drt786

Great start! Those springs are coiled to perfection.

I have the AoA decals 35003 set for which I'm not currently planning on using the MH-60R decals (maybe one in the future but not really anything certain). They have HSM-73 on there, amongst others: MH-60R HSM-46 Grandmasters (2019) HSM-48 Vipers (2018) HSM-51 Warlords (2022) HSM-70 Spartans (2017) HSM-73 Battlecats (2017) Feel free to PM me and we can work something out!

OK, so several years late to the party 😅 Does anyone have a spare set of these that they would be willing to part ways with?

Thanks chaps! the armour texture is a thin, rolled layer of Tamiya’s quick-type A/B epoxy putty applied to the armour face and then trimmed to suit the shape of the armour face. Then, I went over the (not yet hardened) putty with a bit of spare PE grill/mesh that I turned into an imprinting tool by putting a bit of blue tack on the tip of an old toothpick and sticking the PE on it. As part of the weathering process I also dry brushed it with a lighter grey to make the ridges more faded and visible.

+1 on the Quinta rivets. They are *way* better than the HGW ones which I also bought to test out. Quinta rivets all over the IP and cockpit sidewalls in my ongoing AH-1Z build.

Cockpit now painted, detailed, and weathered. Before we can move on, I need to add hoses and wires, add the seats after texturing them with A/B putty, build some fabric belts out of HGW fabric and Anyz PE belt buckles, and add in the button details on the fuse panel to the RHS of the rear seater. That will done on a separate thin sheet of styrene and then glued on top of the flat face currently visible on that panel, as i didn’t trust myself to get the hole drilling done perfectly on the first attempt and we’re talking about at least 4x8 holes on that panel.

Some updates - cockpit detailing is nearly done. I've also added in the textured kevlar/fabric patterning on the inside of the armour panels (not seen in the pics yet) - need to repeat this for the seat/headrest fabric and add in the buttons onto the scratchbuilt panel to the pilot's RHS. Then we can throw down some paint, add in the Quinta 3D cockpit set, add the seat harnesses (will fabricate this out of HGW fabric), and add in the wiring looms.

Please consider making a video review of the kit as well as a build series!

Progress - slow but moving forwards. In the cockpit I fitted various scratch built things to the armour plating : map case, metal fittings for the mission grips. Also added PE for the armour at the right rear panel behind the rear seater. Added the missing fuse box thing to the right of the rear seater too. Separated out the panels on either side of the rear instrument panel and made them smaller, so we can get the avionics connectors fitted and visible behind them. Also added the connectors and things sticking out of the sides of the rear instrument panel - I believe the helmet /

If anybody is interested, there is a test build shot from a recent modelling show here: https://x.com/HobbylandOsaka/status/1844595631853273479

Hi all, After taking a helo break following the AH-6J build, I am now kicking off helo build no.3 with some modest beginnings. It’s Academy’s AH-1Z with a bunch of additional details and I’ll most likely do the Czech scheme because it looks so damn good. I think I’ve got every AM part possible for the kit and I’m aiming for a combo of detail and accuracy. First step - get the Eduard PE floor in place and build the pedals. Added the pushrod linkages made from some alloy tubes and some metal flooring where the kit lower central instrument panel slots in. That floor

The person that I understand was doing the design for the UH-1Y (Gustav from Wolfpack Design) also seems to hint at another modern-era Cobra in the works, the canopy looks like the AH-1F/S? But the translation doesn't seem too promising in terms of timelines. https://www.facebook.com/gustav.jung.7/posts/pfbid02chZreotGT3VAQF2tKTY3YBoUUnnNNHKmkF9NuavPZiuAVGCmx6EVxkyF4uqc3SQWl

yeah, personally most interested to see a 1/35 Ka-52 at long last

Thanks for clarifying!

Looks like we have quite a lineup of new mold kits from Trumpeter inbound! Bell UH-1D Huey gunship (armed version of the kit that already released this winter) Boeing ACH-47A Chinook (announced previously, some test build photos already available online) Bell AH-1Z Super Cobra (rumoured, would rival Academy's brilliant offering) Bell UH-1Y Venom (would rival the new UH-1Y coming out from Academy in 2025) Kamov Ka-52 Alligator (finally!) Kamov Ka-52K Katran (navalised version, likely to have folding rotors) Some more info here, credit to