Novità

Bozzer
They've just released this kit, again Ronald. Should be in the stores, soon.

Ronald Birl
Yes I know Bozzer. Looks like I'll be owning 2 one day soon 🙂

Bozzer
Now that's what I call, good news 😉

Ludvík Kružík
I still miss this small helicopter in my collection of flying machines used in Czechoslovakia. The time has come for me to rectify that. 😉

Villiers de Vos
I will follow along.

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome Villiers! 🙂

Greg Baker
Oh. I built a 1/72 version of the Mi-1M... This should be interesting.

Ludvík Kružík
Hello, Greg. I know there's a Mi-1M kit in 1/72nd scale. Unfortunately, only this and a rather old kit from Special Hobby exists in 1/48 scale. In addition, this kit is an older version of the Mi-1A, which is different from the upgraded version of the Mi-1M. It has a different nose shape, different cockpit glazing and other minor changes. And since I decided to build the upgraded version of the Mi-1M, I will not avoid modifications to the kit.
To give you a better idea of the extent of the modifications to the kit, I've included a picture with the differences between the Mi-1A and Mi-1M versions color coded.

Greg Baker
Oh, neat! I didn't realize there were so many changes between the versions. This is going to look great!

Ludvík Kružík
Greg, thank you for your support.
____________________
I started building the model by making new transparent parts.

Alec K
Taking a seat, this brings back memories of ABC magazine 😜👍

gorby
Nice work moulding the new transparent parts.

Greg Baker
Yeah. Nice work on the heat-n-smash moulding for the clear parts. That can be tricky to do.

Ludvík Kružík
@Alec K
I used to buy ABC magazine regularly as a kid and eagerly awaited each new issue 🙂. I assume your mention of ABC magazine refers to the occasional modeling tutorial section.

@gorby, @Greg Baker
It's not too difficult to make new transparent parts by stretching warmed transparent foil over a pre-made template. Preparing the template is the most work. Stretching the warmed foil onto the template is just a routine that anyone can do after a few attempts.

Alec K
Correct 🙂👍👍

Robert Podkoński
How have I missed this? Taking a seat for sure! 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
Hello, Robert! Good to see you here. You haven't missed much so far. Up to this point I've been more concerned with preparation than building the model.

Ludvík Kružík
I want to try to use the sandwich construction in the production of new glass parts for the coptics. So I made (using the same process as the transparent parts) parts out of white plastic sheeting. These parts will have holes cut out for the windows. The transparent part will then be inserted between these two parts. The white outer and inner parts will form the embossed framing of the transparent part.

Jennifer Franklin
That looks great (as per usual 😛)

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, Jennifer, we're glad to have you on board and thank you for your goodwill. 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
I came back from vacation and it started to rain. Ideal conditions for modelling. 🙂

So I'm back and continuing to work on the model. I need to glue the finished nose to the glued fuselage so the cockpit overlay fits exactly. That determines the workflow. First I have to finish the nose and the inside of the fuselage and glue all the parts that need to be glued to the fuselage halves from the inside. After gluing the fuselage halves together, I would no longer be able to get to these parts (or only with great difficulty).

Photos of the work progress will be coming soon.

Alexander Grivonev
Oh some modeling for big boys, not glueing perfectly fitting parts together and throwing on some paint! Following 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, Alexander! 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
I glued several parts to both halves of the fuselage. These parts are glued from the inside, so they have to be glued before the fuselage is closed.
I also started working on making new parts for the cockpit.

Landlubber Mike
Wow, this is incredible work Ludvik! Thank you for sharing your steps - I've learned a lot from your pictures and descriptions!

Cristian A
Following

Michael Papay
Great!! I like the first parts of you cockpit entrance section. I want to build something similar on mine, when I start it in sometime....

DuperScale
I build this kit myself. It was a nice build without big problems. I follow. Are you gonna replace the nose and back/apu or you gonna leave it?

Moaske
I do have a resin nose in my stash, but I don't think I'm gonna use it: there's too much butchering of a fine kit involved for too little gain....: as I can't really tell the shape difference anyway?

Alexander Grivonev
Nice, will follow this one. Built the KH Su-34, also detailed the avionics bay a little. Are you going with the egg plant grey scheme?

Moaske
I'm going with the eggplant grey scheme indeed 🙂
And I think I'll do some more cable booms in the main gear wells

Vincent
Very impressive work. I will be following this one!