White Wolf Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 I've decided that my first entry for the GB will be the 1/72 Academy AH-64D. This is the new tooling that was released some time back. It's mostly a single color so painting it should be easy. I'm still testing out several colors to see which one looks right to me though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Nice choice! Welcome to the build. This is not the same tooling as their other Apache kit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sarathi S. Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Has new cheek sponsons to represent the EFABs on the AH-64D. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aussie_superbug Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Welcome to the GB. nice to see a Helo in the mix. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 Nice choice! Welcome to the build. This is not the same tooling as their other Apache kit? Yeah, it's a completely new kit that's on par with Academy's newer releases. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Really? That totally came in under my radar. ....which Apaches are good at doing. Ha! I'm eagerly anticipating you starting this build, as I'm very curious about the kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 (edited) While the site was down, I got distracted by another kit on the workbench so I didn't get as much work done on the Apache as I wanted to. Anyway, I built up the stub wings, the cockpit tub, and part of the rotor assembly. The cockpit in this kit is one of the best I've seen out of the box, with plenty of raised detail. In my opinion, with the exception of some seat belts, there is absolutely no need to replace the cockpit with resin or photoetch unless a) you're a glutton for punishment and b) you have too much time and money to burn. The canopy only comes with a closed option so any super detailing will be wasted anyway. I painted the cockpit Tamiya Rubber Black and drybrushed the buttons with white. For the consoles, I used Tamiya XF-61 Dark Green on the MFDs. I find that this gives a good approximation of a powered-down screen. I also applied some gloss clear to them to simulate the glass. The only modification I did to the cockpit was to add some scratchbuilt seat belts and buckles. Some strips of masking tape and buckles cut from styrene sheet were added and painted. They're definitely overscale but nobody's going to take that close a look at them. The completed cockpit assembly. Edited October 9, 2016 by White Wolf Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Nice job on that cockpit. Looking forward to more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Nice cockpit Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 Just a small update to show that this project isn't dead. It is moving at a glacier's pace, however. The fuselage halves have been assembled and the fit is very good, despite the multiple parts and inserts. Some of the things that I observed while putting it together: -The various avionics panels look a bit strange up close as they didn't sit exactly flush with the fuselage. Either the panels were too thick, or the depressions in the fuselage parts were too shallow. I left them alone but if I built this kit again, I'd explore the option of sanding the panels to be less thin. -There is no easy way to install the gear struts late in the build because the side sponsons prevent the struts from being slotted in from below. -If you're the kind who leaves the wings off for painting and attaches them late into the build, you can do that with the right wing but not the left, as the left sponson "slips" over the left wing. You can see how it looks in the picture below. Hopefully I can get it ready for painting soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 What a mean looking machine Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 Been slowly working on this, but I'm on vacation now till the end of the year so I'll have more time for the build. Hopefully I can make some progress. Attaching the canopy was difficult because of the tight fit and it was difficult to take it off too. To make matters worse, the front instrument panel kept popping out whenever I put the canopy on, so I suspected that it may be too wide for the canopy. The main body was painted with Tamiya AS-6 Olive Drab over black primer. I think this looks about right to my eyes. The fit of the engines is so good that I'll leave them off until the end to make it easier to apply the decals. An example of the good engineering Academy did for this model. The engines and exhausts are separate pieces and this makes it much easier to paint. The exhausts are a simple push fit with no glue needed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted December 26, 2016 Author Share Posted December 26, 2016 (edited) Got the main body glossed and decals on over the Christmas weekend. The decal sheet comes with a full set of stencils, took me almost a whole day to apply them all. And that's not even including the markings for the rotors, Hellfires and rocket pods. But at least the hard part's out of the way. The Cartograf decals work well, but they're thin and have a tendency to fold over on themselves. Next will be a wash and flat coat before putting the main components together and then assembling the smaller bits. Edited December 26, 2016 by White Wolf Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 Looking great Nice camo Looking forward to the finish Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 My last progress report of 2016. I've painted up the rocket launchers and Hellfires and applied the decals. I've also gotten the main rotor and Longbow radar painted and glossed, but I haven't applied the stencils for them yet. Unfortunately I've run out of gloss and I won't be able to get restocks until Tuesday at the earliest. I say I should finish this build by the end of next month or early February. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Got the flat coat on and unmasked the canopy, and I applied the decals for the white canopy detonation cord. The wings and engines were attached, as well as smaller pieces like the stabilizer and tailwheel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 I think I need to add the Academy AH-64 to my stock! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 Finally finished it today. The rest of the build was fiddly but uneventful. More pics to follow in the finished build topic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Well done Looks great Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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