Revell 1:48 Bell AH-1F Cobra

[pourquoi61]

I was fortunate enough to be gifted three model kits earlier this year, so I decided I should at least start one. The kit came with two available schemes, one for the US Army and the other for the Israeli Air Force, so I chose the Israeli one. The kit is old, basic and has raised detail, so it should be a quick, fun build, hopefully.




First thing I did was spray the sprues with Halfords Automotive Primer: Matte Black. I then dry-brushed the instrument panels and cockpit details silver. The seat cushions and cockpit rear bulkhead were painted Citadel Warpstone Glow. The seat-belts were picked out using Citadel Rotting Flesh. Odd buttons and levers were painted red and yellow using a cocktail stick. The engine parts were picked out with silver and the rest left black.



Next the engine was cemented in place along with the cockpit 'tub', the two halves were dry-fitted and it was a very good fit for an old kit. It was then glued and clamped. To stop the helicopter tail-sitting I put in three 5 gram wheel-balancing weights, supplied from my local HiQ.


So far a quick and fuss-free build, will post more later.

[AridTalons]

Looking forward to seeing this built.

The Cobra is my favorite attack helicopter.

[pourquoi61]

Thanks for your comments, I hope I can do it justice for you, certainly a fun build thus far. I build for fun, not to count rivets.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Love these angry looking birds

[pourquoi61]

So on with the build, the canopy comes in two halves split down one side of the frame. I glued the two parts together and rested it on the helicopter office to dry. It was then I noticed a large gap down one side which I would fill later. Once dry the canopy was glued to the tub.
Masking followed.


You can see the gap with filler in.

At this point I tried a paint colout for the helicopter.
Tamiya XF-57 Buff.

So I went for it.......


Time to highlight, so buff with white.



Not much I know, the camera has not picked up the variation.
So I added more white.....



Tamiya clear coat next then the decals.

But that will be another post.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Looking good

[shortCummins]

nice post shading

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[pourquoi61]

Looking good

THANK YOU SIR.

[pourquoi61]

nice post shading

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Thank you kind sir.

[pourquoi61]

Okay, only a little update today. The decals are on, but in my haste to add them the gloss coat was still a tiny bit damp!
So the decals stuck almost straight away and to add to that they are thin and want to curl under everything.
But they are on.


In my opinion the black looks too new, so I added two drops of matte white to matte clear and gently sprayed on to the decals and helicopter to tone it down.

To give this effect.

[sheppsea]

Very nice - love the affect of adding the matt white to the clear, give the whole build a much nicer look

[PrivateMansoor]

Coming along nicely. I like the paint job youve done there.

[pourquoi61]

Very nice - love the affect of adding the matt white to the clear, give the whole build a much nicer look

Yes it is , I do it with all desert aircraft to tone down the decals.
Thank you for your comment.

[pourquoi61]

Coming along nicely. I like the paint job youve done there.

Thank you sir, but I have not put much effort into this one.
Just for fun.

[pourquoi61]

Okay, so last night I built and glued on the TOW missiles, they were given a wash of sand and once dry most was removed. The canopy glass had the masking removed, I do not think it was at all bad. The machine gun was built glued on and given a dry brush of silver. Main rotor and a few more aerials to put on and then it'll be reveal time.

[Twokidsnosleep]

solid build so far

[AridTalons]

Looks good. Nice job on the preshade! The only thing I would recommend for you is to pin wash the rocket pods. They look a bit flat.

[pourquoi61]

solid build so far

Thank you sir.

[pourquoi61]

Looks good. Nice job on the preshade! The only thing I would recommend for you is to pin wash the rocket pods. They look a bit flat.

Thank you I am on it now.

[chief5437]

Ooo, I like this! You've done a great job on it buddy!

[pourquoi61]

Ooo, I like this! You've done a great job on it buddy!

Thank you so much, should get it done today.

[pourquoi61]

Well she is done and it was fun. I did what was suggested by Aridtalons by giving my rockets a pin wash,(a big thank you for that one ) I added the bits and bobs and repaired the tail skid. The rotor was given a bleaching effect by adding a small amount of matte white to the matte clear coat. Scratches were added using matte black and she is done.
Hope you like it.

[Twokidsnosleep]

She is a mean looking bird
You have done a great job here, very realistic

[AridTalons]

That's a fine looking Cobra right there. Job well done!

[chief5437]

Great finish buddy!

[sheppsea]

Great build - I love the rust on the landing skids

[pourquoi61]

She is a mean looking bird
You have done a great job here, very realistic

Thank you so much,it was a fun build and an old kit.

[pourquoi61]

That's a fine looking Cobra right there. Job well done!

Thank you sir and thank you for help with the pin wash, the detail just pops out.

[pourquoi61]

Great finish buddy!

Man y thanks, it was fun to build.

[pourquoi61]

Great build - I love the rust on the landing skids

That was an old trick I use on desert tanks, many thanks.

[ulvdemon]

That is an awesome build... looking good.

[DRUMS01]

Good build and nice scale realism...

Ben / DRUMS01