Blue Thunder - Operation THOR

[Wardukw]

I used to have a model of Airwolf and i do remember it not being a very good one..the guns were terrible and the detail was quite bad but it was also like 200 yrs ago so that alone could be the reason..i think it was a AMT kit but dont quote me on that.

[MiB]

Where can i see some of those whif schemes you do for the BT?

Here: https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=33813.msg531851#msg531851

[zenrat]

Fantastic bit of work DfZ.



I saw the movie at the cinema when it came out.  I would have been 15.  What stuck in my head was the scene on the bridge with the cop car and how filthy the air was in LA.
I still plan to convert an Airfix 1/72 Gazelle into BT.

[MiB]

I was the movie at the cinema, in 1984, when I was 17/18. Then I create the model whit a 1/48 Fujimi Gazelle and a lot of pieces of lexan

tuono blu by ilmib, su Flickr

But I didn't throw away the Gazelle canopy pieces: I recycled them for an old broken ESCI Bell 206 Jet Ranger

206 e gazelle by ilmib, su Flickr

[NARSES2]

That's a really terrific piece of work 

[DogfighterZen]

Wow... I'm speechless, guys... Thank you all! 
I'm very happy to know you guys like my BT, specially because it's my favorite helo and it wasn't an easy build. Finishing this also gave me a great mojo boost to get to work on the rest of the project so, tomorrow i'm going to get the OH-6 out of the stash to see what the kit is like and what will be needed for the build of Colonel Cochrane's ride.   

Well im pretty sure your gonna do a pretty good job bud 
Ya know i looked pretty damn close of the MH6 in the vid and i apart from the tail and main rotors i could see bugger all difference even with the widened doors .
Course the hardest part of the build are the things which stick out the most.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Phil! 
In reality, i haven't thought the whole thing through so, i hope i don't let you down.
I believe it's doable although it will push my scratchbuilding skills to their limits and that is a challenge so, i'll give it my best cause i don't see another way to do what i want. If only there was one 1/32 kit of the MD500 or even the 500D, which is what i want to build...

Regarding the newer birds, the one i really think is ugly are the NOTAR variants because of the angle of the tail boom. The rest are pretty much the same and the smaller details don't make a big difference in the overall look.

That's one awesome build DZ, specially with all the extra stuff you've added to it. 

It's a holy grail kit for me and as i'm a big fan of the BT, i really had to do my best. 

Very nice build and love the crew.

Blue Thunder was a fun movie back when it came out.  I passed on the Monogram kit when it was released and on the Kitech version (they were $9.99 US) as just not my scale.

Good luck on the Defender.

I understand why you didn't get the kit, i also had the same issue with the scale when i started thinking about building one. Most of my stash is 1/72 and at the time, i wasn't thinking of buying bigger models but it was my only option besides trying to make one out of a normal Gazelle kit, which are also a bit hard to find at reasonable prices these days. Airfix should reissue that kit, now that they're putting out the "Classics".
Thanks for the support, i'll surely need it when i begin building that egg. 

Sounds like an amazing build. I say "sounds" as I can't see a single picture....

I remember building this kit way back when, in the 80's, and I'd love another, or even better, a 1/48 Aoshima one to go with my Airwolf...

Paul, sorry that you can't see the pics. I've no clue why...  Try the album on Imgur - https://imgur.com/a/6uWQfwg
Regarding the Airwolf, i'm not sure if it was even aired on any Portuguese TV channels and when i first saw it, it just came too late to make an impression. Besides, i really prefer the BT's looks, with the aggressive lines and that cannon...
Still, i'd like to have an Airwolf to build but i haven't been looking too hard and at the moment, i can't afford to be buying more expensive kits, my garage needs an electric gate and i want to finish my house's attic so that will be taking priority on my spendings for the next few months...

The best looking Blue Thunder model ive seen

Second that, it looks really great - and the figures are a perfect addition. I really like it a lot, well done!   

You're too kind, guys...
Thomas, yes, i admit that the figures did boost the whole build quite a bit and it was a fun experience for me. I now have a new set of skills thanks to that and if i ever need to do it again, i already know some things that will help me to get better results.

Where can i see some of those whif schemes you do for the BT?

Here: https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=33813.msg531851#msg531851

Thanks! 

Fantastic bit of work DfZ.



I saw the movie at the cinema when it came out.  I would have been 15.  What stuck in my head was the scene on the bridge with the cop car and how filthy the air was in LA.
I still plan to convert an Airfix 1/72 Gazelle into BT.

Yeah, that bridge scene was cool, cop car in half... 
About that conversion, i may be crazy but you're crazir than me, Fred... that will be something worth watching for sure! 
I had that plan too but since i have 3 Gazelle kits(Fujimi and Heller) in the stash and on top of that, i have another Monogram BT kit, i don't wanna waste time converting a small scale Gazelle into what i already have in kit form.

I was the movie at the cinema, in 1984, when I was 17/18. Then I create the model whit a 1/48 Fujimi Gazelle and a lot of pieces of lexan

But I didn't throw away the Gazelle canopy pieces: I recycled them for an old broken ESCI Bell 206 Jet Ranger

Those remind me of what i did to a Matchbox ambulance to recreate the original Ghostbusters car. I went to the trouble of renting the movie to be able to pause the image when the car was on screen to have a reference for the mods... I must have been around 7 or 8, right about the same time that my dad bought me my first real model kit... oh memories...

That's a really terrific piece of work 

Thank you, Chris! 
And again, i also have to thank the modeller who made it possible by printing the decals on his ALPS printer. The decals worked great and i'm forever grateful for his gesture.

[frank2056]

It came out great! The deep blue looks perfect and the figures look good. So do the gun barrels.

[Wardukw]

Dude i know your trying to stick with 32nd scale but your world for the 500 would be so much easier in 35th ..Dargon did a few 500s in 35th..they wont be to hard to find and they were never that expensive and hopefully not expensive now..the weapons would be as simple as hell too.
There is a huge selection of 35th scale barrels as i think ya know  and would scale out so much better .
Oh dont know if ya noticed but even the newest version of the littlebird still uses the same egg shape front..and i just remembered Dragon did the model 500 you need with the T tail..its a LAPD bird with a pilot and sniper..i had this kit but it never got built..got destroyed with all the others..so bugger 

[DogfighterZen]

It came out great! The deep blue looks perfect and the figures look good. So do the gun barrels.

Thank you, Frank! That blue shade was one of the things that delayed the build for a bit, i was getting a bit frustrated but finally managed to get it closer to the real thing. 

Dude i know your trying to stick with 32nd scale but your world for the 500 would be so much easier in 35th ..Dargon did a few 500s in 35th..they wont be to hard to find and they were never that expensive and hopefully not expensive now..the weapons would be as simple as hell too.
There is a huge selection of 35th scale barrels as i think ya know  and would scale out so much better .
Oh dont know if ya noticed but even the newest version of the littlebird still uses the same egg shape front..and i just remembered Dragon did the model 500 you need with the T tail..its a LAPD bird with a pilot and sniper..i had this kit but it never got built..got destroyed with all the others..so bugger 

Well, I've read a couple of comments on other forums saying the Monogram kit was closer to 1/35th scale so, if that turns out to be true, then I guess i'd have to get one of those or even the Kittyhawk kit. The did the MH/AH kit and I guess those wouldn't be that hard to backdate to the 500D. It would make my life way easier but i really didn't want to spend more money. Still, you got me wondering so now I'll have to try to find out if the Monogram kit's real scale...

[Wardukw]

Yup if you can find the Monogram kit but scale aint to much a issue if the price is nuts ..heres a weird one for ya..couple of yrs ago on the trademe auction site here here ppl were bidding on the Dragon LAPD model..they clearly didn't know you could go to the LHS and buy one for like 45 bucks ..i still remember the price it sold for..$119NZ..absolutely nuts.
Ya know i didnt even know there was a Monogram Hughes 500 in 35th scale but i do know for sure that the Dragon kit is pretty clean and the rotor blades are nice and thin  ..but dude i aint a rep for Dragon  ..i do know your pain tho..very soon im gonna be doing some nasty stuff to a 72nd B58...im turning it into a 48th scale single seat figther/bomber 

[frank2056]

The Dragon OH-6A (at least the Vietnam version) was a PITA to build, mainly in trying to get the fuselage to conform to the canopy. Different models/different brands may be an improvement.

[Wardukw]

Cheers Frank for that..ive always had that thought cause Dragon are not known for their parts fitting well on their early kit sets and i dont want Dog man to waste his money on a crap kit.
Zen mate get the Monogram kit 
I used to build a lot of of the 500 family of choppers when i was a youngin but 48th ..still remember the frist one..an Israeli one with twin TOW misslie pods and a nose site mounted on the canopy...i believe it was a Academy kit.

[DogfighterZen]

Cheers Frank for that..ive always had that thought cause Dragon are not known for their parts fitting well on their early kit sets and i dont want Dog man to waste his money on a crap kit.
Zen mate get the Monogram kit 
I used to build a lot of of the 500 family of choppers when i was a youngin but 48th ..still remember the frist one..an Israeli one with twin TOW misslie pods and a nose site mounted on the canopy...i believe it was a Academy kit.

Phil, i'm sorry, i was referring to the Monogram Blue Thunder when i mentioned that 1/35 bit. I don't think Monogram ever had a 1/35 500D but i know that the Hobbycraft kit i have is from the same molds as the Revell 500C and the Magnum P.I. 500D.
Anyway, i've measured the kit and used a scale coverter to find out if it's 35th or32nd scale and turns out it's closer to 32nd. The model's length is 37,4cm in scale, which translates into 11,968m. The real Gazzele helo is 11.981m. That means that the model is 13mm short but if i use 33rd scale, the scale length would translate to over 12m so the difference is over 20mm. The 13mm difference in 32nd scale is close enough for me so that means i won't be spending money on another kit.
I tried to find the 500D for a long time but i gave up when the only one i found in months was over 100€ which is around 163NZD. That was just too much when i could have the same kit for 35€/57$NZD. I just got the box out the stash and after taking a good look at the parts, i'm sure that i'm capable of doing the conversion... and a few more mods to replace crappy parts. 
I have 2 of the Academy kits, the 500D with the TOW pods and the 500MD ASW box and i also have a resin set to convert one of them into an AH/MH-6 variant... that one will be for the PoAF. 

[Wardukw]

Damn Zen i dont know how long its been since i layed eyes on one of those models..im pretty sure there still out there but for yrs i didnt even look at model planes so yeah there ya go 
I know that both of the BTs i had yrs ago were 32nd scale and since we dont have revit counters here we couldnt care less about 13mm's and hell you wouldnt even notice it anyway.
Thats the best thing about wiffies ..no measurement is wrong  and with the vulcan and the angle of the tail 13mm's disappears 
And as for the prices??? Holy crap pickles mate...thats day light robbery via the internet and i know theres dreamers out the but dude ..thats nuts..$163NZ for one is not worth that at all..maybe in 50yrs time but not now.
Yeah i dont think your gonna have to many issues with your build matey..as ive always said Zen mate..nothing to it but to do it 

[Firefox]

That's a very nice model!