Ok, its 2AM and I’m a bit tired, but I just started a new project.
I’ve had this 1/32 Cobra sitting here for a while. I was gonna build it as a Vietnam bird, but I got this strange idea that I could convert it to an AH-1F. So I’ve lopped off the nose and modified the rear of the cockpit where the canopy meets the fuselage. Replaced the crosstubes with properly bent aluminum tubing…
This is gonna be a nightmare…
What was I thinking!
Courage! I can’t wait to see it completed, Jon.
how many great things have started with a crazy idea? do it to it Jon, it’ll be sweet when its done… Greg
Wow… I’m going on hour 11 working on this damn thing and I’m amazed at the progress I’ve made. So far I’ve done the following and they’re lookin good.
Sensor turret (laminated sheet plastic sanded to shape)
Lower cable cutters
Reshaped nose
ECM antennas
Upper cable cutter
Radio antenna
Gunner’s control panel (that took about 3 hours to do)
Fire control blister
Skid tubes
Outboard Pylon fronts
ALQ-144 “Disco Ball”
Laser tracker blister
RWR bumps (nose and tail)
Aft Engine Cowling (this is the biggest pain in the butt so far)
Gotta get some thick transparent sheet plastic so I can do the flat plate canopy. I’ve already chosen markings for a Desert Storm combat vet. “Sand Shark” from N Troop, 4/2nd Armored Cav. If things continue to go this well, I may have the structure done by tomorrow. I’m hoping to have a pic or two of it available soon, depends on when my digi-cam gets here.
Back to the trenches!
Jon,
Send pics when you’re through! I also have a kit in waiting to make an early S model, upgunned version. You know, with the 20mm cannon, flat plate canopy but with the Strella Suppression kit they developed in 'Nam.( commonly called the ‘toilet bowl’ suppressor kit) For some reason, I just like the look it adds to the over the final version of the IR suppressor. I’ve also created templates to make the canopy from the scale drawings (enlarged) in the Verlinden book on the Cobra. Sounds like we both gave up on anyone releasing a 32/35 scale version and decided to ‘go it alone’. By the way, there is a great picture of ‘Sand Shark’ at www.airliners.net. Go to my post on great helicopter pics to find it.
Paul
Sounds cool to me! keep us informed!
Sounds like you’re doing great, just keep the faith and make sure that you post some pics when you’re done
Cobrahistorian…
Sounds like a plan to me! Way back in 1979, I done a Revell 1/32 G Model the same way, and it’s been hanging in the Hobbit Hobby Shop in Fayettevulle, NC ever since.
I saw your post, which reminded me of the one I done, so I went digging through my pictures to find the one I took of the finished model sitting out on West Ramp at Simmons AAF.
Jon,
Cool project ![:D] Sure would like to see your
photographs. Sounds like you’ve got a lot of work done.
Is your Cobra going to have a Cav weapons load or an AHC
load ? Which rotor blades are you going to use ? Old style
or composite ? What were you thinking ? How about …
Hey I’ve got this kit and I can build an AH-1F with it . Keep
believing in yourself . With time and work you’ll have a great
model.
fuzzy
Gee, thanks guys! [:D]
As far as weapons load, It’ll have 2 TOW II launchers on each outboard pylon and 2 M-261 rocket pods inboard, each with 4 flechette rounds.
Paul, thanks for the tip on that photo. The shots I have in “AH-1 Walkaround” only show the starboard side and a closeup of the port side name. This one gives the full port side profile!
By the way… the football around the tail rotor housing… what a pain in the butt!
If anyone wants to see the progress I’m making on this Cobra, go to my website http://cobrahistorian.tripod.com and click on Photo Album. There’s a shot of it at the bottom of the page. Thanks for all the moral support guys! I think I’m gonna have to build a tank or something after this one…
i was lookin through a bunch of pics sites the other day from vietnam and i seen a site that had a bunch of cobas on first thing when i seen thought of u wondering if u got it yet so i saved the site to give to u see if u got it
Loco,
Yup! The VHPA was VERY helpful in providing contacts and photographs for my Cobra book. I got a few images from their website. Gooooood stuff! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Vietnam Era Army Aviation.
By the way, I just installed the 20mm cannon on my AH-1F. Its lookin pretty cool, but the barrels are a wee bit short since they’re 1/35th and not 1/32nd… its a discrepancy I can live with.
Jon:
Does this mean that someone is going to announce a new 1:35 scale kit six months after you finish up??
FITTER [:o)]
Fitter,
Isn’t that always how it works? I still have a 35th Scale UH-1H that I kitbashed 2 months before the Panda kits came out. I got about 60% done with it before the Panda kit was announced and so I just quit… hoping that my luck holds out longer with this one!
Hi Cobrahistorian, Cool site and that cobra conversion is looking good. good luck with the book …Greg
Ok guys, need some suggestions…
The forward fuselage conversion has gone really well. I had a minor glitch with the windscreen angle, but I’ve corrected it now and all is well. The 20mm cannon and turret have been installed and I’ve put the skid cross braces on. The Cobra Company cockpit set is in place with the new front panel and some minor adjustments to the rear one. Tons of bumps and antennae have been installed and the thing is looking positively lumpy…
which brings me to the next section… the exhaust cowlings and the IR suppressing exhaust. Other than having no clue as to how to make the exhaust cone, I’m doing ok! The cowl seems to be going alright. I’ve installed mesh over the openings for a nice vent-look to it. The IR Jammer mount is coming along as is the Jammer itself… (gotta love those Twix wrappers for that disco effect!)
Any thoughts on what I could use for the exhaust? Lookin forward to hearing your suggestions!
Jon,
I’ve used the thin, clear, plastic that comes on the top of greeting card boxes… made a wooden jig to the proper scale, then made a clamp jig.
I cut the clear plastic to the shape I desire, wrapped it around the jig, heated it with a hair dryer, super glued it (on the inside using a thin strip from a sandwich bag to cover the seam and act as a bonding bridge), then attached the clamp jig around it, with the seams opposing.
After a couple days, remove the clamp jig, and sand in filler putty with “0000” steel wool along the seam. You can add additional strips along the section to simulate thicker area’s on the pipe… exhaust blueing can be accomplished using graphite after painting, but DON’T remove the inner jig until ALL work is complete.
Also, greeting card plastic is great to fabricate panel fairings, or to Vacuform fairing blisters, ie: ADF Loop Antenna Fairing.
I have illustrated how to accomplish these techniques, and can publish them if interested.
The 1/32nd “G” Model I converted was during the time of the first “P” Models, so none of the thing’s you’re doing (exhaust cowlings and IR suppressing exhaust) to yours existed then.
Jon…
Also, some soda straws are perfectly scaled to make the TOW racks! (wink wink}
Oldhooker,
Thanks! I never even thought to do that! By the way, I neglected to comment earlier on your VERY nice AH-1P. Looks fantastic!
Gotta love the unmodified exhaust, M-28 turret and flat canopy… looks like the Army and/or Bell couldn’t figure out what the heck they wanted to do!
My F model is up on its skids now. Those unfaired cross-tubes are a royal pain in the butt. I built the rest of the canopy structure today and continue to detail the cockpit. The screens over the vents around the exhaust have had bracing added and I’m pretty much ready to do the canopy glass. I’m looking at a few options, but most likely will use clear acrylic sheeting.
The main and tail rotors have been reworked too. Modifying the blade tips was pretty easy. The attachment points, however, are much more complex on the composite blades.
Thanks for the tip on the TOW tubes too… I was thinking about using aluminum tubing that I’ve got sitting around here. I’ll probably grab some TOW rounds from my 1/35th M-151 and use them as a pattern for 1/32 TOWs.
I can’t wait to paint this damn thing!
