Global Scale Modeller

Awesome as always twokids! I can't wait to see this finished!

Good work mate. Keep it up

Very nice so far
Looking forward to the completed diorama

The top of a Christmas light bulb. ... brilliant!
looks great so far!

Thanks for looking in guys
The tip of a Christmas light was out of desperation as other lights I found looked like an entire lighthouse on the top of the Huey. That was the only thing I could bring into scale
My intake mesh is inset instead of a flush panel, but it still looks better than original
Plastic fake mesh drives me nuts in real autos too.....my Mustang GT was so full of cheesy stuff like that
Scott

Sunday came and trashed me out again...Billy Joel
Working on tail rotor now. The kit rotor is HUGE and ungainly looking, will try to modify it.
Some reference photos


Some of these from the box of many tubes

Came up with this; Styrene plug, three metal tubes and a styrene end cap. Flattened and drilled to fit a pin I installed on the tail assembly. The pic is a little early on, I installed two ribs lengthwise and have rounded the end and end cap more. Sorry it is all taped up at the moment so no better photo

Comparing the kit's rotor to my made up one

Lots to smooth up and blend , but it is more slender on the bird
She is currently all masked up and in Tamiya white primer.....really shows up my ugly seam lines. No pictures of that, it is not pretty.
I hate to say it but I think this is going to be a hairy stick paint job...too cold outside for my unheated garage to airbrush
Cheers for now, Scott

Good stuff Scott, the only time I ever attempted scratch building was when I lost a landing gear strut on an Airfix 1/72 Mosquito and just decided to cut a bit of the sprue off and use that instead. Keep up the good work and I'm sure the seam lines aren't that bad

Thanks Leo
I tried using the kit rotor assembly, but it looked ridiculous. Watching some of the stuff others do on here, my fabrications are crude at best
oops I missed the test fit pic

I was looking at the calendar and realized I will be away skiing for Christmas and NewYears. I better get moving along soon on the actual dio
as I have never done one before

Damn nice work so far Scott. Your extras are making that kit shine.

Russ72 wrote:Damn nice work so far Scott. Your extras are making that kit shine.

Thank you Russ, that is very kind of you to say
I am just starting back into this after modelling as a kid, my skill set is no where near some on the web
There is an old saying about trying to polish a turd, or make a purse out of a pig's ear.....in this case it is more my skills that are suspect than the model kit itself
It is just fun modifying simple things a bit to hopefully make it look a bit better

Nice display of scratch building
I would be bothered if it isn't 100% correct after you made such a part
It is a huge improvement of the kit part already
Keep up the good work

MarkVerploeg wrote:Nice display of scratch building
I would be bothered if it isn't 100% correct after you made such a part
It is a huge improvement of the kit part already
Keep up the good work

Hey Mark, thanks for the kind words.
At the 1/72nd scale and my skill set, I am trying to get the gist of the object and improve on what the model kit provides with a bit of artistic license.
100% accurate, no way, I would go bonkers and take forever trying to do what some talented model builders can do
Just trying to get better and have fun using internet research pics as a guide

Twokidsnosleep wrote:

MarkVerploeg wrote:Nice display of scratch building
I would be bothered if it isn't 100% correct after you made such a part
It is a huge improvement of the kit part already
Keep up the good work

Hey Mark, thanks for the kind words.
At the 1/72nd scale and my skill set, I am trying to get the gist of the object and improve on what the model kit provides with a bit of artistic license.
100% accurate, no way, I would go bonkers and take forever trying to do what some talented model builders can do
Just trying to get better and have fun using internet research pics as a guide

The best way there is
It is a hobby after all and fun should the first thing on the to do list

Nice idea with the light bulb! I think I must steal it!

LudvigN wrote:Nice idea with the light bulb! I think I must steal it!

Absolutely, steal away
Be careful when cutting off the tip, the glass shatters like crazy. I used sharp metal shears and aimed for a container. Took me three tries to get one useful tip.

A Vietnam-GB would be incomplete without an UH1.
Great choice!!!!
By the way: Ours look very good

Dunhill2005 wrote:A Vietnam-GB would be incomplete without an UH1.
Great choice!!!!
By the way: Ours look very good

danke schön

Twokidsnosleep wrote:

Dunhill2005 wrote:A Vietnam-GB would be incomplete without an UH1.
Great choice!!!!
By the way: Ours look very good

danke schön

Gern geschehen!

Snuck in some Thursday night work, should have been carving pumpkins for Halloween
She is primed up and seams filled, still some sanding to do

I drilled out the foot steps on the rails to give it more detail....I think it looks kinda cool. I will paint those yellow
Also sunk a mini drill into my finger and then snapped it off

Put it on a dark base just for fun, my daughter's artwork

Still lots to go

Weekend Update #6

She is in paint and pretty much done, save some little touches, decals, clear coat and weathering
My goal was to finish the Huey build by October's end to give time for diorama work

I like the guy diving out the side, had to bend his arm with heat to make it look like he was holding his helmet on


For a $8.50 CAD kit, I am actually pretty impressed with Hasegawa
Lots of firsts on here for me, mostly learned from this website:
Windshields were acrylic dipped with floor acrylic Future or whatever it is called now
Vents opened up , main rotor details etc were scribed to give more realism and 3d to molded parts
Dilute flat black used as a highlight/weathering agent
Scratched around, sprue stretched and built some custom parts to improve detail...most proud of my glass light
Researched online and used photos and history behind what I was building to improve detail and realism, but not full accuracy
Next is to research diorama building, maybe a trip to the LHS....that is always dangerous on my wallet
Cheers and thanks for looking

Every time Scott! You did a better looking model than I did with my 40-50 dollar Italeri Huey! Great work on it, can't wait to see the dio!

Looking good there! Im looking forward on the dio-build!

Thanks to both Leo and Ludvig for checking up on me
I do appreciate the support , I will keep plugging away and aspire to what others are doing.
Not much at my LHS for the dio today other than some model clay and green base foliage. I was hoping for a book or something. Have to research myself on the web
I did find some engine oil weathering effect wash by AK paints, that will be cool for my auto builds
Proud of myself for not buying any kits...for a change

Monday rainy day off, avoiding all paperwork or anything work related
This is the rough out of the diorama.
Plywood rescued from shelves of my office demo, rock lying around that the kids brought indoors for some weird reason.





My research and inspiration board. If I get time I will make the Tamiya Huey and suspend it above.

I am planning a visit to a train-based hobby store to look for more dio stuff
Anyone know what 1/72nd translates into train scale lingo????

Looks like the beginnings of a cracking dio there scott! I think Hamilkar Barkas has a great tutorial on how to make a cheap dio if you need help! Can't wait to see how it turns out and I think having the Tamiya Huey suspended above could be a great little (or not so little addition ).
Keep it up!

Thanks Leo, glad I am not just talking to myself on here
I did see some of those videos in my dio research and thanks for suggesting, they were helpful.
Will see if the train hobby shop comes through with some ready-made trees and such so I can focus on building the second Huey gunship
Again, thanks for the support mate

Twokidsnosleep wrote:Thanks Leo, glad I am not just talking to myself on here
I did see some of those videos in my dio research and thanks for suggesting, they were helpful.
Will see if the train hobby shop comes through with some ready-made trees and such so I can focus on building the second Huey gunship
Again, thanks for the support mate

Yeah, I know that my hobby store even though it just doesn't sell trains (otherwise it wouldn't be my hobby store ) has premade trees in the train section, so I hope that can help you with that little nugget of info! I don't know if it is just my model store that does that but anyways, cheers and I hope you can get that other Huey done!

Suspending another uelcopter above would be and awesome idea
I hope you do it

Thanks for looking Brick
Ya I will probably break down and build the second Huey...just all about how the dio comes together over the weekend
In reality they would often fly a gunship in support of MedEvac when possible
I have a AH 1W Cobra chopper too but not sure if its Vietnam era use...it is a mean looking mother!

Quick google and sure enough was used late in Vietnam
"Operational history
United States

During the closing months of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War, the Marine Corps embarked the AH-1J SeaCobra assigned to HMA-369 (now HMLA-369) aboard Denver, Cleveland, and later Dubuque, for sea-based interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in North Vietnam in the vicinity of Hon La (Tiger) Island. These were termed Marine Hunter-Killer (MARHUK) Operations and lasted from June to December 1972.[6]"

I read a vietnam flight diary of sorts of a pilot who flew Chinooks, Huey's and lastly cobras. As the war was ending, he flew some missions in Cobras taking VP's into Cambodia to check on what the NVA was up to....amassing a huge invasion force to take over South Vietnam.

Really looking forward to this dio, but I wonder, what will you use as ground texture? I recently purchased a can of Vallejos "Desert sand" myself. What kind of texture are you planning?

LudvigN wrote:Really looking forward to this dio, but I wonder, what will you use as ground texture? I recently purchased a can of Vallejos "Desert sand" myself. What kind of texture are you planning?

So my thoughts are based from researching the photos of the valley and LZ x-ray I have taped up some here by my desk, especially that one above the Tamiya Huey

Depends what materials I find at the HS, but thinking sandy LZ area, low grassy greenish area in the middle and then taller grass and trees at the edge.
For the LZ x-ray, the Marines dropped right into the lowlands and the VC were up in the hills and behind trees i.e. the high ground
From the little white clay bricks, I have made a couple of sand bag bunkers already and trying to represent the command centre for the Marines...that didn't seem to really exist
We shall see what I come up with

Looks like its going to come together with that dio idea Scott! If you get enough time, you could even do the Tamiya Huey and a Cobra . Whatever you do, your ideas seem completely sound and that dio should let you get away with bloody murder . Can't wait to see it come together .

Thanks Leo, we shall see what I come up with
I have a 4 day weekend starting Saturday, so will try to sneak in my time then
Cheers

Twokidsnosleep wrote:Thanks Leo, we shall see what I come up with
I have a 4 day weekend starting Saturday, so will try to sneak in my time then
Cheers

Ahah, I just had a 4 day weekend go past! Shame I didn't have any models to start, so I just painted up a tiger moth

SyntaxModels wrote:

Twokidsnosleep wrote:Thanks Leo, we shall see what I come up with
I have a 4 day weekend starting Saturday, so will try to sneak in my time then
Cheers

Ahah, I just had a 4 day weekend go past! Shame I didn't have any models to start, so I just painted up a tiger moth

4 days away from work keeps me sane-ish
Found some great diorama technique videos. They were referenced from ISM "how to tips and tricks area".
Good stuff making trees and grass with wire and twine and ground cover with colored sawdust


I doubt I will find as good of ready-made stuff at the train HS and I have all the materials lying around sooo.....

Just catching up on your build Scott.

The work you put into the Huey is epic. Going to be a great diorama.

Thanks Will, appreciate it

In case you decide to build that Tamiya Huey. Its not really a Tamiya-mold. Tamiya made the awkward decision to rebox older Italeri kits, so dont expect Tamiya-quality fit

That goes for a whole bunch of Tamiya 1/72nd kits, check scalemates to find out the origin of the kit! there, rant over

LudvigN wrote:In case you decide to build that Tamiya Huey. Its not really a Tamiya-mold. Tamiya made the awkward decision to rebox older Italeri kits, so dont expect Tamiya-quality fit

That goes for a whole bunch of Tamiya 1/72nd kits, check scalemates to find out the origin of the kit! there, rant over

Oh crap, glad you mentioned that b/c I did think it would just fly together

Even though this 1:72 its a big project, I really like the flare, its a touch of brilliance, this is my second browse through and look forward to the next update
Tom

JayCub wrote:Even though this 1:72 its a big project, I really like the flare, its a touch of brilliance, this is my second browse through and look forward to the next update
Tom

Hey Tom, thanks for the kind words, very encouraging
Glad you stopped by and posted

Looking great mate! Waiting to see more updates of this huge dio taking shape

felisbarcinonensis wrote:Looking great mate! Waiting to see more updates of this huge dio taking shape

Thanks Felis, hopefully I can pull off the dio plan
In one of the videos I posted, the dude uses sawdust that he filters, colors and dries in a microwave
This allows you to custom shade, texture and size the dio's ground cover ....something I think I will try for sure this weekend

Well I have hit a wall with building the dio.
I just stopped and need to get away from it. It is looking fake and childlike in my eyes and I can't seem alter it without
I think it is a scale problem, as well as trying to get too much terrain and scenery into it
I will post some pics tomorrow, too pissed to do anymore right now

Twokidsnosleep wrote:Well I have hit a wall with building the dio.
I just stopped and need to get away from it. It is looking fake and childlike in my eyes and I can't seem alter it without
I think it is a scale problem, as well as trying to get too much terrain and scenery into it
I will post some pics tomorrow, too pissed to do anymore right now

Ah that sounds crap Scott, I'm sure you can rescue it! I mean look at the helicopter itself, that was a rubbish kit and you ploughed on through to make a masterpiece! Oh well, a break is sometimes nessecary from a build to bring back the mojo, I just hope you can get it done by the deadline

A night away and some thinking, I will move ahead with some alterations.
The dio is a loosely based on la Drang valley and LZ X-ray. It was an open field with grass and then tree line at the perimeters.
I made too much cover and got the area too busy. Here is it as of last evening

A small hill with the LZ is okish, but the rocks and stuff at the front are weak

I have torn out the rocks on the left and kept things more open, I made too much cover for them.
This painting is more what I am after now

Will work on some trees and grasses and keep the exposed front look. It still looks like a 5 yr old made it

Looks good to me Scott, I can't work in 1:72 I tried it and suck big time, keep the chin up and see where this takes you as its ambitious and a great way to learn and grow, a couble of my bases cracked and I bit my tongue and found ways around the problems.One thing I have noticed about modelers is we are our own worse critics
Tom

JayCub wrote:Looks good to me Scott, I can't work in 1:72 I tried it and suck big time, keep the chin up and see where this takes you as its ambitious and a great way to learn and grow, a couble of my bases cracked and I bit my tongue and found ways around the problems.One thing I have noticed about modelers is we are our own worse critics
Tom

Thanks Tom, kind words
I have said that to so many about how hard they are on themselves, but when it is your own work
I am going to muddle about a bit more, look at some photos and try again
Cheers for the comment

Looks like its coming along Scott, the dio does look a bit busy but with some of the cover removed it should be great!

Switched gears last night and today and started this gunship Huey.

I needed to get back into some building which is what I like to do apparently.
It went fairly fast with some mods to the interior, mainly manufacturing a pilot from a Pegasus Marine. He is a brick s*&t house and barely fits in the cockpit. Had to do a butt-ectomy to get him in the seat

Zipped along pretty quickly as the kit is very simple and similar to the last one.
Ludvig is dead right though, this is not a Tamiya fall together kit. I think the Hasegawa UH-1H has whatever this is beat for fit and finish....still it is not horrible.

I found our battery Dremel for Halloween pumpkin carving actually fits my micro bits, so used them to carve out the mesh areas and drill out the rocket ends. Used some brass tubing to renovate the front pop gun into a proper cannon


I did make it to the train HS and found some goodies for the dio. Now have to decide to totally start over, modify what I started or just toss it all in the bin. Gonna think on that while I finish #2 Huey.
No, it will come out ok, just have to figure how much to keep in and how much to take out. It looks like I have two Hueys so I guess it is gonna be pretty large and busy.....oh well
Cheers for looking