http://www.FineScale.com 53inside the closed fuselage, so I
needn’t have worried much.
To complete the interior, I
hobbled together a crew from
various figures made by
Modern Hobbies, PJ
Production, and The Aviation
Workshop. Each was altered
and adapted to fit the needed
configurations, 13.
With figures in place, I pre-
pared the helo for base attach-
ment. This was handled via a
6mm acrylic rod that was fixed
inside the cabin with plastic
parts and two-component glue,
Stabilit Express.
Next, I detailed the fuselage
with a mix of Eduard PE and
scratchbuilt parts, followed by
painting. Care was taken with
the landing gear, as the hydrau-
lic suspension is extended in
flight, 14.
I used my Aztek airbrush to
apply Hobby Color acrylics.
This color scheme requires a lot
of masking and several painting
sessions. Under all the red areas
I applied several layers of yellow
to enhance the red and increase
its shine. A gray wash was
added to bring out the copter’s
panel lines.
Usually these helicopters are
kept quite clean, so I kept
weathering to a minimum.The rotors
Creating realistic in-motion
rotors was a must for this build.
I made the tail rotor using
PropBlur PE blades, in addition
to some PE bits from the
Eduard sheet, plus thin wire, 15.
Additionally, the kit rotor shaft
was replaced with a metal rod to
ensure a straight shaft.
The big challenge though
was the main rotor blades.
As no PropBlur parts are
available for a full-size rotor, I
designed my own from PE parts
with .3mm nickel silver mate-
rial. I contacted Moog
Modellbautechnik, a small
German company that mainly
makes model railroad parts.
From my drawing, Moog cre-
ated the PE I needed. The pro-
cess was quick and cost about
$30. I was happy because theblades are robust and do not
droop. But they are heavy; so I
needed to strengthen the main
rotor head by replacing the rotor
shaft and plastic pins with metal
rods, 16.
Painting the blades also
required a somewhat unusual
approach. The effect of a turning
prop means that the colors must
be subdued, as the eye should
not be able to fix hard demarca-
tion lines between the colored
stripes or the rotor’s outline.
Using pink, gray, beige and dark
gray instead of red and white,
yellow, and black gave the
blurred motion effect when a
viewer stands at a reasonable
distance from the diorama, 17.
Naturally there were a lot of
compromises in making a static
model look as if it were flying.
But I am satisfied with the result
and the overall appearance of
the “turning” rotors, the down-
wash effect in the water, and the
overall dramatic scene, 18. This
was fun and certainly won’t be
my last project that incorporates
a flying helo. FSM16 18
15
I was happy with the final appearance of the
blurring rotors to give my diorama the sense of
action that I desired for a daring rescue scene.Making the tail rotor appear to spin was easy. I used PropBlur PE blades and detailed the hub
with PE bits from the Eduard sheet, and some thin wire. Painting some pink and gray on the
rotor’s outer edges also enhanced the illusion of motion.17
14
To further simulate the main rotor’s blur I used
pink, gray, beige, and dark gray instead of red
and white, yellow, and black.Outside, I also added a mix of Eduard PE and
scratchbuilt parts. Also note the landing gear’s
suspension is extended in flight.
I designed my own PE main rotors. A small
German company reproduced them for me at
minimal cost. I also replaced the rotor shaft
and pins with metal rods.
Meet Thomas
Thomas, 41, has been
building models for nearly
25 years. Starting with U.S.
Navy ships, he has broad-
ened his interests to
include 1/35 military vehi-
cles, and aircraft in 1/72
and 1/48 scale. He mainly
focuses on modern equip-
ment related to special
missions (rescue, etc.).
Thomas is a paramedic and
lives with his wife and two
children in northern
Germany.