Here in Iraq there are quite a few State Department owned helicopters flown by Blackwater Securities pilots. They do various jobs from route clearance to VIP securtity etc. I have seen them zipping around quite a bit and thought they looked pretty cool.

I decided to build one of their MD530Es in 1/35 for the office here. I used the Dragon 1/35 AH-6J as a start since there was one at the model club here in Baghdad. I traded a great member here for the MD530G pointy-nosed canopy for it. I used the standard OH-6A instrument panel, with wires and details added, and bulkheads. I made particle separators for the sail from extra vent parts that go on the engine access doors, with some holes for the intakes. I painted the stripes and pistriping by hand as well.

Here is a pic of one of the actual helos.


And my representation in 1/35th.




More pics here.

I am waiting now on a set of pilots and will add the pilots and a door gunner soon.

Thanks for looking. As always, all comments welcomed.

Wow that was fast!
Another great build you have there. Glad "my canopy" sits on a looker!



Such a steady hand! You sure you're artillery and not infantry sharpshooter?!

I have only two euro-cents to toss in: from the actual picture it looks like the real helo has gloss finish. I understand it's hard for us modern military modellers to have glossy models but consider giving it a hand of gloss just for the realism.

Hi Klaus. Thanks for that canopy buddy. Glad you like it. Two issues with the gloss. 1, I am really low on glosscoat and awaiting a resupply here, so I didn't want to use it all up. 2, I kind of like it in a semi-gloss, satin look. I may just leave it that way. I'll decide when I get the resupply in.

Thanks for commenting.

Wow...handpainted stripes. Unreal! Hats off to your steady hands, Gino.

And the rest of the build is great. We gotta do something about your brown towel, though...



-YL

Thanks Yoni. Glad you like it. I was surprised at how good the striping came out as well. I was debating how to do them; decals, stencils, etc. I finally decide to give them a shot freehand.

Hey, I like my towel!!

It looks exactly like the real thing... nice work... and painting by hand man... my hand paint jobs look horrible, but yours... man that takes some skill.

A very cool build Gino. Are you planning to make a crew for it?

Erik

Howdy again Gino

I quote from a previous reply to this subject on another forum.......


HeavyArty wrote:

Here in Iraq there are quite a few State Department owned helicopters flown by Blackwater Securities pilots....



...you must have been in uniform or something while taking this picture Gino, otherwise you risked at least a couple of lite warning shots across the tarmac from these guys........ ; - )

Here is a pic of one of the actual helos.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/HeavyArty/Blackwater%20MD530E/286135545cOMSwC_fs-1.jpg

I am waiting now on a set of pilots and will add the pilots and a door gunner soon.

Thanks for looking. As always, all comments welcomed.



A big "Howdy" Gino my friend. It's mighty good to see you still safe and sound there in the big sandbox, and even better to see you still crankin' out beauties like this most recent BlackWater ship.....very nice work pard'. I couldn't pass up checking this thread out 1, because you started it, and 2, I'm a tad familiar with the wee beastie you're building since it was one of the ships I was fortunate enough to drive occassionally {albeit it the short-legged 'D' model back in the day}.

A suggestion; You might want to practice some custom figure arm and leg manipulation for this one. It really seems to be screaming for it IMHO..... : - )



Once again Gino, it is a personal pleasure to once again be setting my eyes on yet another superb example of your handiwork.

Blessings and continued safety over 'there' amigo.



Semper Fi,



Tread.

Thanks Tread. It was a fun build. We'll see on the figures. I will try to make them interesting. Fortunately, I was in uniform and had talked to a couple of them before getting that pic. They were pretty good guys.

That's a fine build you've got there... In fact it's pretty!