Durangokid

So I have a problem, always got to be something! Here is the initial coat of paint. You can see the top part is too light...And that is because the color call out in the instructions is wrong. It calls for 36320 when it should be 35237. No big deal as I just repainted it with MR. Color 25237. It's a bit difficult to see in this photo but it's definitely darker than 36320. For the lower part I used MRP 36375 which seems a tad dark but not by much. Here is where the problem comes in. After I attached the black decals I started with the stencils and they aren't even close the the correct color. This is such a disappointment Here is my Kitty Hawk kit with Werner's Wings decal for comparison. I posted this in the LSP Discussion so everyone can have a heads up. I have Dave Roof's decals on preorder so I'm stuck until then. So much for the quick build!

Thanks Brian! Here is where the exhaust goes. Not sure how I'm going to bend it, I may just angle it so it looks curved.

Just wanted to give everyone who is going to build this a heads up that the stencil decals for the main body appear to be too light. I used MPP 36375 as the instructions call for and it's not even close, the decals are lighter than the paint! The MPR color could be a tad dark but really that's not the issue, the decals are either the wrong color, too opaque or a combination of both. Also note that according to Dave Roof the top paint color call out is wrong and should be 35237. That is what I used on mine since 36320 wasn't even close and I remember it was the color I used on my KH AH-1Z. This is a real bummer, not really sure where to go from here. I do have Dave's Zulu decals on preorder so I'll probably wait until then. I think he said he was including enough stencils for two birds so that will really help... You guys might want to use that option too. Here is how it looks... Here is how they look on the Kitty Hawk... Note: These are Werner's Wings decals The kit is fantastic but the decals SUCK! Bryan

Thanks for the comments fellas... Here are the little things. Nothing really fancy about this post but it may be helpful for some who plan on building the kit in the future. So I wouldn't say there is a lot of ejector marks but there are a few that need to be dealt with. Besides the intakes there are a few on the cockpit side walls. This goes for both sides... The intakes need some work. I wish I had better shots of this but it's difficult to photograph The instructions indicate to glue the intakes and engine bay doors on after the fuselage is together but it would be very difficult to fix the intakes that way. That and it's easier to get everything lined up before hand. After everything was glued and dried, I sanded the raised attachment points and used sufacer to fill the gaps. I use thinner and a q-tip to remove the surfacer but still needed a bit of sanding afterward. I painted the engine face with Mr. metal color Iron and Zinc Chromate #351. I really like the buffable Mr. Color metal paints. It's fairly basic but it doesn't look too bad once it's all done... I also added most of the PE stuff before putting the fuselage together, it's just easier to manipulate everything that way. The PE is a really nice touch and really makes a difference, not to mention it all fit well. One thing I didn't like was there wasn't a lot of attachment points one some of the panels, mainly on the engine bay doors and the exhaust. I'm not sure why they did it this way since they are not meant to be displayed open. The saving grace is the fit is fantastic which saves the raised detail from sanding. Before gluing the bay door, I added an attachment point which probably wasn't necessary but helped strengthen in join. I also sanded the little vent... Also did the same for the exhaust... Forgot to mention I thinned out this little vent too... I wanted to attach the ball after the fuselage was completely done so it would easier to paint. The only way I could come up with was to shave down the mounting pins so the ball would easily slid in. I had to shave the pins down a lot to make this work but after some test fitting it slides right in. The fit really tight here so I sanded down the post a bit. I wanted to be able to move the rotor blades without the risk of breaking the assembly. I learned this after breaking the assembly on my 1/48 KH AH-1Z. Don't forget the nose weight! It says 3g of ballast so I'm assuming they mean 3 grams. A penny weighs 2.5 grams so I used 2 of them to be safe. I can tell you it will definitely be a tail sitter if you don't add the weight. I'm hoping I put enough! The exhaust doesn't really look great so a metal tube does the trick. This is part of the little things that can really make a difference in my humble opinion... The gun is a bit lacking but you really only see the barrels for the most part. The barrels are hollow at the tip but I drilled them out a bit more. Very nice detail on the wings! They give you a choice for the tie downs to be shown in the up or down position. This will come in handy when I build my next one displayed on a ship. And finally everything all buttoned up... Everything came together perfectly and I only had to use filler in a few spots, I was really impressed with the fit! The instructions have you install this PE vent before gluing the fuselage but I found it easier to do afterward. I know these are boring updates but I'm hoping it will help others who want to build this kit. Not that most will need any help since this is a straight forward build and the fit is exceptional. Thanks for looking in! Bryan

That just looks so cool!

Fit and finish looks great and the weathering really sets it apart... Great job! Bryan

That IP is unreal!

8 hours of modeling outside in great weather? That's the stuff we dream about! I can't wait to see this one done, especially in this scheme. How do the Model Master static dischargers look? I was going to make them for my A version but it would be easier to use aftermarket if they look good. Glad to see you are back at it... Bryan

I'm not a big helicopter builder but I've always loved the AH-1 ever since I watched them fly overhead and knock the sheet out of 'targets'. It was a sight to see to say the least. Iv'e never seen the newest version up close but it looks like a killer to me. I have a rule that for every new kit I finish, I have to pull one off the shelf of doom and finish it before I start another. I have been doing fairly good with that rule until Academy came out with the AH-1Z, damn you Academy haha. After opening the box, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist starting it. It really is one of Academy's best kits. The exterior detail is just amazing! With that said, it's not perfect. The cockpit is very basic and not all that accurate, they didn't even include seat belts. What's up with that? The canopy is very close to the real thing but the top part is flat when it should be a bit rounded. The clear parts themselves are crystal clear either. The kit is very basic when it comes to things like open panels and not having engines. Some will like this and it seems to be a way of saving money, this kit is fairly inexpensive after all. I had planned on going all out on this build but I couldn't find enough detailed cockpit photos to scratch the details, plus there isn't a lot of aftermarket stuff available. I know I'll be building more than one of these in the future so I decided to build this one OOB and build another after hopefully more aftermarket becomes available, specifically a cockpit. I'm already at the paint stage but I haven't had the time to post a build thread. I'll try to go through the issues I had along the way so it will hopefully help others with their build. I have to say that so far there hasn't been a lot of problems to deal with. The fit is first class and even rivals Tamiya's latest stuff. There are a lot of kit photos on the internet but I'll drop a few to show just how nice it really is. Slide molding, how nice is that! Here is the Pit, not great but not bad either. They did a good job with the IP's and they really stand out. This first thing I noticed was it didn't have full intakes. Turns out not to be a problem with the way it angles back to the engine face. It's hard to explain how it works but it's not an issue at all once it's all built up, even the big panel line you see here isn't visible. On the other hand, the ejector marks are a different story... These need filled too... The cockpit fit is really good, this is the only place I used putty. Only the bottom part is visible once everything is put together. Black cockpits are difficult for me. I tried to break up all the black using different shades and dry brushing. The pit reminds me of the Trumpeter Intruder pit, neither are very detailed and accurate but look pretty good after they are painted up. I think it came out ok but it's still a lot of black! I think the pit floor is supposed to be grey but I had already finished it before I found out. This kit includes green decals for the touch screens but every photo I've seen they have a purple tint to them. I was going to use clear film for these but I had to remind myself that this was supposed to be a quick build! I just painted them dark purple... Here is my attempted at making the belts, not great but will do the job. Cheesy, I know. I used lead sheet for the belts and some old buckles from the Tamiya F-16. I made the bottom buckle based on a very grainy photo I found. I still can't get over how these weren't included especially when there was a really nice PE set that came with the kit... I'll post more soon, thanks for looking! Bryan

I keep forgetting to check out the group build section and then I end up missing out on great builds like yours. Really nice work all around and I really like seeing markings done with the Silhouette. You might have mentioned it but are you using a draw program to make the designs? I find the trace feature works well on larger stuff but I haven't been able to get the small details down with it. I'm thinking I need to invest in a draw program for this. Bryan

Right on! I love the Academy Hornet. That pit looks fantastic, what a great start! Bryan

Wow, that really came out nice! Bryan

Great project! And you are doing a fantastic job... Bryan

I think it costs a lot more money to do something like that. If you want to try Image shack I can walk you through it. It's been easy for me to use.

Wow that looks great! You're not kidding about the rigging, what kind did you use? I just bought a WNW kit and I'm a bit worried about the rigging since I haven't done anything like that before. Bryan

Yikes! That is amazing! Great job all around and I really like the weathering, just right IMHO... Bryan

Thanks for the heads up! I've never really been into the WWI planes but after watching guys build these amazing models, I stated getting interested. This was a great deal so it took the plunge and can't wait to see it. I got the Dolphin too... Bryan

It's difficult to tell since the directions are only in Japanese. I rubbed it on with the cloth it came using only a few drops then buffed it off with the same. I would describe it as more of a wax like substance that looks like skim milk. The canopy had some minor fogging and scratches even after using Tamiya's polishing compounds. After using the polymer stuff all of that was gone. I would say it's at least good for using at the very end of the build when all the painting is done. I always seem to have some residual stuff on my canopies after removing masking tape, hopefully this will help with that. I wish I could photograph the difference better since the photos don't really do it justice. Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Bryan

Do you have a host website for your photos like Image Shack or Imgur? Those are the two off the top of my head but there are several others. I use Image Shack although they charge me a couple bucks a month but I like it because it is so simple to use. I think there are some free hosting sites too. Once you have a hosting site, it's fairly easy to load pics on the forum. Let us know if you need more help... Bryan

Really nice work on the gear! The subtle chipping really sets them apart along with the fantastic weathering. Bryan

That is a good question and one I had not thought of. I'll have to give it a try on a spare canopy and see how it does. I originally dipped the canopy but all the future came off after stripping the tape.

Damn Pete, just when I thought you can't get any better! Are you going to do a build thread for the helo cause that would be really nice to see for us regular peeps. Bryan

I found this stuff that is amazing for finishing polish for clear parts. My usual routine is to sand the canopy with 3200 grit progressing to 12000 grit, polish them with 3 Tamiya compounds and then dip them in future. I had a mini disaster in my last build where the tape fused itself to the canopy even though I allowed the future to dry for months. I was able to remove the tape and re-polish the canopy but I wasn't totally happy with it. I've had this Mr polymer coating forever but I've never used it because the directions aren't in english, plus I've been happy with my results. I figured I would give it a try on this canopy and I am really impressed to say the least. It came out so nice that I don't think I will need to use future again. Anyway, I thought I would pass this along and hopefully it will help the fellas with their canopies too. Damaged canopy Here it is after polishing but without Mr Polymer coating. Not bad but not as nice as it was before the tape incident. It's difficult to photograph so the pictures really don't do it justice. Here it is after polishing... Here is what the bottle looks like It was easy to use and comes with a polishing cloth. I just used a few drops to lightly rub on the canopy before polishing it off with the cloth. I think this stuff is for polishing paint on car models but I don't know if it's made for clear part since the directions aren't in english. Either way it works very nice! Hope this help my fellow modelling peeps with their canopies... Bryan

Snapped a few more pics with the canopy...

This is a small update while I'm waiting for a few parts to show up but I really wanted to post this. I was fairly happy with the way the canopy came out especially considering the disaster I had to deal with. I say fairly happy but not totally happy, as I'm sure most of you can relate. I was going though one of my drawers where I keep all my polishes when I found a bottle of MR. Polymer coating hiding in the back. I had this stuff forever but never had any idea how to use it. As most of you know, Gunze doesn't put their directions in english on most of their stuff and I couldn't find anything online. Anyway, I decided to give it a shot and applied it like you would a wax. I comes with a cloth so I used that to polish it off. It came out amazing! I think the canopy looks better than it did before it got messed up. I sand my canopies and use Tamiya's progressive waxes before a future dip. I don't think the future would have been necessary if I had used this stuff. It is really difficult to photograph but hopefully you can see what I'm talking about. The photos really don't do it justice though. I'm really excited about this stuff, hopefully it help some of you guys with your clear parts... Bryan