thanks so much George @chinesegeorge - I really enjoy the extra detailing
Well done, Anthony. Like the in-progress pics.
Thanks Gay @gwskat - I'm trying to add more of that in.
Truly amazing, Anthony@anthonyricco
Those Qtip Rings are a great idea and do add a lot to the already perfect build.
Thanks a log John - @johnb - yes I was so happy when I thought of it my other attempts weren't looking great.
Very nice
Thanks George.
@anthinyricco - Beautiful work as always Anthony! I'm impressed with the number of simultaneous builds you must have going all the time.
Thanks Brian @brithebuilder - I'm posting my backlog of builds so there are a few - these are from about a year ago - I am currently and usually working on 3 kits, The Alpha Model Ferrari SF90 Stradale, a CH-46 Bullfrog (sea Knight) and a He-219 A7
Inspiring build, Anthony
Thanks so much Rafi @blackmopane - thats very kind of you to say.
What a great Huey, Anthony (@anthonyricco). Looks awesome, inside and out. I know the Italeri helos can be a handful, but yours came out great.
Thanks George @gblair - this was actually a really great build. No struggles.
Excellent Huey, Anthony! !
Thanks Spiros @fiveten - really appreciate it.
Beautiful work! Love your black-basing efforts and the detail work you put into this. Well done!
Thanks a lot Greg @gkittinger - yeah I really like the effect the black basing gives for lightly weathered vehicles.
Superb build. Details are awesome.
Thanks so much Matt.