Mil Mi-24 PDRV Revenue Protection - Finished Pics Page 4.

[ericr]

 

[zenrat]

Must admit I've bought a lot of masking sets lately.

Peewit are a relatively new brand (to me anyway) and are as good as Eduard IMHO

As I may have mentioned a couple of times I hate masking.  But I have been practicing on aircraft fuselage windows lately and I must admit it is better than the alternatives.  The trick I feel is to make sure the clear parts are securely glued in place so the risk of pushing one into the interior is eliminated.  Dust can still be an issue though.  I would have sworn I had the Norseman sealed up but ti still got inside somehow.
I now need to put satin clear on it all before continuing detail painting.  I was doing this last week when the fuselage leapt off it's supporting rods and threw itself across my dirty shed floor.

[PR19_Kit]

  I was doing this last week when the fuselage leapt off it's supporting rods and threw itself across my dirty shed floor.

We've just GOT to stop this pandemic of suicidal fuselages! 

[zenrat]

Canopy is on.
Painting of weapons is underway.

[zenrat]

Very close now...

[zenrat]

Mil Mi-24 - PDRV Revenue Protection.

Mil Mi-24 Revenue Protection - 17 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

As detailed in previous back stories the People's Democratic Republic of Victoria jealously guard passage through the Bass Strait, charging ships for taking the short cut rather than go the long way round Tasmania.

Mil Mi-24 Revenue Protection - 15 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The job of ensuring only approved vessels make the passage is tasked to Revenue Protection.  Originally a specialised airforce squadron they have over the years branched out into operating, in addition to aircraft, boats, ACVs, missile batteries, and shore based long range artillery.

Mil Mi-24 Revenue Protection - 1 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Revenue Protections' Mils were ex Soviet Airforce - most of them having seen action in Afghanistan serving the Russian backed rebel forces against the Turkish occupiers.  After being completely overhauled in one of the government Aircraft Factories (usually, but not always, #2 at Sale) they were flown to the Mornington Archipelago where they were fitted with their floats (carrying fuel as well as acting as buoyancy).

Mil Mi-24 Revenue Protection - 10 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The example shown has had it's intake and exhaust shielding removed.  This was routinely done on aircraft operating against cargo shipping attempting to dodge payments as it improved performance and commercial freighters rarely carried air defence weapons.  Shielding was retained on aircraft operating against smugglers and blockade runners which also bore low visibility paint schemes.

Mil Mi-24 Revenue Protection - 25 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The Model.

Tamiya (nee Italeri) Mil Mi-24.
Scratchbuilt floats.
Torpedoes from Airfix Sea King (the original one).
UB-20-80 rocket pods from Dragon Modern Soviet Aircraft Weapons Set 3: Rockets & Bombs

Mil Mi-24 Revenue Protection - 28 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[PR19_Kit]

Outstanding! 

Such a mix of shapes, must have been a real pain to figure out what one was when it was approaching you. 

[Old Wombat]

Very nice, Fred!


The odd mix of shapes, being so distinctively varied, may have made it more identifiable rather than less.

[ericr]

grand

[CANSO]

 
10 (ten) thumbs up!
Ama-a-a-a-azing job!

[DogfighterZen]

  That's a monster, not a chopper! 
I already liked the look of the Hind but the floats give it an even more brutish look. Excellent work, Fred!

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.

I forgot to explain the float construction.  I started building them shortly after I bought the kit about 8 to 10 years ago (always intended this to end up on floats chasing smugglers).
They are lengths of styrene tube with angled cuts on one end and 1/48 drop tank noses on the other.  To get an appropriate length I looked up the weight of a fully loaded Mi-24 and then estimated how much buoyancy would be needed to support it with half of each float out of the water.  All the other bits were scratchbuilt from rod, tube, sheet, and strip.

It's not a bad kit but detail is soft.  I want to build another Mi-24 but will probably use the (1/72 natch) Zvezda kit.

[NARSES2]

Excellent build sir 

[zenrat]

Thanks Chris.

[Weaver]

That looks great! 

Helicopter floats are interesting: sometimes they have hemispherical ends, sometimes plain conical, sometimes angled-conical, sometimes angle-cut. They don't need to plane for take-off. but they do have to permit taxiing without an excessive bow wave, which why they can't just be plain cylinders.