Rogue Trooper Hoppers

[Weaver]

It's surprisingly difficult to copy the comic version exactly. You look at it and think "oh, it's an AH-1", but all the bits are actually subtly different. For instance, the AH-1's canopy sill is a straight line, but on the hopper, it's stepped. The belly turret looks straight off a WWII bomber, but it's actually much too small, the rocket pods are WAY bigger than real FFAR pods etc...

First thought that came to me was an OV-10 Harold, specifically the YOV-10D --- you could modify the canopy to look just like the pic very easily I think plus you would also have the high wing and rear end of the fuselage without too much bashing, turret is already in place and the twin booms could be the mounts for the engines

The Bronco's canopy is rounded not flat panel and bulged out over the side of the fuselage in a way that looks quite different from the hopper. However I wonder if you could bash an AH-1S canopy onto a Bronco airframe? That might be worth investigating. Of course, if you're trying to make something that's 'in the spirit of' rather than an exact copy, then the Bronco's a fine starting point whichever way you go.

The Bronco's rear compartment is also way smaller than the hopper's but you'd have to cut the sides out and make the bulkheads triangular anyway (that's going to be a plasticard and putty job whatever else you do).

It's not actually clear what the hopper's wing planform is. My thought has always been the Bronco or Skyservant wing (or any other 'plank' wing) but when you look at it, the hopper's wing root extends the length of the rear cabin, and I'm not sure the plank wings have enough chord for that.

I find the engine pods maddening. Obviously the small intakes on top and the 'gills' just behind them are taken from radial engine cowlings, but the down-turned front section gives me a haunting sense of familiarity, but I just can't nail down why...

[Weaver]

Finally found my old comics and I'm now scanning LOTS more pictures. 

Guess what? The wing planform of the 'AH-1' hopper isn't a plank after all: it's more like an F-16.

[Army of One]

Finally found my old comics and I'm now scanning LOTS more pictures. 

Guess what? The wing planform of the 'AH-1' hopper isn't a plank after all: it's more like an F-16.

What......? 

Any pics......?

[Weaver]

Working on cleaned up montage pics, but it'll take a while. Scan files are big, my PC's slow and Paint gets very laggy with big files, plus the comics are in pretty poor shape.

[Weaver]

Quick and dirty montage of hopper pics that show the wing planform:



Not so quick actually: been fighting *&%$£!!!!ing photobucket for the last three hours to get that to upload...

[Rick Lowe]

IIRC the fuselage widens just after the cockpit section, to allow for a decent-sized troop compartment; more so at the top, less at the bottom.
See the pic where the pilot is climbing back up to the cockpit - it flares out just under the leading edge of the wing.

As for the stepped canopy sill, paint in a new profile and you're done.

Alpha Jet or Hawk wings?

Years ago I started one based on an AH-64, because that was all I had to work with back then. Now, of course...

Someone did a quick wargames conversion depiction of the earlier one from the 'Caliban' story, based on the Bo-105 chopper.

Another long-abandoned project to resurrect.

Cheers