Zvezda 1/72 MI-24P Hind

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Sorry, I'm another late comer.
Nice looking kit and as Dave said Zvezda's recent kits are often very good. 1/72 is a nice scale for displaying. Nicely detailed but you don't need too much space. Cockpit and engine look great.
Jim

[minitnkr]

Outstanding. Operating in loose soil environments with all those electronics, they often have to spool those up before the engines so as to not obscure visibility before takeoff thus last minute adjustments are possible. Can't swear to it but sounds plausible. Apaches take 20 to 30 minutes from cold start of electronics to takeoff. PaulE

[Guest]

Thanks Jim and Paul. Interesting information on the electronics, which does indeed make sense.

I was given a bit of free time today so did a bit more detailing on the engine. Some of it is covered, even with the access doors open, so excuse any loose ends at the back.

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Then set about bringing the two fuselage halves together. For anyone that does this kit in the future I had to relieve some of the plastic from inside the halves, around the rotor head area. It was fouling on the bulkhead that goes between engines and gearbox. Strangely it looked like someone had already had a go at it before as the moulding in that area was quite rough compared to every other piece. Maybe a last minute modification to the moulding tool?

Anyway, I simply took a little bit more away from the areas that already seemed to have had attention, and the fit was very good. One small gap, again near the rotor head area, but the rest was impressively flush.

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On the sprue I had though the tail section was twisted, but having studied photos of the real thing the tail does lean slightly to one side so all is good.

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[Guest]

Strangely it looked like someone had already had a go at it before as the moulding in that area was quite rough compared to every other piece. Maybe a last minute modification to the moulding tool?

Could be they had to modify the mould to get it to fill properly?

On the sprue I had though the tail section was twisted, but having studied photos of the real thing the tail does lean slightly to one side so all is good.

Heh, TIL. Good thing to know if I ever get round to building one of these — always liked them, never got round to building a model of one.

[Guest]

Could be they had to modify the mould to get it to fill properly?

Maybe, who knows?

It was almost as if I'd heated the plastic to get it really soft, then forced it into position, leaving a rough impression of the bulkhead (and the top of the gearbox) on the inside.

Should have got a picture really!

[Guest]

I've been busy at work so not masses of progress, but here's where I'm at right now

Lots of the little subs put together, most of which are made up of several parts. That must be why the parts count is so high.

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Painted inside the doors, engine covers etc, ready for them to be loosely mounted when I paint the exterior.

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I think I've finished with the engines. I could keep adding more and more but realistically it'll hardly be seen, even with the covers open, so I'll leave that kind of thing for a larger scale. Also got the canopy fitted, which was an absolute pain as it's also in several pieces. "Doors" only temporarily mounted, will be displayed open. Weird green reflection is proof I have a bit of garden outside my shed :smiling5:

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Managed to get a TET glue mark on the largest part of the canopy! With so many pieces that needed "persuading" to fit, there was no way I was going to sit there for hours waiting for canopy glue to harden so used a drop or two of extra thin to secure it. Of course it decided to wick up my thumb and left a huge print :rolling:

After much sanding, right up to 6000 grit, it looks a whole load better. It's just a bit dull but should hopefully polish up fine. You can see what's left of the print around the front frame of the rear canopy, but I reckon that will hide a bit more if I go slightly onto the "glass" when I paint the frame.

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A little bit more sanding and some panel lines to rescribe then it should be ready for primer & paint. Of course the big decision now is what to fit and what to leave off for that process.

Getting in and around the main winglets will be a nightmare if I fit them now, and the rear elevators only have a tiny mounting point for their size so I just know they'll get knocked off! It'll probably end up as some kind of hybrid, painting the main colours first then adding more parts before finishing off, but stay tuned and we'll see what happens :smiling2:

[scottie3158]

Andy,
This is coming on very nicely keep it going.

[stillp]

Been there, done that with the TET.
It's good at wicking under masking tape too. :worried:
Good recovery though. Have you tried Farecla G3 on the canopy?
Pete

[Guest]

Thanks Paul. There's so little margin for error with the fit that it's testing me, but all part of the learning process I guess :smiling3:

Pete, I have the 3M counterpart, Fast Cut Plus, and a quick go with that looked positive. Will probably wait until I've finished with glue before polishing any more just in case I make the same mistake again!

[Si Benson]

Morning Andy,

You’ve made a lovely job of the build despite it fighting you....I’d say your winning:smiling4:

Canopies, window glass and decals always get me anxious! Sounds like you’ve got everything under control though:thumb2:

[Guest]

Thanks for the support Si.

I'm in the process of masking the canopy as we speak. I've just put the magnifiers down for a minute to make a cuppa give my eyes a rest! :dizzy:

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Cracking job on a kit which sounds as if it has its difficulties. As for the finger print - been there, done that.
Jim

[Guest]

I'm in the process of masking the canopy as we speak. I've just put the magnifiers down for a minute to make a cuppa give my eyes a rest! :dizzy:

Liquid mask......that’s all I’m saying....

[Guest]

Thanks Jim. Apart from the fit around the rotor head I think all the other issues are down to my lack of talent :smiling5:

Liquid mask......that’s all I’m saying....

I did get some but haven't quite got the hang of it yet. I seem to blob it everywhere except where I want it. A bit like glue....


Started off with some black Mr Surfacer over the canopy. Thinking behind this was if any of it can be seen from the inside it will match the black cockpit interior.


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Then two thin but wet coats of grey Mr Surfacer 1000 over the whole thing to highlight any areas where my sanding wasn't good enough. Seemed OK from a quick glance apart from a couple of small details that need rescribing, but will check it over properly once dry.

Hung up precariously to dry :anguished:

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[Guest]

And a bit of blue on the underside, although against the brown cardboard it just looks grey :smiling5:

It's not turned out quite as light as I would have liked but it'll do. I've tried to modulate the colour a bit to prevent my previous "block of colour" attempts. Usual crappy picture just about shows it up.

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