DONE +++ US Navy AH-64N Stage 2+ Sea Apache a.k.a. 'Gray Thunder' (@ p.4)

[Captain Canada]

Great thread with some excellent diagrams and info ! Cheers guys. I had built one many a moon ago, but never really finished it. Maybe I can drag it out again some day. It was going to be in a dio with crew, on the back of a ship. Mine was called Thunder Shark

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,7085.msg92469.html#msg92469

[Dizzyfugu]

That looks interesting, too! The tinted windscreens are nice, I have to earmark that for mine, too. 

[Dizzyfugu]

So, after having finished the recent meche photo shooting session and another whif (soon to come, not for this GB) the AH-64N starts to gain momentum. Still torn between a Stage 2 or Stage 3 build, or a mix between them. I like the sleeker nose of the Stage 3 design, but not its belly. The new Academy AH-64D also looks delicate and complex (it has a complexity rating of 4 out of 5 on the box...), this will be something different from the usual "hack & slay" builds. I also have to dig through the armament pile, because I'd like to hang something different from the obvious Harpoons under the stub wings. Maybe a pair of Penguins? Could be that I have some from a Hasegawa weapon set...

[Thorvic]

You could go with Sea Skua if doing a none USN version, otherwise Penguin is probably the better alternative to Harpoon

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice one! 

[Gondor]

I also have to dig through the armament pile, because I'd like to hang something different from the obvious Harpoons under the stub wings. Maybe a pair of Penguins?

Emperor or Rock Hopper?   

Could be that I have some from a Hasegawa weapon set...

I'm guessing that your thinking of doing a Japanese machine then

Gondor

[Captain Canada]

Very nice. Love the big blunt nose !

[Dizzyfugu]

Work slowly started now, and I remembered correctly: found the AGM-119 pair, and it's even the helicopter version with the booster extension. Perfect!
I also fetched some AIM-9s from the same set, as well as respective launch rails.

I will also build this one with a closed canopy (OOB), but with a crew on board, so these come next and will be prepared until the "real" work starts.

[Dizzyfugu]

Things move, again/finally. After having been held back by sickness (maybe a time paradoxon, the flux compensator is undergoing maintenance), here's some progress.

For starters, a comparison between the "old" Academy AH-64A and the "new" AH-64D - yes, both are 1:72 scale, the latter just comes with hundreds of teeny weeny bits and pieces, and a rotor mast radome:

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Why I chose this specific and slightly more expensive kit becomes obvious later.

In the meantime, here's the ordnance mentioned a couple of days before: a pair of AGM-119 Penguins, and one or two pairs of AIM-9Ls, incl. the launch rails, all from an Hasegawa set:

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Here's an idea for the nose radome: it's a resin piece, actually a FuG 240 Morgenstern antenna cover for a Ju 88 night fighter. But it works here, too, even tjough some sclupting will still be necessary:

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Here's why I went for this specific kit (and rejected the old AH-64A I had in the stash): the chipmunk cheeks are separate pieces, so I can focus on cleaning the OOB parts, fill some holes with plugs and putty, and avoid major cosmetic surgery! 

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Work on the interior: the cockpit will be mostly OOB, just with pilot figures added. Everything kept in very dark grey - sounds a bit disappointing and dull, but AH-64s are that simple:

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The retractable tail wheel needs a well:

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Everything still dry-fitted, but work on on the modified dorsal contour can already be done - with styrene strips and donation parts, including an air brake from an Airfix A-1 Skyraider:

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Gondor]

I think that when I build mine it will have to be the first iteration as I bought the early Academy AH-64 as a base.

Gondor

[Dizzyfugu]

Fuselage halves glued together, cockpit inside as well as the rotor mount.
Tail received a hemispherical end cap, and a display holder was added inside, too.
Radome has been mounted to the nose, plus major body work in order to blend shapes and lines.

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Stub wings will be OOB, but I will add 3mm depth, so that the wing tip pods for the landing gear do not look so massive (must be scratched).

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Anyway...

Desaster struck: while dry-fitting, the clear canopy cracked, right through the windscreens. No hope for decent repair... 

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Maybe I have a spare part from an Italeri AH-64 (no idea if it would fit, anyway), or I'll try to get hold of a vacu replacement piece. Academy does not look too service-oriented concerning spare/replacement parts.

Sh!t. 

Short update: I was right, and in the bag with the parts were even two canopies!
While the piece is softer on detail and ~2.5mm too short for the Academy kit, it is possible to make an organ transplantation, I think.
The gap will be filled with styrene strips and some putty, and the front end needs some trimming and sculpting, too.

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 McDonnell Douglas AH-64N 'Sea Apache Phase 2+' a.k.a. 'Grey Thunder', US Navy (Whif/Academy AH-64D conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Phew... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Updated former post with live pics from the mess. 

[Old Wombat]

Well, this looks like fun!

[Gondor]

Nice recovery 

Gondor

[Steel Penguin]

nice recovery, tough it may have been doable with caution to drill out the cracked  Perspex and put in repairs from a piece of clear packing, something like a blister pack or clamshell packaging, you could claim you reduced it to "scale thickness" if there were any questions