jonbryon

Thanks guys. I am humbled by your comments. Jon

Hello all, I posted this in Critique Corner, but thought it might be appreciated here too. I am very grateful for this forum and Jet Modelling; goldmines of useful information. Thanks to all of you with expertise that you are willing to share. This is my latest build: my second 1/48 AH-64D this year, this time as an Israeli AH-64D-I Saraf. The basic kit is Hasegawa and the conversion is from Wingman Models, including the decals. Gun, pitots and tail aerial are from Master. Paint is Hataka lacquer applied freehand. A full build article, describing how this all went together and what is wrong with it, is here: https://jonbryon.com/hasegawa-1-48-boeing-ah-64d-i-saraf/ Thanks for looking. Jon

Thanks. Jon

Hello all, This is my latest build: my second 1/48 AH-64D this year, this time as an Israeli AH-64D-I Saraf. The basic kit is Hasegawa and the conversion is from Wingman Models, including the decals. Gun, pitots and tail aerial are from Master. Paint is Hataka lacquer applied freehand. A full build article, describing how this all went together and what is wrong with it, is here: https://jonbryon.com/hasegawa-1-48-boeing-ah-64d-i-saraf/ Thanks for looking. Jon

Thanks! What Israbook is that? I don't seem to be able to find it... Jon

Hello, Soon I will be starting on Hasegawa's 1/48 A-4H kit, which provides parts for an early H (i.e. short tailpipe, no DEFA guns and no hump). I want to use the kit markings for '03' which Hasegawa says are for 1969. I have spent ages looking at photos of early Hs and got confused regarding the guns. There certainly seem to be early operational A-4Hs with the original Colt guns fitted. Does anyone know when exactly the DEFA cannons were fitted to the A-4H fleet? I have ordered some Quickboost DEFA guns which I would like to fit if suitable for a 1969 airframe just to differentiate this model from the other 8 Skyhawks I have 🙂 Thanks Jon

I didn't know what I was doing when I used the paint and did not polish it. The end result looks the same as if I'd used Alclad. Jon

The underside of this was airbrushed with Mr Metal Color Aluminium thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner, but that was back in 2007: Jon

Which boxing did you get? Hasegawa have released at least three AH-64D JGSDF kits: 09452 (this definitely is identical to the first US Army AH-64D plastic with only new decals), 09747 (which I believe only comes with different decals) and 07242. Jon

👍 Jon

Thanks Cobrahistorian! The info on the de-icing wires is really useful - too late for this build, but I can omit them on the AH-64D-I Saraf I'm painting at the moment. My article spells out the reason the light is shown deployed - I realised too late that it should be stowed (it doesn't fit stowed once painted). I've already fitted it stowed on my Israeli Apache. The stabilator is all Hasegawa - it's moulded that way 😉 Many thanks Jon

If you go with the Mr Color, thin to what you think it needs to be thinned to...and then thin it more! Be aware that if you get an older bottle it may be thick and gloopy (or even solid). Don't worry - it can be revived perfectly fine with Mr Color Leveling Thinners (MLT). I've got bottles that have been unused for 12 years - just add a lot of MLT, mix well and you're good to go. I also return unused thinned paint to the bottle without adverse effect. (Well, I've had no adverse effect since I first started using this paint in 2006.) Jon

Thanks guys. Should have the Israeli version done in about 6 weeks 🙂 Jon

Thanks guys. This is actually my biggest disappointment with the finished kit, because they are poorly painted. I made my own masks using sheets of Tamiya masking material and a Silhouette cutter, but the shapes were not accurate enough. I'm making another one of these kits at the moment as an Israeli AH-64D-I, and for that one I will use Bare Metal Foil to mask the cockpit glass and then Tamiya tape to mask the sealant. Hasegawa mould the edge of the sealant with a decent recessed line which I think will enable to the masking to be cut accurately by hand. I did not have any significant fit problems. The nose, as I recall, was pretty good. It depends what your threshold is for what constitutes a problem seam. I always fill and sand all seams regardless of fit, so my tolerance may be less than yours. I used Archer Fine Transfer resin rivets to replace all the rivets I sanded away. Cheers Jon

Thanks for your comments and feedback everyone. The main finish is Hataka FS34031 over Gunze Mr Finishing Surfacer Black primer. This accounts for a lot of the patchiness. There is then some further overspraying with the Hataka paint mixed with one of their sand shades to lighten it, followed by some oil paint washes of various light and dark shades. Yes, this is absolutely fair. The main problem is that the Hasegawa blades are a little warped, and in the wrong direction! So mine actually bend upwards a little. I've never had the nerve to try the hot water method of getting blades to droop, and probably never will 😞 Cheers Jon