1/48 AH-1W Part 1

using Cobra Company's AH-1W update set

by Dave Roof of Orion Model Accessories

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Here are the first ten photos of my 1/48 AH-1W "in progress." This is part One. I am using Cobra Company's AH-1W update set available direct from the Cobra Company. The price is $15.95.  All references photo's are from my personal collection. Squadron/Signal is releasing an AH-1 Walk Around in May by Wayne Mutza. Many of my AH-1W photos will be in that book.

This is the Gunners cockpit. All of the cables have been added with fine wire I purchased at Michael's craft store. There is still a lot more to add. 

 

 

 

The Pilots cockpit with the seat installed. The hose for the ECS was added using .030 guitar string bent to shape.
Click on images below to see larger images

 

The rotor head opening. I used lead foil to fill the void. Details will be added using Styrene and wire later.

 

 

The engine area with the new Cobra Company piece. This corrects the improper engine exhaust area on the kit. It takes a bit of work to get it to fit properly, but makes a world of difference when finished.

The beginning of the detail to be added to the tail rotor area.
There is still a lot to add here.

Milliput was added to the nose area. The contours of this area are all wrong. I will have before and after photos later.

Here, the two fuselage portions are seen together. The fit isn't perfect, but a little patience will get everything lined up just right.
Squadron Green Putty was smoothed using Acetone to fill the gap. A little gap filling super glue was added to make sure everything sanded smooth.

Here is part of the weapons load. The AIM-9 is from the 1/48 Hasegawa weapons set. The LAU-7 launcher and ADU-299 adapter came from Hasegawa's 1/48 A-4E/F kit. I will be arming my Cobra for an armed escort
mission carrying the AIM-9, 4 x Hellfire, 1 x LAU-68 7 shot pod, and 1 x  LAU-61 19 shot pod.

Detail was added to the main rotor head using Styrene and Grant Line bolts. The rotors on the kit are in the wrong direction and I will describe
how to fix this in part two.

The rotor blades are also the wrong shape at the tip, as well as a few scale inches too short. I left the length alone for this one, but
corrected the shape of the tips. The bottom blade is how they come out of the box, while the top blade is corrected to the proper shape. I will provide correct scale drawings of the blades in part two.

I hope you enjoy part one. If you have any questions concerning this build, please feel free to contact me at davefox2@aol.com

Thanks,

Dave

Editors note:  This model had a nasty accident and was destroyed before Part 2 of this article began. 

Photos and text © by Dave Roof of Orion Model Accessories