DONE @p.4 +++ 1:72 РТАК-30 vintoplan (NATO: Hemlock), "33 Yellow", 1987

[Dizzyfugu]

This contribution to the GB will be the attempt to turn a weird idea that I have been carrying along in the back of my mind for some years into hardware. Thankfully I have gathered some donor bits and pieces for this scratch-/kitbashing thing, including mecha stuff from Japan. Work started yesterday evening, slowly, and I immediately ran into size problems when I found out that some of the donor pieces simply won't go together well, due to relative size issues (Italeri's faux Mi-28 kit is HUGE!  ).

Now plan B has started, and it looks as if I might add another episode to my "Things to make and do with a Hawker Hawk" series, because the fuselage looks promising for what I have in mind...

Besides, don't get confused with the name "Vintoplan" - it's the Soviet term for what the Western world calls now tiltrotor plane. There was, in the late Seventies until the breakdown of the USSR, the Mil Mi-30 project for a tiltrotor transport aircraft. And while my build will have no real resemblance to the project (which went thorugh various evolution stages), it is somewhat the inspiring, historic source:

[Dizzyfugu]

Hrm, the Hawk idea doesn't work, either. After checking an AH-64 fuselage, a real Mi-28 and a Ka-50 from the stash I think I will invest into a donor kit, an Italeri Ka-52. Now I just have to find one somewhere...  This will probably also solve the problem of where and what kind of landing gear arrangement is to be used and mounted.

In the meantime, work on the propulsion system and some (*shudder*) wings to mount them has started, slowly.

[Tophe]

Great surprising project! I wish you will succeed!

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. Complex matter - but I already found and ordered a Ka-52 in Italy. Might take some days to materialize here, though, but there are other elements that can be pushed forward for this build in the meantime.

[Dizzyfugu]

Good news: the Ka-52 arrived quickly! But since I am working on an interim project right now, it might take a couple of days until the Vintoplan project gains momentum again.

[McColm]

Er try the Airfix  F27 Friendship that works with the V-22 Osprey or Airfix Rotodyne kits.

[Dizzyfugu]

In the meantime, some of the ingredients from the donor bank:

Donor parts... by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Donor parts... by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



These are aftermarket 1:144 sets from Bandai for the Gundam universe (directly imported via ev!lbay), in case you want to pimp your robot a little further. This twin tiltrotor pack is quite cool, the size fits well in the 1:72 range, and even the tilting mechanism is functional. You get a set of retractable chainsaw blades, too, but I think I won't used these in this case  .
Not too pricey, and there's also other stuff available, e. g. rocket launchers, gatling guns, thrusters, etc. While the stuff is rather rugged and a bit toylike, it can find its uses in other contexts, too.

[zenrat]

Those tiltrotor sets look very usefull.  I've ordered two of them from Hobby Link Japan.

[Dizzyfugu]

Now that the interim project has been finished, the Vintoplan gains momentum. Work started yesterday with the Ka-52 fuselage, all signs of the original rotor and engine installation have to disappear. The Italeri kit is quite suited for this stunt, because the areas behind the cockpit can be blanked off with styrene sheet, hiding the original engine nacelles' attachment points and the narrow section behind the cockpit.


An attack vintoplan - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


An attack vintoplan - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

On the other hand, suitable new stub wings (from a pre-painted snap-fit kit) have been sitting in a foamed oven cleaner bath for more than a week, time to check how much of the OOB paint has become loose. I am also hunting in the donor bank for a new tail surfaces.






Really curious how this one eventually turns out... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Initial fuselage cosmetic surgery has been finished for now, and it looks surprisingly good for such a massive stunt. Have been working on the cockpit yesterday, and prepared the wings/engine pylons.

[Dizzyfugu]

Progress is slow, busy at work. Besides, the Ka-52's fuselage halves only fit half-heartedly, as well as the separate nose section. Lots of PSR, and these parts are even OOB! 

Here's a "conceptual rough" of what this is going to develop:


An attack vintoplan - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Scary?

[Dizzyfugu]

Added some WiP pics to previous posts, and did more PSR on the fuselage. I also added a (tall) fin, taken from a vintage box-scale Revell Convair Tradewind:


An attack vintoplan - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[PR19_Kit]

I'm totally boggled already! 

[Dizzyfugu]

Muahahahah! 

[nighthunter]

This has piqued my interest.