mgbooyv8 Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Hi all, I'm gonna build this one. It's the latest release of RoG of the ex-ITC Jet Ranger. They released it previously in the eighties with a horrible colour scheme and nice yellow decals. Now it comes with a beautiful colour scheme and very beautiful decals. Let's give it a try! Cheers, Peter dgassie, Francis and MikeC 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 I've glued and taped the fuselage bits together. This kit has a really horrid nose: it is too low and the windscreen is too deep. Even worse: the windscreen has a double curvature which is not present on the original. On the next picture, the kit is laid on an enlarged drawing from the Internet. I hope youll see what's wrong. So i don't think i can finish it from the box this way......and in 2 days. But of course it will not! It will go over to the other side in the new GB There I want to try a simple fix instead of making an entirely new nose. See you there!! Cheers, Peter KiwiZac 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Wow! Cool kit, I've never even SEEN this before. Can't wait to see how you customize the new nose onto it. Looks like a really nice helicopter kit. Good to see ROG is putting out some unique and cool new stuff these days. Their Piper Cub and LS-8 gliders kits I made were fantastic. You going to make this civilian or military? Good choice of subject! See ya over in the new GB when it starts! Russ P.S. I just gotta ask, Peter. I see your avatar is mgbooyV8. Did you put a V-8 in an MG-B? Asking, because I have a V-8 conversion myself. Porsche 914, with a mid-engined mounted 350 CI Chevy. 16" rims, Momo seats/steering wheel,and 5 point harness, re-engineered 4-speed trans-axle from a 930 Turbo, ect. Just curious ,as I know somebody who did an MG conversion and it's tough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allok Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I put one of these together in the early 90s. I didn't think it was a bad kit at the time, but now I see the issue at the front... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Hi Peter, great to see someone tackle this kit. I have this one in the stash and had stalled on building it because of those reasons you highlight. I am looking forward to seeing you progress on her Cheers Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 Hi Russ, I'll make a civilian version of it, using the kit decals in the current issue. The're really nice. Yes, you assumed correct, I have a MG with a V8 engine in it. After a private venture of Ken Costello, who shoehorned Rover 3500 V8 (the old buick engine design, you know) engines into the MG, the factory decided they should do it theirselves. Then the MGB GT V8 came on the market in 1973. As a reward to Ken Costello, he was denied further deliveries of new engines..... The factory made almost 2700 examples between 1973 and 1976. Mine is from fall 1973 and it's back on the road since 2001. Here it is on a track day. How did you shoehorned that V8 in your VoPo???? It's much bigger than a Porsche flat six or Veedub flat four. Hi Allock, That's a very good conversion to a Kiowa Warrior! Hi Anthony, I hope my simple correction results in a better nose witout too much fuss. Cheers, Peter BiggTim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Hi all, Back to business. First I sawed off the middle strut of the windscreen and the nose from the fuselage. Secondly, the windscreen halves were glued to the sawn off middle strut: Then, the S-curve in the bottom of the windscreen was sanded away. This will thin the bottom of the clear plastic and make a 'dent' in the bottom edge. This is not a problem, because the nose has to be increased in height a little bit. The result after fitting the parts is shown in the next picture. To be continued.... BiggTim and KiwiZac 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 A 2 mm high strip was glued on top of the nose to mark the location of the windscreen. Note that the latter was protected with tape. The profile of the nose was built up with plastic card. Well, time to do some sanding again! To be continued.... BiggTim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 The nose after sanding and filling with the well known compound of CA-glue and natrium bi-carbonate: And windscreen and nose combined to check the new corrected shape: to be continued... BiggTim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 And now the final check against the drawing... would it be O.K.? Well, the nose looks much better now than before. Maybe not 100% correct but acceptable to me! So this concludes the most essential correction required to this kit. But the story isn't over yet. More modifications need to be done to let the model look like D-HMOT, the subject of the decal sheet. It is a later version of the Jet Ranger than the one of the kit. But that's for the next episode! To be continued... Cheers, Peter KiwiZac and BiggTim 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Hi guys, The Jet Ranger kit depicts the first production version. Here are some crappy scans from a brochure from the sixties which I happen to have: Note the period beehives and mini skirts! The kit faithfully reproduces all the items...no, not the girls... ...to be continued... BiggTim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 ...While D-HMOT is a recent version. Here are pictures from the net: Well, obviously, there's some work involved.... - remove the skid fairings on the belly and make a slot for the rear crossmember - make new higher skids - add mesh on the engine covers - add wire cutters, belly landing light, antenna's etc. - modify the window sliders on the doors - add new instrument panel (inside picture of D-HMOT also on the net) Modification work has already started. Stay tuned! Cheers, Peter BiggTim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbooyv8 Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 Hi guys, Modification work has started on the belly of the kit. The fairings of the skids have to go and a slot has to be sawn in for the rear crossmember: The result is this: The slot in the belly is boxed in: And sanded smooth. Next is the new instrument panel. To be continued... Cheers, Peter KiwiZac 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Mike Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Interesting, straightforward mods, and such good results! I'm looking at this a whole new way, and enjoying seeing this one come together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Just fantastic! Your canopy mod has worked so well and the nose now looks excellent. Great to see you have made the mods to the belly too. Fantastic workmanship, I am really enjoying this Cheers Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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