1/35 UH-1H Huey By lmagna

[lmagna]

Thanks Edward

 

Thanks EG. 

To be honest, I have no idea about factory, generals, or otherwise. I think that the vast majority of the Ds and Hs that I flew in had black dashes. At least that is how my mind's eye sees them. I will have to take your word about delivery and orders I wouldn't even know where to start researching the matter. I also have, (Had) the option of going totally black and would have If I had not found this photo in my few remaining pictures:

I was not all that good at taking pictures back then either, and the picture is not all that clear. That is compounded by me trying to get close enough to show what I am talking about.

 

I was leaning toward doing the lighter dash just because it was so beautifully done in the supplied PE and it would have been a shame to not use it. My picture just allowed me to justify using it as although it may not have been common, there was at least one Huey in Vietnam in 1970 that had a gray dash despite orders, and I was on it at least once.

Edited April 13, 2020 by lmagna

[Canute]

I suspect your photo is closer to the reality of the day. Our a/c had a medium gray cockpit with black instrument panels. The round gauges had color marks for good and bad ranges. The radio and computer panels were generally scuffed, because so many feet got in there in the course of doing maintenance.

 

The canopy rails were black, always good in SEA. Rest your arms on them and risk getting burned. Typical of many fighters.

[Jack12477]

That's a very impressive cockpit, Lou. Nicely done !  

[Jack12477]

9 hours ago, lmagna said:

To be honest I am surprised that you didn't try for officer status or at least Warrant. Same job just better pay and living conditions. I only knew a couple of guys who were enlisted with full degrees.

About 50 of my fellow enlisted at the Arsenal had a Masters degree and one, who became a close friend, was just a thesis away from his PhD.  As our Captain, our interim Detachment Commander while awaiting his Security Clearance,  told us "even tho he had a PhD in Nuclear Physics he could be sent to Nam quicker than any of us because an Officer's job is first to Command" . Most of our Officers had advanced degrees in Science or Engineering also.

 

One of the guys told me that he and a friend had gone thru school together, both had a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering, actually his buddy had a higher average, both got drafted together,  did boot camp together; he got assigned to the R&D program at the Arsenal while his buddy was sent to Nam as a generator mechanic. Go figure !  I just got lucky. 

[lmagna]

5 hours ago, Jack12477 said:

That's a very impressive cockpit, Lou. Nicely done !

Thanks Jack I can't help but wish it was better but I think I may be stretching my abilities to the max now. 

 

6 hours ago, Canute said:

Rest your arms on them and risk getting burned.

I had forgotten about that as well. How hot the metal could get sitting in the sun sometimes. On the days that the sun didn't shine there was probably mud everywhere! Fun times.

Edited April 13, 2020 by lmagna

[mtaylor]

7 hours ago, Jack12477 said:

One of the guys told me that he and a friend had gone thru school together, both had a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering, actually his buddy had a higher average, both got drafted together,  did boot camp together; he got assigned to the R&D program at the Arsenal while his buddy was sent to Nam as a generator mechanic. Go figure !  I just got lucky. 

Well, it's all explained in that icon of military operations:  "Catch-22".   There's also a nice bit in "Glory Road" about the "Dirty Tricks Department" and the "Fairy Godmother Department".

[popeye the sailor]

nice work with the instrument panel........looks good    

[lmagna]

Thanks Denis

 

It's kind of hard to take credit for cutting out a couple of PE parts and gluing them into place. But I did have to do considerable work in getting the Instrument panel to fit where it should properly. It is still not 100% right but the location is closer than it would have been straight out of the box.

[lmagna]

OK here is proof that I have not just been letting my poor Huey just sit in the hanger and languish from lack of attention.

 

First off when I left you last I was not all that happy about the PE shoulder harness straps on the pilot. I am pretty sure they would have looked OK laying on an empty seat, but for what I have in mind on this build, having a crew is necessary. While I was somewhat reluctant to totally backtrack on the pilot I also didn't want to repeat the same thing on the co-pilot. So I went  to the first aid box and pilled out a roll of surgical tape and cut a strip the same width as the PE belts and applied them to the shoulders of the co-pilot and behind the seat. Not only did it go MUCH faster than the PE had but after painting I think it looks much better. Here is a rear view of the First Class Cabin to show how it turned out.

Still not perfect but nothing in this build is.

 

Next I went to the Padded Cell and did a bunch of other final installs. It does not look like I did much but it is proving that mixing kit and aftermarket stuff comes back and bites you. Nothing fits exactly as it should and has to be customized taking three times as long.

It also looks like there is a lot of dust and stuff from filing and cutting that I need to clean off.

 

Then I cut off the kit overhead console and glued on the aftermarket piece. This will almost be invisible in the finished model but the aftermarket is MUCH more accurate.

Here is how it will look in place:

I kept the kit foot pedals, not because they were better, as they were not, but after trimming down the foot bars considerably they fit the best and were a perfect fit for the pilot's feet. In all other respects they are FAR too thick and out of scale. I did break the pilot's cyclic stick trying to get it cut off properly to fit the handle that was built into his hand, so I had to take a piece of brass rod and bend a new stick and glue it into place. You can just see the bottom between his legs. I still need to paint it.

 

I then went ahead and put the first coat on the fuselage. Not certain if it was the exact color I was looking for but I have a lot of stuff I have learned from looking at your guys builds that I of course am now obligated to at least try out. If it all fails, then I guess there is always Super Clean or failing that brake fluid and chlorine. 

 

So here are a couple of other pictures to close out this update. None of it is glued in place but it looks at least a little like progress.

 

 

Thanks for looking in 

 

[Egilman]

Looks good to me, OD green, especially US Army OD Green, can show up in many different hues and shades.... this is showing up a bit pale in the close up flash, but in the background under the yellow light it looks perfect for sun faded OD Green....

 

Nice work.....

[lmagna]

Thanks EG.

While I am no color expert and OD Green is pretty much just that to me, I do know that it takes on MANY shades when applied to assorted vehicles, or exposed to different lighting. It seemed that no two Hueys looked the same as you went down the line. The aircraft were not the same color as the vehicles we rode in, or for that matter the other things around the compound. Tents were one color, vehicles another and choppers still a third. Then there were all of the OD people as well. Every uniform was a slightly different color yet EVERYTHING was OD. A standard joke all the way from Basic on was that "If the Army wanted you to have a wife/girl/etc, they would paint them/it OD and issue you one".

 

Believe it or not I was thinking the body color at this point was just slightly too dark and possibly should be a little more yellow or brown or whatever shade would pull it out of the green a little, and make it a little more sun faded. But then I would be relying on a memory that has already proven a little faulty on this build.

[Edwardkenway]

24 minutes ago, Egilman said:

Nice work.....

I agree very nice work. I like the surgical tape seat belt solution

[lmagna]

Thanks Edward

I was kind of fond of that solution as well. It is thin, almost translucent before painting. It has a kind of paper consistency so at this scale anyway kind of looks like cloth, and certainly twists and bends like cloth. After painting it looks 100% better than PE and much easier to work with

[mtaylor]

Lou, 

Take a deep breath and back off a bit.  The OD looks perfect, just faded enough in "normal" light to show some use.   OD is the chameleon of colors and does seem to change depending on lighting, shade, etc.  

[Jack12477]

So far so good, Lou! Looks nice.

[Old Collingwood]

Looking good Lou,   its coming together now.

 

OC.

[lmagna]

Thanks Jack and OC

 

Still a ways to go.

Edited April 23, 2020 by lmagna

[popeye the sailor]

look'in good Lou!  color looks fine to me as well........I can agree with "looking down the line".........neither of my B 17's have the same green      you could also dry brush on some Bomber tan over the top part and show the degree of fading.  here's an idea.......if you have a kit or two that you don't mind wasting,  do some practicing on them....even start a log.  it will get you more comfortable with the art and brush up on techniques.  it will build up your confidence level too     you got the potential...flaunt it!

[lmagna]

Thanks Denis

I have a few ideas of what I am at least going to try, based on builds by you other guys that I have followed over the last few months, including your B-17 builds. I have no idea how it all will turn out as virtually every aspect of this build has, and will involve techniques I have never done before. Even just building a plastic kit is almost a new activity. I have probably built less than 20 plastic kits in all of my adult life and none of them using the methods I am using now. Can't think of a "spare" kit that I might own that would lend itself to be sacrificed for practice. I will just have to learn as I go and hope for the best.

 

Again, hanks for looking in.

[kpnuts]

I wouldn't call any of this megre skills I would say more accurately amazing skills, I think you're forgetting I'm working at 1/8 scale this is tiny compared to that.

[mtaylor]

[Egilman]

51 minutes ago, kpnuts said:

I wouldn't call any of this megre skills I would say more accurately amazing skills

+1, +2, +3......

[lmagna]

Thank you KP, Mark, and EG. 1/8th or 1/35th, I still feel your builds and a number of others I have been following are artwork, while mine will just be pedestrian at best. I am not ashamed of what I have done so far, as this is the first model of any kind I have really done in years and is using a number of disciplines that I have never used before at all. 

 

I do regret the advent of the virus as it has changed things around my house and dramatically curtailed my ability to spend time modeling and slowed my build significantly. Learning how to keep the kids up in their schooling that is now done at home, has, and continues to be quite a time consuming weekday endeavor and one that is not been all that easy for someone who left the school system almost fifty years ago! Add the daily adjustments to simple things like learning how to grocery shop online for a family of four including two Velociraptors who never seem to be full, and other life changes that I am certain you are all familiar with, and it sometimes seems that building has come to a complete stop. Hopefully I will soon catch up and things will change back to a more normal retired life!

 

Again, thank you so much for your support. I will try to honer it by striving to do the best of my ability and present something worth looking at at least.   

[mtaylor]

2 hours ago, lmagna said:

I will try to honer it by striving to do the best of my ability ...

 

Full stop right after "ability".   This isn't a race, a beauty contest, or a concours d elegance.   It's just a hobby.  The only person to be satisfied is the builder.  You're doing great.  Hang in there.

[Egilman]

6 hours ago, lmagna said:

Again, thank you so much for your support. I will try to honor it

Correction, we will be honored to watch you work.... And very pleased that you allow us to comment on such..... That is a privilege we greatly respect....

[Edwardkenway]

4 hours ago, mtaylor said:

 

Full stop right after "ability".   This isn't a race, a beauty contest, or a concours d elegance.   It's just a hobby.  The only person to be satisfied is the builder.  You're doing great.  Hang in there.

 

45 minutes ago, Egilman said:

Correction, we will be honored to watch you work.... And very pleased that you allow us to comment on such..... That is a privilege we greatly respect....

Succinctly put and echoed 👍👍

[kpnuts]

I used to have your exact same idea that my models were so poor compared to others I even considered giving up but after several people all kept drumming into me that it's not a competition (there will always be someone better so trying to be as good is a losing battle) it's a hobby you're supposed to enjoy and I had lost that, the enjoyment was crushed by looking at others (who i could never be as good as if I lived to be 300)and feeling crushed I couldn't do it.

Now I just build for the enjoyment of it (although some models can be frustrating in fit problems or poor instructions) I no longer compare to people like the diorama king tiking for instance I just enjoy his works of art or roymattblack the king of scratch built cars again I just enjoy their builds and use them as mentors.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR MODELLING.

As for slow progress as others have said it's not a race, I've lost interest in a model (the Bismarck or Soleil for instance) they both sit in a cupboard awaiting either inspiration or room but will be started again the Soleil must have taken 2yrs already and I've not got to the complicated bits yet. There are lots of reasons builds take a long time and generally it's just life gets in the way, as long as you're enjoying its that's all that matters.

[lmagna]

Thank you all for your kind comments. It is possible you are able to see something that I can't, or that you are great liars!

 

Either way it does give me some incentive to try and get more table time than I have been able to manage over the last couple of weeks. Maybe in the middle of the day when I have real outside light coming in through the window, might make me feel a little less confined. I should be able to get a lot done in a relatively short time now that I am moving on from the cockpit. 

[John Allen]

LOU,

 

Looking good, light at the end of the tunnel.

By the way thanks for the life check  instead of a knock on a neighbors door a phone call. No answer check obits, answer still kicking unless you get a recording then go back to the obits. Ain't technology grand.

Get the Huey done.

[lmagna]

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I'm just hoping that it is not an oncoming train!

 

The only thing I check the obits for is to make certain I'M alive! If I call someone and they don't answer I just figure they don't want to talk to me. Not all that uncommon. Hope Sybile is home OK and settling in and you still have enough bottom end to be able to sit down comfortably. Remember bowing and groveling almost always helps, almost always.