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Mi-24 in Angola


Madmax

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Thanks Kev and Brian! Marcel, I am very fortunate indeed, and Nick has (jokingly I think) spoken about a CNC machine more than once now - can you imagine... :whistle:

 

Here is a little update on the process I have been using to get a weathered finish. Please feel free to comment about the process as I'm sure there are better ways of getting to the end product. Firstly, I dabbed masking fluid onto the upper surfaces with a torn sponge. I then spray a very diluted mixture of white, desert yellow and bit of clear as a "binding agent". This is to create some texture that looks like sun/rain damage.

 

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Since the gloss from the decal layer is still mostly in place, I now do panel line washes as it is still easy to wipe away the excess.

 

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Then a layer of matt of your own preference. Must be acrylic if you want to do the next two steps...

 

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After applying a layer of mig's odourless enamel thinner on manageable panel areas at a time, I painted on "rainmarks streaking effect" and worked it onto the surface as per Miguel's tutorial video's. 

 

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Then finally, a bit of oil paint streaking and grime according to taste. I tend to under-do this and will possibly still add some more later.

 

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After spraying micro flat on the rotors, I found that the hubs became too dull. In an experiment, I rubbed some of the mig Gun Metal pigment onto the hub with an earbud, and then gave it a bit of a polish. Much better in my opinion, and I then used it on all sorts of bits that need a shine. Useful stuff!

 

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Now for the final assembly and exhaust staining...

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Thanks very much Lothar, Gaz and John!

 

Nick, I got called out again and couldn't finish with the history I intended to include. Darn Standby's! Here is the story from where I left off on page 5...

 

When our wingman recovered from the shock of dragging his tip tank through the bullrushes, he immediately got down to the business at hand. He positioned himself behind the rearmost Mi-24 and began his pitch up to about 3000' where the choppers were. The Impala's energy was bleeding off fast as he got into firing parameters, with the stadiametric ranging set to the Hind's rotorspan and looking for an opening range of about 400m. He opened fire while still looking up at the chopper, and nothing happened. Just as he began to think he had missed, the helicopter exploded in a fireball (the only one to do so), which explained why some thought that it had been hit by a surface-to-air missile.

 

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The helicopter nosed down about 15 degrees trailing thick black smoke until it crashed into the ground. The Impala pulled over the top of the helicopter and started to descend, but instead of speeding up, it kept slowing down - the engine had flamed out! The two 30mm cannons are in front of the air intakes, and a faulty fuel dipper system had caused the compact Rolls Royce Viper engine to flame-out. The quick-relight worked instantly and our wingman scanned for his leader who was pulling up behind the second Mi-24, got above it briefly and then firing downward at the machine, chopped off its tail boom. The helicopter snaked its way into the Lomba floodplain.

 

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At this stage the two Mi-17's turned toward the north and our wingman quickly positioned behind the closest one closing in from his 5 o'clock and firing a burst that appeared to hit the Hip in the gearbox. The helicopter rolled over to the right until it was inverted, and stayed that way until it impacted the ground. Now the Impala flamed out again, but the pilot was ready with an immediate relight. The leader of this pair was aware that there were MiG's in the area and decided to disengage and head for home. The other Impala's had heard the communication around the shoot downs, and started heading towards the columns of smoke. The Westernmost pair got there first, sandwiching the remaining Mi-17 between them as they went past. This chopper crew were trying to get onto the ground as fast as possible, and one could see the high coning angle of the rotor as they hit the ground, and cut off their own tail boom. The Impala's pitched into a ground attack profile, and the leader hit them with a burst of 30mm cannon rounds. 

 

With their task accomplished the Impala's now all started to head back to Rundu, very aware of the MiG presence. In fact most of the SAAF pilots saw the MiG's at a point in the unfolding of events, and the Northernmost pair had the longest moment of contemplation as it appeared that the Floggers had seen them and were turning to engage. This leader realised soon enough that the MiG pilots were looking elsewhere, whilst his wingman called that he had the Mirage F-1's in sight. The confusion of war!

 

We know from Eduardo that the MiG's hadn't seen the diminutive Impala's at all that day. The SAAF had benefited from good camouflage, low level flying, the haze of combat and a measure of good luck. Lionel has titled the chapter dealing with the events I have briefly touched on here "The Humble Assassin", which I find very apt.  

Edited by Madmax
Too much "confusion"
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12 hours ago, Madmax said:

Thanks very much Lothar, Gaz and John!

 

Nick, I got called out again and couldn't finish with the history I intended to include. Darn Standby's! Here is the story from where I left off on page 5...

 

 

Hi Sean

 

You actually got called out on a STBY???:o:o:o

I thought a STBY was for modeling.

 

Thanks for completing the history section. I must get Lionel’s book.

 

Cheers

 

Nick

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Great work on the model and as always, thanks for the awesome history lesson.  Where did you get access to the gun camera footage?  I haven't seen those pics before.   

 

Kinda tough to see those pictures, those crews had a long time to ponder their fate as they fell towards the ground in their shot-up helos.    Such is war I suppose...

 

You would have thought those crews would have been flying nap-of earth.   Motoring along at 3,000' isn't the best tactic when you have the possibility of jets out there looking for you. 

 

 

Edited by John1
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On 9/22/2019 at 5:23 PM, John1 said:

Great work on the model and as always, thanks for the awesome history lesson.  Where did you get access to the gun camera footage?  I haven't seen those pics before.   

 

Kinda tough to see those pictures, those crews had a long time to ponder their fate as they fell towards the ground in their shot-up helos.    Such is war I suppose...

 

You would have thought those crews would have been flying nap-of earth.   Motoring along at 3,000' isn't the best tactic when you have the possibility of jets out there looking for you. 

 

 

 

Hi John, 

 

The gun camera footage can be seen in "The South African Air Force at War" (Bouwer/Louw). It is interesting to see the response to the story of the helicopters being shot down. Even though we like the aircraft and celebrate their shapes and colours by modelling them, I believe that very few fellow model builders romanticise the conflicts their subjects were involved in. The war in Angola was a protracted and often brutal conflict that has had a major impact on the people affected by it. Luckily through my involvement in Lionel and Eduardo's book, I have gained some insight into the view from the Angolan, Cuban and even Soviet perspective.

 

You are quite right to empathise with the chopper crews. They were flying at 3000' because the navigation in that part of the world is tricky, and nobody expected the Impala's to be used in this role. There were survivors, and hopefully we will get to hear their story one day.

 

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In case you were wondering about the Soviet advisors, they weren't in these choppers. There were Soviet pilots on hand, who extracted their advisors from the battle front, at night! The advanced night capability of the Soviet and Cuban pilots is still a surprise for many South African's who were there. If I ever build a large scale C-130, I will tell a story that is sure to make you hair stand on end.

Edited by Madmax
Too "involved".
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The Hind is complete.

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed building this kit. It is worth putting in a bit of extra effort to bring the detail to life, and the limited aftermarket additions I added were certainly worth the investment. I'll point these out in a bit of a "walkaround".

 

The overall stance and shape of the Mi-24 is very well captured by Trumpeter. In retrospect, I should possibly have lowered the nose-wheel oleo a bit. You might want to consider it for your own builds.

 

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Tricky to capture in a photo of the model, but the offset canopy is there, and the fuselage lists to starboard on the ground. Look at the height of the missile rails relative to the horizon.

 

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The corrected panels in the exhaust area enhance the accuracy, and are key to the weathering. Added detail on the rotor-head really stands out.

 

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The Swatter launchers are worth upgrading, as are the details inside the passenger doors.

 

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Detail on the antennas and aerial wiring help round it off. You could add more here, mine is quite simplified.

 

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The tailplane support in the kit is a bit flimsy, so I eventually drilled it out and put a rod through the boom.

 

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The tail rotor benefits from fine detail like the different colours of the triangles on the blades and their associated hubs.

 

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The sun bleached look on top of the model places it in its African context.

 

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The Linden Hill decals, Reskit wheels and Master machine gun/DUAS probes are a must have in my opinion.

 

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And finally the cockpit - it is very visible, and any detail one decides to add will not be wasted. The Eduard IP's are well worth it for their crisp detail.

 

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I hope you have enjoyed as much as I have. Some different photo's will go into the RFI section shortly.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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