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  • 3 years later...

Hey Chris, the pictures are not showing up anymore, I would love to see your bird as I am planning to do at least two Blackhawks myself, but I am new, so I have no illusion of having a finished product even remotely close to what you have done.

 

Anyway, let me know if you still have the pictures, you can email them directly to me at anthony.n.dagostino@gmail.com

 

Thanks,

 

Anthony

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Thanks for showing us the finished kit, looks great, I have to agree though, I have two Academy kits and a LOT of resin parts, including the floors made by someone from ARC, they are really nice, far better detail over the kit floor. It's just too bad I didn't get a ceiling part as well, but might not make too much a difference.

 

Now for the 64 billion dollar question, did you have installation guides for the ballistic plates? I too have those sets, and they are impressive. Fortunately for me, I have enough for the two Academy kits, and two more, which will hopefully be Kitty Hark kits.

 

Yesterday, I found a review with side by side photos of the fuselage halves, Kitty Hawk destroyed Academy in the area of detail, they are not in the same league, or sport really.

 

While I expect to enjoy my two Academy kits, I now see them as training kits for the real thing, when I can afford the Kitty Hawk kits that is. Probably won't be for at least a year.

 

Again, thanks for the great pictures, and any tips, suggestions or warnings I should be aware of, before I get in over my head?

 

Thanks,

 

Anthony

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I do not have any of the instructions from the MH-60M set. Installing the ballistic plates was included in those instructions. Mike West of Lone Star Models bought all the assets of Cobra Company and all the instruction sheets were stored on a computer that was sent to him. I think I have a set of the plates, if I do I can lay them out on a flat surface and make a photo of them. I will have to look.  

The Academy Blackhawk kits have building problem areas. The pilot seats are set a little too far back. Modify the frames of the seat to shift them forward a bit. The instrument panel sits a shade to far forward, you get interference with the windshield when trying to install it. The exhausts are drooped down too much. It can be fixed to a degree but it's a lot of work. The fuselage halves take some careful planning to join them together. The first thing is the cabin assembly is too wide, it keeps the halves from coming together. You have to plan to shave the cabin assembly sides in order to pull the sides together. The body underside does not join together level, it looks "caved in" when joined. Adjust that by putting tabs along the seams and adding some plastic pieces across the bottom of the cabin to make the halves join level. The upper surfaces of the nose also "droop" downwards. It makes putting the windshield on neatly a real problem. I think there is room forward of the instrument panel to add a couple of vertical spacers inside of the nose to keep it up as it should be.

I still do not have an MH-60 DAP in my collection. While I retained a Cobra Company set the make one, I have the feeling I may use a Kitty Hawk kit instead. Waiting to see how many people build the kit and see what glitches surface.

 

Chris M

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6 hours ago, Chief Snake said:

The Academy Blackhawk kits have building problem areas.

Wow, that is way more than I expected. Some of which will be negated by the set I have to work with.

 

First, the floor of the crew cabin and flight deck will be replaced with the resin set that I have. Hopefully the width is accounted for, or I will be in trouble. Shaving down the sides seems like a long process where much can go wrong. I have seen others tackle these types of issues by using the table or miter saw, and cutting the part down the middle. The width of the blade usually removes enough material to solve that problem. If you need more taken off, then something is seriously wrong with the kit in my humble opinion.

 

I also read that the cockpit floor should have open boxes under each pilots seat, the resin correct this. As for the IP/Shade, all those parts are replaced via the cobra correction set. I might get lucky with fit throughout, but clearly I need LOTS of test fitting.

 

Finally, as for the incorrect levels under the nose/fuselage, I will definitely keep a watchful eye on those elements. Thanks for the tips!

 

Cheers,

 

Anthony

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Here are the ballistic panels laid out in the order they would be put in. The two top panels go on the cockpit floor. The two larger panels cover the cabin floor as shown, the small opening is the cutout for the cargo hook opening. The smaller square is a cover for the opening if you want to cover it. The small rectangular panels on the right and left are the gunners panels that would be mounted under the window. They only fit one way so they are mirror of each other. The lower left panels are placed on the floor between the smaller fuel tank and the center plates. The right panels are used if the large fuel tank is used. The color of the panels can be the same color of the interior where they are placed or in some cases they are a slightly darker shade of gray.

 

Hope this helps.

Chris M

P1010002.JPG

Edited by Chief Snake
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9 hours ago, Chief Snake said:

Hope this helps. 

Actually, looking at the panels you have, I realized instantly that they are completely different than the sheet I have. Mine is black, laser cut from one sheet of plastic. The main differences appear to be the small ribs that come in my set. The floors are fairly obvious where they go, but the smaller parts are the most confusing. I will try to get a picture of them, and share it here, maybe you will recognize them.

 

Having seen some photos of the new Kitty Hawk Blackhawks, I might be able to better know where these parts go, their interior is far more detailed over the Academy kits, which the ceiling is just a flat slab. I have a feeling that much of the detail belongs up there, but I may be wrong.

 

1:35 H-60 ballistic panels

 

It's hard to see, but the ones on the lower left are for the pilots floor area. Maybe once I build out the interior of the kit, the location of the unknown parts, will become obvious. I hope so anyway. These are apparently cut for the Academy kits, but would be curious to know if they would still work with the Kitty Hawk kits, with a bit of trimming.

 

Thanks for trying to help me out with the panels, I never thought that there would be more than one type out there.

 

Cheers,

 

Anthony

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Well guess what? Those laser cut parts were the basis for the resin cast parts. They all are supposed to go exactly as I told you. The sheets were provided to me by the individual who made them. I made sure they fit the model.  I elected not to do the ceiling due to it's complexity. I scanned one that is in possession and labeled all the parts as to where they go. 

 

Chris M

bal 001.jpg

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