Anthony in NZ Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 (edited) Hi Guys Well I thought I would post the beginnings of my latest project, now that I have the model bench clear of a few projects that needed finishing. Now, dont be in a hurry to see this finished in a month or 2 as I have been preparing myself for this project for a while and I am butchering several kits in the process. Initially I started this project several years ago with the initial release of the Revell MedFlight boxing. However I was a little disheartened with the kit and how much needed doing to it. So after a while it went away in the box after only a small amount of detail work. With the new release of the "Medicopter 117" boxing I couldnt wait to get my hands on it to see what was different. Although the basic kit was the same it now included a full medical interior.........that was enough for me to want to re-light the fire! Firstly, here are some pics of the bird I am doing, our local Rescue Helicopter whom I admire for the amazing work they do. As well as having 3 mates rescued in it last year!!! Righto, now I know this isnt going to interest a huge ammount of you, but for those it does then hopefully I wont bore you too much! Not long after getting the kit I heard about Renaissance doing a superset for the EC-145....mmmm I thought maybe I can use some of it on my BK. So I brought one for the BK and one for the EC-145. Now I know they are expensive, but boy are they worth it. If you are even thinking of doing an EC-145 then you must get it, Pedro is an awesome bloke and was very helpful. the vac parts have a white protective film on them Armed now with my set and kit I wondered what else I could get to upgrade the beast. So I took out my EC-145 and looked at it as a source of parts. Quickly I noticed many parts that would be of use. The upper engine cowl and tailboom also looked suspiciously similar. So I rang Eurocopter NZ and chatted to them. They were soooo helpful and sent me a ton of info down. Yes they said.....virtually identical apart from minor detail changes. I cut the engine cowl off the sprue and glued it together. However the EC upper cowl was waaay too big for the BK. I rang Eurocopter and was assured they are the same dimensions and only the main fuse is bigger. So then I studied my plans to see if the BK fuse was too narrow or the EC cowl was too wide. Turns out that after measuring everything up, the BK fuse is almost 4mm too narrow!! So I widened the fuse 2mm on eash half engine cowl during modification Now the cowl looks as though it will be a near perfect fit. I had to remove all the scoops off the cowl in prep for new ones as well as a big flat fairing below the stbd exhaust pipe. This was just carved out and reprofiled to match the other side. I am still in the process of removing all the huge latch cutouts along the bottom edge to correct them. More of that later. I decided that since I had gone this far then I may as well open up all the doors. Only the side ones have been removed for now as I need some structural integrity. The doors were cut out of my original kit and thinned right down to fit nicely against the fuse. Much of the surface detail has been removed as it isnt on the one I am doing and all new panel lines will be rescribed etc later. Unfortunately I will have to use my 'Rosie the rivetter' to add that detail all over her. The real chopper has raised rivets and I have no other choice but to replicate it this way. I also made new door tracks by grinding out the lower sill and replacing it with card(about 9pcs each side so far). There is much still to go as well as adding gutter tracks above the door sills. The upper track fairing was also slightly modified and shortened a wee bit at the rear. Well I will leave it there for now and I hope you find it a little interesting. Comments and suggestions are greatfully welcomed as I will need all the help I can get. I am really busy modifying the EC tailboom to a BK one. This turned into a bigger job than I thought, it is nearly done and will post some pics again soon. But it is well worth all the effort as it makes the old kit one look nothing like the real one now. Cheers Anthony Edited March 16, 2009 by Anthony in NZ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Forgot to mention that the windows are going to be reglazed and new framework is being built up. Firstly the edges are lined with plastic strip bent to shape and glued in as the kit windows are a little too big. Another inner frame is to be added to sit the window panel in. Thanks to Garden City Helicopters for letting me spend hours and hours photographing and measuring this machine....oh and my wife and son think I am a little nuts too I am sure........ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Very nice start. I look forward to seeing this one get built!! Where are you getting the decals for this? Do they come with the kit or is there an aftermarket source? Regards, John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
richuk Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Anthony, You're doing stirling work here. Can't wait to see the finished product. If you have loads of pics of the actual helicopter, you should think about posting them online somewhere, maybe prime portal or even here on ARC. This heli is used all over the world as a medevac so should appeal to alot of people. Keep up the hard work and thanks for sharing your build. Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 (edited) Hi Guys Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. John, I have a friend who has the ability to do his own decals and already has most of the artwork done for me. Hi Rich, how are you mate? I thought about having them uploaded somewhere, but didnt know where/how. Will look into it some more. Got a bit more done today the upper cowl got some Mr Surfacer applied in a few places to remove any slight imperfections/marks. Test fitted the tailboom and lower section of EC fuse. You will see that I have decided to graft some of the EC upper fuse onto the BK so that the EC clamshell doors will blend in better. Well they are going to be open anyway. Tailboom is nearly done, so will try and get some pics up tomorrow night. Cheers and thanks for looking Anthony Edited June 17, 2008 by Anthony in NZ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ross blackford Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 :D G'day Anthony, Great project you have going there mate. There is a locally produced tv show on here in Newcastle at the moment called Angels of Mercy. It's about the local Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. The first 2 episodes were dedicated to the 8th May last year when the NSW North Coast was lashed by cyclonic winds and torrential rains. A bulk coal carrier named the Pasha Bulker ran aground on Nobbys Beach (or a reef about 70 metres out) and the 2 resident choppers went to the scene. The big Bell 412 rescued 4 seamen and then got called away to first one then quickly another life threatening situation up the valley from here, so the BK-117 was left to rescue the other 18 men alone. There is some dramatic footage from inside the choppers as they hover in 55-60 knot winds with 20 odd metres waves crashing through the cabin of the aircraft as he hovered. This has given me an idea, to create a diorama of the situation with both choppers hovering over the ship before the Bell got called away. The general idea is to create a section of the hull in 1/72 scale, (the whole ship would be well over 2 metres long at this scale). At the moment it is just an inspiration, but hopefully over the next couple of years I'll be able to work gradually on it while also working on other projects. Keep us in tune please Anthony. :huh: Ross. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 G'day Ross What a fantastic idea for a diorama, you should definately do it! That sounds like a great show too, did they ever put it(the series) on DVD? These Rescue chopper guys are truly unsung heroes. My friend who got rescued in this machine last year got hauled out in appaling storm like conditions. He has nothing but admiration for what they did. Wow, 18 men all by themselves, that is truly remarkable. Please contact me if you need any photo help. Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
troschi Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Hi Anthony, good start so far ... I wish you good luck with your project keep us posted Felix Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tgoetz Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 This is going to be cool! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 (edited) Thanks guys Well, I have been working on the tailboom. Although it looks similar, there are a couple of changes that need to be made. Firstly there is a big anti collision beacon fairing on the very top of the vertical fin that needs to go. I back filled this with gap filling superglue and then filed it off and re-contoured it to blend in with the leading edge. Secondly the main fairing for the driveshaft. This is on the top of the boom and runs between the rear of the main engine cowl and gearbox at the vert fin. On the BK it is symetrical on both sides. Whereas on the EC it is assymetric, in that the stbd side tapers out at about a 45deg to the boom. I completely removed this fairing and made a new one that was trimmed and filed to shape. As you can see, it is glued on and all I have to do now is put 2 thin strips of 0].1mmx0.3mm strip down each side to replicate the skin edge of the fairing and add fastener detail. Thirdly the EC has angled back horizontal stabs whereas the BK has straight ones. I had to remove a large clunky fairing from the boom where the EC stab went in, this was filled with plastic card and puttied with Mr White Putty. The Revell BK stab was glued in and I tidied up the cross section a little. Next as you can see at the boom/inner stab, new plates/fairings were added with various sized strip etc. A new trailing edge was also added to the horizontal stab. I also need to make a fairing on the outer surface of the stab where it meets the vertical fins. I have just trial fitted the vert fins after some cleanup work to see how they fit....which looks good. You may well wonder why I didnt ust the BK boom? Well after looking at the 2 it was quite obvious that the EC one was tooled a lot better the old BK one. In fact now they are worlds apart to look at and the extra work was well worth the extra effort. Hope you like it so far and thanks for taking the time to look. Cheers Anthony Edited June 19, 2008 by Anthony in NZ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ross blackford Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Hi Anthony, Thank you for your offer. It is very kind, but we have almost unlimited access to our rescue choppers, which is rather sporting of them seeing as how in the early days when the chopper was unattended until needed some vandals got in and damaged the aircraft. They managed among other damage they did to break off the pitot heads so the next time the crew turned up to go on a rescue they couldn't. The fury this irresponsible act caused in the community caused questions to be asked in State and Federal Parliament, so the base was built and is now manned 24/7. The base is open 24/7 and I have gone over there before and photographed the Bell 412. It's not just the technical crew that are unsung heroes, but here in Newcastle the flight paramedics work a normal roster with the Ambulance Service and go flying on their days off. They often come in to the Emergency Department of the hospital I work at. Some other even more unsung heroes of this particular operation were the members of the Nobbys Surf Life Saving Club, two of whom rode their jetskis and trailer boards out to where the ship was foundering and virtually set plane guards on either side of the ship, just in case an aircraft went in or crewman or seaman got washed overboard. The show shows these two guys battling 60' plus waves on jetskis, that takes heaps of skill and concentration and more than a little guts. Thanks again for your offer. I'll have to check it out but from what I saw it appears the BK-117 has the winch on the other side. , Ross. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Well, I have been busy making a new main rotorblade. I decided to convert/modify the EC blade as I like the rotorhead detail better than the BK one. I also have photoetch parts from the Renaisiance set for the rotorhead. Problem is that I have done so much work to the EC blade that I really dont feel like making 3 more! The profile was modified to a slightly more uniform aerofoil section(EC blade flatter on lower edge) as well as blade shape (in plan view) is quite different. I also added detail to the blade tip to match the BK. Also a 'bump' was added to the leading edge near the blade root. I havent added any of the smaller details on the trailing edge yet as I thought I should probably look at getting it cast in resin so as to keep them all identical. Any ideas if any of our Helio guys here like Floyd, Fireball etc... offer this service? Either that or I could just toughen up and make more! I will get some pics up tonight Cheers and thanks for dropping by Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 Quick update. Here is the much modified EC blade......now a BK blade. Conversion progress as detailed above. I should have photographed it with the EC blade so you could see the difference. Hope you like........fuse graft pics to follow soon. Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 OK This part turned out to be a MUCH bigger job than expected. Because I am using the EC engine and tailboom I had to graft the roof of the EC onto the BK so as to get a nice transition between the 2. This actually took many hours of filing, sanding, scraping....sanding etc. You get the picture 8^). Not only did I have to graft the two neatly together, but I had to keep everything in perfect alignment so that everyting stays nice and true. If not by the time the engine cowl and boom were attached and it wasnt square then any erors would be compounded. So more measuring with calipers, dividers etc. I have to now gaze at some of the many photos I took to make sure the fuse has kept its lines around the graft and file/blend it all together. Here is how it looks now, and I am pleased to tell you that the EC cowl fits perfectly on the top with now gaps or bulges....phew! Thanks for dropping by for a look Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
modelsntoys Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 WOW! I love all the extra "bits" you're adding. This is going to look FANTASTIC when it's done! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
datguy Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Anthony, this is beautiful work. I too have plans for a fully detailed medical BK. My wife served several years as a flight nurse in a BK (N952US). Where did you get the R-flight set? DG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 Hi Guys Thanks very much I appreciate the the kind words on the BK! DG I got the set from Pedro at Renaissance direct, their website is www.renaissancemodels.com You will find on there a great series of photographs of his set installed in the EC-145. Although it is for the EC-145 there is a great deal I can use on the BK. If you want any help at all when you come to do yours then dont hesitate to ask. I will be more than happy to help you out all I can. Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 Quick update Finally got the roof all filed, sanded and blended in. I turned my attention to the fairing just in front of the engine cowl. I spliced the rear of the EC fairing on to the front of the BK one. Bit of fiddling to get the length right and all in line. Here you can see the two glued together and I have started filling it up with superglue. Since this pic I have a fair bit of superglue added. I have to leave it for now to let it all set nice and hard. I have had superglue shrink on me in the past when I have had to build up many layers. So it is an overnighter for me before I attack it. There needs to be a fair bit of work on this bit to make it took right. The contours need a little refining with slightly flatter sides, pointier tip and a touch flatter on the top. After that there are mesh screens to add as well as latches and panel lines. And this photo is simply because I think it is cool(courtesy of Colin Hunter-Airliners.net) and it inspires me to press on! Thanks for dropping by! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Floyd S. Werner, Jr. Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Well, I have been busy making a new main rotorblade. I decided to convert/modify the EC blade as I like the rotorhead detail better than the BK one. I also have photoetch parts from the Renaisiance set for the rotorhead.Problem is that I have done so much work to the EC blade that I really dont feel like making 3 more! The profile was modified to a slightly more uniform aerofoil section(EC blade flatter on lower edge) as well as blade shape (in plan view) is quite different. I also added detail to the blade tip to match the BK. Also a 'bump' was added to the leading edge near the blade root. I havent added any of the smaller details on the trailing edge yet as I thought I should probably look at getting it cast in resin so as to keep them all identical. Any ideas if any of our Helio guys here like Floyd, Fireball etc... offer this service? Either that or I could just toughen up and make more! I will get some pics up tonight Cheers and thanks for dropping by Anthony I don't but Joseph may. Sorry not set up for it yet. Floyd Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Youngtiger1 Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 And this photo is simply because I think it is cool(courtesy of Colin Hunter-Airliners.net) and it inspires me to press on! Thanks for dropping by! Anthony, Very nice work and very colorful subject. About the detail set, do they have a website were I could view their products? Well, keep up the good work B) Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 8, 2008 Author Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hi Guys Thanks very much Floyd, I might see if I can get in touch with Joseph. Mike, cheers for the comments on the BK. I have mentioned their website earlier in the thread, but here is a link on their websit that shows everything in great detail http://www.renaissance-models.com/Avions/notice_ec145.htm Nearly got all the shapes/ contours all sorted on the fairing now Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Youngtiger1 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Thanks for the link Anthony. Looking at the photos (on their website) of the all detail on the kit is like.........I don't know what to say but Woooow!! Well, you've got an other memeber in the audiance....... Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Thanks for the kind words guys Well only a small update today(I must be the slowest modeller on ARC) as I have been busy with work, wife & son and battling the flu. Having said that I managed to move forward a bit. I managed to build up the upper fairing to the correct profile with superglue over many layers. I learnt this trick off my good friend Tore(Falcon/Squadron Canopies). It is a very stable medium to work with. It still needs scribing and a couple of square holes opened up with mesh inserted behind etc... comparing with the original. I know it is hard to tell as it is rather patchy with Mr Surfacer. I also made one of the intake ducts for cabin cooling. The kits ones are too low and slightly too far back as well as the detail being a little soft. Out with the scalpel blade to open her up and 6 little pieces of plastic card later the new intake was made. It was important to move this for me as the cheatlines in the paint cut right across the corner and if it was in the wrong place it would have been very obvious. Finally a new roof was made on the port side and the window frame inserted. There is a lot to still go on the airframe yet with scribing, rivetting and various brackets etc. Thanks for taking a look, any constructive advice, suggestions etc is greatfully taken on board. Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 That's absolutely great work so far - keep it going!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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