Madmax

Nick, you really have done a terrific job on the colours and markings. This Spittie is what boyhood dreams are made of!

I recognise that seat!

Lovely subdued colour and weathering - looks very RAF.

Masterclass!

I have assembled all the bits for the cockpit and cabin in the meanwhile. The Trumpeter design for these modules is very clever, and they attach to the fuselage sides on strong tabs that make the alignment simple. The Eduard IP is super neat and a worthwhile addition to the kit. Matching the colour with Tamiya acrylic was relatively simple - XF-2, X-14 and X-15 mixed in proportion till it looked right. The cabin blue/grey is done with straight XF-23. The added detail is hardly visible even without the fuselage in place, but wouldn't stop me from adding it just for the sake of knowing it is there. Time to glue some more stuff together... Sean

Thanks Kev, really enjoying your Buchon progress by the way! Craig, I see you are also keen to get the shape of your models correct. Thanks for looking in. As the FAPLA forces got bogged down on the approach to Mavinga, their casualties mounted and supplies ran out. With the lines of communication stretched to the limit, the helicopter flights became critical, more regular and predictable. In the meantime the Impala crews had been training to do their deadly work on Puma helicopters, and they were ready to go. On the 27th of September, two Impalas took off from Rundu armed only with their 30mm cannons and carrying drop tanks. They flew at extremely low level all the way to the Lomba river in order to avoid radar detection, visually located and shot down a Mi-24 each. The Angolans had no idea why the helicopters failed to return to Cuito Cuanavale.

In the meantime, some more of the model I have basically completed painting the inside of the machine. Here are a couple of photo's before I close it up, and one can probably no longer see much of the interior! The decals in the cabin are from the Linden Hill airframe stencil data set. I think the extra depth to these cabin walls was worth the effort. And here the more fiddly bits. 1:35 seems a little delicate in comparison to 1:32... Cheers, Sean

Hi MigMan, and welcome to the forum! By way of an introduction (of sorts), this is the man who whose incredible library I am forever borrowing books from. He is busy with a wonderful collaborative book about a Cuban MiG pilot who flew three tours in Angola, and as a result is rapidly becoming an expert on many aspects of the Angolan "Bush War". The helicopter losses the Angolans suffered at the end of September 1985 is one of his major fields of research, and the abbreviated story I will share with you is only possible because of this effort. Thanks Lionel. To set the stage, here is a map showing the conflict area. Mavinga (bottom right) was the FAPLA/Cuban/Soviet objective at this stage. They were flying Mi-8/17's with supplies and Mi-24's as escorts from Cuito Cuanavale (just off the map, top left). Navigation in this flat region is challenging, so the choppers followed the rivers to get to the infantry brigades. A team of South African reconnaissance soldiers from 32 Battalion were monitoring the airbase at Cuito, and they were able to notify the South African Air Force when the choppers took off. The SAAF had Impala's stationed at Rundu in Northern Namibia, ready to scramble once the Hips and Hinds were on the way. It was going to be tough for the chopper pilots...

Hi Marcel, not to worry - I will tell the story as the build goes along. It is the 4+ publication, which I once again gained access to through my friend Lionel's inexhaustible library. I had a look at the Mushroom publication that Matt mentioned and must say that it looks great. I will have to cajole Lionel into ordering one.

Thanks Ferry! I decided to reward Greg's enthusiasm with a kit. He nearly fell for it! Since I was in the business of creating kits for my mates, here is another one. Nick, no need to scratch this one anymore...

I have had a real mixed bag of luck with transparencies since migrating from 1:48th to larger scale models. This canopy seemed to be cracked on both flat windscreens. Fortunately the rear one was a scratch that I could polish out, but the front one was cracked and I resorted to drilling it out and replacing with a piece of clear PETG. Needless to say I nearly destroyed the now flimsy forward frame and decided to glue the front "hatch" closed to increase the strength of the canopy as a whole unit. Here you can see the added framework inside the opening part, as well as a locking handle and a piece of air-conditioning piping. Each crew member has a little fan to blow air as desired in the cockpit, but the kit only provides one, so I had a little fun manufacturing another. The punch was really useful for the blades. For those who are hesitant about scratch building, here is an example of how a complex looking object is really just a collection of basic shapes. Another example is the jettison handle. The doors area bit basic OOB, so some PE and styrene to refine the look. Trumpy simplify the hinge mechanism by using two "elbows" on top of the door structure, but the Mi-24 only has one on the forward side, and a restraining cable on the aft side. The MONTEX mask for this canopy is quite a feat in measurement, and fits the inside perfectly. I added these fairly distinctive handles to the framework, completing the detailing. A fire extinguisher was added to the area just behind the left side of the cockpit, and finally the fuel line that everyone must trip over when trying to access the central compartment. I was in two minds about using the PE instrument panel for the pilot, but in macro it sure looks a lot neater than the kit part. you will notice that I plan to ditch the nav display provided, and rather use a blank display with a warning from my MiG-23 decals (doesn't look legible to me). And to answer Marcel's question... The most potent weapon against the Mi-24 in Angola turned out to be this little fighter - the AerMacchi MB-326K. It was licence-built by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation of South Africa, and known to us as the Impala Mk II. Armed with two DEFA 30mm canons and a well trained pilot, it was a formidable low level adversary. I will tell more of the story in due course. Cheers! Sean

Hi ROM, thanks for the advice on lead handling! Craig, I am equally interested to see how I go with the mast tilt... hope it works out. It is a truly impressive lump Steve. I was very fortunate to taxi out in Entebbe this Friday just as a Hind came swooping in to give his mates a shootup at the base, zoom down the ridge-line and then join on a final for landing. My word, is this ever a speedy chopper! I could hardly believe my eyes as the only other military aircraft I have seen there was an Su-30. Marcel, I will reveal the weapon at the end of the following post... Thanks Oliver! I have taken much inspiration from your work.

Lovely photographs Marcel! Are you using a new camera, or have you changed how you take the photo's? Would be keen to know some pointers including f-stop etc... Sean

Thanks Brad and Lothar! CZPetrP - you are a lucky guy - I would love to fly a Hind one day. Filippo, huge and deadly is right . Glad you are looking in Misha, hope you enjoy it. Hi Brian! Thanks Stefan, you have raised an interesting point. The modification I hope to pull off will also hardly be noticeable, only to OCD guys like me. Hi Tim, Chopper Aero-d is not something I studied, but here is an explanation from wikipedia (using Yefim Gordon as a source): "The main rotor was tilted 2.5° to the right from the fuselage to compensate for translating tendency at a hover. The landing gear was also tilted to the left so that the rotor would still be level when the aircraft was on the ground, making the rest of the airframe tilt to the left. The tail was also asymmetrical to give a side force at speed, thus unloading the tail rotor.[9] " The main-rotor still looks tilted on the ground in many photographs that I have seen, so I'm not sure about the landing gear tilt. The lead foil (tape) I use is similar to this: It is self adhesive, and I sometimes use it like that, or take off the sticky stuff with thinners and then work it to shape. It is nice and pliable but one has to be careful as it actually is lead (toxic). Thanks Ferry! Hi Greg, the louvre is a piece of "evergreen" sheet styrene .005 (0.13mm) thick. I cut the three openings at their lower edges, and then shape the louvre a couple of times with a rounded toothpick until it holds its shape. Hope that makes sense and glad you are enjoying it. Sean

My fascination with Soviet Cold-War military hardware continues unabated. The Hind is arguably the most iconic helicopter gunship ever conceived. Sure, it has been technically surpassed by now, but not before striking fear into the hearts of all who tried to run or hide from its near alien presence! Given the pivotal role the Mi-24 played in Afghanistan, it is hardly surprising that at the same time it would end up in another supposed Cold-War proxy - Angola. It was flown by Russians, Cubans and Angolans (and possibly even East Germans) during some of the most intense modern combat seen on African soil. As in Afghanistan, the American "Stinger" would prove to be a deadly opponent, as well as the Soviet's own RPG, but a little known South African weapon would prove to be the most deadly of its opponents. I was inspired to build this after seeing Malcolm Reid (a fellow South African) do a beautiful job with the Trumpeter kit. http://www.saairforce.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=8917&sid=7b9f0cc308e989bd28f8621829bbaeb9 Malcolm mentions a couple of interesting shortcomings in his build, and I will try to address them in my attempt at this great looking kit. The first is a question of two and a half degrees. It seems too little to bother with, but if you look at the Hind a lot, it becomes very noticeable. I mentioned in my MiG-29 build that Misha had done a sterling job in correcting this, but I am going to try a short-cut to get the "twist". In these pictures you can see how the "cockpit" is offset from the rest of the fuselage, and it is most noticeable by the apex of the canopies not being in line with the centre of the engine intakes. When on the ground, assuming the oleo's and tyres are equally inflated, the main fuselage lists to starboard when viewed from behind. I will concentrate on theses two points. The kit's cockpit and cabin are pretty well represented, but as with most Trumpy kits, just need that little bit extra. The Eduard PE set is used as a base, and then fleshed out with some extra styrene bits. Some vents added to the ceiling and a bit of structure and wiring on the aft bulkhead. The front seat was given a parachute made with leftover PE and lead foil that golfers use - handy stuff. The rear seat was left as a bucket seat, and some extras added to the controls at the back. The door frame was thickened and detail added. the same will be required inside the canopy frames as the Mi-24 has sturdy framing throughout. The troop seating was a little basic, and flat - a little extra styrene goes a long way to improving the look. Kit buckles from the PE fret. Drilling out some of the overstated detail and adding wire guards is all that is required for these consoles. The space between the cockpit and the cabin is devoid of detail, probably because it can't be seen, but I couldn't stop myself! I'm sure you can make out the rest without any further explanation... I suspect that this area may present some challenges when it comes to painting Cheers, Sean