ICM 1/32 AH-1G Cobra (early production)

[adt70hk]

Coming on very nicely Barry. Those 3D cockpit details do look the part.

As she does show an interest, perhaps your girlfriend would like to have a go at a build and blog it on here?

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Looks great. Those 3D decals look superb.
Jim

[BarryW]

I have cemented some panels to the side of the fuselage and put the rotor mechanism inside before cementing the fuselage.

I departed from the instructions, after a test fit, and left the cockpit out, for now. It will be easier to fit later.

[ATTACH]441700[/ATTACH]

In the photo below you can see that I have not cemented the front of the fuselage as this will help me add the pit later.

[ATTACH]441701[/ATTACH]

I did this because the location for the pit is not very precise and it will be awkward to get it exactly in the right place before closing the fuselage.

[BarryW]

Just did a test fit of the cockpit. Pretty much spot on.
[ATTACH]441838[/ATTACH]

Not installing it before cementing g the fuselage halves was the right thing to do.

I will be doing some work on the seams, filling and sanding, before cementing the pit into place and then joining the front of the fuselage.

[BarryW]

I have decided to spray a black primer before fitting the cockpit. I am concerned about the joins and the primer will help accentuate any issues. To that end I am adding some parts now that won’t be vulnerable later including the bottom fuselage panel. I will not be cementing the front inch or two so I leave some play to help fitting the fuselage.

[ATTACH]442013[/ATTACH]

This stage of seemingly endless joint checking, filling and sanding is the part of any build i least enjoy but it is worth taking the trouble.

[Jim R]

Hi Barry

This stage of seemingly endless joint checking, filling and sanding is the part of any build i least enjoy but it is worth taking the trouble.

If you want the quality results you get then it has to be done - unfortunately.
Jim

[BarryW]

Another quick update.
I have also worked on a few more sub-assemblies shown below while filler has been drying….

[ATTACH]442015[/ATTACH]

These too will be primed when I do the fuselage.

[BarryW]

A couple more progress shots. The cockpit is in. I have a few more internet parts to do in that area. Beautiful fit and doing it after the fuselage was joined is definitely the best way to go. I also fitted the nose and a section under the pit. As you can see these are not yet primed.

[ATTACH]442255[/ATTACH]

I also have prepared and primed the rotor assembly.

[ATTACH]442256[/ATTACH]

[BarryW]

Armour panels added to cockpit and a few other additions.
[ATTACH]442479[/ATTACH]

[BarryW]

I have been attaching other small and larger detail items including the skis.
there is a towing attachment and wheels that could be fixed to the skis but I have decided not to display it that way, skis only.

I realised that the Cobra sits fairly precariously on the skis and it’s stance will be helped with some weight in the nose. Ideally I would have put the weight inside the front gun turret but it was already fixed in place so I just had a small space on the nose. The good thing is that even a little bit of weight will help as most of the extra fittings are ahead of the ski legs. Indeed it might ‘sit’ properly even without any extra weight but I want to play safe and it can only help.

I put a wad of thin sponge material into the nose and soaked it in pva glue to keep it in place and ‘catch’ the weight granuals stopping them from shaking down into the body under the fuselage floor. Then I poured in the liquid gravity being careful not to overfill the hole and impede the fitting of the transparency. When I did than I tipped a little c.a. glue onto the LQ where capillary action turned it into a solid lump and fixed it to the walls.



here she is now. I must get on now with the canopy construction This is not the best engineered area of the kit and is a little reminiscent of limited run kits with no positive locations Fingers crossed I will come to that fresh tomorrow having today finished applying masking to the transparencies

[minitnkr]

Office is outstanding. Not seen that config. before, usually one minigun & a 40mm grenade launcher. Looks very impressive.

[BarryW]

Office is outstanding. Not seen that config. before, usually one minigun & a 40mm grenade launcher. Looks very impressive.

The twin turret is for just one of the four scheme options, the one with the Stars and Bars that I am depicting. All the other three have the single turret. There will be a lot of spare parts from this build.

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
I have to agree that is a really nice looking cockpit. So far all seems well. Good luck with fitting the canopy. Adding weight is always worth doing if you have any doubt about it sitting on it's tail.
Jim

[BarryW]

The canopy is a real struggle. The instructions say fit the top section first, but it barely fits the space and is without positive location points.

After a lot of playing around I decided to fit one side first, or at least the rear section and see if I can fit the top to that. I am not at all confident that I can get a good result with this. The kit is designed to have the rear section open but that would be even more difficult to achieve. Whatever happens there will be gaps to deal with and I will probably use Crystal Clear to do so. It is such a pity that they did such a poor job engineering this very prominent area. Finger crossed that I can pull this off.

[Tim Marlow]

Canopy doesn’t look much fun there Barry. The rest is coming on nicely though.