Uncarina Posted September 19, 2021 Share Posted September 19, 2021 Great progress Brian! That cockpit is looking really good. Cheers, Tom Martinnfb and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 19, 2021 Author Share Posted September 19, 2021 Thanks guys. I'm taking pics for an upcoming review, but will be back on the Cobra tonight. Martinnfb and Uncarina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 19, 2021 Author Share Posted September 19, 2021 Really, after the cockpit was 95% together, and I had painted and installed the visible turbine portion, all that was left was to close up the fuselage. The fit was very good, but I did use some filler along the seam where I use plasi-weld to make sure I had no sunken seam lines to deal with later. More to come later, as I still have yet to dip the canopy parts and make the pilots gun sight. Cheers Greg W, Landrotten Highlander, Uncarina and 22 others 25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 More progress! Pics in just a minute............... Martinnfb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 I got the nose on, the under belly pan, chin/turret front plate as well as the rear horizontal fins. The fit here overall was VERY good, and the kit is a joy to build IMHO. Its fun on high, as there are no wheel wells or gear or even wheels to deal with. Very cool and a big change for me. The fit was tremendous, but I did find a few things to look out for: - Sink marks in the engine intake scoops (shown below in a couple pics) will need filling - Slight sink/step where the belly pan meets the two rear fuselage sections - Some light filler was needed around the skid bases on each side, but not much - Both the upper engine housing opening to the main blades as well as the exhaust areas will need some very slight filling as both will be ultimately visible, even with the rotor blades and toilet bowl exhaust on The wife commented how bizarre it looked when I showed her the profile of the Cobra. Granted it is a bit odd after working on wide/fat fixed wing aircraft: Overall, I'm very pleased at how simple feeling, yet cool looking the model is turning out to be. I'm starting to get anxious to see what it looks like in OD & black! More............ Martinnfb, MDuv, Uncarina and 24 others 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 The belly pan......... This was a large single part that wrapped around up each side of the fuse. This part, even as large as it is, fit very well too. The only filler I used at all, were around the seams where the belly pan met the thicker skid bases. You can see some of the slight filling around the skid mounting holes. It did not take much honestly: The instructions indicate these side scoops are not for all versions, so check your chosen scheme before applying them. These were apparently on #1 Du Me Mi, so I pre-drilled the holes for them and applied some Mr Surfacer 500 for the sink mark down the center of them. Now that I see them close up, I may try to do a slight bit of thinning around the mouth of the scoops: As you can see, still a lot of cleanup, finish sanding and panel re-scribing left to do, but overall I'm a very happy bunny. I also got the toilet bowl exhaust squared away as well. This of course came in two halves, and had two very prominent alignment pins, one at the top of the circular opening and one at the bottom. Both of these had to be sanded away, as you will definitely see them once the TB exhaust is installed. I also got the chin turret mainly assembled. Not sure if its even needed, but I distinctly remember some of the helo guys complaining that although their helicopters were not direct tail sitters, they did "list" a bit to the rear. To (hopefully) stop this, I put a bit of #9 lead shot in the nose cone, and a bit more in the chin turret. Both I painted in flat black. I figure it cant possibly make the Cobra a nose stander, and could possibly serve to settle it on the front of the skids. Not sure it will even be an issue, but I wasn't taking any chances. I've got a plan for the XM-35 as well : Not a lot of lead, but enough to help I hope: All for now lads, I have a review to write, and will hopefully be back on the Cobra tomorrow. Cheers! blackbetty, Jan_G, Starfighter and 23 others 26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 Looking good, Brian! Kev Martinnfb and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 I've missed out on your recent progress--but it's been a genuine treat to catch up! I get the vibe you might actually like this kit! Great work so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing her painted. Cheers, Tom Martinnfb and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flight Line Media Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 Great progress! I look forward to seeing the completion of this project. Martinnfb and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 Thanks guys. So far the kit has been REALLY fun to build. Il hoping to be back on the Cobra tonight Citadelgrad and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John1 Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 Nice work! Just in case you are interested, those scoops on the side of the engine compartment were part of the IR Suppression kit (other main component was the toilet bowl). They were used to channel additional cooling air to the engine and also shield the hot engine components so the SA-7’s IR seeker couldn’t “see” those parts. These kits got rushed over to Vietnam in mid-72 after multiple US helos were shot down by those SAM’s. Looking forward to seeing the Snake with some OD! Out2gtcha and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 Thanks John. I'm not much of any kind of Helo SME thats for sure,but Iam having fun, as the kit seems to be going very smoothly so far *knocks on wood 3 times* John1, Citadelgrad and Martinnfb 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 Looking good Brian! Craig Martinnfb and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody V Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 On 9/9/2021 at 8:42 PM, Uncarina said: Here’s one example: Cheers, Tom Having just worked with their products, I take exception to one part of this video. There is no need to use any adhesive on the flat parts. The release agent is adhesive and flat parts, like the IP will adhere to the kit parts without any problem. If you feel it necessary, you can wet them from the underside with water and a brush to get a more concentrated glue. The only time I could see using extra adhesive would be attaching their two-part things in place and getting the seatbelts to behave. Secondly, the seatbelts are both good and not so good. The not so good part is that the hardware is not metallic so I would suggest painting over those parts. Don't get me wrong, those belts are almost too easy and I much prefer them to the fabric ones. My days of crawling around on the floor with a flashlight and microscope looking for PE are over. John1, Out2gtcha, Martinnfb and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 UPDATE! The GOOD and the BAD The good is that I have now finished most all of the rescribing as well as added the stub wings and some other general small things heading to paint. I got the clear parts dipped (not my best effort on that, but still should be able to make it work). I also got some of the other internal stuff taken care of like the tail rotor, which I added a stainless steel shaft to, as well as a small rare earth magnet in the end of the shaft as well as the inside of the tail to make it easily removeable (pics later). I assembled the stub wings and used a small piece of foam inside each to keep them spread just a tiny bit so as to fit as tight as they can get They did end up fitting very well indeed. SO I ended up moving on to other fields thinking things were going seemingly. Well they were going swimmingly...... Now for the bad! I moved on after the stub wings and figured I would get the skids figured out and attached. I glued them on after cleaning them up and they really did fit well. However, after cleaning them up and gluing them on, I shortly after figured out the first fairly major flaw of the kit. This happened with just a very teensy bit of unintended pressure on both while cleaning up some scribing lines. The connections were fairly stout at the beginning, and because virtually all the pressure is on the bottom of the plastic pins that go inside the fuselage, it really didn't take much pressure at all to snap them right off. When I first put them on after the glue had cured, I set them down to see how even the skids would sit, and got a big red flag when I gently tweaked one of the rear skid attachment points and turned it instantly white with stress. I think this may be the best and most needed candidate for @Ali62 to tackle since the OV-10 gear set! I've got a general plan on how to tackle this issue, but need some hands on time with it to see how best to make it work. Back to the old drawing board! Cheers, Jan_G, Buster99, MikeC and 15 others 15 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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