BlrwestSiR

Looking at the before and after pics, you wouldn't know they were the same kit. You're definitely taking this kit.

The fit of the intakes needs a bit of work. Thankfully I was able to get the lower lip lined up. That's probably the weakest bit of the intakes. With a few clamps in place... ...much better. Now to let it dry.

Another book on my favourite jet fighter.

Scott, rotor span is the biggie for me. The AH-1 is great since it's only a twin rotor so easy enough to put it inline with the fuselage. If there wasn't the rotor fold upgrade, I probably wouldn't have picked the kit up.

Some really nice pics there Chris. The intake splitter is definitely perforated. They all were. Something to do with the air flow. Excess air taken in through the perforations gets expelled through the vents on the top and bottom. The radome being fibreglass might explain the differing finishes seen. Some were even tan and not black. When you get to the wing tanks, they need to be moved outboard. Let me check how far out they need to be moved. I keep remembering stuff as I follow your build. Hopefully it comes in time.

It's starting to get a bit big.

Time to join the front section to the main fuselage. I needed to add a spacer to get the correct height between the two sections and not have a step. On the bottom, I glued the section immediately aft of the nose gear bay. Once dry, I'll push the rest into place, again trying to limit any steps/gaps.

Looks really nice John. Having just built the kit a couple months ago, I know how fussy the kit is.

Oh, that's a dangerous rabbit hole to fall down. Wait until you find other stuff that they carry ...

Chris, I use Gundam markers for the little details. They come in many colours and widths and are meant for models. They're great for doing the red edges on aircraft landing gear doors.

The BV138 will be impressive. And not just the price either.

Nice patch job Scott. In the last pic, the Bondi looks grainy. Is that just due to the closeup?

Thanks Martin! The cockpit is now done.

Nice work on the Sparrow fins. Reminds me of individual track links. I think the late ALQ-87 sounds right too. I've got the JLC razor saw as well. Great tool and yup, mine is broken also.

Ok, here's the IP panels done. I painted the side consoles as well. The black came out darker and flatter than expected. Not the end of the world. I finally got the second intake assembled. I then painted them so that hopefully I end up with a clean demarcation between them and the intake trunking.

Next up is the waist section. Here's the metal.bit for the legs to attach to. This is then encased inside the waist assembly. The various pieces for the armoured skirt. Finally, joining the upper and lower sections. The paint bottles gives you a nice size comparison. With the beam rifle in place. I have the backpack, shield and bazooka to finish them decals/stickers.

I got a lot more done on the Gundam. With the cockpit assembled, I could start on the rest of the main body. The upper waist section. The four legs will pivot and move with the waist. I was just working along so the progress is going to jump a bit. The upper body went together around the cockpit. The open cockpit hatches. The wiring for the head and cockpit runs out the back. They're them attached in place. This is all covered up by the backpack which will contain the batteries. At this point the arms go on.

Very nice Fletcher DD there Kevin. I've only tried a couple ship models, both in 1/35. The first was the Bronco Type XXIII coasts sub and the second is the Italeri Vosper MTB which isn't finished yet.

Reskit makes the ALQ-87 which is the one in the pic. https://reskit-models.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=5450 They have an early and a late so just need to narrow down which one.

Lots of great progress there Chris. For the load out, I think most USAF F-4s carried an ECM pod in one of the front Sparrow bays. You can see it in the pic you posted with the two F-4s banking. There should be one in the kit but AM ones are available.

Thanks Scott. Might just have get those. Along with another F-16 kit.

Looks good John. Nice to see the fit issues seem to be behind you.

The engine really looks the part. Quite the bit of wiring there.

Those are the gold ones that are on the legs. 4 per leg. Two behind the knee and two more at the ankle. The last two are on the jet pack which I'm in the midst of building.

Sometimes it's just plain dangerous surfing the web, especially online hobby shops. Great Hobbies here in Canada is having a sale with 15% off ICM kits. I'm looking at their 1/48 Mig-25 kits when I see the CH-54 and before I know what's happened, I have one. @Fran just did a review on this release along with @Clunkmeister's review of the original version tells me it'll be as enjoyable a build as their AH-1 Cobra was. I'll have to get the rotor fold set from Reskit if I hope to have any chance of displaying it when I'm done.