EH 101-Merlin Excalibur

lenny100 · April 09, 2008, 07:54:57 AM

well for the first time i thought i show one of my build from start to finish.
this is also i believe the hardest build i have tried yet as many of you will see me try things i usually don't admit to.

here are the two kits i am using for this

the tiger kit

and the eh 101

lenny100 · April 09, 2008, 08:01:17 AM

starting work on the internals

the rear will be fitted for transport duties such as the Hind but with a bigger squad load

lenny100 · April 09, 2008, 09:29:13 AM

the first cut is the deepest

now the other nose

needs some more off to help with the blending

kitnut617 · April 09, 2008, 12:32:59 PM

This should be interesting

Ed S · April 09, 2008, 12:44:19 PM

That's a big difference in fuselage sizes. I'm curious to see how this one turns out. I should be interesting.

Ed

lenny100 · April 09, 2008, 02:45:56 PM

work on the rear cabin
using this as a refrance

starting the paint job

Sisko · April 09, 2008, 03:27:58 PM

That is going to be a big step from one fuselage to the other.

My suggestion would be to widen the tiger front section and cut the centre out of the cormorant front section and bring the sides in.

This will make the two fuselages blend together a little better.

Just my 0.02c worth

Other wise I like the concept and will be interested to see where you go with this.

sotoolslinger · April 10, 2008, 06:01:54 PM

Just out of curiosity, why did you cut the cool sloping , tapering nose off the larger chopper? You could just recess the gunship nose into it . Enjoy my unsolicited advice on how to build your model.

John Howling Mouse · April 10, 2008, 08:29:26 PM

"The first cut is the deepest" Boy, ain't that the truth?! I like the way you bash plastic, man. Go for it!

GTX · April 11, 2008, 02:06:51 PM

Its a bit like my own AH-90 Devil (as in Tasmanian Devil – it is also referred to as the 'Euro-Hind') assault helicopter - this is essentially a MRH-90 with the cockpit replaced by the tandem seat arrangement and nose cannon of the Tiger ARH :

Regards,

Greg

lenny100 · April 11, 2008, 02:31:23 PM

I have decided that the join will be used to carry a weapon area (probably some kind of large caliber gun system) to help fill up the gap on both sides.

sotoolslinger · April 12, 2008, 07:03:10 AM

What like rockets, gatlings, stuff on pylons!

Your a tease.

really looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

cthulhu77 · April 12, 2008, 07:17:59 AM

Good for you, if you are going to cut, cut big ! Keeping an eye on this build, for sure.

John Howling Mouse · April 12, 2008, 07:46:48 AM

Quote from: lenny100 on April 11, 2008, 02:31:23 PM
I have decided that the join will be used to carry a weapon area (probably some kind of large caliber gun system) to help fill up the gap on both sides.

This is clever use of the dissimilar shapes.

If you did want to put them together, however, here is a potential alternative for blending the dissimilar helo bodies:
You could cut the Merlin's "corners" using narrow isosceles-shaped triangle cuts (with the apex of each triangle towards the rear). This way, each "flap" of the forward Merlin could be bent inwards to better align with the more narrow front end. I can sketch this for you if the text version is unclear.

You could start by making a card mock-up to simulate the existing Merlin's forward end that you can use for test-cutting to see what amount of material to remove from each corner. That way you're not risking your helo model kit for the bleeding edge beta test.

Tip: To ease the inward bending of the kit's plastic, you can score/scribe a "fold-here" line on the inside of the fuselage to encourage the plastic where you want it to give.

Either way, you are onto a very interesting concept airframe!

lenny100 · April 12, 2008, 08:00:14 AM

Quote from: John Howling Mouse on April 12, 2008, 07:46:48 AM
Quote from: lenny100 on April 11, 2008, 02:31:23 PM
I have decided that the join will be used to carry a weapon area (probably some kind of large caliber gun system) to help fill up the gap on both sides.

This is clever use of the dissimilar shapes.

If you did want to put them together, however, here is a potential alternative for blending the dissimilar helo bodies:
You could cut the Merlin's "corners" using narrow isosceles-shaped triangle cuts (with the apex of each triangle to wards the rear). This way, each "flap" of the forward Merlin could be bent in wards to better align with the more narrow front end. I can sketch this for you if the text version is unclear.

You could start by making a card mock-up to simulate the existing Merlin's forward end that you can use for test-cutting to see what amount of material to remove from each corner. That way you're not risking your helo model kit for the bleeding edge beta test.

Tip: To ease the inward bending of the kit's plastic, you can score/scribe a "fold-here" line on the inside of the fuselage to encourage the plastic where you want it to give.

Either way, you are onto a very interesting concept airframe!

I think i will give it a miss this time around but i will try this on a later project, as i fancy doing a stealth version using a Comanche front end and a mrh 90 rear, but i and i am sure quite a few other would like to here more on how to do this from a expert like yourself.