nicholassagan Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 This has been a dream project of mine for the better part of this year. Initially I was thinking about it for the SMA Big Spring Contest but there was too much else going on. But now that my big summer art show is up and the wedding plans are commencing well enough, I’ve dived in a little deeper with this build. My intention is to have full lighting and working rotors (tail, too!) For starters, here’s my component list: Revellogram 1/48 Mi-24D Hind Cobra Hind Gunship conversion set (guns, missiles, etc) Cobra Mi-24v conversion set (exhausts, cockpit, etc) Eduard interior PE Eduard exterior PE HGW free line rivets Eduard Brassin Rocketpods Dreammodel modern Russian pilots Tamiya Touch/Dash motor mini-magnets assortment of LEDs (red chips for cockpit, orange for cabin, warm white for spotlights, chip red and green for nav, flash red for beacon and strobe) HungAero marking decals and Linden Hill stencil decals Round 2 dome base Since all these parts have been sitting around on my bench for months, I’ve been able to do a little bit here and there. The first of the tasks was to sand down and re-scribe all the panel lines. Since I’ll be using HGW rivets and not RB Productions rivet tool, this phase was relatively short. Some of the lines are a little choppy but they will be more smooth later in the build. Another big step early on was configuring the battery access compartment and I figured the rear landing gear doors will give me access to the most interior space. A 2x AAA clip will fit well and a 9v battery will fit even better (but just slightly so). Since the kit pieces are in 3 parts they had to be glued together. After some minimal seam filling the whole piece should fit snugly and will be removable via mini-magnets. I have plenty more updates to post so I will parse them out as to not crowd it all up front!!!! Just wait until you see the video!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andre Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Will watch with interest! Cheers, Andre Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mi-26 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) Warm greetings to you from Russia - OAO "ROSTVERTOL"! http://scalemodels.ru/articles/3656-MONOGRAM-1-48-mi-24d---srednijj-krokodil.html Edited July 16, 2013 by Mi-26 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) Thanks guys! Nice build Mi-26!! Another update! This build will be in flight so I’ve closed up the cabin doors. They needed just a little bit of shaving to fit snugly and in hindsight (get it? HINDsight??) they could have been shaved a little more as the lips stick out a touch from the main body. However, I can still go in and shave them down. Next up is the process of using Cobra’s parts to build up the gunship conversion. The first step was inserting the heat-dampening exhaust mounts. They fit pretty close to perfectly in the original exhaust openings, only a slight bit of trimming was needed on the bottom edge of the opening. As for the exhausts themselves I opted for the larger fairings. Cobra did a nice job with the detail on these parts. They will also be painted separately and added towards the end of the build. You will also notice that the big chaff dispensers were added at the base of the tail. The gunship conversion parts were more or less easy to add in. I did rush a little bit and made the opening for the cannon just a little too large so I will have to use some Aves to fill it in. The sensors fit right into place with minimal seam sanding. The nose plug fits pretty well but is just a touch wide, preventing the two fuselage halves from meeting. A little sanding and a little filler will be necessary there, too. The spotlight on the left side was an easy cut-and-drop piece, too. Lastly, here are the lights. There is a strobe which will feed some fiber optics that will thread out to the wing and tail tips (and belly maybe). I know there really aren’t strobes on the actual craft but I think they’ll look cool on this build. This circuit also has a 1hz flashing red LED for the tail beacon. Other lights include 2 small warm yellow for the spotlight and landing light, red and green chip LEDs for the wing navigation lights, 2 red chip LEDs for the cockpit tubs and 2 orange LEDs to light the cabin (more on these later). Edited July 16, 2013 by nicholassagan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mi-26 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) Edited July 17, 2013 by Mi-26 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Oh I like that gray! Are there any profile shots of her? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 The canopy that comes with the kit is good, but could use some polishing. I really wish there was a vacu-form aftermarket piece available. Anyway, I’ve been sanding away with polishing grits @ 2000, 6000 and 12,000 and it’s still not crystal clear. More work definitely to be done. I’ve also decided to use the kit supplied crew members, but in this case they won’t be the pilots. I’ll consider them technicians and put them in the cabin. Their soft detail will be hidden enough. Here you can see me starting to fiddle with the tiny motor. There’s enough room for placement in the interior, especially since the kit engines are replaced with the Cobra parts. I was thinking 2x AAA batteries in their clip would fit nicely in the rear…but more on that later. Eduard’s Brassin Rocket Pod set will be a nice upgrade to this build as well. I’m not using the PE parts because they would be almost impossible to see. I did have to cut all the kit pods off because they were molded to the pylons. Also, one half of one of the pylons was missing from my kit so I had to scratch build it. The Eduard pods were primed and painted with Tamiya metallic silver. Nice and bright… Lastly, a couple of little things had to happen like cutting off the front wheel cover and shaving the interlocks on the horizontal stabilizers. They will be nice and tight when the time comes to insert them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 Here is the work on the interior. The cabin was a pretty straight forward build. I opted to use only a single interior PE bit for the box on the forward bulkhead. The basic paint job is Tamiya’s IJN gray/green with a dry brushing of chrome silver and a wash of MiG’s neutral. Looks pretty good for something that will be almost completely hidden! Ha! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
norbert Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Hi Nicolas That's a nice build, you go very far in the model enhancement. I like it Norbert Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 24, 2013 Author Share Posted July 24, 2013 Another update for you lads: cockpit progress! Again, these are the Cobra parts and I really like the detail on them over fussing with all the Eduard interior PE bits. The tricky part is going to be painting the black panel boxes... Got a nice blue-ish color mixed up for the interior, too. Cobra's instructions didn't really say exactly how to put the forward panel in place, so I put it where i thought it'd look good... I also placed some chip LEDs behind the instrument panels to give a nice menacing red glow to the interiors Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 24, 2013 Author Share Posted July 24, 2013 (edited) The rotors for this beast build up pretty easily. There were some areas where the blades attached that needed a little sanding but overall it’s a good fit. The level of detail is nothing to complain about, either. I know there are some resin replacements out there but these will do the trick. The first step in the assembly was to get the trademark droop in the rotor blades. In the case of this build, they have to droop upwards because it will be in flight. To do this I boiled the blades in hot water and used rubber bands to secure them around a cylindrical object in my kitchen. Worked like a charm. The bend could be a little more severe but it’s fine. Like I said, the assembly was nice and straight forward. The hydraulic lines are a bit chunky but it won’t make a difference when they’re in motion. I did have to scratch build some of the actuators because the plastic on this old kit is brittle and therefore small pieces tend to snap when I’m not looking… Primed the tail rotor, too. AND everything spins REALLY nicely with the motor hooked up!! Here are a couple of videos testing the motor… Edited July 24, 2013 by nicholassagan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lyash Igor Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Interesting build, but I see many mistakes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 Well it's about making an interested build...but for arguments sake, what could I do for the next build in terms of accuracy? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 Anyway, update on the rotors! I painted the hubs/spokes with Tamiya’s Light Gunmetal from the rattle can, masked them off then did the blades with rattle can Gunship Grey. The leading edges were masked and painted with Krylon’s Silver Leafing paint pen and the tips are Tamiya yellow green. AND of course the main rotor tested with the 9v battery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 Some in between the big parts progress. While photos show a slightly more polished canopy, I ended up picking up another kit to start from scratch…or rather avoid any scratches. Looks way cleaner. Also started adding the external photo etch bits and started the wiring a little bit more. I had to cut out a larger section of the top part of the wing than I had anticipated so it will need some filler at some point. But there she is as of now, for the most part. This will probably be the last post for a few weeks on this subject as it’s vacation time! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KAROLOS26 Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!What a magnifisent and perfect job yoy did ther mate..Cannot wait for an update Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MEdixWekeShoppe Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Your build is phenom! Tooth paste helps with the windows! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 Thanks gents! Toothpaste is a good idea...I'll have to try that. Just rub it in and rub it off? I ended up getting a second kit just to get the super fresh and clean canopies and it's made a big difference... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 I ended up getting a second kit so I could start with a fresh canopy. Crystal clear! I also used Eduard’s mask for the Trumpeter kit and there were some fit issues…but I made it work. The starboard chip LED solder joints broke so I had to dig for another, slightly larger chip in my stash. Some material from the top of the wing had to be removed to make room. It will have to be back filled. And to address the scale issue of the luminosity, yes, it is bright. It’s partly the camera and partly that it hasn’t been finished out yet…which will come at a much later stage. Since I’m using Round 2′s dome base, I added a support block inside the fuselage belly where I’ll be drilling for the support rod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rom Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 wow! impressive work!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 thanks!! i'm away from my bench for another week...really itching to keep working on her!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Been about a month since there’s been an update on this feller. Added a few more resin bits from the Cobra conversion set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lyash Igor Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 This item is incorrect. Look at this...http://scalemodels.ru/modules/forum/viewtopic_t_45365_start_40.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lyash Igor Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 It's not Mi-24V. This is Mi-24P with 30 mm twin gun GSH-30k (Mi-24P (item 243) - MI-24 gun GSH-30K, placed on the right side in the fixed installation NPU-30 ammunition - 250 rounds. Machine gun dismantled. Produced in 1981-1989) 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.