Mil Mi-24V Hind E 1/72

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

Hi folks. I just bought this:

 

 

... partly because I like Russian helicopters but also because I'd seen Quinta Studio's new 3D-printed-on-to-decal-paper cockpit parts and wanted a relatively low-risk project to try them on.

 

 

It arrived yesterday, and today I made a start. To use the Quinta Studio set there are a few of small consoles the instructions say you have to scratchbuild in order to attach the printed parts to, so I started with that.

 

 

 

I've then gone about prepainting most of the interior and fiddly bits. I'd planned to just chuck this together but have ended up painting all the interior parts including the engines.

 

 

Tomorrow I can begin assembly.

 

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

As some know, but surely others do not, the Zvezda kit looks a bit odd at first glance:

 

There's no need to adjust your monitor or indeed the parts. The Mi-24's fuselage is lopsided - apparently the Mil design bureau decided to tilt the whole main rotor gearbox 3 degrees to starboard to try to get the weapons on an even azimuth in normal flight to improve their accuracy in aiming. Almost all conventional/Sikorsky-configuration helicopters fly along slightly banked and/or side-slipping due to various aerodynamic idiosyncrasies. Numerous kits of the Mi-24 have either missed this subtle yet distinct quirk of its design or perhaps "corrected" what they assumed were warped plans - probably the former...

 

The main rotor gearbox and swashplate are quite finely detailed and are precisely moulded for 1/72. Well done Zvezda.

 

I'm assembling the interior parts and may yet do some detailing. I'll decide soon.

 

 

[Drichc 392]

I'm really interested to see how the Quinta studio stuff behaves and looks, as I have several that I am interested in.

 

Also a good choice of subject Jamie. The Hind is so cool!!!

[Paul Brown 2,592]

Likewise I'm awaiting to see how the Quinto stuff works and looks. 

 

I don't have any Hind's in the stash, those sprue shots are teasing me.

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

These Quinta bits turned out to be really easy to use. I squirted a blob of PVA and a blob of medium CA (I use Zap green label) onto a butter tub lid and had two halves of a cocktail stick handy. I applied PVA blobs first because I had no idea how long the 3D decals would need in water to release:

 

 

It turns out they are free from the backing paper within about 10 seconds (even the larger ones). I used my favourite needle-nosed tweezers to pick them up and apply them, where they stayed. It's as easy as that.

 

 

 

For the seatbelts I changed to the CA, first applying a dot of glue to the side of the seat where the belt is attached to it, then offering up the belts:

 

It's worth noting that the Quinta Studio parts are 3D printed in a vinyl material which makes them somewhat flexible once wetted and released from the backing paper, and quite unlike pre-painted PE they are coloured the whole depth. When bent to shape, which the belts in particular do most willingly, the colour doesn't all flake off like Eduard pre-painted steel belts. I really like these things a lot! Next I offered up a little smear of CA to the 'down' side of the belts and manipulated them to where I wanted them to sit with my tweezers. Super easy to do. I'm impressed!

 

 

 

These photographs are brutal, and remind me why I don't do 1/72 normally. It looks better in person - honestly!

[Paul Brown 2,592]

The one thing I thought when I first saw the Quinto stuff is that the printing looks a little 'soft', but there's no doubt that close up photos don't do it any favours. Having said that I don't often have open canopies, so it would probably suit me OK. 

[Drichc 392]

Ace stuff Jamie. Thanks. 

I must admit when I first saw it I thought they looked a bit pixelated, but then the shot with your fingers sealed it. Unless you have giant fingers that is?

Rich

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

2 hours ago, Paul Brown said:

The one thing I thought when I first saw the Quinto stuff is that the printing looks a little 'soft', but there's no doubt that close up photos don't do it any favours. Having said that I don't often have open canopies, so it would probably suit me OK. 

 

1 hour ago, Drichc said:

Ace stuff Jamie. Thanks. 

I must admit when I first saw it I thought they looked a bit pixelated, but then the shot with your fingers sealed it. Unless you have giant fingers that is?

Rich

 

Hi again,

I think 1/72 is the least flattering scale for the Quinta Studio products where they do look a bit soft, as perhaps does my wobbly phone camera on 6x digital zoom. In bigger scales it looks more crisp and defined - here's the equivalent Hind set in 1/48 for example which I think does look better. Still, what they've made in 1/72 is way better than I'd be inclined to make or paint in this scale!

[Col. 1,680]

Nice progress Jamie. So you've finished all your other projects and started a new one, aye? 

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

A couple of nice little turboshaft engines happened:

 

 

Then the troop cabin was assembled. Everything fit nicely and there were no dramas to write home about.

 

 

Once the cabin roof wend on the engines were installed, which each plugs nicely into the main rotor gearbox through their clutch assemblies.

 

 

I gave it a wash using some Tamiya "oil stain" weathering powder mixed with some Milk Substitute^TM which works well and certainly better than water and is much safer than using hydrocarbons when you've just used enamels or Alclad and have zero intention of waiting for full cure.

 

 

I noticed there was a bit of damage to the tail pylon on one half, but rather than do anything I'd struggle to undo and later regret doing that which I cannot undo, I left it alone to see what happened when it was mated to its opposite half.

 

 

Around here~ish I checked the instructions again to be sure then proceeded to close up the fuselage.

 

 

It needs a bit of tape to hold it together around that relatively complicated (for a 1/72 model) interior but everything does actually contact where it's supposed to.

 

 

The bottom and sides of the nose were added. The bottom was added using styrene cement but the sides looked like they would put up an amount of resistance so I CA'd them on. Now that the pilot's instrument panel is in the cockpit looks the business (relative to my relative inexperience with building 1/72 which doesn't end in "painting" by dipping it in a can of Humbrol 30).

 

 

 

 

 

I'm quite enjoying Zvezda's little Hind. I toyed with buying it in 1/48, but it's literally a scaled up 1/72 which everyone thinks is all that's needed but when you see it, it clearly isn't. What's just right in 1/72 is patently not good enough in 1/48. Also, it would have cost over twice as much and taken sooooo much longer to build because the riveting tools etc would all come out for the 1/48 kit.

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

4 minutes ago, Col. said:

Nice progress Jamie. So you've finished all your other projects and started a new one, aye? 

Yeah let's go with that

 

In truth, I need a quick success. I've had a couple of proper cock-ups recently and there are lots of complicated things on the go and/or stuff which is just a grind. The idea with this is just to build something, finish it and pat myself on the back. I need that every now and again!

Edited October 19, 2020 by sovereignhobbies

[Toolmaker 1,756]

You would have to be hard nosed to knock those decals at 1/72. I did a bit of 1/72 scale last year and I would have been well chuffed to show that sort of detail.

Mustn’t forget the builder, who is more than equal to the challenge of fitting the decals. Nice work all around.

Do you think you could fix double tape to the back of the decal or is the fixing paper too thick? Just seems dry fitting them would be a good approach?

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

50 minutes ago, Toolmaker said:

Do you think you could fix double tape to the back of the decal or is the fixing paper too thick? Just seems dry fitting them would be a good approach?

 

Quite probably yes, but it would probably need the parts water-slid off first, then dried before you could stick it to double sided tape and trim around. 2 of the smaller bits did let go of the backing paper dry so I wouldn't like to include the backing paper (which is quite thick and stuff) in a laminate as such.

Honestly just using the dots of PVA and/or CA is dead easy and neither glue minds if the decal is wet - it just slightly dilutes PVA or encourages quicker setting of CA.

[Grunhertz 9,522]

Great stuff Jamie I may have to treat myself to some of these 

[Drichc 392]

I have a horrid felling my comment was misconstrued. What I was trying to convey was that the Quinta stuff looks really good, even magnified 6x.

 

[Grunhertz 9,522]

I wouldn't worry 

[Paul Brown 2,592]

3 hours ago, Toolmaker said:

You would have to be hard nosed to knock those decals at 1/72.

I think the manufacturer would concede that there are still limits to the technology. It wouldn't put me off buying any of the sets, in fact I did just that earlier, on the strength of Jamie's images.

[Drichc 392]

I'm pretty sure somebody else is doing this stuff now, but can't remember the name.

The tech is generally available, so I expect to see the usual suspects diving in too.

[Che Guava 2,181]

They look pretty good to me - I had to scroll up to the box pic to check the scale wasn't 1/48th! What did you use to take the pictures?

Edited October 20, 2020 by RWG686

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

2 hours ago, Che Guava said:

They look pretty good to me - I had to scroll up to the box pic to check the scale wasn't 1/48th! What did you use to take the pictures?

 

Hi, I'm lazy in the photography respect to - it's just my phone which is a Google Pixel 3A

[Che Guava 2,181]

16 minutes ago, sovereignhobbies said:

 

Hi, I'm lazy in the photography respect to - it's just my phone which is a Google Pixel 3A

I've seen phones (particularly Apple iPhones) used for 'proofing' on a photset turning out better quality pics than professional gear! The only difference was the high resolution on the pro gear. For screen use, the phone was fine - I know this because we were emailed the phone shots for general approval and sometime had to check the file size to see which one was the 'pro'.

These are damn fine shots of a damn fine model (well, so far 😉). Might put my Nikon on ebay and buy a Pixel 3A !!!

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

Trouble at 'mill.

 

I don't know where I went wrong but the glazings aren't even close to fitting over the pilot's instrument panel and combing. I can only see one place the can fit, but the later diagram further into the instructions shows it sitting about 2mm lower than it actually did. I've removed it, but don't quite know what I'm going to do next.

 

 

I trimmed a bit, shaved a bit and took liberties by positioning a little further aft than I think it's supposed to go and now the lid is on. There are 3 pieces of clear plastic attached there and it was perhaps one of the more fiddly things to do.

 

[sovereignhobbies 1,256]

This is why I always build models with all panels closed. How on earth does one mask this in under 10 minutes? 

 

[Grunhertz 9,522]

Hmm helicopters are a maskers nightmare anyway shame about the ip 

[Col. 1,680]

Clicked up a couple of Likes there as it seems you've sorted it and progress is continuing well Jamie.