Battle For Skira: USMC "Gators" (AAVP7A1) WIP #2

I promised there would be more and I shall keep that promise. :-) A long afternoon of kit building later:

Gator #3 assembled and #2 received its primer

Battle For Skira: USMC "Gators" (AAVP7A1) WIP #1

After finishing off the AH-1Z my next project for the "Battle For Skira" campaign is some ground vehicles. I picked my AAVP7A1 amtracks, call-sign "Gator", to be the next in line.

The models are one Dragon die-cast, expanded with EAAK made from resin (Black Dog CZ), and two Dragon Amtracks w/EAAK kits that got single pieces of stowage from Black Dog and other brands (S&S for example) glued all over the place. :-)

The diecast and one of the plastic kits are shown below in various stages of the current build. I need to assemble the next kit and will start painting when all are completely assembled.

Battle For Skira: USMC Starwolf 1-4 (AH-1Z Viper) done

I have finished my 1/72 scale AH-1Z Viper, call-sign "Starwolf 1-4".

Battle For Skira: USMC Starwolf 1-4 WIP #4 (AH-1Z Viper weathering)

Panel wash, exhaust smoke and weathering completed. Next step: adding decals and a few touch-ups here and there.

Battle For Skira: USMC Starwolf 1-4 WIP #3 (AH-1Z Viper)

Finished painting the low-viz camo.

Next steps is painting details, weathering the fuselage, adding final payload and of course decals.

Starts to look like a helicopter finally. :-)

Battle For Skira: USMC Starwolf 1-4 WIP #2 (AH-1Z Viper)

Since there were some tragic events taking place in my family, progress wasn't as much as I had expected to achieve over the weekend.
Anyway, the modelling always helped me to clear my head and so here are at least two pics of the little progress that I made:

Cockpit canopy added, base fuselage completed (I also completed the whole flyer base, but I won't show until the bird is done), ready for the paintjob...

Battle For Skira: USMC Starwolf 1-4 WIP #1 (AH-1Z Viper)

I have started on my AH-1Z Viper (Call-Sign "Starwolf 14") that is going to escort my Venom transport helicopter and give the Marines on the ground something to call if immediate CAS is needed :-)

Finished the cockpit and crew today and put it into the main fuselage. So far it looks really like nothing to be honest, but that was the case with my Venom as well :-D
I have also started its base.

I'll post progress on this bird in little steps, just like I did the last time.

Battle For Skira: 1/72 scale UH-1Y Venom conversion finished

Today I have finished the base for my Huey conversion. I took an Italeri 1/72 scale Twin Huey and converted it into the latest UH-1Y "Venom" (Super Huey) by using parts of a Revell AH-1W Cobra, an Olimp Models Resin Whisky Cobra Upgrade Set and an Italeri Bell 412 as well as a Kitech AH-1Z Viper. The Low-Viz decals were part of the Olimp set.

The base itself is a flat oval one from Gripping Beast, with the clear plastic flyer rod coming from GW. I have used standard materiel: flock from Busch, Clump Foliage (summer) from Gale Force 9 and summer grass tufts from Noch. Colours used were black for primer, Tamiya Flat Earth followed by drybrushing with Vallejo Iraqi Sand.

There is a whole "work in progress" run of posts on my blog, just click the labels underneath this post to find related contributions and pictures from the build.

Anyway, on to some pictures of the finished Venom, call-sign "Star Force 21":

"Star Force 21" dropping off USMC Force Recon "Team Razor" (all from ARMA II)

ready for a gun run with M134 minigun and Hydra rockets (SHQ Vietnam chopper door gunner)

GAU-21 heavy MG and Hydra rockets (and another SHQ door gunner)

Battle For Skira: USMC Star Force 21 WIP #8 "Weathering"

The weathering of my USMC UH-1Y "Venom", call-sign "Star Force 21" has been completed over the weekend.

The decals have been added, the details painted and then I went crazy with the oil paints. :-)

I let the pictures speak for themselves. I have to be honest, I am not completely satisfied with my painting skills. The colours are too thick in some places. Well, every project is helping to learn and improve though!

Battle For Skira: USMC Star Force 21 WIP #6

First layers of paint added - starts to look like a proper helicopter now. :-)

Battle For Skira: USMC Star Force 21 WIP #5

Payload added:

.50cal machine gun and 70mm Hydra rockets

M134 minigun and 70mm Hydra rockets

That leaves me with putting black primer on the last areas and then I can finally paint this baby!

Battle For Skira: USMC Star Force 21 WIP #4

After months of stompy robots and acid-blooded Aliens here is for a change a little bit of progress on my 1/72 scale UH-1Y Venom:

FLIR turret added, laser sensors, antennas and wire cutters, chaff and flare dispensers and landing gear

changed the side of rear rotor and replaced the 2-bladed one with 4 blades. The little "wings" on the rear beam have been moved further to the back. Main rotor assembly changed from 2-bladed to 4 rotor blades.

Still needs some sanding here and there (exhaust ports) and the doors and weapon payload is still missing, but its finally showing the shape of an UH-1Y.

The pride of my work on this conversion: the new rotor dome which was sculpted with green stuff. It will look a lot better once it has been sprayed with primer - that's going to blend everything together.

Battle For Skira: USMC Star Force 21 WIP #3

upper turbine/rotor-shaft housing added, green-stuffed and brought into shape. Needs some filler and sanding and then I can finally start adding all the small details.

After hours of hacking, cutting and exhausting work with a saw, I salvaged an AH-1W Cobra sprue for the upper rotor-shaft and turbine housing to add it to my Venom. Slowly things come into place and the whole chopper starts to look like an UH-1Y...
Some green stuff was added to shape transitions between panels that I couldn't close with anything but putty. It has to dry now for at least 24 hours until work can continue (which means even more fine putty over the rather rough green stuff ;-) ).

Battle For Skira: USMC Star Force 21 WIP #2

Work has continued on my UH-1Y conversion. I have added the turned exhaust ports and the crew, used lots of green stuff to cover up all the cutting that was done to the fuselage to add the resin part etc. It is still a long way until I can add primer. There is plenty of detail still missing, but it already comes in to shape.

SHQ Miniatures were added for pilot and co-pilot.

the heavily modified back part of the fuselage. Don't mind the yellow part on top - I have been scavenging an old italeri kit to get this part.

The top is still unfinished. I need to use some putty to cover up were resin part meets plastic kit. After that I will add the final parts of where the rotor is being mounted in.

Battle For Skira: USMC Star Force 21 WIP

Italei's Twin Huey is what I used for the main parts.

The cockpit. Crew is still missing.

This side will get a door gunner with 7.62mm minigun. The other side a .50cal MG.

"Star Force 21" is the call-sign of the helicopter picking up and transporting Team Razor in the PC game ARMA 2. The helicopter is a UH-1Y Venom. Since there is no such kit available, I will scratchbuild one using parts from various other helicopters and Italeri's UH-1N Twin Huey.
Star Force 21 is going to get the complete overhaulin' to include crew, door gunners, sidemounts with Hydra rocket pods, 7.62mm minigun and a .50cal heavy MG. To finish it off, the whole model is going to be mounted on a flyer base from GW. That should give it a pretty stable mount for most game purposes.

Battle For Skira: USMC infantry bits

There we are: finally there is also some US Marines for the forthcoming Battle For Skira campaign. I just started with the first few things that I was able to grab and it happens to be the second set of US specials by Elhiem (medic and breacher), the Forces Of Valor soldier with wounded comrade (again)and a M240 medium MG team consisting out of RH Liberation modern US miniatures.



 Left to right: RH Liberation modern US rfileman (standing) and M240 gunner (kneeling) to form a weapons team, FoV plastic soldier with wounded comrade, Elhiem breacher with shotgun and Elhiem medic (it would be called Navy Corpsman in this case).

 What I really like about Rolf's minis (RH Liberation) is the fact, that the rifleman actually carries a box of 7,62mm link :-) Perfect to be part of a weapons team.

This is my desperate try to bring the miniatures closer to my light source so you can have a better look at my MARPAT (woodland) pattern. I tried my best, guess it looks fine for 20mm figs.