ICM AH-1G "Mo-Ther-Lover" Vietnam 1:32

[shadowmare]

Hello guys!

I started ICM Cobra in september. Goes together nicely as every their new release I had. I found a way to manage Achilles heel of this kit - undercarriage. I simply made groove for paperclip wire and poured thick layer of CA glue. Then I will put small metal tubes into fuselage to make strong joint.

 

Does anybody have "Du-Me-Mi" AH-1G Photos? I'm looking but without success. I don't like to rely on profiles as they are often superficial.



After this modification I started cockpit and transmission. Added Eduard PE, lead wires and made first aid kit from alluminium foil. 










There is small gap in beetween bottom fuselage panel and fuselage halfs and small problem with transmission side panel - slightly protruded.  Nothing to worry about. Kit itself is "weekend edition" for every thorough modeller.

[shadowmare]

Thank you Maru! I'm looking for AH-1G 68-15012 "#1 Du Me Mi" photos from era.

[Rockie Yarwood]

 

There is this one of pilot Ken Mick from the Centaurs web site http://www.centaursinvietnam.org. In his "war story - New Car Smell" - there may be others but I haven't done a thorough search...

[Out2gtcha]

Looks grand so far!  While I dont have any photos I did "#1" myself from the original release of the AH-1.   Im not sure if you have a paint mask cutter such as a Silhouette Portrait or similar but Ive never liked trying to wrap the shark mouth decals around such a stubborn area, so I made a mask from the ICM shark mouth decal that you are welcome to if you like. 

Also, if you can find one, I can highly recommend the 1/35th scale RB M134, as the scale is a tad large for 1/35th so things work out perfectly, since the OOB M134 is nearly worthless.

 

 

 

LMK if you want the cutter file for the shark mouth (or any other part of #1 Du-Me-Me as I turned most of the decals into cutter files).

[shadowmare]

1 hour ago, Rockie Yarwood said:

There is this one of pilot Ken Mick from the Centaurs web site http://www.centaursinvietnam.org. In his "war story - New Car Smell" - there may be others but I haven't done a thorough search...

Thank you Rockie, I'm familiar with Centaurs web site, there is many very nice Cobra photos, but sadly none presents any larger piece of this heli .

 

1 hour ago, Out2gtcha said:

Looks grand so far!  While I dont have any photos I did "#1" myself from the original release of the AH-1.   Im not sure if you have a paint mask cutter such as a Silhouette Portrait or similar but Ive never liked trying to wrap the shark mouth decals around such a stubborn area, so I made a mask from the ICM shark mouth decal that you are welcome to if you like. 

Also, if you can find one, I can highly recommend the 1/35th scale RB M134, as the scale is a tad large for 1/35th so things work out perfectly, since the OOB M134 is nearly worthless.

LMK if you want the cutter file for the shark mouth (or any other part of #1 Du-Me-Me as I turned most of the decals into cutter files).

Thanks Out2gtcha. I will be very grateful if you send me your project. I don't have plotter but I will order masks in printing house. Which foil did you use?

[Out2gtcha]

2 hours ago, shadowmare said:

.Thanks Out2gtcha. I will be very grateful if you send me your project. I don't have plotter but I will order masks in printing house. Which foil did you use?

 

I have a large roll of Oramask 810 that I cut down into 12" x 8" sheets.   Please see your PMs!

[John1]

Nice work so far, I'll be following closely.    Got the Special Hobby version on deck to start if I can ever complete my current build.    Maru - thanks for the links to those pictures over on ARC, I had forgotten about them.   Did a lot of copy and pasting last night.

Edited October 19, 2022 by John1

[Rockie Yarwood]

2 hours ago, John1 said:

Did a lot of copy and pasting last night.

Ditto. Thanks Maru!

[shadowmare]

Painting in process, weathering effect - grey, another darker OD by sponge. Base color plus whites/yellows - paintbrush modulation. Few dirty streaks by brush.

[themongoose]

Terrific effect!

[MikeMaben]

[brahman104]

Love it!  

 

Craig 

[scvrobeson]

Beautiful paint work and weathering!  It's really coming to life now!
 

 

Matt 

[shadowmare]

Decals containing 2 parts of shark mouth for left and right side of heli, as no suprise placing them without cutting it to receive smaller pieces result in tearing it. But using tape to mask nearby places and good paint to make corrections is a way to totally fix this problem.
 

Then i highlighted panels and made another layer of "dust" effect. After that placed small stains using brush.

 

 

[Neo]

Wow the paint job is amazing