drt786

that is genius, never in a million years would I have considered this approach! could be a cool way to the rainbow tint you tend to see on the two forward transparencies on the UH-60 series too

You did a great job. Tell me about how you achieved the clear blue on the upper glass? Which paint and what sort of technique?

Expected end-2025 based on some information I received from Snowman Models

Yep they are. Both Trumpeter and Academy releases should be landing at a similar time considering we've already got Academy sprue shots. Yeah could be the case. the Academy AH-1Z interior was quite bare, I had to scratch build so much stuff in there as there is no aftermarket aside from the 3D decals out there. Trumpeter is so hit-or-miss with their helos that I'll wait and see which one gets the better reviews overall and then go from there!

Spent a lot of time building up my KH AH-6J, with the addition of the Werner’s Wings detail sets and a bunch of engine bay scratch building, I think it was a great little build. Probably won’t do another one for a while even though I do want to do a modern rendition to go alongside the Operation Gothic Serpent bird that I did!

I have applied matt lacquers (GX114) as well as micro krystal kleer to rejuvenate the sheen of the glass panels and give them a 3D look. It's my current preferred approach

yep I’m with you. Just the little bird was quite a challenge, I am planning on doing the same on the kitty hawk H-60 series at some point too…

wow, interesting! I was able to buy the 0.3mm solder balls on ebay, they come in a nice cylindrical tube and there are 10,000s of them per tube. more than enough for a few kitty hawk / trumpy helos! Thank you! Yeah, it made me question my sanity. Best adhesive to use with this approach is Hull-Tex cement - you can gently clean up residue with water/damp brush before it dries.

It wasn’t perfect, but i used solder balls on my Kitty Hawk AH-6J’s recessed divots. 0.3mm each. Not as good as having the right in scale rivets of course, but I liked how the effect turned out. http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/358098-ah-6j-barber-51-kitty-hawk-135/

Yep, considering Academy's AH-1Z was so good and the UH-1Y is so similar, they'd really have to go out of their way to mess this one up...

That specifically looks like one of the Czech birds. I am planning on doing my AH-1Z in that scheme with the CAVU decals. The color scheme is said to be: - FS36375 Light Ghost Grey on the bottom - FS34096 Olive Green - FS36118 Gunship Grey - FS36270 Medium Sea Grey

Announced as a 2025 release in Academy’s 2025 catalogue

Yep, I’ve build one of their armour kits which was fine, but exactly zero of their helo kits looks appealing due to the holy grail of being inaccurate, having poor build quality, lacking details, and being pretty expensive (just look at the 1/35 Russian helos)

Yep, Flying Leathernecks do them with and without rockets. In both cases you get hollow tubes which IMO makes a huge difference. https://www.flyingleathernecksdecals.com/p/fl32-2084-lau-10-500-rocket-pods-with-warheads https://www.flyingleathernecksdecals.com/p/fl32-2083-lau-10-500-rocket-launcher-empty

Recent video from behind the scenes at Academy - possibly sightings of the AH-64E in development? One thing to note is that unlike Takom's E, this one seems to have the belly armour included. Nicely sagged wheels too.

First time hearing of this company, but given my experience with other Ukrainian modelling artisans - the feedback above comes at no surprise at all. The amount of attention, care, and love that their modelling companies put into their products is truly impressive. Looking at their website, the props are a work of art. I have little interest in WW1/2 aircraft but just seeing the quality of the pieces makes me want to buy one! Bravo, keep up the good work Proper Plane team.

They have plenty of 1:32 Sea Kings planned for those so inclined (URL suggests 1/35 scale but that isn’t the case on this particular page) https://jamscrew.com/collections/in-development-1-35-scale-kits

Happy to be corrected, but having followed their FB page for a while I'm quite sure these will be entirely 3D printed.

Main issue is that they are extremely thick, and the carrier film is hard to remove (even though some have succeeded using enamel thinner).

Actually just wish someone did aftermarket Qatar decals as I'm a little fearful of how bad the Takom ones would be. Happy to take on the trickier build - it *can* be done but hard to change crap decals! Have got the Caracal set to deal with all the stencils, but doesn't get around the issue with the main markings.

An honour! Thank you Kev.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

Hi all, first post on these forums. Many thanks for all the tips and insights everyone on here has shared that have gone into my builds!

Interesting, I wasn't expecting that!

Rivets are also not the raised type that Meng and Takom have done so well. And you just know with Trumpeter's pricing for their bigger kits that it's not going to be particularly competitive on that side either.