1/35 AH-1W

Started by Richard Mcstay · 49 · 9 years ago
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    Simon Whitney said 9 years, 3 months ago:

    She is looking good Richard, like it.

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    Richard Mcstay said 9 years, 3 months ago:

    Thanks Simon, still a long way to go yet though. Anything can happen in that time!

    Here are the finished armaments for the wings.

    I have applied a quick coat of Vallejo gloss ready to apply the decals, which normally is my favorite part of the build! Apart from the Hapdong Apache if you read that article...

    I'll be using my normal process of Microset/sol, but that will have to wait because I'm going to the pub. I might come back to it later if I'm not too wobbly, but we'll play that one by ear for now!

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    Richard Mcstay said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Just a quick update before I head back to the Shetlands for another stretch. I was hoping to finish this before I went back but a few nice days of weather lured me out the house!

    Here are the finished armaments ready to be installed.

    I got the decals from America from a company called TwoBobs or something like that. They are very fragile but conform to the plastic brilliantly with a bit of microsol. I had to cut the snake decal into three different sections before I was confident enough to slide them on.

    For the weathering process I used some Florymodel washes, dark dirt, black and rust to be precise. I completely covered the model in the washes as I decided to go for a dirty look to depict the super cobra's heavy combat usage. I left it to dry for an hour then removed most of the wash with kitchen roll to leave the dirt in the recesses. I then added a few rust streaks here and there, then finished it with some Vallejo matt varnish.

    With the weathering done now I can start to put everything together. Just the canopy to finish and the rotors to go on now.

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    George Williams said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Looking great, Richard, you should finish it during your next trip home!

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    Gregor d said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Looks totally fab Richard. I look forward to seeing it in headlines. Well done.

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    Rob Pollock said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Coming on nicely, Richard. Once all the sub-assemblies begin to come together it begins to have The Look. Great job so far.

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    Simon Whitney said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Looking forward to seeing it in headlines soon Richard.

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    Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Richard:
    Izzat a SNAKE I see on the side? That's what they called the -1S.

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    Craig Abrahamson said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    OUTSTANDING build, my friend...gonna be a show-stopper for sure!

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    Richard Mcstay said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    That is a snake on the side. I presume a cobra!
    I'm hoping to get it done next time I'm home, I don't have any plans so no excuses, unless I drop it.
    Thanks for all the comments guys, really appreciate them!

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    Ramon R. Lomeli said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    looking good Richard, keep at it! 🙂

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    Ramon R. Lomeli said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    very cool indeed Sir!

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    Bernd Müller said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Hi Richard, i missed a lot of your progress, the last time, which is a shame. This will be a stunning kit ! The paint work with the spot on weathering is outstanding.
    It will be armed to the teeth with these wonderful build and painted weapons.

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    Richard Mcstay said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Thanks guys, much appreciated! There is still a droop on the rotors though Ramon, I didn't want to bend them back and risk distorting them. Hope it doesn't spoil the end product too much. I'm going to tie them up with ribbon like in the pic you sent so hopefully it will just look like they have been secured really tight!

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    Richard Mcstay said 9 years, 2 months ago:

    Ok, back in the room! That's the tail rotors in place, I'm waiting till the canopy is in place before attaching the main rotors.


    I've waited till now before attaching the HUD as it is rather delicate, and I envisaged it in the bin stuck to a piece of sponge after the cockpit masking.