Phantom2 Posted June 9, 2024 Posted June 9, 2024 (edited) Finally! Time for a Chopper build, I have waited for this! My build will be the Special Hobby Hi-Tech reboxing of the ICM AH-1G Cobra "Marines/US Navy" in 1/32… More to come soon…. Stefan Edited June 9, 2024 by Phantom2 Landrotten Highlander, themongoose, scvrobeson and 11 others 14
Iain Posted June 11, 2024 Posted June 11, 2024 I have the other boxing - the ICM kit combined with all the Special Hobby detail parts makes for a pretty impressive package. Look forward to seeing this come together Stefan! Iain
Phantom2 Posted June 11, 2024 Author Posted June 11, 2024 (edited) On 6/11/2024 at 2:45 PM, Iain said: I have the other boxing - the ICM kit combined with all the Special Hobby detail parts makes for a pretty impressive package. Look forward to seeing this come together Stefan! Iain Yes, and the best part is that this boxing are CHEAPER then the original, plain ICM! I paied about €10 ($9) LESS for this Maxed-out kit then the bare plastic ICM! This box is fantastic value! Stefan Edited June 23, 2024 by Phantom2 Rick Griewski and Iain 2
Phantom2 Posted June 23, 2024 Author Posted June 23, 2024 (edited) Hi All! In this boxing we find the quite new ICM kit from Special Hobby and as this is the “Hi-Tech” edition there´s a LOT of extra goodies in the box! Best of all, this boxing is cheaper then the original, plain, ICM kit! I paid about €10 less for this kit compared to the ICM kit! Fantastic value in this box! Here´s what we find in the quite large box. One large, box-siezed frame with the well-moulded fuselage halves (already removed) and some smaller parts (seats and cockpit parts). This is not a small chopper, fuselage parts are 30cm (1´) without the tail part! ”Real” positive rivets! One large frame with lots of smaller parts…. One large frame with rotor blades, tail parts and a smattering of smaller parts and hatches. Two smaller frames, loaded with small parts and weapons… The glass parts are among the best I have ever seen in a kit! Crystal clear and absolutely no distortion, scratches or any other imperfections! Two large sheets with pre-cut masks (Eduard?) and a small acetate sheet. Two etched frets, one is pre-painted with instrument panels and seatbelts (Eduard)…. One large decal sheet with no less than four interesting options to build. I will build this chopper as a blue “Navy” machine from US Navy Test Pilot School, Jacksonville, 1974. The Instruction booklet follows SH new format and is quite clear and easy to follow. I don´t like that SH uses Gunze colours, but at least they give you the real name on the paint, so it´s easy enough to translate to your preferred brand. In the bottom of the large box we find two smaller boxes, one with all the 3D printed parts and one with the resin parts. I´ll present the contents of the boxes as the build progresses. Wow, this is a very complete box indeed and there´s no need for any AM Stefan Edited June 23, 2024 by Phantom2 themongoose, Alex, Landrotten Highlander and 10 others 13
Lee White Posted June 27, 2024 Posted June 27, 2024 22 hours ago, Alex said: That is a VERY complete kit! I’ll say. They give you both tails, so you can build either an early variant with the rotor on the port side, or a later one with the rotor on the starboard side. themongoose 1
Phantom2 Posted July 4, 2024 Author Posted July 4, 2024 On 6/27/2024 at 7:52 PM, Lee White said: I’ll say. They give you both tails, so you can build either an early variant with the rotor on the port side, or a later one with the rotor on the starboard side. ...and you also get two types of chin turrets (single and double barrels), two types of skids (one "skinny" set and one "beefed up" set, two different tailfins. Can be more, but that´s what I can see now.. I have started glueing parts together, update will be coming soon! Stefan Alain Gadbois, Lee White and KiwiZac 3
Phantom2 Posted September 2, 2024 Author Posted September 2, 2024 (edited) Hi All! As this is a ”Hi-Tech” kit Special Hobby have given lots of extra detail parts and they come in these small boxes. In the little blister is an 3x3cm (approx. 2,5 x 2.2in.) square of 3D-printed parts, and it´s packed full of small detail parts! You must study the parts (and the attachments) and be very careful when you start removing them as the parts are extremely brittle and breaks very easily. Don´t ask how I know… The parts themselves are very well detailed and well done, but they are very brittle, so handle with care! In the Larger, yellow box we find lots of resin parts, just as well made and detailed. When all parts are cleaned up and removed from their plugs, You have lots of small parts on the bench. My choice for this build is the chopper from US Navy Test Pilot School, Nas Jacksonville, 1974. Yes, this will be a late Navy chopper in the dark blue scheme with a white rotor head (mast/sail?) and the tail rotor on the right (starboard) side. This one; I have another Cobra-kit, the original from ICM, and that will be an early Vietnam version. From this Special Hobby boxing you can build 2 early or 2 late versions (tail rotor to port or starboard, single or double barrel gun, different skids...), so you have to decide before you start building. The first thing to do is choosing and then gluing the correct tail piece to the corresponding fuselage half. I have glued each tail halve to the side halves and before the glue sets, I taped the fuselage halves together and let this dry a couple of days. More to come soon! Stefan Edited September 2, 2024 by Phantom2 LSP_Kevin, scvrobeson, Alex and 10 others 13
themongoose Posted September 4, 2024 Posted September 4, 2024 Definitely looking forward to this!! Beautiful kit in skilled hands 🍻 love that you’re doing one of the totally unique markings 👍 Phantom2 1
Phantom2 Posted November 21, 2024 Author Posted November 21, 2024 Hi all! Assembling the components of the engine compartment…. Parts 36 and 37 have only a very small surface to hold them in place, this will never be enough! I glued some 0,5mm plasticard as backing to give the parts some support on the inside. A lousy picture from the front… The cannons will be glued at the end of the build. The winglets are assembled and the pylons are in place. During the assembly I found that some parts are incorrectly marked in the instructions! My machine is a late version, so I must use the riveted (reinforced?) stabs. I have the original, "early version" kit from ICM so I could figure out which parts to use on the later ship I´m building. More to come soon! Stefan denders, Dragon, Landrotten Highlander and 7 others 10
themongoose Posted November 23, 2024 Posted November 23, 2024 Great to see this build pop up again! Looking smart what a chore with weak instructions and weak joints
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