utley Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 (edited) Started about a week or so ago, getting this thing built pretty quickly but have a long way to go. So far, have Reskit 122gal fuel tanks and late pylons, Metallic Details Longbow radar dish, Quintas AH-64E large 3D decals, brass M230 rifle coming soon plus some other goodies I have forgot that I have ordered. However, this kit is so detailed, I might not even need them. Not sure how to make pictures display in this forum anymore, what code is used for that? Edited August 17, 2023 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 (edited) You don’t use a code. Use the direct link option. The end of the link should end with .jpg (or .bmp, or another supported file format). It looks like you used Image Link. You need to use Direct Link. Edited August 17, 2023 by Dave Williams Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 17, 2023 Author Share Posted August 17, 2023 Ok, I never seen those links before. Imgur used to be pretty user friendly, now I had to really dig to find those links. Ill try to get it fixed and see if that helps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 Doing more small parts; have the tail wheel done and tail rotor. Will clean them up at a later time before I start laying primer, but jesus thats a lot of detail! Working on the cockpit right now, so getting all of the small parts out of the way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 19, 2023 Author Share Posted August 19, 2023 (edited) Anyone looking at this model now, stuck on the instructions on the main rotor hub: the instructions do not do justice describing how this assembly goes together. These hubs have pins on the bottom, they physically mount to a ball joint on the hub on pg 23. What it doesnt show you are the following: The center piece has a groove around the diameter of the rotor shaft (swash plate?). In between that groove are 4 points that attach to the main hub that act like roller pins that control the pitch angle of the blades. Those points are mechanically linked to the individual rotor hub and are generally free floating. Pin lines up in the hole, which in turn lines up in the track. This plate gets installed before those pieces do, and the holes should be pointed outboard of the mast. One probably wouldnt understand how this thing actually goes together unless you sit for a while and try to hammer it out in your head. I didnt notice this after the fact, but I managed to salvage it barely. All in all, this hub on its own is over 30 pieces. If I do do another Apache, this will be the first thing I correct on my build. in the picture above, you can see the pin I refer to on the hub, bottom left piece. These instructions tell you to glue these pieces to the hub at the same time...but its pretty hard to do when all these pieces here arent glued together first, as you're holding 7 pieces together with some spit for the most part. Glue them together, but be quick about putting it on the hub immediately afterwards. And make sure you put the pin in the hole. also got the tail rotor put together. Edited August 20, 2023 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 20, 2023 Author Share Posted August 20, 2023 Cockpit almost complete, still doing some weathering and final touchups. Using Quinta Studios AH64E large cockpit set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncarina Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 Very nice! It’s the first time I’ve seen the Quinta seat upgrades. Cheers, Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 22, 2023 Author Share Posted August 22, 2023 Thanks, I think it went together well, but honestly wish Red Fox had a set instead. These are more like decals than actual pieces, but they work all the same. Had to be extremely careful with these when installing them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 Red Fox does have a set for the kit, but like all of their sets, they don’t include stuff for the seats or belts. Eduard does make some nice belts, though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 23, 2023 Author Share Posted August 23, 2023 (edited) Gun finished (sort of...) lots of parts that before final assembly I need to clean some of the flash off and some final adjustments and the gun isnt any different. Lots of small flash pieces that I can barely see, but they're there. Turned out way better than I had hoped it would. Also, a bit of a complaint: the kit is awesome and seriously detailed for what it is....the instructions are garbage. They're every bit as bad as the work instructions Im forced to use at work building fresh designed aircraft. This makes me want to quit the business. Edited August 23, 2023 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 23, 2023 Author Share Posted August 23, 2023 4 hours ago, Dave Williams said: Red Fox does have a set for the kit, but like all of their sets, they don’t include stuff for the seats or belts. Eduard does make some nice belts, though. I thought about it, yeah I think I got the quinta pieces mixed up with my Cobra build as they dont offer it for the academy zulu. I wanted the seats and belts, I have a hard enough time with the photo etch stuff and the vast majority of the seat belts in PE Ive tried to assemble were eaten by the carpet monster. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 Made some corrections and cleaned up the rotor hub. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncarina Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 Great work so far! Just a note about the cannon: the kit appears designed for it to be only in the flight position, not the at rest position where the tip is tilted slightly upward. Cheers, Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 Yeah Im going to be making small adjustments to it, the kit doesnt provide a place for that hydraulic cylinder to mate with the gun carriage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) I keep losing small pieces to the carpet monster. The details are awesome, but since the small stuff keeps flinging off at breakneck speeds off the sprue, I have to resort to getting some aftermarket M299 missile rails. Edited August 25, 2023 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 31, 2023 Author Share Posted August 31, 2023 (edited) little update: found a spare takom kit that Im going to use for spare parts, so when Im done Ill have an extra kit to part out if anyone needs one. Avionics bays attached, landing gear attached, some PE stuff installed as well. Sent a message to Res-kit about their M299 rails in the :35th scale about how their racks fwd section are bent downwards. You can see in the top pic above post how bent they are and every single missile rack they have are bent. Told me they will test print out a few new pieces and see if they can adjust the straightness of the piece since this is a fragile piece of the kit. Tried bending them with hot water, used a blow dryer to warm them up, sacrificed one of them to see if I can straighten them up...too fragile. They will send me some new ones in 2 weeks; meanwhile Im going to use the spare kit and piece together the stuff that was devoured by the carpet monster. The kit also seems to come with 3 types of AGM-114 Hellfire types: the K, L, and another that I can't identify. One of them doesnt seem to have a sensor on the nose, its about the size of the K and its obviously not an L. Curious if anyone can identify it. Edited August 31, 2023 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted August 31, 2023 Author Share Posted August 31, 2023 I am also in a hold up with trying to identify this primer color. Anyone have any idea what primer is they use on these? We dont have this flavor in the MQ25 aircraft, we still use the zinc chromates and dark green flavored primers. This is the new MIL-SPC environmentally friendly primer but I cant find any references on how to mix a jar up or anything. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted September 1, 2023 Share Posted September 1, 2023 Just discovered this build. Nice work! I'm doing a similar build over on LSP and on the Apache modeler's FB page. I'll be following closely. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted September 1, 2023 Author Share Posted September 1, 2023 Dry fitting the fuselage and cockpit. So far looking like a really good fit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted September 2, 2023 Author Share Posted September 2, 2023 went to Home Depot to get me a can of paint mixed up. Thinking its really close, so Im going to use it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted September 2, 2023 Author Share Posted September 2, 2023 (edited) Also, a bit of a warning... the belly tub, pg 8. Installed when the fuselage halves are connected. Do this before you install the avionics bays and landing gear. You'll wind up having to do a bunch of hair pulling trying to figure out how to put it in. It has alignment tabs that slip OVER the fuselage, which helps the fuselage retain its shape. You do it when I did, you'll have to fight the whole process of putting the cockpit and rotor mast in place and it will be a SONOFABI*** to fix. I have it fixed now, but I still have to prime some areas inside it...and now I have to decide whether or not its worth doing now. Edited September 2, 2023 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 started detailing the engine today. Will probably just close these bays or try to make them pose-able but Ill cross that bridge when I get there. Until then, going to be detailing these for a bit. Cant find much to go off of with T-901 engines; I see some painted gray, others just bare metal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share Posted September 5, 2023 Little bit of reference for ppl: on page 6, working the canopy, it calls out a couple of photo etch parts to be placed on the roof. In the kit, there exists this 18gauge wire as well. I had no idea what it was for and its sure isnt called out in the instructions...BUT... you can thank me later. Ill debate whether or not to install this as its probably a bit past my skillset, but I might just give it a shot anyways. The instructions state the wire holds these things in place, but really they are attached to brackets on the windows. TPB24 and TPB25 should be attached to the hatches and TPB26 on the fwd windscreen from the looks of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share Posted September 5, 2023 (edited) Also just found an issue with my model: the armored glass separating the CP/G and pilot stations is off by quite a lot. Its bad. The canopy or doors will not sit in place at all, it would just bow out. Everything aligns in the model where they're supposed to be at except the armored glass and the door frame here marked in blue. Between the two lines is where its supposed to be located; as you can see its too far forward. The cockpit is sitting smack dab right where its supposed to be and the pilot station combing is where its supposed to be. Ill pull the spare kit out and see if its any different, but something tells me its going to be the same. I am cheesed....... Edit: the main gear strut located just under the door frame is exactly .100" aft from the center of the hole to the front end of the door frame. It is identical to the spare parts model I have in the back, so I know 100% certain the cockpit is aligned perfectly. According to all the references I have seen comparing the model to the real deal, the door frame starts just aft of the upper radius of the strut fairing. Its exactly where its supposed to be, so Im thinking the doors and cockpit glass are all out of spec. All in all, The doors should fit, but they dont. Edited September 5, 2023 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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