1/48 Academy CH-46 A/D
- Thread starter DavidsScaleModels
- Start date
DavidsScaleModels
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2022
- Messages
- 99
Tenth week of the CH-46D was spent adding external details and starting base coat of painting. I built up the lower section and routed the wires (one for each side). The end caps for the landing gear were then modified for the wires. I used the 30 gauge wire to represent the hydraulic lines. These go into the wheel hub and exit thru the middle of the tire. They will later feed thru the base to the power source for the lights.
Next I started to add the small external details. One thing I noticed is the kit does not cover the section between the rear door and the crew section. This left the underside of the tail and wiring exposed. I located a reference photo that showed this area covered with the same blanket panels that are above the crew seats. So I used the 3M glass tape on a small frame to fit the area. I then modified the rear landing gear pods and the nose strut to add the tie-down loops. The underside has a couple of antenna's which are supplied in the kit, however these kit pieces are very thick. The nose small blade antenna was replaced with a photo etch version. The posts for the wire antenna were replaced with gold pins from a scrap computer circuit card. The large blade antenna is the kit part but the thickness was thinned down with sanding sticks. Also on the tail is a small vent tube. The kit piece was plastic with a small hole in it. I replaced this with an aluminum tube.
Finally I started the base coat of painting. The overall green is FS34097 with flat black for the exhaust area. This upcoming week I hope to finish up the base coat, final assembly, and start on the decals.
You can see more photos and details of this build from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ch-46a-d-helicopter/
Next I started to add the small external details. One thing I noticed is the kit does not cover the section between the rear door and the crew section. This left the underside of the tail and wiring exposed. I located a reference photo that showed this area covered with the same blanket panels that are above the crew seats. So I used the 3M glass tape on a small frame to fit the area. I then modified the rear landing gear pods and the nose strut to add the tie-down loops. The underside has a couple of antenna's which are supplied in the kit, however these kit pieces are very thick. The nose small blade antenna was replaced with a photo etch version. The posts for the wire antenna were replaced with gold pins from a scrap computer circuit card. The large blade antenna is the kit part but the thickness was thinned down with sanding sticks. Also on the tail is a small vent tube. The kit piece was plastic with a small hole in it. I replaced this with an aluminum tube.
Finally I started the base coat of painting. The overall green is FS34097 with flat black for the exhaust area. This upcoming week I hope to finish up the base coat, final assembly, and start on the decals.
You can see more photos and details of this build from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ch-46a-d-helicopter/
DavidsScaleModels
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2022
- Messages
- 99
After eleven weeks on the CH-46 the helicopter is almost finished! I started off applying the decals. The kit decals worked very well. The tedious part was the 60+ placards/stencils. It took three nights to get all the decals applied. These were then sealed with a clear coat.
I began removing the kapton tape masking on all the windows and the Micromask from the navigation lights. The navigation light lenses were then painted with Tamiya clear for the color of the light. I then did a quick light check before moving on to installing the boarding ladder and the cargo ramp. On the boarding ladder I used 38 gauge wire for the support cables. The angle of the steps should look better once the helicopter is on the display base. It sits about 0.1 inches higher in the back due to the wires out the bottom of the tires. I did another light check and all is good.
I have some minor touch ups to do and then I need to use some compressed air to clear some dust on the inside of the cockpit and I can then start weathering the fuselage. I will be starting the display base next week as well. The plan is to complete this over the next two weeks.
You can see more photos and details of this build from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ch-46a-d-helicopter/
I began removing the kapton tape masking on all the windows and the Micromask from the navigation lights. The navigation light lenses were then painted with Tamiya clear for the color of the light. I then did a quick light check before moving on to installing the boarding ladder and the cargo ramp. On the boarding ladder I used 38 gauge wire for the support cables. The angle of the steps should look better once the helicopter is on the display base. It sits about 0.1 inches higher in the back due to the wires out the bottom of the tires. I did another light check and all is good.
I have some minor touch ups to do and then I need to use some compressed air to clear some dust on the inside of the cockpit and I can then start weathering the fuselage. I will be starting the display base next week as well. The plan is to complete this over the next two weeks.
You can see more photos and details of this build from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ch-46a-d-helicopter/
Pantherman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2022
- Messages
- 2,386
Amazing. That's some great work. Pantherman
