100 years of Marine Corps Aviation = AH1W

[Ken Pugh]

I missed building something for Naval Aviation's 100th (shame on me, being a Navy man and all).  I plan to build something for them later.  Right now, I'm building something for the USMC Aviation's 100th.

This project is the magnificent AH1W Super Cobra in 1/72 scale.  I have been building it for some time but have not released anything on it just to make sure I will complete it.  I do have pics but they will be posted later.

Oorah, go Marine Corps!

Ken Pugh

[lastvautour]

Looking forward to it.

Lou

[Airmedical]

Well, you might as well post pictures because now that we know you are working on the project, some of us will be hounding you on pictures and progress.  Hint, hint, wink, wink,  elbow, elbow....Uh Hem!

To all our veterans, those serving and those that gave them selves.  Thank you.  I solute you!
Semper Fi! Ooorah!

[Ken Pugh]

I found that I did have some early pics stashed away so I will post about construction details.

Ken Pugh

[lastvautour]

Looking forward to them.

Lou

[Ken Pugh]

I have steadily moved away from block construction of my solid builds and this one is completely built in layers, just like the bread and butter ship models.  The main reason I did this was because of the helicopter's tail rotor shaft from the engine.  It looked easier to get right by building in layers.  I like this method so much I will be doing more of it in the future.

This build also has more paper in its construction, a method I will be using a lot more in future.

First up, plan out your layers.  This was planned around the available sheet thicknesses of basswood available.  Originally, I used a lot of poplar instead of basswood for strength, especially in thin structures like the wing and tail.  Now, I will be using layers of thin wood and paper.  Homemade plywood.  After I designed my layers I traced out templates on drafting mylar.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7281

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

Here you can see the fuselage layers and main rotors.  The rotors are two layers thick.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7282

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

Fuselage glued up.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7283

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

The fuselage has much of the shape carved in.  Another layer is now added for the cheeks.  The AH1W has tons of improvements tacked onto it allowing for large amounts of detail.  There is a large amount of variation in individual examples due to upgrade progress.  A good pic of your chosen subject is necessary to get all the proper upgrades installed.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7284

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

Engine nacelles are ready to go on.  The whiskey model is twin engined and was a big performance boost.  The zulu is a drastic change with a four blade main rotor.

Originally, I wanted to make the IR reduction nozzles for the engines.  After much aggravation I settled on the version with the bare exhaust nozzles.  I'm glad I did as it allows me to develop my paper techniques.  The horizontal surfaces are not glued in, they are there for illustration.  Both are 1/32nd basswood at present, though the front wing will be built up in layers.  The rear will be covered with paper.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7285

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

Paper nozzle construction.  First you need a form.  For the nozzles this was very simple.  The form is covered with plastic wrap then a strip of paper rolled over.  After the first layer, I used simple white glue.  Once the glue is dry, you can remove the entire nozzle from the form.  If you are happy with what you made, soak it with thin CA.  It will then be hard as a rock and can be cut or sanded just like wood.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7286

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

Here is the nozzle shape removed from the form.  Elmer's Glueall is flexible enough that you can do a little shaping by squeezing until you get just what you want.  When you are satisfied, soak with CA and your part becomes permanent.  Both nozzles will be cut from this piece.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7287

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

Details added to the nozzles, also from paper.  Build up layers to get the thickness you want.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7288

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

Nozzles cut to size.  Since these things are so thin, gluing them on can be a problem.  I just sawed off some of the form to support.  By doing it this way, I can paint the fuselage and nozzles separately and glue the nozzles on at the end.  Because of the plastic barrier it is not a tight fit but that does not really matter, Tacky Glue will fill that gap quite nicely.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7289

Ken Pugh

[Ken Pugh]

The tail is a mess and very weak.  Paper again to the rescue.  When I make up my plans I print several copies, some in paper and some in card stock.  On the card stock version, I drew in a fold line along the leading edge.  Cut that section of the tail out, fold over on the leading edge, then cut out the rest of the tail.  This will now glue on as a cover over the tail, refining the shape and strengthening the structure.

The tail rotor hub is also shown here.  This can be a difficult part to securely attach to the tail.  Brass tubing was cut for the hub and it was wrapped with floral wire, just like blocks on model ships.  The wire tail will lay along the leading edge of the tail and covered with the card stock.  Prime the metal before gluing all this up.



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pid=7290

Ken Pugh