International Scale Modeller

Here is my entry into this Whirlybirds SIG, probably won't start this straight away but then that's what I always tell myself then ignore it

1/72 Revell NH90 army version (ModelingMatt id doing the naval version) NATO Tactical Transport Helicopter.

I really like the look of this helicopter with its slight stealth appearance.

Here is the customary box and sealed bag shot


The sprues come in just the one sealed bag, a close look reveals that the clear parts are stuffed in the middle with no protection, not even inside a bag of their own


An inspection of the parts shows no damage and brought a satisfying smile to my face as the molding looks excellent

To begin with I will say that the molding is the crispest and cleanest I have seen to date with absolutely no flash and no ejector pin marks, or any mold seams plus some of the parts are incredibly small yet really well detailed I think the molding may be a little too good as I will explain later

When daylight returns I will update some of the pics.

REVIEW

The first sprue deals with some really tiny parts as well as a very nicely shaped nose cone and a well detailed long railing which surprisingly for such a long thin part contains no flash.


The next sprue contains the main body halves. doors and rotor mechanism, very nice fine panel details (recessed) with the rotor mechanism and landing gear being the standout parts.




Next is the cargo interior and rotor blades, superb detailing can be found on the cargo bay floor. The tie downs on the floor are incredible and amazingly in scale (the first time i have seen this in a kit) however I think the detail may be lost when paint is applied due to it being so fine.



The canopy seems unscathed by its packing arrangement wiper blades are very nice



Usual Revell A4 instructions with sprue layout


Markings for a German, Italian and Finnish versions, I want mine to be Swedish but the Finnish version is temptong me with the 4 tone camo pattern



This shows the very nice seats and awesome wheel bay for the scale


Tail rotor rivet and panel detail




Date of kit - 1997


Decal sheet printed in germany, good register


Oh another amazingly cast part is the engine intake covers which have an incredibly fine mesh - so small it won;t show up on my camera. All the details such as panel lines etc are certainly in scale but may be a little too shallow for layered paint.

This looks to be a very very nice kit, now of course I shouldn't judge it until I start building it but it is refreshing to see a 1/72 scale kit with no flash at all and no pins which dwarf the part they are attached to plus I can't get my head around the detail - I thought it would be a basic kit

Purchased the kit for £9.99 but retails at £14.99.

If you can't already tell I am itching to start this but I have sooooooo many builds on the go it is insane

Lookin good! Excited to see this take shape! I wish I had your flash-luck with my whirley
cheers!

I don't know, that model looks quite beautiful just on the sprue. Love the new stuff from Revell! That decal sheet is enormous! This is why I build mostly AFVs.

UPDATE #1

This looks like it's going to be both an insanely quick build and a really easy one. This evening I trimmed and test fitted all the major components, only took an hour and a half. I am very pleased to report no fit issues what so ever not even the smallest gaps or sanding needed . This kit is an absolute joy and providing everything glues fine I shall buy a couple more for the stash.










Now I need to go and think how I want to display this model so I know whether to make the ramp up or down.

ModelingMatt - I hope your version is as good for fit

On a side note did anyone else play this excellent game on PS2:



This helicopter is making me reminisce playing it

Bloody hell your not hanging around are you dan

Paul wrote:Bloody hell your not hanging around are you dan

Cheers Paul, it's building itself this one.

Think I may consider doing this



If so it means tomorrow evening will be spent sculpting crew figures

Aaah. . . another model builder with ambition. That would be one hell of a display!

A quick and great build so far
keep it up buddy!

Blimey...it's coming together so quick ...I shall look by tomorrow to see how the completed model looks

Those decals look very comprehensive...nice kit.

Brian

update #2

Began work on the cockpit and interior, the kit cockpit is actually quite busy and has very good detail, although I couldn't resist adding the arm rests, fire extinguishers and first aid packs





The real thing:

UPDATE #3

Just a bit more work on the interior




A few sink marks to fill before painting the sidewalls of the cargo bay

You're flying through this one. Great work

wow your flying through this build buddy

nice cockpit details


great work







shane

looking great!
Love those first aid boxes, nice touch

Hey Dan,
I couldn't tell from the pic, but did the instrument panel come as a decal? I mean, there's a whole lot of gizmos and buttons on the styrene. Would be an interesting paint job. Coming along. Love the little arm rests you made.

Thanks Russ , the kit does have decal instruments but the detail on the plastic part is great . I will put up some pics when I get back in the den.

Excellent work on your chopper sir

This is coming together very nicely dude.

She is coming together lovely mate

First aid boxes look great!

UPDATE #4

The interior continues, there isn't allot of empty space in this copter when it's finished

The first thing I did was apply the one piece decal which goes over the entire interior floor. It needed to be carefully positioned so the holes lined up for attaching the seats. I had put off doing this for about a week fearing it would be really fiddly. tear etc. I needn't have worried as it was a piece of cake, the decal held it's shape and was easy to maneuver. After attaching the decal I realised the floor is meant to be painted white prior to placement but I am pleased with how it looks .



After painting the seats I had a think about how I wanted the interior to look, after dry fitting all the seat racks I decided it looked too cluttered so I got to work cutting and repositioning the seats so they appear folded, note I lost one seat to the carpet monster so I had to make a new part with plasticard (the folded one on the top left).



Here it is ready for the fuselage sides which have had the internal walls painted.



Hopefully this build should proceed at a good pace now that the interior decal has been done

Great update Dan,nice replacement seat too, I would never have known if you hadn't mentioned it

Nice work on the seat arrangements. Give the interior some character.

RTG

Very nice work dan

the interior looks great !




great work


Shane

Thanks for the kind words about the interior guys

UPDATE #5

Very pleased with today's progress as I got all the large assembly jobs completed, just need to add a tiny bit of filler here and some sanding there. Everything went together with no fuss and good fit.

This shows the amount of interior that can be seen through the side doors.


Views of the main fuselage parts following assembly.




Here is the model after assembling the rotor section and test fitting the nose and glass.
The rotor sub assembly was a little fiddly but looks very nice (I will take some close up shots in the daylight)




So it is really starting to come together now, I think I said this earlier in the thread but I find the shape of this aircraft to be really cool and appealing

Nice progress on the build

kiwigav wrote:Nice progress on the build

Thank you kindly

UPDATE #6

Completed the minor filling and sanding. Also painted and attached the wheel wells, covers and landing gear oh and the important tail rotorb

Again no fuss with this kit, very nice fit although it unfortunately makes for a dull build thread







Here are some close up shots of the rotor workings .

Now that's what I call a helicopter. Looking great, Dan.

Great work Dan

looking good man



shane

Thanks Russ and Shane

UPDATE #7

So I've got the NH90 to the stage were I'm ready to prime it. Today's session involved adding the various antenna and the winch housing, I added some additional struts to make it a little bit more accurate. The doors are held with tack while I decide the positions.








This kit is proving insanely enjoyable

UPDATE #8ish

Now that the copter is waiting for the primer (SEE PREVIOUS POST) I thought I would begin the extra item for the diorama.

Can you guess what this little lot is the beginning of...





...With some It's hopefully going to be a L118 light gun such as this example

UPDATE #9

The not so rotary part of this whirlybird entry continues as the howitzer begins to take shape.

The component parts:


Barrel and breech:




All together testing:

scratching building a 105mm some serious skill here mate


great work Dan




Shane.

great nh90 rnzaf has some and it is being clearing a mine explosion at pikeriver

wow Dan is some scratch build mate love it

Thanks fellas

mrtree39 wrote: rnzaf has some and it is being clearing a mine explosion at pikeriver

Can I ask how the choppa is doing that, any pics or news articles?

UPDATE #10

Small amount of work done on the howitzer, adding the wheels and mounting mechanism.


Here is a preview of how it may look with the helo.

SWEET!
Some awesome scratch building here mate!
And that helicopter is tha bomb!

Nice work Dan, really shaping up into a unique build



great stuff,



Shane

Hey Dan,

You're an ambitious and creative model builder. I'm curious to see where you're going with this diorama.

Russ

the video of it lifting a 3 tone generator

mrtree39 wrote:

the video of it lifting a 3 tone generator

That is amazing, thank you very much - really interesting.

UPDATE #11

Built up some tread on the tyres and attached the muzzle brake to the barrel.



Should be priming the NH90 tomorrow so hopefully it won't be long before its time to GET TO THE CHOPPER!

UPDATE #12

Work on the howitzer is more or less complete.

Pleased with how it's turned out and it should add an extra dimension to the eventual diorama.

Very creative

It is coming to life.

Russ

looking pretty awesome!

Very nice helpful build. I got this for my birthday last monday the 6th from the wife. Not done an Helicopter in 20 years but looking at what you've done so far you've really inspired me to have a go.
Thanks.

rodders wrote:Very nice helpful build. I got this for my birthday last monday the 6th from the wife. Not done an Helicopter in 20 years but looking at what you've done so far you've really inspired me to have a go.
Thanks.

Great to hear rodders, it should be a quick and enjoyable build - hopefully my airbrush supplies will arrive tomorrow so I can get it sprayed before the Group Build deadline

Well done to all who have finished or are about to finish .

Here is the NH 90 at the deadline of the SIG



Still allot to do so I hope you will all continue to follow this build and thanks for following during the SIG

looks great love the hard edged camo