Anthony in NZ Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 (edited) Thanks Klaus, but...........................there were tears! On to plan 'F' now.....Grrrrrr I love this hobby, I love this hobby, I love this hobby, I lov.............. Update tomorrow. Cheers Anthony Edited July 1, 2010 by Anthony in NZ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mumbles Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 Just to say Anthony, still watching and enjoying your work here Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shark 64 Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 Welcome back. Love your update. I can relate 300% about doing and redoing it till it looks right........Is that wrong??? LOL Anthony, do you think you and I will ever finish our helos.???? Great work indeed. As I said before I am fan of your work. Oliver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 (edited) Thanks Sam, thanks Oliver. Oliver, sometimes I wonder that also (about mine not yours!). Well I dont think that doing things several times is wrong............perhaps its some obsessive compulsive disorder??? Well, I just couldnt go to bed last night untill I sorted the problem out! The end plates I made looked awful under a coat of primer, it was uneven, blotchy etc. As you can see I made new ones completely. I used Dymo tape and masked off the strengthening plates and buffed the plastic down on one side, creating a nice even ridge. Anyway I wasnt happy until I had it all glued up on the model and the alignment sorted. Actually I am really pleased how it turned out in the end. I might need an afternoon nap though! Here is how she sits now............... Cheers Anthony Edited July 1, 2010 by Anthony in NZ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shark 64 Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 OUTSTANDING WORK A well-deserved nap.... Oliver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 5, 2010 Author Share Posted July 5, 2010 Well, a small update. I have been completely reworking the tailrotor gearbox, rotor hub and blades using the photoetch from Reniassiance as well as a few bits of extra rod & tube to upgrade it further (16 extra parts in the hub alone). It looks quite detailed and I will get some pics up tomorrow when I attach the last little pieces. Something I should mention for anyone building the EC-145 is to be careful when fitting the tailrotor. The locating hole on the hub is on the wrong side and it is easy to attach the unit the wrong way around (leading edge on wrong side, hence the direction of rotation will be wrong also). Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 OK, here is a pic of the actual hub. And here are the kit parts and the modified Reniassiance parts. I modified the profile/shape of the blades and tidied up the hub. I then used the Resin and etch from the detail set. It has much finer details than the kit part. I added what appears to be a drain plug from the gearbox and a few smaller items. Then added the photoetch. One small detail for those that have the detail set is that the resin tailrotor shaft has the end piece moulded at 90deg wrong. I had to cut this piece off, add a new shaft and then reattach the end. This gave me an opportunity to get a more accurate shape between the 2 as well. The Reniassiance set is beautiful, but the trouble with photoetch in some instances is that it is one dimensional. I decided not to use some of the linkages as they just didnt look right. So I made new ones using rod and my Waldron Sub Minature punch and die set to get a more realistic look. There are in total 17 new pieces added to the tailrotor unit and I still have to add the mass balance 'balls' to the tips of those 4 pointed shafts. I am still looking for something suitable there. My wife needed to go to the local craft shop so I went along, but even the smallest beads were too big. I will find something. I am really happy how it turned out, it took quite a few hours hunched over my desk and staring at photos making sure I didnt miss anything and it looked right. Cheers and thanks for looking Anthont Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Excellent... Rod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Avus Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Great progress, Anthony! As for the balance balls, I'd try to make some tiny balls using epoxy putty like Milliput, rubbing it between two fingers until I get the desired size. I understand that in this case the size is reeealy small, but I'd give it a shot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 Thanks Rod & Klaus. I will give that a shot tomorrow, thanks for that. This may be a better photo.............I really need to look at my crappy photography skills (or lack of it!) Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Doppel Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Hi Anthony, Although I haven't commented recently, that is really starting to take shape now. Those skids look amazing after the effort you put into them. Regards Andrew P.S. gathering momentum to start my SVN Aussie Bushranger soon. Just awaiting my conversion set from Sydney. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shark 64 Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 Hi Anthony. Nice job. You could almost separate the rotor blades from the mast and make new ones....Yes I am trying to add work for you....LOL. Your work is just amazing.....I am a fan. Oliver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted July 9, 2010 Author Share Posted July 9, 2010 Thanks Andrew, I really appreciate it. Ooh I look forward to seeing the bushranger! Oliver...........mmm yes I did think of that also. However what you cant see with my crappy photography is that I carefully scribed around the mast/blade attach point to see how it will look ( I wanted a nice seperation between the two). I am pretty happy with the resuly and reakon after paint and a wash I should get the desired effect. Thanks again Oliver, You will be pleased I am on to the photoetch now......he says nervously.......so far so good. I think the key is not to be scared of it. Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Ok, some more progress................ Been working on the smaller exterior details. I trimmed off the oval blob from this part and replaced it with appropiate size fusewire and superglued it in place. Then it was all blended in with Mr Surfacer 1200 to represent it welded etc, as well as sanding up the part to make it a better round cross section. I then threaded on the two tiny brackets that will attach it to the boom. I then decided it was time to get on to the door latches. As usual, the EC door locks are slightly different to the BK ones. So I utilized most of it and modified the rest with plastic card and trimming the etch. Again flooding the areas that showed scalloping like the actual machine. I have noticed with p/etch that sometimes you cant take for granted it is right for the area you are doing and it may need slight modification or blending (still makes life easier though, rather than starting from scratch!). I also decided to work on the rather delicate etched louver on the engine cowl sides. The safest way I found is to box the grille and put another trim around the inside of the box. This way the part drops in perfectly and then all I will need to do is make the opening a little bigger and glue the whole unit in. I still have to put a little ducting in behind which will add to the strength. Next up was the rotor mast..........this I had been dreading. I have recently picked up a partly made Revell Bo-105. I looked at the rotor assembly and decided that it was actually pretty good. With a little modification could look just like the BK-117 one. It even has the swashplate assy and linkages.......just what I was looking for! I took loads of measurements, sleeved the EC-145 mast with a new stronger plastic tube one and started adding the 105 parts. More measurements ant copius trimming (as well as modification/tweaking of the cowl opening) I got a solid assembly. As you can now see, I have the rotor mast and bell housing pretty well sorted. It is sitting 1mm too low, but that is because I have a piece to still add to the bottom assembly. I have now added the rear antenna's to either side of the boom. These were cleaned uo with new mounting plates added using my Waldron punch and die set and again, blended to the antenna itself with Mr Surfacer before finally attaching them to the boom. Finally it was a moment of truth for the project. I had to now check the major dimensions were still correct after this work, and most importantly now the rotormast and head assy height was set..................was it the correct height????? Yes.............phew! Thanks for dropping by Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doupnik Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 OK, between you and Oliver, the scratch building on display here is both amazing and inspirational. Freaking amazing work. mason Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Thanks Mason, appreciate it. I spent a fair bit of time glueing and blending the side grille into place last night. Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Anthony, That is going to be one beautiful bird. Awesome scratch work as usual. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Doppel Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 What can I say that's different to everyone else - Regards Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dean Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Hi Anthony, Long time listener, first time caller. Can't say anything that everyone else hasn't already but I can't believe the amount of work you've put into it, it's going to look amazing when it's finished. I wouldn't have the patience. But you did inspire me to have a go at scratchbuilding so I built one of these BK's myself. I do part time work as a crewman on the lifeflight air ambulance and we are the charity that runs the Wellington based Westpac Rescue Helicopter so had alot of access to it for reference. It's almost finshed (as there's no way I could get it to your standards), but have run into a bit of a problem and was wondering if you could give me some advice. It's ready for decals and my girlfriends dad is a comercial printer but they cant print white. Do you know of anywhere I could go to get some made or tips on how to do them? Any help would be much apprieciated. Keep up the good work. Dean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony in NZ Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 Hi Dean, great to hear from you! And nice to hear from a Lifeflight crewman. Do you know Joe? he flies the Metro and has been a great help with some photo's of the Wellington machine. If there is anything I can do to help, then it would be an absolute pleasure. I will send you a PM after this with my email address etc, I think I can help you. Also Ray and Andrew.......cheers guys. Hopefully I will have an update again soon. Cheers Anthony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Doppel Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Anthony, Perhaps your next project should be the Vicpol's new EC-135. Lovely little chopper. Regards Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Brilliant... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
norbert Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Hi Anthony Do not think that I forgot your marvelous build Then it's sure, i'm out of ideas for new superlatives.. norbert Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hooknladderno1 Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Anthony, I've been silently following your wonderful progress on this project. Each update brings new and wonderful surprises! You are a true inspiration. Haven't had much modeling time lately due to family responsibilities and work. Did recently complete a fire apparatus project posted in the "Non Aircraft" modeling section. Hope to start my EC-135 project in the fall. Am waiting on decals that a friend is designing. Cheers! David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew MacKay Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 So am I going to see this on the table at the NZ nat's next month .... no pressure or anything Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.