Mil Mi-4 'Hound' - Hobby Boss

Oleg Bogolei
Following!

Bruce Huxtable
Coming along nicely. The PE certainly making a big difference 👍 (I am a recent convert 🙂 )

Harry Eder
Nice start Thomas! 👍

Bernhard Pethe
I like to watch it, especially since I've built it before. But I didn't use a lot of parts, rather cut them off. 😉

Forgotten helicopters Mil Mi-4A | Album by Flugi

Robert Podkoński
Following of course!!! 🙂

Thomas Kolb
Bernhard, holy cow, that is some master class model building there! I am not nearly on the same skill level as you.

Alberto Michieletto
I'm sit here and following!

Cuajete
Nice start, Thomas. Following (one more time)!

bughunter
The titlle of your album is wrong, a Mi-2 looks different 😉

Thomas Kolb
Gentlemen, thank you! Bughunter, typo corrected, it is of course a Mi-4 and nothing else! 🙂 Mi-2 kit is sleeping in its box in the stash.

bughunter
Ah, you were probably already thinking about the next project 😉
I was once lucky enough to see an aerobatic demonstration of a Polish Mi-2, no looping but still very impressive!

Robert Podkoński
What a quickbuild 😉

Michael Kohl
follow that one too.

Łukasz Gliński
It's gonna be the '56 model year, innit? Can't stand waiting to see it completed.

Cuajete
Nice progress!

Mark
👀 I'd better keep my eyes wide open - don't want to miss this fast paced build. 🙂 👍

Thomas Kolb
Łukasz, not sure yet, it might just be a pre-56 Hound. TBH, I don't like the look of those blotched-over stars, it would look like I goofed up the painting on the model.

Łukasz Gliński
Hm, on the other hand it's probably the most famous one ever

Raphael Bernecole
Nice build !!
Following 🙂

Bernd Korte
I'm following, too! You have a very considerate daughter, making you such nice presents!

Alec K
Awesome, following 👍

Thomas Kolb
Bit of a setback... Yesterday, while masking, one of the bulbous side windows ended up popping off and falling inside the fuselage. Damit, I knew I should have secured them with CA-glue, but instead I now have a helicopter shaped maracas. Since the transparencies are secured from the inside, I now need to cut open the fuselage to retrieve and reattach the window. Or I might just buy a new kit and start over again, reusing as much as I can from the old kit. Fun, innit. Brings back sad memories of the 2021 cat event.

Łukasz Gliński
Hmmm, sad news indeed. I'd rather go for some UV glue at this stage, but not sure you could fetch some 🙁

Bas Tonn
Following for inspiration

Thomas Kolb
Lukasz, yeah, but the windows can only be secured from the inside. I will try saw open the cargo bay doors for some keyhole surgery. If it doesn't work, I have no choice but to replace the fuselage from a new kit. Not that big of a deal really.

Robert Podkoński
Keep my fingers crossed for that - opening the cargo doors seems the best idea for the moment IMHO

Alec K
Well, that sucks (the window)…

Łukasz Gliński
Well I meant filling it with the uv glue afterwards and only varnishing it - that's what I did in the past sometimes

Cuajete
Thomas, something similar happened to me on my Do-24. A window to the interior was detached when the fuselage was closed and the model was painted (I did not glue the transparent parts with cyano and this part came off inwards when I pushed it with a finger when manipulating the mockup).

Dornier Do 24 SAR Project | Album by Cuajete (1:72)

I thought to extract the transparent piece with tweezers and a lot of patience (doing "the maraca"). Then I protected it with a layer of Future and glued it back with cyano, holding the piece with a toothpick, blue-tack until the cyano was dry.

Thomas Kolb
Lukasz & Cuajete, thanks for the tips! I have actually spent a good 30-40 minutes trying to get the bloody window in the right spot but it is impossible to cement it in from the outside without messing everything up with cement. I managed sawing open the cargo doors but the internal space is still too narrow to apply cement to reattach the window. Of course it is the one furthest in. Duh, I guess I will just need to use the spare kit that I happen to have on the shelf. See, I always buy two of each kit for just such an occasion, clever me.

Cuajete
Thomas, with the cargo doors open, you also don't get to the bottom with a small stick or long slat and the blue-tack technique to hold from the inside?

Thomas Kolb
Cuajete, no, it seems inpossible. I just cannot see what I am doing. It's kind of like painting your hall through the letterbox. But to be honest, I don't mind redoing the fuselage anyway, there were a few fitting and filling errors that I am quite pleased to be able to fix now. Since I can keep the cockpit, it's a matter of just an hour of work.

Cuajete
Ok, Thomas... Sure you solve it and the result is better with all those improvements 👍

Thomas Kolb
After another futile attempt to fixate the lost window, yesterday evening I started to redo the fuselage from the beginning. I decided to ditch the PE parts inside the cockpit as nothing was visible anyway when installed but instead it caused some annoying fit issues. So more or less OOTB it shall be. Windows attached with superglue, believe it.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Following this one, Thomas.
It's a bit sad that you had to start again.

Alec K
Glad this one is back 👍

Thomas Kolb
Not to worry, this one I intend to finish. Old photo album removed so I am not reminded of the unfortunate mishap, and a new one is in progress.

Cuajete
Nice restart, Thomas 👍

Robert Podkoński
Carry on, Thomas! 😉

Bruce Huxtable
Really liking the instrument panel. Thomas - great tips, and great result at this tiny scale 🙂

Alec K
Agreed, the instrument panel looks great. How did you glue in the windows originally?

Thomas Kolb
Originally, I used Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. However, the adhesion with transparencies is much weaker than with regular plastic, so as I was masking the windows, one became loose and dropped inside, impossible to retrieve. Now I am using CA for a full strength bond.

Alec K
👍

Michael Kohl
good luck for the second attempt.

Cuajete
Well done so far, Thomas.
Is the heavy bolt visible through the windows?

Thomas Kolb
Cuajete, definitely not, the side windows are dome-shaped and warp too much for any kind of visibility into the cargo/troop area. That slightly larger, semi-circular opening in photo 21 is the intake for the supercharger, which will be is blanked off. From the cockpit, the dashboard will cover everything.

Cuajete
Perfect, Thomas 👍

Thomas Kolb
Yesterday I spent a full hour masking off the windows and various apertures. I am thinking of waiting with adding the landing gear struts after painting. I generally don't like cementing stuff to already painted surfaces, but the struts are extremely delicate and will make masking and spraying much more difficult. Any suggestions?

Bernd Grün
Very impressive build, Thomas. Following!

Alec K
If it were me, I would definitely hold off attaching landing struts after painting. Painting evenly around them is difficult and I also usually get dried overspray due to deflection. I usually scrape a small area on the mating surfaces and the Tamiya thin cement does the rest. I also suggest adding metal rod connectors for strength, but that may not be needed. I also recommend dry-fitting the struts before painting, to avoid running into surprises once all is painted. Just my five cents 👍

Robin (WhiteGlint)
I pretty much do it as Alec said.
It is hard to spray around the land gear and often easier to scrape away the paint of the contact surfaces (mostly on the gear but sometimes it is necessary to do this in the bay as well) or protect these surfaces from paint altogether.

Sometimes I use superglue to attach the landing gear or other painted parts.
But you need to be careful or else you make a mess around it, happened to me a few times already.

Thomas Kolb
Alec & WhiteGlint, your input is very welcome. I will do exactly as you suggested, that was my original idea too. The struts are furthermore super fragile and I am pretty sure I would break them at least once while handling the model during painting. I will probably use superglue for them. Thanks mates! 🙂

Bas Tonn
A USSR designed helicopter with a fragile undercarriage? That doesn't sound right...

Thomas Kolb
Bas Tonn, ha ha, yes, things quickly turn weird when scaled down! I have actually seen this very Mi-4 close up in person; it's a smelly, greasy, cast-iron steam train, Soviet style. Definitely nothing fragile there.

Michael Kohl
@Bas: 🙂

Thomas Kolb
I just found this photo reportage of the restoration of this airframe for the museum. The text is in Hungarian, but with plenty of photos. It's an old East German Mi-4 that is repainted to represent the original "27" that crashed in 1957. The painting part is just like building a scale model, except in a slightly larger scale.

repulomuzeum.hu/ARCHFOTO/Mi-4fest/Mi-4fest.htm

Bas Tonn
you can almost smell those pictures 😉

Ronan
Following 🙂

Łukasz Gliński
Uh-oh, The Master has arrived 😉

Thomas Kolb
Yesterday evening some time was spent on the rotor assembly, before it is time to continue with the main fuselage painting. The Christmas Tree decoration is done too BTW.

Ronan
we all have to learn from each other, that's why i follow every helicopter build with interest

Zsolt Czegle
Following! 🙂

Cuajete
Fantastic progress!!

Bruce Huxtable
Learning lots from this mini masterclass. The fine masking on the rotor blade must have been tricky, but the results look crisp and very even. Superb work throughout 👍🙂

Thomas Kolb
Finally, top surfaces sprayed green. Ended up with some green paint annoyingly seeping in under the masking tape at a few places, which will need some careful repair, but the overall look is still pretty sweet. Still pondering about how much weathering I should apply: should this be a museum piece or a cold war utility vehicle.

Piotr Sarniński-Górecki
Looks very good 👍🙂 I vote for a cold war utulity vehicle ☝

Thomas Kolb
Piotr, thanks mate. Yes, that's what it will be. Is it fully realistic? Pro'lly not, but it sure is more fun that way.

Cuajete
I agree with Piotr. Looking so good 👍

Łukasz Gliński
Very nice shade of green 👍

Piotr Sarniński-Górecki
Thomas some time ago I decided the same - fun over realism. At the end that what is all about in this hobby - at least in my case :-D

Robert Podkoński
I agree with Piotr here. Go for fun, Thomas! 😉

Marius
Looking great Thomas. I agree with the comments above, fun before some absolut realism, which especially in 1:72 is difficult to achieve. On a side note, some small panel shading like you did is in my view still realistic enough. Other people tend to really overdo it. I really wouldn't worry much here.

David Taylor
Been watching this one Thomas.Brill so far

Juergen Klinglhuber
Looking so good Thomas -👍

Robert Podkoński
You're turning this kit into a masterpiece, Thomas! I am already impressed!

Thomas Kolb
Robert thank you for your appreciation!

Thomas Kolb
I am trying to find a way to represent the sprayed over star insignia but it always ends up looking like I dropped a big blob of paint on the surface. I tried freehand spraying but it looks like crap. The same with an elevated mask. A sharp mask perhaps? Or print a decal maybe? Damit I am really reaching for straws here.

[img1]

Łukasz Gliński
My proposal: oversized sharp mask + very thin Blutack rolls on its edges. Then just spray slowly under 90 degree angle.

Thomas Kolb
Łukasz, thanks buddy, I tried that on a scrap piece, but it did not look the way I wanted it. I think the mask needs to hover like a hair above the surface; no more, or the paint will just spread out too much and will look like a blob. I guess I will need to practise a bit more.

Łukasz Gliński
Try different diameters of the blutack rolls, that should get you there. 🙂

Alec K
It's looking very good Thomas. Not really sure what the best approach is for the blanked out star, but you do have a mule to experiment on (your abandoned build, unless you sailed it out the window already…).

Thomas Kolb
Alec, yes, ha ha. But I have decided to just skip it. Even when it looks like it should (following Lukasz' tip), it still looks kind of corny, like a sprayed-on fuzzy green blob. I think 72 is just too small for something like that. Whatever, this is just a hobby, keep it simple, I say.

Erik De Smet
Can this help to print a decal ? decal ? | Album by opadesmet

Thomas Kolb
Erik, that's actually not a bad idea! Thanks a bunch! ❤️ I will definitely try it!

Erik De Smet
I modified a 5 point star with Paint.net and filled it with the green of your photo

Olivier
I really like the paint finish which looks kind of velvety.

Thomas Kolb
Olivier, thank you. Polishing with micromesh cloth between each paint layer is the trick. It takes ages but is usually worth it.

Olivier
Oh ho... Now I wanna try this soon. Thanks for the tip, Thomas !

Thomas Kolb
Four more tips: 1. never do circular paths, only go in straight directions, and change direction 90 degrees between grits. 2. Make sure to not apply any pressure, or you will cut through the paintwork in a heartbeat, especially around edges. 3. Clean all surfaces before moving on to the next grit. 4. 6000 -> 8000 -> 12000 is a good series on acrylics.

Olivier
Now I have no choice. I have to try. Thanks awfully.

Cuajete
Nice result, Thomas... And thanks for the tip! 👍

David Taylor
Struts look good.

Alec K
Keeping it simple strategy is something I can get behind 👍. Landing gear looks great.

Thomas Kolb
David & Alec, thank you for noticing!

Thomas Kolb
I am waiting for the transparent decal sheet to arrive. Call me crazy, but in the meantime, I am pondering whether or not to build another Mi-4, this time with some internal details and the rear clamshell doors open... It is really such a fun and super easy kit to build, so I might just try it!

Alec K
It would qualify as third in the row, me thinks 😉

Łukasz Gliński
I can see some red&white checkerboards in your decal set 😉

Bernhard Pethe
Thomas, build a second Mi-4. I love that part. With the loading gates open, that works out very well. 🙂

Thomas Kolb
Bernhard, yes, I will do that. I really like this little helo.

Michael Kohl
You really advertise this kit and I might get hooked - despite all my intentions not to buy another before finishing something

Thomas Kolb
Michael, it's really not the best kit I have ever built, but it's surprisingly easy to build given the complexity of the construction. Assembly up to painting is about 30 minutes. However, there are at least a dozen super nasty ejector pin marks marring literally every internal surface, so to make a decent interior, you'd need to be prepared to Dremel off the molded internal wall structures and rebuild them using various styrene strips.

Michael Kohl
As I would like to put it beside my abandoned ZIL131 with blind windows the interior does not matter. So far I only couldn't find any Hind 4 in UN livery.

Bernhard Pethe
Die "Hind" ist meines Wissens in keinem UN-Einsatz geflogen.

Michael Kohl
Thanx Bernhard for the Info.

Thomas Kolb
This is the Mi-4 'Hound' in case you were thinking of something else. The 'Hind' is the Mi-24 'Krokodil'.

Michael Kohl
Not being an expert I still think that Bernhard referred to the Mi-4, as the Mi-24 Hind surely operated in various UN-missions.

Bernhard Pethe
Entschuldigung, natürlich Mi-4 "Hound"

Thomas Kolb
Ha ha, keine Problem, ich hab's verstanden. Soweit mir bekannt ist, wurde die Mi-4 nie im VN-Dienst eingesetzt.

Villiers de Vos
Thomas, this model is coming along nicely.

Spanjaard
Villiers is totally right

Ekki
Following.

Thomas Kolb
Alrighty, going back to this one again. Where was I now...?

Villiers de Vos
Looking again, I notice the beautiful metal effect on the landing strut and how cleanly you inserted the side windows.

Treehugger
Q: What kind of gloss coat are you using?

Guy Rump
Looking great 👍

Thomas Kolb
Treehugger, for this model I used Tamiya X-22 Clear varnish, mixed 50/50 with Mr Hobby Leveling thinner and sprayed on wet. Before completely dry, I sprayed on another layer of leveling thinner, which further helped eliminating any uneven sheen and resulted in a smooth semi-gloss surface.

Treehugger
Q: I normally use acrylics in my airbrush, I wonder, how do you suggest I clean my airbrush should I try start using this mix of Tamiya X-22 Clear varnish and Mr Hobby Leveling thinner?

I can use a separate airbrush for this, either 0.5 or 0.3, but I never had to use laquer paint before, so I accept any tips for cleaning this out of my airbrush, not sure if this requires a deeper cleaning then say the use of acrylics.

Thomas Kolb
The Tamiya X-22 is an acrylic varnish. Mix it 1:1 with Mr Hobby Leveling Thinner and mist on a thin layer first, then follow it up with heavier layers, making sure that it looks "wet". Finally I spray over it with clean LT to further melt and level the varnish a bit. It becomes absolutely rock hard after 2-3 days, but do not touch the surface with bare hands for at least 24 hours, or you will have fingerprints all over the model!

Michael Kohl
@treehugger: any decent airbrush cleaner should do. I use my trusted Revell and have had no problems with the paint/thinner combo Thomas described.

Thomas Kolb
Michael, that is correct. I am using AKI Xtreme Cleaner. It works perfectly and does not harm the airbrush nor its silicone seals.

Alec K
One more suggestion regarding paint switching in airbrush: when switching to clear of any kind, I always disassemble my airbrush and clean it (the nozzle in particular). I also do this after spraying any metallics ( those pigments just don't come off easy). I generally switch between paints with only a thinner rinse, but this is not enough for the above scenarios in my experience.

I use HS Infinity 1.5mm with Mr.Color lacquers. For general cleaning I use hardware-variety lacquer thinner, GSI Leveling Thinner for paint dilution.

Spanjaard
1.5mm? maybe you mean 0.15mm

Alec K
Sorry, yes: 0.15mm

Łukasz Gliński
I guess it's hard not to misspell it 😉

Thomas Kolb
Łukasz, yes, and to be honest, very few people would even notice it. But my obsessive compulsory mindset would never let me rest if I didn't at least try to fix it.

Michael Kohl
Off topic: I had two colleges who couldn't stand each other. One day one took revenge by setting the others mobiles language to Hungarian.
Reading the decal you get an idea of the effect. 🙂

Thomas Kolb
Michael, ha ha, that's cruel. It took me 20 years to learn Hungarian to native level - I would say it's one of the most difficult languages on the world.

Robert Podkoński
After two weeks in Budapest I was not able to remember basic numerals...only some absolute basic greetings...and the warning formula from the Metro 😄. Polish is not much better, Mates.

Villiers de Vos
Absolutely beautiful.

Łukasz Gliński
Productive weekend, isn't it? And a lovely finish 👍

David Taylor
Worth waiting for.

Guy Rump
Very impressive 👍

Alec K
Impressive build indeed 👍

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Fine work, Thomas 👍

Jose Freire
Worth watching every step of this build. Great job.

Erik Leijdens
Great work on this helo Thomas! Also very nice to watch you build progress. 👍

Neuling
Beautiful model in appealing presentation!

Marius
Unique model and subject with a great result! Congratulations Thomas!

Bart Goesaert
Splendid work on this one.

Bernd Korte
Striking photos of the finished model!

Richard Cheals
Yeah - another Cold War gem 👏👏

Zsolt Czegle
Great work! 👍 And of course great spelling! Congratulation! 👋👋🇭🇺

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Daylight photos are really nice as well.

Thomas Kolb
Dear mates, thank you all for your warm and kind words! I am glad that you approved of this build project, it was great fun (with the occasional unavoidable moments of horror).

Ronan
Very nice helo , congrats Thomas

Cuajete
Fantastic job one more time, Thomas! And very nice pics 👍
Congrats!

Treehugger
Q: One more question, what psi do you prefer for airbrushing on the gloss coat?

Thomas Kolb
Treehugger, about 12-15 PSI. But don't take my word for it, I absolutely suck at (and hate) gloss coating. Sometimes it works out like miracle, and sometimes it turns into a teeth gnashing misery.

Treehugger
I used to use Humbrol Clear gloss coat, but it just gives me cracking patterns. And I don't have any explanation for it. I asked a question at their facebook webpage, but afaik my message with my question never showed up.

I will order some Mr. Hobby 400ml leveling thinner and mix it with my Tamiya stuff that I never use. 🙂

Thanks for the feedback!

Ekki
Excellent work!!!

Spanjaard
i use future out of the bottle, works quite well. but i like the idea of mixing it with Mr leveling thinner, i have to try that.

Thomas Kolb
Treehugger, a friend who is a professional painter explained that to me once. Cracking pattern on a clear varnish (or any solid coat for that matter) happens as the underlying coat shrinks because of the paint still curing and drying. The clear coat will then be dragged along and create a cracking pattern. It may be that you are spraying on too soon? Especially if you are mixing acrylics with enamels and depending on the ambient temperature and humidity, you should wait at least a few days before applying the next coat.

Treehugger
I would like to ask, could you please upload, or link to the product you are using as a leveling thinner?

The producs I found online was: "Gunze GSI Mr.Hobby T111 Aqueous Color Thinner (400ml) " Maybe the wrong one? It also says "Thinner" on the bottle in bit letters. Blue label with the number '400' on it. It certainly looks like the number is just indicative of the amount of content, looking at similar products from Mr. Hobby.

I was about to order Mr. Hobby Thinner, but that might not be the same as 'leveling thinner' making me a little unsure what product you are using to mix with your Tamiya gloss.

I suppose, it is possible I should leave my Vallejo painted models to dry for a week at least, but I am not sure I want to try this again if I can find a better solution. Somehow, I suspected it was my first layer of Humbrol Clear Gloss coat that affected the subsequent layers of gloss coat, then, as I imagined, it might not be the Vallejo primer/paint underneath it all. :| I never figured that out.

Simon Nagorsnik
Excellent work and nice pictures!!👍

Michael Kohl
Hi Treehugger. You are going through the same confusion as a lot of us did. Gunze has two color lines: acrylics (Mr. Hobby Color) and enamel (Mr. Color). The Mr. Hobby Color thinner is designed for the acrylics only. Mr Color Thinner is designed for the enamel range and the Mr Color Levelling thinner too with a special formula which should (and does) ensure a very smooth finish. Now comes the twist: Mr. Color Levelling thinner can be used with acrylics too.
Too me, after I understood, the Gunze Thinners made all the difference. Only with them can I achieve a finish with Gunze or Tamiya acrylic paints I am satisfied with. Hope this helps a bit.

Thomas Kolb
Treehugger, sure (it also comes in 110 ml bottles):

super-hobby.se/produ..eveling-Thinner.html

This thinner will not just add extra solvent to the paint to make it more fluid for airbrush applications, but also contains a retarder, which will make the paint dry significantly slower, giving it more time to "level", or even out. The good thing is that it will create a much smoother finish and less risk for "orange peel" effect. If you want, you can even spray the entire freshly painted surface with only leveling thinner, which will actually re-melt the paint finish and make it even more smooth, almost perfectly satin-like. On the negative side, it will take significantly longer for the paint layer to fully cure, so if you touch the surface with bare hands in the next 3-4 days, you will inevitably get fingerprints that you will have a hard time to remove.

Łukasz Gliński
Just a small clarification from me - Mr.Colors are not enamels, they are lacquers. Whether this is correct nomenclature I don't know and I leave it for experts. Still, they can be mixed with Hataka lacquers for example, but not with the oldschool enamels like Revell, MM or Humbrol. The latter ones are going to be 'eaten' once covered with Mr.Color. How do I know? No surprise, been there, you can check my Cobra failure if looking for a proof 😉

Michael Kohl
Hi Thomas, I tried you Levelling thinner only tip and although I have to tweak it a little bit, it already gave an even smoother finish. Thanx for the hint.

Zbynek Honzik
👏👏👏