Happy Sunday mates.
Just to let you know I'm alive and modeling.
Current status:
• fuselage closed
• added third arm to the swash plate (missing in the kit!)
• moved handrail on the roof (straight in the kit, but with the front shifted to the right in reality)
• modified APU air intake (front too thick, back closed in the kit)
• modified air intake over turbine 3 (too rounded in the kit)
• modified support for the bottom cranes (should be attached on center line and closed when not in use)
• added some PE
• added skid training arm to the cabin roof
• shortened main rotor shaft (too tall in the kit)
View attachment 80422
View attachment 80423
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View attachment 80425
Mistakes/forgotten:
• Opened the fuselage under the grilles (now you can see side to side through them)
• Not opened the fuselage under the APU grilles (at least you can't see through, see above)
• glued sponsons before closing the fuselage. to get a good fit I inadvertently deformed the bottom middle of the fuselage forcing me to use a lot of putty to properly close the fuselage (and losing rivets)
Next steps:
• cockpit and windshield assembly
• fuselage final assembly (antennas, pitots, etc.)
• final primer
Thank you for reading and hope you like it
Francesco