Academy 1/35 AH-1Z Viper

[Peterpools]

MOVING FORWARD

Build plan as normal, mostly OOB build with the addition of a Quinta Cockpit set, the DEF 20mm Gun Barrel Brass Detail Set and I’ve replaced the kit’s mask set with an Eduard set as it has masks for both sides of all the glass as so much of the interior glass is visible. A last minute decision and order, an Eduard PE exterior detail set, which I’m still waiting for.

My goal; get her built and enjoy the journey.

As I continued to make progress on the kit, it became apparent that I wasn’t happy in deviating from my normal style for posting a build thread using the ‘What’s on your Bench’ forum as it’s so hard to keep the build sequence together start to finish and also, not miss any of the comments and posts.

A fair number of parts use alignment pins and I found the female holes were a bit too shallow and just not wide enough, requiring drilling them out a bit for a better fit.

First up, the front office. No real issues and a good number of injector pin marks that needed to be filled in the cockpit armor plate and seat backs.

The Academy plastic is quite soft and care needs to be taken when sanding, as it’s easy to scratch and scar. Instructions are adequate but for me, part location and orientation has already been an issue, relying on arrows pointing to the location. Color callouts have been somewhat vague as well and not complete, especially if a part is multicolored.

Disaster #1 (prior to the What’s on my Bench post): I knocked over a small jar of lacquer thinner and it did a number on the front office and the sensor ball assembly. I was fuming mad and emailed John b about it. John calmed me down and offered some excellent advice, which I gladly followed. Best to say, with a ‘clear head’ a few days later, the repairs went fairly well and after repainting, I was back on course – as always, thanks John.

The Quinta decals were added and some were different then the numerous sets I have used in the past. The majority of the detail decals were awesome as always but the seat cushions and harnesses had a paper feel and slight texture. This just might be how Quinta is resolving the cracking and breaking experienced with the harnesses in the past – but honestly, they look flat and not much better then normal water slide decals. I should have purchased the Eduard PE harness set initially but decided not to do so – bad call on my part.

The office was assembled, primed with MRP Black Primer and finished off with Tamiya Flat Black LP3. 

I had taken a good week or so break from the bench as my wife and I had medical issues to attend to and a full calendar of doctor appointments to fill our days. Returning to the build, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I looked at the photographs.

Blunder #2: the front office dry brushing: not good at all. The original dry brushing was removed as the accent color was way too light and redone with Tamiya Nato Black. I know the edges still look light but that is from the lighting I used for the photographs. if it turns out not to be the case, I'll be redoing the dry brushing a second time.   

Making steady progress and no matter how careful I was assembly, there is going to be countless hours devoted to filling and sanding.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mark31]

Nice to see you go further with this.

And yes somtimes put it aside and let it rest to start later again is the best way.

Looking forward to see more.

Mark

[Peterpools]

Thanks Mark

Much appreciated and feels good to have the Viper back on the bench and making progress again.

[JohnB]

It's coming along nicely now Peter. Looks good! 🙂

[shark64]

Well, gonna have to step up my game when I see this kind of talented work. 
Glad to see you didn't give up on helicopter builds. Nice start my friend. Are you folding the blades and using the folding AM?

Drybrushing is just right in my opinion.

Oliver

[CANicoll]

Really looking good Peter.  I can't see where you might have had the problem with spilled thinner.  What was the problem and more importantly, what was the advice John offered?  I've done EXACTLY the same thing - knocking over a container of thinner (in the interest of full disclosure, this evening as I was clear coating my B-58 I sprayed some thinner almost up my nose - don't ask!).

I've had the same issue with the Quinta seat pads - just too thin.  You have the most experience of anyone here with the Quinta sets, I think.  Disappointed that you are not happy with the new seatbelts.  They do look good in your pictures.

 

[HubertB]

Cockpit looks good, Peter 👍 !

Looking more closely at your pics, the seat-belts look realistically thin, not the bloated look of their previous prints. In 1/32, a belt should be about 0.12 mm / 5 thou thick, which is the thickness of a paper sheet.

Hubert

[Peterpools]

Thanks John and a Big Thanks you for getting me back on course.

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Oliver and so much appreciated you very kind comments on my progress.  Not planning on folding the rotor blades as I have room in my display to show them in the 'in flight' position plus I plan on keeping the entire assembly removable if need be. Once I saw the images I originally posted I knew the dry brushing was way over the top and needed to be fixed - just blends in so much better now. 

Glad you are onboard for the journey and I'm sure will help keep me on course. 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Chris so much.

The lacquer thinner was a near disaster as it started not only to attack some of the painted parts but I chose to use the clear plastic sensor ball that was already masked and painted and the lacquer then was also on it as well. I haven't removed the masks and will have my fingers crossed until the end when the masks are removed.

When the lacquer thinner spiller and attacked the kit, I cleaned it up and then decided to shelve the kit as it was a disaster. I emailed John and told him what had happened. We exchanged a few emails and I started to calm down over an hour or so. John's advice was spot on the money and was to take a good few days break or more if needed, re-goup the troops and when I had a clear head go back to the Viper and pick up where I left off with a fresh and positive attitude. Just talking things out with John was a huge help and when I felt ready, I approached the Viper with a positive attitude and after a lot of additional cleanup work, sanding and polishing work, all seemed well.

Holy smokes, your 'Thinner disaster' could have been a lot worse, being a health issue - hope you're alright. We just need to be a lot more careful and all this is another reason to think about shooting safer water-based acrylics. 

I've been using Quinta Detail sets since they first came out and love them. I've had the same issues with the seatbelts and harnesses as most but their solution to a paper type replacement for them, just doesn't work for me - way to thin. My hope would be, they will use a thicker 'paper' material for the belts and seat cushions in newer releases.

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Huber, much appreciated. I know the old-style seatbelts are too thick in scale and we all have become so use to the look. For scale effect, maybe Quita should go halfway in between scale and looks as it just seems they get a bit lost on the seats.

 

[JohnB]

45 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

Thanks John and a Big Thanks you for getting me back on course.

 

My pleasure Peter. Always happy to help.🙂

[Peterpools]

Thanks John

You're always there and so greatly appreciated my friend.

[JohnB]

Might be a good idea to post this also Peter. I recommended adding "collars" on paint jars, etc. They have saved me from knocking over thinner, paint, liquid glue, etc many times. A simple and useful thing. 🙂

[Peterpools]

John, absolutely. Glad you added what I left out, prevention for further mishaps and disaster. I'm using your collar method and it is working, preventing a near spill already.

 

 

[JohnB]

38 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

John, absolutely. Glad you added what I left out, prevention for further mishaps and disaster. I'm using your collar method and it is working, preventing a near spill already.

 

 

That small "addition" has saved me from many a big mess!!!!! 🙂

[BlrwestSiR]

Peter, just catching up on your progress.

We've been up north camping for the week, we're back tomorrow so reception is spotty at times. 

Glad to see the spill wasn't the end of the build and you're continuing on with it. 

I've found the Red Fox 3D decals to be more brittle than the Quinta ones. The Quinta ones aseem to bend okay as long as the bend isn't too sharp. Here they are in my FW190. I glue one end down, let it dry and then glue the other end. I find that helps get the contours I want. 

 

 

[Peterpools]

Carl

Been spending a few hours as time allows on the Viper and decided to re-do the dry brushing a third time and hopefully it will look a lot better in the next update photos.  

WOW, the Red Fox belts look great and seem to be a bit thicker then the Quinta ones, with just the right feel to them. And of course your front office looks awesome. 

When I ran into the Quinta seat belt breaking issues with their seatbelts and harness, on my Spitfire I just finished, I repaired the break with a small pieces of Tamiya tape and then painted the patch - looked fine and no issues. Just feel the Quinta belts are too thin in appearance and just have don't have the right look and feel.