John1

Getting close to the decal stage. Using Werner's Wings Blackhawk sheet. It's a nice sheet and it's also the only sheet out there for 1/35 Army A/L's. Got a few misses but it's not the end of the world. My selections are down to either "Yellow Cab" or "Easy Rider". Both were assigned to the 101st in Iraq around 2007, which fits my time frame perfectly. Note in the picture of Yellow Cab, it's hard to make out the name and the checkers on the engine cowling. I've got another picture that shows the logo being more prominent so I'll assume it's either the lighting or the background paint faded later on it's tour. Most 101st helo's I've seen have a subdued division logo on the nose. WW doesn't provide this, only a full color logo which I've never seen on a deployed Hawk. WW also has the "last three" of the serial numbers in white but at least in the case of Yellow Cab (and I'm guessing Easy Rider as well), it's actually Gunship Grey. Note the missing cabin door windows on Yellow Cab and that both helos have the barrier sand filters and full CMWS mods installed. Note on the pic above, the lighter green/grey overpainting of the original "United States Army" markings on the tailboom.

For their props, do you have to shave the kit’s mounting flange off to use on the wooden prop or do they provide this part as well? Try as I might, my efforts to paint the WNW props alway failed horribly.

Painting continues. AK Real Colors US Army Helo Drab as the base, then with a couple of custom blends of paint to replicate the faded, weathered appearance of the real thing. One tint is more of a brownish OD, the other a chalky lightish-green. My primary build log is over on FB. On it, a former UH-60 crew chief mentioned that they used a version of CARC Helo Drab in spray cans. He said this stuff faded quickly to a grey/green color. It was used for general touchups, corrosion control and (in the case of my subject) to overpaint the "United States Army" markings on the tailboom. This was done when the aircraft received survivability updates circa 2006-2007. One of these was the addition of extra flare dispensers on the tailboom, which required those markings to be painted out and reapplied higher on the boom. Looking at pics, I found he was spot-on regarding this, so back to the paint booth I went. Also put a patch of this paint on the nose, to replicate where a former unit logo or aircraft number was painted out. Thats it for now, thanks for checking in.

I need to track that down and watch it. It was on the list and then I completely forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder. Once I'm done bingeing a sci-fi series, I'm starting on the books as well.

Cool! I’ll be following.

Amazing work, those masts and rigging are stunning. Just read a great book called The Wager, about a Royal Navy frigate circa 1700’s. In it, a RN Midshipman talked about the terror he felt the first time he had to go “up”. Wooden ships, iron men for sure.

I'm back.... been a long grind adding rivets to this thing. For the aft fuselage and tailboom, I transitioned to Archer's decal rivets (still using those solder balls for a few areas that don't lend themselves to decals). Also had to spend a great deal of time sanding off incorrect details on the fuselage. This includes some stiffener plates that were on the tailboom and a large cargo hatch on the aft starboard fuselage which wasn't present on Army UH-60's. After that, it was full speed ahead on the decals. These went down extremely easy and after a coat of Micro Sol / Set the look very nice. Sharp eyed viewers may note that I haven't applied decals to the area aft of the cabin door. That's because I'm going to have the cargo doors in the open position, and you won't be able to see the fuselage. No sense making extra work for yourself. My approach to finishing this kit is to decal and paint the tailboom but hold off on the vertical stabilizer. That way I can use the tail to hold the model while finishing up the detail bits on the fuselage, painting, decals, etc. I wanted to minimize handling of the surfaces with the decals on them. In retrospect, that probably wasn't necessary since the Archer decals are impressively strong once they are fully cured. That's it for now, thanks for checking in.

Long, long list of things. Completely different from the cockpit forward, the G-14 is identical to a G-6 in that area, while the K-4 has a larger engine with a smoothly faired cowling, instead of the prominent "buele" that covered the nose MG's on the G-14. . Many other detail differences with access panels, wheels, antennas, etc, etc.

Max creepiness.

Order placed. Thank you for the info!

Did they release their second volume? If so, where did you purchase it from?

I don't know how you DCS fast jet flyers do it. To get up to speed on the systems to be barely proficient requires a ton of study and practice. That include memorizing which buttons do what on your stick / throttle combo. And then, if you take an extended break, as with real life pilots, you lose currency and need to study / practice to get your skills restored. At some point that became too much like "work" and less like "recreation". Still trying to find the sweet spot for a subject that interests me and is simple enough to avoid the "work". The Mi-24 Hind is intriguing. There is also a very nice freeware A-4 that I just downloaded, mainly to just shoot carrier traps which I find to be quite enjoyable. Of course, if you guys can do without the need to blow stuff up, there is another option, lol.

VR is...... amazing. I use it in MSFS, usually in light aircraft such as the Cub or a glider. You are actually flying and when I do a steep turn, I instinctively hold onto my seat, it's that realistic. It's the future of gaming.

For those interested in the markings on early P-47's flying out of England in WW2, I strongly suggest you check out the instructions on Fundekal's newly released decal set (in 48th scale sadly). Say what you wish about our former member whose name cannot be uttered on this site, but the instructions he issues with his decals are superior all others. Lot of fascinating info for us nerds to binge on. FD48041_Inst.pdf (fundekals.net)

That's an awesome series of videos.

Call me crazy but I would love a 32nd B-47. A beautiful jet…..

Super easy to scratch build. Find appropriate dia of styrene rod, drill out one end a bit using pin vice or tip of new xacto knife. Cut to length. Add a small bit of small dia rod on the other end for the knob. Coil up a bit of brass wire for the cord. Add a tiny scrap of plastic on the side for the mounting bracket. Paint. Add drop of clear gloss to the drilled end. Done. I could build one in a few minutes.

Any idea if he does G-6 nightfighter conversions? I'm a bit intrigued.

I dabble with it. Graphics are amazing, the level of detail baked into each aircraft is as well. My problem is that there is no "padlock" feature for keeping your eyes on another plane in a dogfight, so you have to resort to using a head tracker or VR googles, neither of which I'm interested in. For modern jets, you really need a full HOTAS setup, which costs big $. The other thing about flying the modern jets is that you need to devote a ton of time to memorizing which buttons do what and if you take a break for an extended time, you are back at the beginning of the learning curve. I fly mostly lower tech aircraft and helo's in air to ground missions, like the Huey and P-47. Most of my flight sim time these days is on MSFS.

Any RL pictures of Schwarz 3 out there? I'm fascinated by the color scheme.

The fact that some folks have time to catch minutia like this and discuss it is..... impressive. Tell you what - shrink the placard down to 32nd scale and then circle back if it remains an issue.

Love those oddball Luftwaffe late war paint jobs. I'll be following this build.

Great build and I know I'm taking this thread way OT so if you are inclined, maybe PM me but I'm thinking about going to Scotland for a week later this summer / early fall. Wondering if it would worth going up to Banff (I'll primarily be in Edinburgh) or is there not much left of the old base?

Agreed. Despite how one might feel about the Royals, she seems like a classy lady and she is way, way too young to have to fight this horrific disease.

Never was a big fan of them until I read "A Separate Little War" about Coastal Command shipping raids in 1944-45. Got fascinated with them after that and truly loved building the Tamiya Mossie. I'll go out on a limb and say that this is kit is the best plastic model aircraft ever made. Aviaeology Beau decals just purchased. already decided what my subject will be. Now to just wait patiently for a year or so in hopes that HK does indeed offer us this long-neglected aircraft.