deanreynolds Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Hi all, This is my first post here. Before I start I'll put a disclaimer. I'm aware this is an inaccurate child's toy that was basically taken off the Production line half way though, put in a box and called a model kit. If you're into extreme accuracy this is not one to follow. I'm just having fun with it to escape the real world for an hour or two at a time. Haha. I've done the Revell 1:24 Huey so I thought I'd give this one a go but make a challenge out of it. The first thing I did when I opened the box was cut it in half. I'm going to stretch it so it (slightly) resembles a "D". So far I've removed most of the exterior detailing from the rear half and repositioned the rear part of the Engine/exhaust cowling. Eventually it'll be finished in either the green/brown or euro1 camo of the RNZAF. 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Welcome to the forums! Looks like it;s be huge. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Glad you decided to post Dean. Fun is important. Looking forward to this build....harv 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Welcome Dean. Looks like an interesting project. I’ll be watching this one! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanreynolds Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 Thanks guys. It is definitely big alright. Believe it or not, they are 1/35 and 1/24 scale Hueys sitting next to it on the table. The 1/35 will eventually be finished in Air America colours yo go along with my last little diorama: 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted December 9, 2022 Administrators Share Posted December 9, 2022 It’s HUGE! But it looks a bit rough in places, where even the panel lines got scaled up along with everything else. That crash dio is super impressive as well. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Ooh, very cool dio! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Dean, first and foremost welcome aboard. Holy Smokes, the Huey is huge and glad the fun part of the build is front and center. Will be following all the way Air America dio looks very impressive. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanreynolds Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Thanks guys, Still working on getting the boom nice and smooth so I can build the details back up later. I very crudely mocked up the front half. The stretch looks ok but I won't make anything permanent until I find definite dimensions. 30mm is looking about right though. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanreynolds Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Maybe not. I found this which made the stretch 130mm! That looks much better, and I think I've come up with a way of keeping it all aligned when it goes back together. (All the plastic card will come off). 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Nice progress... that is an ambitious stretch. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 12 minutes ago, GazzaS said: Nice progress... that is an ambitious stretch. I know that feeling.................. every morning ! 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanreynolds Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 Well, I've got the stretch sorted and aligned. Now the hard part, figuring out how to actually join the halves together. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Looking good !....harv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Right with Harv, looking might good and a ton of hard work to go. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 On 12/12/2022 at 5:51 AM, Peterpools said: looking might good and a ton of hard work to go. You said that naughty word Peter WORK!This looks to be getting interesting. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanreynolds Posted December 15, 2022 Author Share Posted December 15, 2022 Thanks guys. It's finally in one piece. The underside of the "D" model is a lot rounder than the shorter versions so I built it up with a few layers of 1mm evergreen card. The layers gave it strength, and I'll use car body filler to shape the sides. I screwed a couple of brackets into the roof while I glued some plywood into the inside with epoxy, then built it up with more plastic card. When I get round to it, the floor and ceiling will add extra strength, but for the foreseeable future I'll be filling and sanding! 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 Excellent work!....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 Right with Harv - some mighty fine work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark64 Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 sweet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanreynolds Posted January 9, 2023 Author Share Posted January 9, 2023 Well now the holidays are over, I've started making some slow progress. It's still got a long way to go but I've started filling out and shaping the top half. Already looking much more like a tadpole. Hopefully I'll start on the underside this week too 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanreynolds Posted January 9, 2023 Author Share Posted January 9, 2023 Now I've started shaping the fuselage I need to address the rear half. It's always bugged me but now it really stands out. If I don't try and fix it now, it will look even worse when the sliding doors go on, so time to hack it up again. I have a rough idea on how I can go about it, hopefully it works. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanreynolds Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 Well, that opened another can of worms! Excuse the state of it but I'm experimenting with a saw rather than designing it on paper. I've changed the rear section of the fuselage, but that made the boom sit far too high. I then cut the boom the opposite way, but now the top sits far too high. After trying to figure out what was going on, I eventually noticed on the 1/35 kit the end of the boom closest to the fuselage has a flatter bottom. Therefore, my next job is to take the boom off completely, reshape the bottom, realign it so the driveshaft lines then reattach it. Goes without saying but the exhaust housing now needs to come off again. I'm starting to think I should have just brought a scale RC fuselage and fitted it out as a static model, but where's the fun in that! Haha 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Wow, Dean ! May I suggest an add-on to your tool chest, that might be useful for this project Hubert 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark64 Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 thats a big surgery project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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