kike Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) I started this build almost a year ago, and I'm way into the build, but decided to post some in progress pics in case someone would find them useful or entertained. This is gonna be my third try at helos and even if I'm not looking for a 100% accurate bird, at least I´d like it to have the general shape and looks of one of the Hawks back there in Somalia, this project will be OOB plus Werner's Wings decals. This build is taking a long time to finish cause at a certain point I ran out of references and/or skills to do it right, Gino's build has helped a lot as long as all his knowledge, Tim´s input has been great too, Charlie´s build and Floyd Werner's help, has made this journey a bit easier. I cut the kit in various assemblies and this is some of the things I've done along the way The tires have no thread so I tried to scrive it, only to realize I wasn't doing a good job, so I decided to paint the threads and from where I see them, they look good enough. rear rotor ready to install, and maybe waitting for more weathering later on Front IP and center console, painted and detailed with brush, the front IP is painted and only used the dials of the decal to avoid any kind of trouble with decals conforming over all that detail, Amo boxes. The big one was very hard to do since I had never seen one. H pilar with crane control detail Seats ready, damn I hate photoetched parts! I just can't make it to work Roof and floor before assembly, since i really suck at PE I'm toying with the idea of using the Academy tank and calling it done! might give it another try tho and one interior shot to see how things look Edited July 2, 2021 by kike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 Coming along nicely. A note on the tanks, the only one that carried them in Somalia in '93 was Super 63, the C&C bird, and none had the refueling boom. The rest left out the tanks for more internal space. Also, the large 20mm ammo box was not used then. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted July 2, 2021 Author Share Posted July 2, 2021 11 minutes ago, HeavyArty said: Coming along nicely. A note on the tanks, the only one that carried them in Somalia in '93 was Super 63, the C&C bird, and none had the refueling boom. The rest left out the tanks for more internal space. Also, the large 20mm ammo box was not used then. Oh yes I forgot to tell you that I'm basing my build on the looks she has at the museum she's sitting now or more like a mix between the time of Somalia and her last days! I really like how they look! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 8 hours ago, kike said: I'm basing my build on the looks she has at the museum she's sitting now Ah, that makes sense now. With that in mind, it is looking great. Keep it up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Floyd S. Werner, Jr. Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 That is beautiful work. Love it all Floyd Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkwrench Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 It looks awesome so far. What brand and color green did you use for the ceiling and sidewall? Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 12 hours ago, Floyd S. Werner, Jr. said: That is beautiful work. Love it all Floyd Glad you like it! and again, thnx for that awesome set of decals!! 2 hours ago, hawkwrench said: It looks awesome so far. What brand and color green did you use for the ceiling and sidewall? Tim I used Olive Drab and olive drab tone down with light ghost gray for lights and faded look Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Top notch modeling going on here. Beautiful interior Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted July 4, 2021 Author Share Posted July 4, 2021 19 hours ago, Rotorman said: Top notch modeling going on here. Beautiful interior Glad you like it Oliver! my painting tries to emulate yours, even tho I get a thousand miles short, I´ve learnt from you never to paint a solid color and so far it's been working fine! still a lot to improve but I guess I'm on the right track! Thank you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 56 minutes ago, kike said: Glad you like it Oliver! my painting tries to emulate yours, even tho I get a thousand miles short, I´ve learnt from you never to paint a solid color and so far it's been working fine! still a lot to improve but I guess I'm on the right track! Thank you My friend, you are on the right track. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted July 4, 2021 Author Share Posted July 4, 2021 More sub-asemblies Nose cowling with just paint and dry brushed This is just a test for the paint to come, I've never worked a whole black model, the only thing I know is that the few parts I painted black have always been hard for me! The seat texture was made this time with the same jeans tag but this time damped in thinner and then pressed against the plastic, and I think iworked as fine but faster! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Add flat blue to black to give it more shadowing effects. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 2 hours ago, kike said: More sub-asemblies Nose cowling with just paint and dry brushed This is just a test for the paint to come, I've never worked a whole black model, the only thing I know is that the few parts I painted black have always been hard for me! The seat texture was made this time with the same jeans tag but this time damped in thinner and then pressed against the plastic, and I think iworked as fine but faster! Reverse your modulation on your seat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zerosystem Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 I love the finishing you're doing. It really has the authentic look on the stabilizers and rotor head. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted July 9, 2021 Author Share Posted July 9, 2021 On 7/3/2021 at 10:47 PM, Rotorman said: Reverse your modulation on your seat. Got it! will do! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted July 9, 2021 Author Share Posted July 9, 2021 Since most of the interior is done, fuselage halves closure was next step. Beeing this a big kit a lot of dry fitting was necessary and a lot of problems were found, those needed to be addressed in order to get a nice fit and/or at least get the halves to touch each other. All the locating tabs had to be reworked in order to fit the way the were supossed to. I sanded a bit of the floor's sides and finally got a decent fit all over. the joint will need some make up work but I'm happy with the result Warpage worried me a bit, but I satrted glueing from the back and had zero problems at the end. As you can see, the joints are not perfect but no plastic strips were needed. Interior fitting was also quite good, even for me! Oppeinheimer pointed me out, the starboard sponsoon needed to be modified and decided to give it a shot, I tried to replicate his awesome scratched mod, and even if it wasn't as good it was good enough for me! And last, I worked on walkways, didn't imagine how hard it was to make them black over a black helo and make them stand out! this is the best I could do, and I like it. Regards. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 This is so nice looking. I really like it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jpk Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Unbuildable Kitty Hawk. LOL. Looking fantastic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bravosierra001 Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 That is looking awesome so far. I broke down and bought a couple of these kits... So you build has been very educational for me. Especially your painting techniques. Black is not the easiest thing to paint. I am going to start on a AH-6J so that I can get practiced up. Brandon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted July 10, 2021 Author Share Posted July 10, 2021 13 hours ago, jpk said: Unbuildable Kitty Hawk. LOL. Looking fantastic. Believe me, if I can do a decent job with this kit, anyone can! I wouln't call it unbuildable, it just needs a bit of work and lots of dry fitting. Actually this is one of the best kits I've had! I built the Venom and the Zulu and they were also awesome kits, those are the only ones I can speak of. As I said, if I can make them look decent, just imagine them in the hands of the real good modelers!!! So for unbuildable kits I guess they do ok! Glad you like my work! 7 hours ago, Bravosierra001 said: That is looking awesome so far. I broke down and bought a couple of these kits... So you build has been very educational for me. Especially your painting techniques. Black is not the easiest thing to paint. I am going to start on a AH-6J so that I can get practiced up. Brandon I wouldn't be able to explain my "technique" when it comes to painting, I start with a base and move from there, black is the hardest color I've worked with that's for sure, and I was trying really hard no to get a toy like look! I hope I won't at the end!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted November 20, 2021 Author Share Posted November 20, 2021 Adding some paint to the Hawk, as said before, really hard (for me) "color" to work with and givi it a non toy look!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arnobiz Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 Stunning, and not a bit toy-like 👍 Arnaud Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted November 26, 2021 Author Share Posted November 26, 2021 (edited) I painted most of the fuselage trying to imitate touch-ups and as many as possible tonal variation to give it a bit of depth to the paint job Hope you like it! Edited November 26, 2021 by kike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 One hell of a paint job. Wow, this rocks. I dig it. It looks like the real thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted November 27, 2021 Author Share Posted November 27, 2021 Everything was great until I layed the gloss cote down, most of the paint detail fade away or is barely visible, not bad but not the way it was, so I carried on. I used Werner´s Wings "operation Irene? decal sheet, and let me tell you they are great, top notch quality! I strongly recommend Floyd's decals!!! Still a long way to go, but the ride has been really nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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