A Cheyenne warrior in 1/72

KiwiZac · March 20, 2015, 10:38:14 PM

Hi all,
The Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne. I never understood what the fuss was about until I saw video of it flying at a Lockheed demo. Now I'm in love. Of course there are precious few kits, mainly the old plastic Aurora kit and the new resin by Anigrand, so I've been hunting on eBay for a reasonably priced one.

Then a PM on another forum from an old friend who asks what my current address is. Two weeks later I'm doing this in front of the TV:

Only three parts were missing: the mount for the pusher prop, one main hear leg and the starboard horizontal stabiliser. Easy! So off we go!

This is how I leave it tonight. This will be whiffed as an in-service bird but I'm not going crazy on the mods, really the bare basics to get it looking decent. This includes the belly turret for the 40mm grenade launcher, an Italeri Cayuse minigun replacing the original nose gun barrel, four pylons with a mix of rocket pods and maybe Hellfires - not sure if I'll put Stingers or Sidewinders on the wingtips - and dressing up the gunner's station.

The real deal:

My slapdash, out of focus version:

The end result will be along the lines of the below - simple, post-Vietnam, no outlandish unit marks or anything. It's pretty fun so far :-)

zenrat · March 21, 2015, 12:35:50 AM

kerick · March 21, 2015, 01:08:33 AM

That must be the Aurora kit. Pretty basic. A modern kit of this bird is long over due.
You have a good plan. I'm looking forward to this.

PR19_Kit · March 21, 2015, 01:55:34 AM

That's looking terrific, I always liked the Cheyenne, a real pity nothing came of it.

Dizzyfugu · March 21, 2015, 03:11:17 AM

Sweet, and a rare theme. Looking forward to see the hardware evolve.

Captain Canada · March 21, 2015, 06:41:35 AM

That is so cool Zac ! I love surprises, and as you say, goes a long way to restoring faith in humanity. And it definitely is the little things in life !

Such a sweet bird, look forward to seeing your progress !

MiB · March 21, 2015, 07:21:04 AM

I love Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne and Sikorsky S-67 Black Hawk

KiwiZac · March 21, 2015, 08:37:14 PM

I'm sorry, I really should have explained the kit better! I got carried away with exposition. It is the Aurora 1/72 kit.

Thanks for the kind words folks, I love this kit! It's great fun doing older moulds with little adjustments here and there.

MiB - don't get me started on the S-67. The Anigrand kit is the only resin helicopter kit I feel justified in spending big money on. I just need to get the money!

Back to the build at hand. The cockpit is mostly OOB, I've replaced the kit cyclic with one from an Italeri Huey (as well as a collective) and scratched the gunner's control station thingy. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out!

No major progress worth a photo - both new gear legs are in with scratched doors and kit tyres, canopy is on and it's received the first coat of Olive Drab. I need to get some Helo Drab-equivalent paint though....maybe...

I've also found four matching pylons that'll go straight on the stub wings, and I really need to make a decision between Stingers or Sidewinders on the tips. Your vote?

KiwiZac · March 22, 2015, 01:08:30 AM

Good point, but:

zenrat · March 22, 2015, 01:17:54 AM

In Whiffworld anything is explainable.

PR19_Kit · March 22, 2015, 05:51:43 AM

Quote from: Flyer on March 22, 2015, 02:46:05 AM

That is a nice looking Blackhawk too, camo looks real good on it, yet I'm also a fan of the all over black like the one that crashed.

There was only one (credits > 'Highlander'

) It just appeared in different schemes during its short life. Sadly I saw the crash at Farnborough, a horrendous day really.

scooter · March 22, 2015, 10:15:08 AM

Quote from: Flyer on March 21, 2015, 09:13:41 PM
Sidewinders are normally launched from fast jets, Stingers are designed for shoulder launch and heli's, I'm not sure if a Winder can be launched from a hover so Stingers would get my vote .

Then there's the MIM-72 Chaparral which is neither Helo nor fast burner.

JayBee · March 22, 2015, 10:28:05 AM

Of course there is the Super Boosted Winder, designed to be fired from anything at any speed, it could even be fired backwards essentially giving it an initial negative speed.
Also the shape of the Winder just has that certain something about it.
So in my mind there really is no other choice.

Captain Canada · March 22, 2015, 10:30:51 AM

Cobras carry 'Winders all the time no ?

Never heard of that crash either. Or if I did, I've forgotten about it.

Off to Google we go !

Captain Canada · March 22, 2015, 10:33:46 AM

Sad really....

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/1-1976%20N671SA.pdf