Madmax Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 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 Phartycr0c, 109, Pfuf and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradG Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Cool stuff. Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lothar Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Excellent progress - love your attention to detail and workmanship ! Lothar Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CZPetrP Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Great job.I will watch. Mi-24 is extreme powerfull machine. I had the chance to fly with him. Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceofClubs Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Huge and deadly when firing! Ciao Filippo Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misha71 Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 great start Sean it is great to see wip of this magnificent helicopter Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Great start! Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Very interesting topic . African Air Forces and Helicopters are underrepresented in my opinion . And very good build so far . At Tiger Meet 2017 I stood exactly in front of the Czech Hind and remembered the discussion about the "twist" in the front area . If you don't know , you would never see this . It is almost not noticeable on the real thing . Stefan Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwrench Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 It's looking good so far. 2 questions: 1) why does the Hind have a twist anyway? 2) what golfers foil are you talking about? I'm a golfer and I've never used any kind of foil. Tim Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fvdm Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 Great start! Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg W Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 (edited) The work here is incredibly good, a real pleasure to follow. I would like to ask you to describe how you made the louvred ceiling vent. It would be great to have some understanding of how to make louvres in sheet styrene. Thanks for posting this build here, Greg Edited May 17, 2019 by GDW Dany Boy and Madmax 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmax Posted May 17, 2019 Author Share Posted May 17, 2019 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! 19 hours ago, Supersonic said: Very interesting topic . African Air Forces and Helicopters are underrepresented in my opinion . And very good build so far . At Tiger Meet 2017 I stood exactly in front of the Czech Hind and remembered the discussion about the "twist" in the front area . If you don't know , you would never see this . It is almost not noticeable on the real thing . Stefan 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. 16 hours ago, Hawkwrench said: It's looking good so far. 2 questions: 1) why does the Hind have a twist anyway? 2) what golfers foil are you talking about? I'm a golfer and I've never used any kind of foil. Tim 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! 1 hour ago, GDW said: The work here is incredibly good, a real pleasure to follow. I would like to ask you to describe how you made the louvered ceiling vent. It would be great to have some understanding of how to make louvers in sheet styrene. Thanks for posting this build here, Greg 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 Greg W, brahman104 and Marcel111 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg W Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 Hey, thanks for the tip. Now I have to try my hand at this technique. I have considered how to do this before, thinking that maybe a form pressed into the plastic sheet might work. The toothpick method is a much quicker alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROM Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 hi Impressive work! Lead can be toxic if particles or contaminated water are swallowed. Pay attention when heating, burning paints with lead. But simple handling seems not that dangerous, if you dont lick your fingers just after Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 Looks great Sean! I have this one in the stash and would like to address it one day. Interested to see how you go with the mast tilt! Craig Madmax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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