Bell UH-1B Huey
This is my first submission to the site, and nowhere near the standard of "the greats", but I'm a dad and can only grab a few hours here and there to kit. I used the Hobby Boss UH-1B kit, SHQ white metal crew, Fireball Modelworks Decals and a M2 50.cal from the spares box to depict a HAL-3 US Navy Huey.
I wanted my Seawolf to feature a few replaced panels so I used Xtracrylix Faded Olive Drab mixed with various amounts of Tamiya O/D - then dry brushed the lot with a dust mix. I'm happy with the paint job, less so with the oversized minigun mount that I scratch built late one night and my lack of a brush-able transparent green is clear.
The Hobby Boss kit is ok - the weapons mounts need a little work. Joseph's decals were fantastic as ever - and I used Adobe Elements to create the in-flight blurring.
Comments
Hello superb !
Hello
superb !
Nice idea and nice build - I
Nice idea and nice build - I like it. Do you have a close up of the crew?
Stefan
I'll try and get photos for
I'll try and get photos for you over the weekend. I'll take some of the Seawolf crew, but I also have a couple of sets that I've just bought for my next project (HH-3E Jolly Green cross kit using the Revell kit as a base with Fujimi seaking extras), they are in the bare metal.
These SHQ sets are great value as you get two XM-23 huey gun mounts (mounting brackets, ammo box and belt feed), 2 M-60Ds on the bracket arm, a pilot and co-pilot in different poses and 2 gunners, one sat and the other stood over the mount.
I've used sets of these before for an ESCI UH-1H and a Italeri UH-1F, and the only issue is that sometimes the M-60s can be a little short shot . . . i.e. not enough lead got in the mold. The crew all seem to have chicken-plates and the helmet detail has a blob for the radio mike molded on - not bad for £3.00 plus p&p.
Matt
Hallo, I think this is
Hallo,
I think this is ORIGINAL!
Very Nice!
I built the HB UH-1C as a late B, but I admire your willingness to cut the doors off. I was kinda afraid that I would have ruined the crisp windshield...
Take care,
Austin
Austin
That's a sweet little
That's a sweet little Huey! I like the way you used different shades of green to add some character. And the weapons are awesome! Thanks also for using my decals on this little beastie :)
Joseph Osborn
http://www.fireballmodels.info
Nice HAL-3 bird
I love this build! A HAL-3 bird with all the doors removed and a big 50 cal in the door is just hard to beat.
Ray
The SHQ crew I used in my seawolf
Hi,
Ice asked for images of the SHQ set but I'm not sure how you add images to this forum?
Any suggestions would be great.
Matt
Thanks Mr Osborn
Hi Joseph,
Thanks for the comments, but as you already know it was your research that you included in the decal sheet that settled me on a patched paint job. Thanks again for covering this overlooked unit, and I'm a little star-struck to have feedback from you on my first posting.
To anyone else I would recommend Joseph's products without question. I have his 1/48 scale huey set as well as the HAL-3 set used here . . . and if I had the cash I'd get one of each set he does (where else would you find VAL-4 ponies covered?) Don't be put off by the ALPS decals . . . I am an utter decal clutz (chasing decals off my fingers with wet brushes etc), and I still got on fine with these decals.
Cheers,
Matt (HueyNutUK)
Thanks Ray, There are so
Thanks Ray,
There are so many varying weapon's fits, markings and paint jobs used by the different detachments of HAL-3 that you could do many builds and still not cover them all. I had toyed with the idea of a Monogram 1/48 scale seawolf as Joseph's set is available in that scale. What stopped me was the time and cost - casting duplicate crew members as gunners and sourcing the mini and 50.cal - and scratch building the tube rocket launchers seemed a little daunting. Then along came the Hobby Boss B-model with the correct rocket pods and 2 mini-guns thrown in - it was too good a chance to miss.
I've got a bunch of decals left on the Fireball sheet, so perhaps another bird in with the pylon mounted mini on the left, m60 for the left gunner and door mounted mini on the right? Hmm . . .
Cheers
Matt
cutting off the doors
Hey Austin
I was a little worried too, however the "doors off" look was a must for the late war load-out I wanted. So I took a deep breath and gently scored the door to door frame panel line that was already cast into the plastic using my trusty panel line re-scriber. The idea is to gently do this over and over and over again. It takes patience but doesn't stress the plastic too much.
Cheers,
Matt
adding images
Hi Matt,
here is some info on how to add pictures to the forum, it is easy
http://www.scale-rotors.com/forum/topic/how-do-you-do
If not, I'll be glad to help you further
Cheers,
Tim
SHQ 1/72 Crew images
Hi there,
With Tim's help, here are the images:
Above is the co-pilot and some views of the xm-23 mount/ammo bin & chute and m-60d's - all need a little TLC before painting.
Above is the "standing" gunner - which you can modify to sit with a little bending.
Gunner 2 above, which I sat behind the 50.cal
Pilot - the only downside with him is the modification needed to place his hands on the collective. All in all my lack of painting skills doesn't really do these guys justice - but hopefully you'll get a flavour of what they are like from the images above.
Cheers,
Matt
Thank you for your efforts -
Thank you for your efforts - these look great! Astonishing amount of details in that scale.
Stefan
UH-1B
Superior. Some of the most realistic in flight photos I've ever seen. Gary