Dragon 1/35 AH-6J 'Little BLACK Bird'

[Hinksy]

Andy - there is just no stopping you.

Epic build work - again! Love that cockpit!

Btw - what Stuka were you looking at? I can imagine 1/48 would be pretty big and more than enough?

Ben

[bullardino]

What a fine cockpit, Andy It looks great, and with such big windows, it'll be easily seen

[deafpanzer]

Guys- Sorry for being slow. Mr Mom day two... two more days to go... the wife is with her mother for almost four days. Of course she needs a break from two boys and me... maybe I should have said THREE boys.

Tobias- Thanks buddy!

Dicky- Thanks mate... but don't kill me... I think I will add more dirt. LOL Picture this... no doors... in middle of desert... rotors blowing sand every where!!! Make sense?

Bill- Thanks Tex... since I have very dirty mind, I am going to add more dirt. LOL Stay posted...

Sam- Hey buddy! Appreciate you tagging along... glad you like it so far.

Ben- Believe it or not I am tempted to go for 1/32... I try to build everything at 1/35 only so 1/32 is close enough, huh? Glad you like the cockpit... it looks a lot better now.

Luigi- Hey friend... thanks! Glad you like it... that's why I want it to be perfect since it will be very visible unlike my previous build Huey. With no doors and huge window you can not hide anything even an issue of Playboy stashed under the seat!!!

[bbd468]

Hey Andy, Nice work there buddy. Your slowly but surely comin' along...keep it up my brotha!

Gary

[Deleted]

Office is suitably dirty for my mind  Bring on the fuse 


Stuka in 1/32 mmmm nice... The Airfix 1/24 is a real gem too
 

[multicam]

Sad to see the trouble with the Miniguns, but they turned out great in the end! That Blackhawk looks like fun:) I've always daydreamed of doing a Mogadishu/Black Hawk Down diorama with a little bird and the D-boys on the roof and a BH or two with fast ropers on the corners;) Kind of ambitious, however:). The interior looks lived in and spot on, mate!

[panzerjager.]

I got a question for Admin and/or moderators: it's licit to post pics of an actual Little bird cockpit and then write: "Hey guys, this is my 1/35 scale model..." etc. etc.?

OK, just kidding; Andy, I can't believe how great is that cockpit! Very Well done, Sir!

Darío

[Deleted]

Back at it and doing another superb build i see .
That cup from Florida caught my eye ...................

[deafpanzer]

Guys- Thanks... sorry about the slow response. Had a friend over last night... remember the wife was "out of town". We played the board game Allies & Axis all night til 3:30am. Now I am a walking zombie...

Gary- Thanks brother... I have three weeks to finish it. I better get busy!

Steve- Thanks man! Fuse is next... had it primed black inside yesterday so it is ready now. 1/24?!!?!?! Are you ferkin' kidding me? They do have one... it would be awesome but my wife will really leave me if I get one. Space running out fast in my man cave that I need more room... LOLOL

Dicky- Thanks mate! Knew you like dirty stuff too.

Nate- Hey! That BlackHawk Down scheme would be awesome! That was my original plan but I only have 6-7 weeks to finish so I will have to try that another time. Almost brought couple of Delta force figures from Evolution Miniatures as they looked great. Cobra Company sells a plank set but only for one side not both sides. Maybe you should try that and it will be my pleasure to help you hunt for the kit at the show later this month.

Dario- LOL You had me scared for a second... no kidding! Glad you like the 'pit too. Thanks for the scare!

Carl- Figured you will like the shot glass. A gift from a buddy who knows I love those stuff... More to come... thanks buddy!

[Leon]

Andy fine job on the office.It really look lived in

[modelfreak72]

Well that is a mighty handsome office for an armor guy!

[fightnjoe]

andy figured you would have this done by now the way you started. looks dang good in the pit.



joe

[Tobi]

Yep, I agree! It's simply like that.

Personally, after an quick overview, I also start examination at the front of the model and then steadily make my way towards the rear.

Next time you have to soften the plastic give it a try and take a soldering iron. Longer task but much more control than a candle! Works also good locally on resin parts.

[Tobi]

Mar 3, 2013 3:38:44 GMT -5 Tobi said:

Yep, I agree! It's simply like that.

Personally, after an quick overview, I also start examination at the front of the model and then steadily make my way towards the rear.

Next time you have to soften the plastic give it a try and take a soldering iron. Longer task but much more control than a candle! Works also good locally on resin parts.

Damn, should have quoted, now the first part is pretty senseless. Still learning...

[Mence]

Yep DP, think that really helps, good one!

[deafpanzer]

Leon- Thanks buddy... that was my goal. But it still needs more dirt.

MF- LOL! Flying armor you can say perhaps? Appreciate it... thanks!

Joe- I wish I have the speed... three weeks left til the show. LOL Thanks!

Tobi- Thanks for the tip about the soldering iron! Believe it or not I still don't have one but its one of my goals for this year is to learn about soldering. Nice avatar by the way!!!

Mence- Thanks mate! Cheers!

Worked on the little bird last night and this morning... it is starting to look like a helicopter now as the fuselage havles have been glued together. Will post an update later today...

[spud]

very nice Andy,

[deafpanzer]

Spud- Thanks my friend!

Guys- Update on the little birdie... fuselage halves have been attached. There was fitting issues as expected. Started in the rear gluing the halves together moving to the front then do the final gluing at the bottom. Lots of white putty and sanding... now it is starting to look like a helicopter.





I am very positive that I will need to add more putty but first I will spray a coat of primer and see better where more work is needed. I am glad the top of fuselage had better fitting than the bottom...



My first attempt... hope you guys can help me out. Sanded the bubble canopy with finest sand to remove some scratches. Unfortunately it broke off the sprue when I bought the kit so theres two minor damages at the top. After dipping into a bowl of Future (Pledge), it is being dried inside a bin...



Looks pretty good already... will allow it to dry for more than 24 hours.



Now here's question for you wingy & rotory experts... do you dip the canopy into Future few times or just once?

Thanks for looking my friends!

[406 Silverado]

office really looks good Andy. The glass job sure does look shiny.

[deafpanzer]

Thanks boss! I recall you love shiny stuff in the sky... anything to make you happy.

[Deleted]

Hi Andy,

I started on of these a couple of years ago, with the intention of putting some delta boys on the sides.

I screwed the canopy up by putting some scratches on it and that was that.

This looks way cool, I thought you dipped the glass a couple of times but i'd wait for a pro to give you the heads up.

mack

[deafpanzer]

Thanks Mack! That was my original plan... but with limited time I had to drop this plan and build it OOB so it will be done in time for the model show on March 23rd hopefully. I still want to build that Little Bird with delta boys one day so I will not hesitate to buy another kit if I see one.

Appreciate you stopping by!

[wbill76]

I imagine a single dip would be sufficient, you don't want to build up a too-thick layer of the future as that will cause issues later on in time in terms of painting/detailing the framework. Nice work on the fuselage Andy, making good time...only 20 days to the deadline!

[venom1]

Hi Andy,

I find that one dip is sufficient for any canopy. That is of course contingent on the previous polishing effort. If I have a canopy with scratches or other marks, I will usually polish it with varying degrees of sandpaper (the starting grit varies depending on the severity of the original blemishes), right through to 12000 grit.

Following that, I will polish with Tamiya Polishing Compound. This will leave it with a slightly dull sheen, but all the scratches and blemishes should be pretty much gone. I am not too fussed if there are any very fine marks or scratches as these will be filled by the Future.

The last stage is to dip the canopy and place it on a lint free cloth (to wick away any excess Future that may pool) under a cover of some sort to protect from dust. You should be left with a very shiny, blemish free canopy!!

I concur with wbill76, you don't want to build the Future up too thick, as you will have problems with loss of definition with the canopy framing, which will make it harder to mask and paint later on. One dip should indeed be enough.

Hope that helps, and nice work so far!!

Cheers,

Sam

[deafpanzer]

Bill- Makes sense... it looks pretty good already so I'd hate to ruin it if I add too much. Thanks buddy! 19 days now... Jeez! I better get busy... had too much fun tonight, you will find out in a second.

Sam- Thanks for the great tip about sandpapers. I don't have those VERY FINE sandpapers... only the set from Squadron and one is very smooth and soft which I used last on the canopy. Appreciate you tagging along... I still have so much to learn about building those rotary and wing kits.

Next I will add Tamiya masking tape to the canopy and I hope it will not rip the coat of Future off when I am done.

Guys- Not much update tonight but I had a PERFECT excuse. I had the rare opportunity to actually handle and fondle an authentic WWII German Luger pistol.



It was in very good condition even the holster too.



My brother-in-law's good friend wants to sell it. God, I can not afford it at this moment...

Back to the little bird. It has legs now. And a tail too. And added good number of PE to it...



It had another fitting issue and huge gap on its arse which I had to fix...



I did one more thing to the cockpit before the fuselage was attached but it was not worth my effort. Used upgrade set that came with Edurad set...



But you can barely see the result. Lesson learned... I should have painted the circles white so I can see them better. There's always next time...



More to come... thanks for looking!

[Deleted]

Andy,some nice work on this little birdie,mate. Re the canopy question,..If I have any issues with scratches,I use the MicroMesh cloths,from coarse to fine as you can get.Then instead of using the Tammy compound,I use toothpaste,and a kitchen roll,then rinse under a tap and let dry.Then I might use Future/Pledge,as Sam and the others have suggested.On a large glass area like that,it's more than worth the effort.
Edit.....found this for ya to have a look at Andy....other stockists are available..

www.sylmasta.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Micro_Mesh_Abrasives_1.html

CeeBee

[Leon]

Andy little bird is looking awesome.

[`Boots`]

Hey Andy...........great job on this little bird fella , the office looks the business ............now you`ve dipped the canopy handle it as little as poss...........the heat from ya fingers can easily leave a print mark without you realising it.........don`t wanna do that now do we

[deafpanzer]

Dicky- LOLOLOL Figured you'd enjoy the pictures I posted. Thanks for the chuckle! Mission to buy that toy has been aborted officially. The wife will not even let me make a withdrawal out of our 401k savings. Guess she knows what's best for the family...

Chris- You have been so helpful! That's something I need to add to my wish list at upcoming model shows especially if I am going to build a rotary or wingy kits later on.
Thank you very much!

Leon- Thanks my man!

Boots- Appreciate the tip... thanks mate! I haven't touched the dipped canopy since the night it was dipped. If I do, I will only touch the edges where it will be glued. I am going to add Tamiya masking tape on it tonight first before I can have it glued to the fuselage.

Guys- A package has arrived... from Cobra Company. They sell great upgrade sets for rotory kits.



Remember the idiots at Dragon didn't include decal set so I had to order this set. Six bucks. And I had to buy the whole upgrade set just to get those cool ammo belt made of rubber... four of them! Cobra Company doesn't sell those ammo belts individually unfortunately... suggested the owner that he should so anybody can buy them for any builds not just rotory kits. $18 for the set... I will end up with two extra ammo belt for my future rotory build.

Snowing like crazy right now so more likely no school and work from home tomorrow... more bench time!

[Leon]

Andy cool upgrades.Sure wish we would get some snow.