adrake83 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 This thread will be dedicated to my MH-60M Blackhawk build. I am depicting a 2nd Battalion helicopter configured as a slick (I'm planning a Mike-model DAP as a future build). This is my first build that I am sharing online. I'll be using the Academy AH-60L as the base kit. Aftermarket includes Eduard Accessories UH-60L photo-etched detail sets, Cobra Company's MH-60M Conversion Set and Chris's Special Edition Upward Exhaust System, Live Resin Armament sets, and decals from Werner's Wings. I will also be adding several scratch built items that I will point out in specific during the course of the build. First off, an overview of the kit and all the aftermarket. First thing I did was to mark the panel lines indicated in the Cobra Company instructions to be cut in order to incorporate the UES. The UES fit like a glove. I had to fill a few gaps with milliput and Squadron putty but that was largely my fault in not dry fitting the parts as often as I should have. Once that was done, I cut away the nose as the MH-60M Conversion Set has a new one piece nose. The major exterior changes largely done, I turned my attention to the interior. Academy's kit has several inaccuracies which I am attempting to correct. First off, under each pilot's seat, there is a square opening that contains a couple avionics boxes and some wiring. So I roughly marked out the opening and cut a hole. I then walled it off with some .100" strip styrene and a thin piece of sheet styrene for the floor. I'm not going to add the boxes or wiring as the aircraft I'm depicting has heavy cloth covers that fit over the openings. According to one of the crew chief's, the cover is always in place during operations. In addition, the chin area by the rotor pedals is wrong. The Academy kit has the floor at a 90 degree corner but the real aircraft has it at an angle. The area below the cockpit floor is also filled in at the chin windows, so I built up that area with strip styrene and sanded it to fit the new Cobra Company nose. Next up is a picture of the cabin as it will be configured. None of the parts have been painted or glued together. This is just to give everyone an idea of how the helicopter is set up. Starting off at the rear of the cabin, I have sanded the internal auxiliary fuel tanks smooth. I will add in my own straps and fuel lines later. I think I can get better detail out of it than the molded on straps and fuel line that comes in the Academy kit. As an FYI, the MH-60M can also use the 200 gallon tank that comes in the Academy MH-60S kit and Cobra Company's MH-60S detail set. The black panels on the cabin floor are ballistic panels I made with a laser engraver and .03" sheet styrene. It took a few tries, but I finally got it sized to fit the kit (don't use actual aircraft dimensions as the kit is off) with the openings corresponding to the seat mounting holes on the kit floor. Just forward of that is the new panel for the crash worthy seats. These are sized to fit Cobra Company's seats. On either side of the cabin are the resin pillar set with a laser engraved ballistic panel. The seats are self explanatory. Just forward of those are the minigun ammo bins from Live Resin. They are a touch wide when positioned like this so I had to sand down the grab handles on the inside of the bins. This area should be concealed by the crew chiefs' seats so I'm not too worried about it. Just in front of the ammo bins is a extension of the cockpit floor. In 1/35 scale, this extension is about 5mm deep and flush with the cockpit floor. On top of this extension, just behind the pilots' seats are the power junction boxes for the miniguns. Each minigun has two cables that come off of the grip area on the guns and runs to this junction box. The center console also has a small extension that protrudes onto the 5mm extension of the floor. On top of this extension is a fire extinguisher. Here's an overhead picture with everything I explained above laid out: Finally, here's what's next on the bench: These are laser engraved ribs and stringers for the cabin roof structure. I can't directly cut the plastic with the engraver as the styrene melts then bonds back together and I lose sharpness in the part. Instead, I use the laser at a much lower power setting to engrave the cut lines into the sheet so I can easily cut them out later. This is the same method I used to make the ballistic panels. Comments and critiques are welcome. I try to build for accuracy in my models but largely build for fun so I can live with small mistakes. I am also a slow builder with a busy schedule so I will try to post updates as often as I can. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Amazing start. I will be following your build. Oliver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) Off to a great start. Where did you have the laser cut panels, ribs and stringers done? They look really nice and I would love to get a few sets. Edited July 15, 2015 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CW4 Erick Swanberg Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 I know its just sitting there but make sure the angle of the IP isnt to far up like in the pic, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Youngtiger1 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Wow, some cool stuff you got their for this project. I was going to get the CC MH-60M conversion and all of the sudden it's not available any more. I think I read someplace Chris is going to change or fix something on it?? Anyway, I'll be following your wonderful build Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anvil6 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 you are off to a great start! i always have time for an H-60! i will be following with keen interest! Cheers! -Ramon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkwrench Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Whoa! Totally cool looking so far. Can you take some close up pics of the floor extension and the minigun junction boxes separate from the rest of the cabin? Is there any chance you would make and sell your ballistic floor panels? If so, I'll buy a set! Great job on the build Aaron. Of course you do have an advantage of having all of your pics from Ft. Campbell to go by! I'll be watching this build closely so I can go to school on you buddy! Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adrake83 Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Tim, The unit S-2 is still going through all the pictures Floyd and I took (that should give everyone an idea of just how many pictures we took) so I'm building off of memory. The extension is glued in place but it's just some strip sytrene glued together to be 5mm wide and sanded flush to the cockpit floor. I didn't add and detail to it as the ammo bins would hide any work I did. The minigun power junction boxes are made from .250 x .080" strip sytrene. The real ones have four cable ports on the side facing the ammo bins with a covered switch in the middle. Erick, Thanks for the heads up. That's been a problem for me in the past so I won't glue it in place until I've fitted it to the windshield. Gino, I made the laser cut panels myself. They might be available through an aftermarket company soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkwrench Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 They might be able through an aftermarket company SOON. I wonder what's brewing there? Hmmm, that sounds promising, hope so! Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Cant wait to see this build up. Rod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Floyd S. Werner, Jr. Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 It is looking great. You have a much better memory than me. I was overwhelmed by the experience and new information that was availed to us. This is looking awesome. Floyd Quote Link to post Share on other sites
abramsguy21 Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Really hoping that those ballistic panels are released soon! Need to add that to my build as well! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adrake83 Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) So a few people have been asking about the laser engraved panels so let me explain further. This is how it comes out of the engraver: I can fit two sets of panels and cabin roof assemblies on one 12" x 6" styrene sheet. It took me awhile to get the settings on the laser dialed in to where I was getting good results without the laser melting the plastic and causing a loss of detail. The parts are easy to cut from the sheet with a scribing tool and a hobby knife. I designed the cabin panels to be user adaptable for the different configurations of the Blackhawk, just like the real thing. By cutting away the panels you don't need, you can fit either type of internal fuel tank you want, or just leave the part whole if you don't want to have a tank installed. The holes can be quickly cut out with a punch and die set (2.5mm specifically). I'm not sure how the aftermarket company will cast these panels but it sounds like each individual panel will be separately cast and the modeler will assemble the panels to the configuration they want on their model. The forward cabin panel where the crew chiefs' seats are located is engraved on a separate styrene sheet that is .01" thicker. The real aircraft has a noticeable step up between these panels. I will go through the cabin roof assembly later but once cut free, the parts slot together making it very easy to build. Edited July 16, 2015 by adrake83 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkwrench Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I'm loving this build already! I can't wait for these panels to come out. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adrake83 Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) Nothing much to post tonight. I messed up the roof ribs. They are too wide for the kit roof so I have to resize them and try again. This was actually a blessing in disguise as I can adjust the design to add more detail. I have decided that due to the amount of effort the assembly will require to get a decent result coupled with the difficulty of casting the pieces in resin, it is not feasible to offer it to the aftermarket industry at this time. I also don't think enough people would buy the set to make it financially viable for the aftermarket company to carry. I am thinking about offering the set myself in the future once I get the bugs worked out. On more positive news, I am nearly finished with a ballistic panel set for the UH-60L and UH-60M. Edited July 17, 2015 by adrake83 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkwrench Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Good news, good news! What aftermarket company is going to have your panels for sale? Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adrake83 Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Tim, I would rather not say until I have confirmation that he can use the panels. If he can't, then I will market the set myself as a limited edition. If that happens, what you would get is exactly as seen in the photos and availability may fluctuate with my deployment schedule. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkwrench Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Ok, that's fine. The wait will be worth it, I'm sure. What branch and unit are you in? Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adrake83 Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 I was able to sit down this weekend and work on my MH-60M's interior. I did the bulk of the painting with a few quick washes and drybrushing on the cockpit and pillars. I still have some detail painting left on the instrument panel, center console, cyclics, and collectives before I can finish up the cockpit. The seats need more painting before I'll be satisfied with them. The more I look at it, the more work still needs to be done. Power junction boxes, covers for under the pilots' seats, a couple miles of wiring behind the IP and the pilots' seats, ICS boxes, altitude indicators, etc., etc. It never ends! The ballistic panels turned out well. I used an old spray can of flat black to paint them. The can's nozzle was partially plugged so the paint came out uneven in a sputtering manner. I used that to my advantage in adding a bit of texture to the panels. I still need to clean up some of the holes on the back side before I will glue them to the cabin floor. Then I'll use a sand-colored wash to bring out the fine engravings in the panels. I am also going to use the smaller 200 gallon tank for this build so I still need to remove the rearmost panel from my set. The Robinson tanks will be used in another project and since this is a slick, I wanted more cabin room. I also received an email from the aftermarket company. They believe the panels will be usable so hopefully the panel set will be available in the near future. One difference between what you see on my kit and what will be available is that they are adding additional detail to the forward cabin panel where the crew chiefs' seats are at. With respect to the aftermarket company, they have asked that they not be named publicly until the product is released. I will also be sending them ballistic panel sets for the UH-60L and the UH-60M this week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkwrench Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Looking totally cool! Awesome job so far. How about some close up pics of the crew chief seats and IP? Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adrake83 Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 How about some close up pics of the crew chief seats and IP? Tim Thanks Tim. I still have some small detail painting left but the IP is largely done. I'm not happy with the crew chiefs' seats. The different shades of black are too close to each other and the detail is getting lost. I will repaint the cushions and belts later. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zerosystem Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Any updates on both the build and panels? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
adrake83 Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 I'm currently serving in Afghanistan so it will be awhile before I can get back to the kit. The ballistic panels are now part of Cobra Company's updated MH-60M conversion set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jacksdad Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Just seen this Aaron and all I can say is........WOW. Thats a wonderful amount of detail you've put in already. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Pretty sharp looking cockpit. Cant wait to see more. Oliver Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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