Loach Driver Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) If it's not too late, I'd like to join in the fun here with an attempted build of a 1/72 Airfix MBB BO-105 kit with markings from Maxdecals latest sheet featuring a Uruguayan BO-105, 063. Anyone here that recalls the Helicopter Group Build from a few years back will know I entered that as well, and it only took me 2 years and 10 months to finish the model I had started for that! That alone should have been enough to see me receiving a lifetime ban from ever entering a Group Build on ARC again but I'm back to dish out more disappointment. The subject of this build is one I know very little about and I have only been able to find a few photos of this helicopter on the net. The Airfix kit I know a little more about as I've built it twice before, once as a kid in the early eighties and again about 15 years ago. From what I can remember, it is a very nice basic kit that goes together fairly well and is generally quite accurate. It is probably one of the nicest helicopter kits that Airfix have ever released and it is much sought after at the moment. I'd guess Airfix will re-release this kit again soon, especially with decals for the kit still appearing on the market. I aim to keep detail to the minimum in the cockpit and to try to get a good finish with the colourful paint scheme. The only major modifications required are the floats on the skids, the modified roof and air intake guard and the tail stinger. There are one or two other small modifications required but that should be it. Here is the box and the contents. I am building this model as a thank you to two people; 1. I know Joe Maxwell of Maxdecals loves nothing more than seeing the subjects of his decal sheets being built up, so this model is a thank you to him for producing such a brilliant decal sheet. Decal sheets for modern jets and WWII types are ten-a-penny, but stuff like this Antarctic Helicopter decal sheet are rare and this is the kind of subject that really inspires those of us who like the out of the ordinary things. 2. I also have to mention a modeller from the Britmodeler Forum. He goes by the name of "General Melchett" and is what I would categorize as a master builder. He builds some amazing Area 51-type jets like the XB-70 Valkyrie and they are really well-finished. I put in a request a while back on Britmodeller looking for this kit and the General sent me the kit for free! I have begun removing the rotor blades from the sprues and have started cleaning them up. They have raised lines on them for some reason. I have removed these with a scalpel and I'm moving onto the cockpit interior next. Hopefully I'll have some more photos up in a few days. Thanks. LD. Edited January 14, 2012 by Loach Driver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 The Airfix BO-105 looks like a great little kit . Good luck with the build and I agree with you on a big thank you to Joe Maxwell for making those awesome Arctic/Antarctic decals . I've been searching around for those aftermarket skis for the C-130 Hercules as I would like to get the Maxdecals for this aircraft as well . Anyway I look forward to seeing your helicopter come together . John . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aaronw Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Nice to see another whirly gig. I keep hoping to see the BO-105 reissued too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arkhunter2002 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Good luck and for the record, that OH-6D was well worth the wait! Take care, Austin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 It's a great little kit, although those airfix decals can be a pain. I did a speed build of the original issue (fresh from my Dad's stash) for the recent Aerial Screw GB over on Aeroscale in December. Looking forward to seeing this one built up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Loach Driver Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) Here is a small update on my progress so far. There are sink marks on the back of both pilots seats. The real seats have a plastic cover on the back. I made a small cover from plastic card to cover these sink marks. The rear of the seats probably won't be seen anyway with the small windows in the rear doors. I added some small items to the fuselage halves. There is a small fairing on the front of the tailboom. This was made from a piece of Evergreen plastic strut that was sanded and cut to shape. My fairing looks to be a little under-scale but it will be barely visible under a coat of Dayglo Orange paint. I also added a pair of small intakes on the rear engine bay access doors. These were made from thin plastic card, punched out into discs. The discs were then cut in half and glued on. They look a little like the real thing but again are so small that probably won't even be noticed on the finished model. The main rotor has been assembled and the joins will be reinforced with super-glue before I set them aside on a small saucer to induce a small bit of blade droop. Most of the rest of the parts have been sprayed with primer on the sprues. The next bit of scratch building will concentrate on the pop-out floats. Thanks for looking. LD. Edited January 19, 2012 by Loach Driver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Loach Driver Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Here is a small update on my little Bolkow. I tried to figure out how best to make the pop-out floats on the skids. I thought that rolling up some putty might do the trick but in the end I cut some sections of Evergreen tubing. The centre floats are of a larger diameter than the front and rear floats. The front and rear end of each float was capped with a plastic disc made using a punch-and-die set. I then sanded down each end to blend in the plastic disc with the section of tubing. Once I was happy with the floats, I had to figure out how to attach the float to the skid. I looked at the real thing and it looks like the floats are attached to a long flat bracket that is attached to the top of the skid. I made up the brackets from sections of Evergreen channel. I also sanded flat the base of each float so that it will sit nicely on the bracket. I am also currently painting the floor, seats, collectives and cyclics. I have done a bit of work on the instrument panel to widen it in front of the pilot's seat. I am trying to figure out the best way to add dials. I will see what decals I have in the spares box but I will probably go with either dials made from small plastic discs or take a small section of plastic card and punch out the holes to represent the dials. I'll experiment with a few different things and see what looks best. Thanks. LD. Edited January 23, 2012 by Loach Driver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Loach Driver Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Here is another small update. The majority of the components for the cockpit have been painted. The seats and rear bulkhead wall are dry-fitted in the photo. The interior colours have come from the WWP Walkaround book on the BO-105. The instrument panel needs to be finished off with some dials and a shroud on the top and sides to shield the panel from sunlight. The last few items will be two sets of tail rotor pedals, made from wire bent to shape and maybe a pair of fire extinguishers. I'd like to add a first aid kit as well but I don't know where it was stored, if one was carried at all. It was probably in the rear cargo compartment so it definitely wouldn't be seen! Once all that's done, the fuselage halves will get their interior paint colour and a coat of white and then day-glo on the exterior. The day-glo can then be masked off and the camouflage colours can go on then. I won't be able to work on the model for the next week so the next update will be in about 10 days time. Thanks for looking. LD. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Looking good, LD. At this rate we might both finish a build soon! Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Loach Driver Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Looking good, LD. At this rate we might both finish a build soon! Ray Hi Ray. Yes, it looks like we are on our way to getting something finished in a reasonable time. Every model completed is a small victory, in my book. I've started far too many models only to abandon them halfway through. I am trying to be really disciplined with this build and I want to see it done by the end of February or early March. Here's hoping. LD. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Loach Driver Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 I have done a small bit of work on this kit in the last while. The pop-out floats have been painted and I think they look OK. I also added a wash to the seats to pick out the fabric pattern moulded into them. I used Promodeller's Dark Dirt wash. I am not sure if this works or if it's overkill. A Matt Clear coat has to go on yet. What do you guys think? I have also primed the interior of the fuselage halves and will paint them today. The skids are also going to get a coat of paint. I'm not sure which colour to use though. Matt Black might give too much of a "toy" look so I'm thinking of using Tyre Black instead to give a better "scale look". Thanks for looking. LD. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 LD, Glad to see you are making progress on your BO-105. Who knows, we might BOTH finish a build this year! Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arkhunter2002 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Given it'll be on the inside and harder to see, I think the darker wash will work out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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