scotthldr Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Hi all, looking to start building the KH AS365 soon and was wondering if there is anything to look out for or I should be aware of regarding the build. TIA Scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Froggy Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Helllo Scott Well.... on my side not many positive comments. Among others: I have tried to assemble one but I could not complete, maybe my fault and I will try again on another one because I reallly like this HC Plastic is very soft and getting the part off the sprues must be done veeeeery carefully You must basically dry fit all the parts as the assembly is very complex with many parts without real positive attachment points One misalignment on one assembly causes some troubles for the rest of the building.You have to make your own assessment of the assembly sequencing. Heving the experience from my first failure I would do it very differently The kit is designed to have all the openings...opened. (cockpit, cabin doors...), my biggest issue was the cockpit doors (if you want like me to have them closed. The cockpit seat must be moved to be in the proper position; All of those remarks may not be very positive however could be partly my fault (a friend of mine faced the same kind of issues). I am very grateful to Kittyhawk for taking the risk to issue such a model in any case and will for sure try to build another one. It is a pity that no aftermarket is available (even from French companies) In a few words take your time, relax and enjoy Hope this does not discourage you, I enjoyed it and will enjoy again Here under some links on my modeling club website 'in French) where you can find some intermediate steps from my friend build: Assembly Assembly and painting Cheers Nicolas Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scotthldr Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 Thanks for the reply Froggy. Figured it wouldn’t be a straight forward build looking at the instructions, as you say one slight mistake early on may render it unbuildable later on. May leave it for now until I get the modelling mojo back in full swing, the last kit I started didn’t do me any favours so need a simpler kit to restore my mentality 🤪 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Froggy Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Hi Scott Agreed, you need to have a high mojo and.. some patience. I will follow your build! Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tank Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 To bad Tamiya doesn't make helos. I don't recall a bad Tamiya kit, so grab anyone and build OOB to help get some mojo back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
norbert Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 there is a trap on the kit that will make it almost impossible to assemble at the end, but very easy to solve when you know : - when you place the cabin back wall, you will find there is a gap between this wall and the back wheel wells, about 1 mm - remove at the bottom of the cabin back wall material, so that the cabin back wall comes smooth to the top of the wheel wells that's all, all will assemble much better, there is then the work on small details, up to your taste and documentation Norbert Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeejeeZ Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 What Norbert says!! I forgot and came to regret it later. Also agree on Froggy's posts. The Dauphin in real life is a helo with beautiful sleek and aerodynamic lines, and I would like to build it like that, not with doors and panels sticking out. After building panels and doors on the KH kit closed, the thing looks like a WWII- tank and you have to carefully sand everything flush again, thereby removing any surface detail. Imho the kit could have done with less detail, but I know that's subjective: I am a lazy modeller... Gertjan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scotthldr Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 On 3/10/2019 at 2:34 PM, norbert said: - remove at the bottom of the cabin back wall material, so that the cabin back wall comes smooth to the top of the wheel wells Thanks for the warning Norbert, just to clarify that I remove approx 1mm off the base of the rear wall and this will make it sit square on the wheel wells? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
norbert Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 6 hours ago, scotthldr said: Thanks for the warning Norbert, just to clarify that I remove approx 1mm off the base of the rear wall and this will make it sit square on the wheel wells? yes exactly, you must suppress the gap on the bottom sides of the cabin back wall by removing material at the bottom of the central area Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scotthldr Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 Thank you, I dare say it will be obvious when I get round to it now that you've mentioned it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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