OH-6A Cayuse (FINISHED) and AH-1G of the PoAF

[DogfighterZen]

Egads dude ...mini mutilations 😆
Bloody nice work so far 👌

These poor bas+ards have been severely mutilated indeed... even the heads came off after their helmets were on so i could pose them in different positions instead of looking straight ahead.
They're now almost done, just need to let the sprue goo cure on the gunner's left arm and all that's left is the fine sculpting before clean up and paint.

You cannot view this attachment.

Also got the clear parts masked up and sprayed some light grey on the interior, then used Testor's white glue for a small instrument gauge for the gunner that hangs from the interior of the windshield framing on the left side.

You cannot view this attachment.

After the pilots are done, all that's left to do before painting is to figure out if i have to do something to the main rotor's attachment point, which i think is a somewhat weak point of the kit.
There are two different rotor types from which we have to choose, depending on the version but, which is which, is not specified on the instructions so one has to check references if they want to use the right one for the bird they're making.
IMO, the worst engineering choice of this kit is that one type is made to be attached at a later stage of the build after the fuselage is closed, sits perfectly on top of the rotor shaft's well, covering it up completely and it's very easy to attach later to prevent damaging the part, and the other one, which is supposed to go in before closing the fuselage, sits loosely on the inside of the shaft's well.
It's so bad that you can just close the fuselage and push the shaft assembly into place and then pull it out as easily.

You cannot view this attachment.

You cannot view this attachment.

The worst part is that the attachment point of the second rotor type does not provide a firm and precise placement so, if attaching before the fuselage halves glued together, you have to find some way to keep it straight and in place while the glue dries.
If you're doing it later in the build like me, be aware that the whole rotor assembly will be just wobbling about, sitting on a very narrow portion of the lip of the interior support which has a slightly smaller diameter than the top of the rotor shaft's well, barely enough to prevent the whole assembly to go down into the fuselage.
Now, truth is that i should've dealt with this issue before i closed the fuselage but i didn't and i happen to prefer the look of the second type of rotor so now i have to decide if i really wanna use that or just choose the easy one and move on with it...

[Captain Canada]

Great job on these builds. For sure they look good all together like that. Go Pink Team !

[DogfighterZen]

Thanks, Cap'n! 
Just finished the crew's fine sculpting a bit ago so they just need a bit of paint and they're ready.

[DogfighterZen]

Ok, finally got the crew ready... and according to my wife, the pilot looks like Tom Selleck...  

You cannot view this attachment.

Gave him a big mustache and aviator shades for the proper 70s/80s pilot look so i guess that Tom fits the bill, he did fly helos in Magnum P.I. back in the 80s...   

You cannot view this attachment.
You cannot view this attachment.


Added the microphone on the left side of their helmets from small styrene scraps found scattered on the bench and painted the Portuguese flag and unit/squadron patches on both shoulders and name and squadron ID patches on the chest but the later are barely visible...

You cannot view this attachment.

Checking the final position before adding belts made from painted Tamiya masking tape and a matte clear coat...

You cannot view this attachment.

You cannot view this attachment.

Got to admit, the crew looks scruffy but it took me a couple of tries to get them looking like this so, they'll have to do cause i'm not wasting more time with them.

The crew is glued to the seats and next comes the canopy, which should be interesting to assemble as it's made from 5 parts, these being the 4 side windows and the top part that attaches with a simple butt joint at the front and a very small tab that connects under the top of the fuselage and by the dry fit tests, it's going to need attention to get everything well aligned.

[Wardukw]

Dude that's some mini wonder work ..very nice work matey 👍

[zenrat]

 

[DogfighterZen]

So, i finally have a painted Cobra but, i still have a few of the smaller bit to take care of, which i hope will happen today...

You cannot view this attachment.

I have to say that i'm a bit disappointed with some aspects of this kit but again, for a kit which you can buy for under 20€, it's a very good kit.
IMO, the detail on the kit is good but the engineering of some bits is not the best.
The main rotor mast is a literally a weak point as i've mentioned before on this thread. I've been thinking of a way to make the interior connection of the parts a bit stronger and i may have found a solution but it's something that wasn't even an issue with the Italeri kit and the detail of the SH kit parts doesn't go beyond what the Italeri kit shows, for example.
The canopy can be fiddly to glue correctly and the fit of some parts like the tail and nose section could be better.
Also, the fact that they don't provide walkways in form of decals is, again, IMO a weak point because you'll have to either use leftover decals and cut them to size or you're forced to mask the stub wings and fuselage around them like i did, on a very small and awkward area to get the tape well aligned and sufficiently attached to serve it's purpose... unless you leave the stub wings off to paint separately and attach them later... which is not the best solution when you consider that if you use Tamiya glue, it will stain the paint, will take longer to dry, causing alignment issues unless you find a way to hold them in place or clean off the paint on the mating surfaces... CA glue is an option but also a dangerous one if you're not careful so i may try to do it with white glue when i build my second kit as it will also make it easier to attach the weapons cleanly before the final assembly.

Anyway, can't say i don't like the kit, it's been a fun and simple build overall so i'm looking forward to see it finished.

[NARSES2]

Anyway, can't say i don't like the kit, it's been a fun

And that's the important thing

[DogfighterZen]

Anyway, can't say i don't like the kit, it's been a fun

And that's the important thing

That's what it's all about...  

Ok, all the main bits are finally painted and glossed, ready for decals,,,

You cannot view this attachment.

I'd planned on spraying the gloss coat in the morning and as the weather was fairly warm (25/27ºC), i was thinking of a good bench session applying decals after lunch but, as i was about to turn my compressor on, one of my band mates called saying he was close by with his family so, they came over for a big lunch and after that, a walk with the dogs in the woods near my house.
After they left, i got the gloss coat sprayed but it was too late to begin the decals so i decided to let the varnish dry overnight and maybe tomorrow i can get all the markings done.

[Old Wombat]

Neat paint job*!




[*: No, really! I expanded the image to full size & the edges are really nice & crisp, with no visible ridges! ]

[Captain Canada]

The crew looks incredible considering what you started with ! Great stuff. Love the colour of this bird.

[DogfighterZen]

Thank you, gents! 
Yesterday was as always, my plans for the afternoon had to be put aside because of friends visiting... but again, after they left, i got some decals on the Cobra, the main ones done except for the serials. Hoping that the rest of today is like usual, i will get those and the service stencils done today after work.
Not planning on doing much weathering to this one so it should be fairly quick to finish once the stencils are done.

[DogfighterZen]

Decals are done! 
Clear gloss coat next, then i'll give it a panel line wash and some light weathering before a final matte finish.
If the rest of the week goes smoothly, i should be able to get this finished during the weekend...

 

[HarryPhishnuts]

That's looking great. Can't wait to see the finish.