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Kitty Hawk AH-1Z "Viper" 1/48 (finished)


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So this is gonna be my first "serious" try at helos and I'll be posting the WIP here to learn as much as possible! I'm pretty sure is gonna be way down the site's standards but I'll do my best to pull a decent model out of this really nice kit. It's gonna be OOB and I don't really know a lot about helos. If I succed I might build it's brother the Huey Venom, but we're far away from there yet!

 

So the box looks as you know

IMG_E1932

 

And I'll try to paint it like this

35575661_1090225397791476_2228828370081153024_n

 

I have started adding the PE, and I was surprised as how good it is! the fit is almost perfect in most places

IMG_E1990

 

IMG_E1995

 

Then I added some detail to the "nose" cause the real thing has some lines and rivets but not the kit, so I added some

IMG_2027

Afterwards I moved to the cockpit wich is mostly black, did some dry brushing and I might apply screen decals only, the rest it's been hand painted

IMG_2065

At last I added some more weight to make sure is not gonna be a tail seater, It might be overkill but you can never be too sure!

IMG_2016

 

So far is a very wel behaving kit! let's hope it will continue this way!

 

I read glueing the skids could be a bit tricky, so if you have an idea on how to approach, it'll be very much appreciated!

 

thnx for watching

Edited by kike
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Thnx Whiskey! I appreciate your comment! and I really hope I won't let you down! I really want this to be a nice model! putting some effort to make it real!

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For the skids, I would wait till the fuselage is glued, build a jig out of legos or similar. Let the kit sit in the jig while the glue dries. Overall a good build so far.

Edited by Tank
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I worket on the tail boom cause I wanted to have a glance of the scheme, the building proces went pretty straight forward and no filler was needed, just a bit of CA and some sanding, well a bit than "some" but overall the fitting is really good!

 

IMG_2019

 

IMG_2018

 

IMG_2017

 

I used "Brass" instead of gold cause I didn't have any! but I like the result!

 

Then I used Model Master 36375 for the main paint and only the first layer is applied on the pics

 

IMG_2052

 

IMG_2050

 

IMG_2051

 

Some tonal variations are gonna be applied later on, and off course the red stripe which is never easy to mask and paint!

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IMG_2058

 

IMG_2059

 

It came out a bit to dark, but I think it is cause I painted over the gray and used Insignia red, I think I'm gonna change the red and will use white underneath

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Kinda looks like the black upper on the tail boom has some streaks in it. Maybe just the lighting and angle, etc.

 

Thnx for letting me know bro! It's been fixed! and I changed the shade of red to a brighter one

 

Now let's see some tail boom evolution pics

 

IMG_E2222

 

IMG_E2221

 

Then the wash

 

IMG_2294

 

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And decals cause I wanted to see the whole thing!

 

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Regarding the weathering for this particular Viper, I know it should be clean and well entertained beeing the "flag ship" but I wanted the used look! so I went with a "hard" wash to help that look!

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26 minutes ago, Sarathi S. said:

It's a Zulu.  It would get dirty no matter what.  Maybe not as dirty as a deployable aircraft since it is at the training squadron, but it would still get grimy.  Looking good.

 

You are right sir!!! that's why I tried to avoid going ape on the weathering! even though we all know I wanted to!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Its looking good. I love the preshading. I have a questions if i may.

Why is the painting of the red/black/gold stripe in stages and not in one piece with the fuselage, is it because of building sequence of the helo.? 

oliver

 

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While I dislike how 303 painted the bird, too over the top for me but hey if those Marines like it more power to them. However your build of the build is great.

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24 minutes ago, Tank said:

While I dislike how 303 painted the bird, too over the top for me but hey if those Marines like it more power to them. However your build of the build is great.

 

303 are... special.  Oh so special.

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21 hours ago, Whiskey said:

Ohhh wonderful base paint Kike! You must share your technique!

thnx Whiskey, my technique is simple, preshade with NATO black over the panel lines, then base paint, in this case 36375, applying fine layers built up from the center of the panel to the outer side, then the same color but with some drops of white to create that faded look of the paint in kind of a random pattern but keeping the pattern inside panels, adding if needed as I go! if you take a closer look at the pics you can see what I did, a bit of luck is needed if you ask me! lol!!! at least in my case!

 

Regards!

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1 hour ago, Rotorman said:

Its looking good. I love the preshading. I have a questions if i may.

Why is the painting of the red/black/gold stripe in stages and not in one piece with the fuselage, is it because of building sequence of the helo.? 

oliver

 

The stripe is separated where the tail boom meets the fuselage, actually there is no gold over the engines but only in front of them if you take a look at the following pic you'll see what I say

 

2608806

 

So at this stage it looks kinda weird, but if I join both pieces it starts looking a bit more sensed

 

IMG_2260

 

I hope that answers your question and I hope I haven't done something wrong without realizing it!

Edited by kike
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1 hour ago, Tank said:

While I dislike how 303 painted the bird, too over the top for me but hey if those Marines like it more power to them. However your build of the build is great.

Thnx bro! I dig colorful, over top schemes on models! I'm not good at giving life to gray paint jobs!

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42 minutes ago, Sarathi S. said:

 

303 are... special.  Oh so special.

Yes sir they are! I'm hopping to build the Venom too but still thinking about the options! I'm liking helos! and these two, must go together!

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I forgot to show you how the cockpit came out.

 

I painted most of it but I used decals suplied with the kit for screens and drops of future to give them some shine and deepness

 

IMG_2478

 

IMG_2427

 

I know the floor shuld've been gray but I noticed it when it was already late

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8 hours ago, kike said:

Thnx bro! I dig colorful, over top schemes on models! I'm not good at giving life to gray paint jobs!

 

I do like some color (H-34 cover, CO bird markings, v-22 tail) but historically speaking Marine rotor wing aviation had been very subdued blue, green, 3 tone NATO/sand and grey/greys. That is more of a fix wing side of the house thing and even then it’s mostly just the tail. The 224 tiger strip is lone exception that comes to mind. Take that back I think someone did a digicamo bird. In case I forget one or two either way in general very subdued. Something in the dna complies me to make a comment about what the 303 Marines did. You can enjoy your models however you choose. Keep up the good work.

 

I think your painting technique is very good and would add life if a bird was all grey. 

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