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Rotary Wing
Discuss helicopters and other rotary wing aircraft from any era.
Aurora AH-56 Cheyenne Build
JPTRR
Staff MemberManaging Editor
RAILROAD MODELING
#051
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Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
AeroScale: 3,175 posts
Posted: Sunday, March 19, 2017 - 08:28 AM UTC
Long ago in a distant land, I acquired and reviewed an old favorite from my younger days - Lockheed AH-56A Cheyenne 'Copter

Quoted Text

This is a vintage model from a defunct manufacturer. I don’t know what year Aurora molded the first AH-56 kit although judging from the box art, probably late 1960s. It is a fair model by today’s standards: recessed panel lines but molding flaws; an adequate decal sheet even if they lack today’s precision. I don’t have a 1/72 template to check the profile against although it has some obvious mistaken contours, the canopy for instance.

All the same it can be built into a decent model as demonstrated by many examples you can view on the web. It is ripe for detailing. I think it is a fun model to have whether for building or collecting. I built one long ago that was molded in tan and I still have a part or two in a spare parts drawer. If you can find one I recommend snaring it for your collection of whirlybirds or just for nostalgia!




There really isn't any interior detail aside from the basic cockpit.





The wing sponsons required filling. One side lined up well top to bottom, but the other side had "steps' because of misaligned parts. Superglue and plastic welder were required.



After the cockpit was assembled and inserted, the fuselage and wings mated, it was time to let everything dry for the next steps.


More pending.
phantom_phanatic309
#372
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United Kingdom
Joined: March 10, 2010
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Posted: Sunday, March 19, 2017 - 12:34 PM UTC
Looks like it will be an interesting build. Always wanted to build one of these. It would be great to do some whifing.

Last week I picked up Lindbergs HH-3 Jolly Green which I believe is a rebox of the Aurora. Overall it doesn't look too bad and I'm looking forward to building it as a Vietnam era CSAR.
JPTRR
Staff MemberManaging Editor
RAILROAD MODELING
#051
_VISITCOMMUNITY
Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
AeroScale: 3,175 posts
Posted: Sunday, March 26, 2017 - 06:59 AM UTC
Hi Stephen,

Thanks for looking. Progress pending.

I built the Revell HH-3 long ago. Don't recall anything about it although their H-54 Skycrane is still one of my favorite models. Never seen the Aurora one.
JPTRR
Staff MemberManaging Editor
RAILROAD MODELING
#051
_VISITCOMMUNITY
Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
AeroScale: 3,175 posts
Posted: Sunday, March 26, 2017 - 07:12 AM UTC
The fuselage/wings joint need some help. One pair went together pretty well but the other side had quite a step. Liquid glue and clamps helped.






More soon.
drabslab
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European Union
Joined: September 28, 2004
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Posted: Monday, March 27, 2017 - 12:16 AM UTC
That looks promising. Actually a pity that the Cheyenne never reached production, it was a very good looking aircraft.
phantom_phanatic309
#372
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United Kingdom
Joined: March 10, 2010
KitMaker: 2,568 posts
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Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2017 - 04:23 AM UTC
Coming along nicely Fred. These old kits can be a lot of fun to build.

I'll be doing a build log of my Jolly Green in the near future when I have cleared my work bench of a few projects. According to Scalemates it is indeed a rebox of the Aurora kit and the only game in town.
tread_geek
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Ontario, Canada
Joined: March 23, 2008
KitMaker: 2,847 posts
AeroScale: 144 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 06, 2017 - 12:46 AM UTC
@Frederic (JPTRR),

Here you go again dredging up another one of these "mouldy goldie" kits from some of our youth's. I must admit that these blogs are both enjoyable and a base to show how far the industry has come (and how old some of us are getting? ). It also reminds some of us of the trials and tribulations that our less experienced selves had to put up with when "tube glue" reigned supreme and the only modelling tool was an Xacto (if you were fortunate enough to find one and had the money for fresh blades)

I also remember having the "Jolly Green Giant" that Stephen (phantom_phanatic309) mentioned as I believe that I built two in "days gone by".

I'll follow this thread with interest as you try to make the proverbial "silk object out of a sows ear".

Cheers,
Jan
phantom_phanatic309
#372
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United Kingdom
Joined: March 10, 2010
KitMaker: 2,568 posts
AeroScale: 1,619 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 06, 2017 - 01:41 AM UTC

Quoted Text

@Frederic (JPTRR),

Here you go again dredging up another one of these "mouldy goldie" kits from some of our youth's. I must admit that these blogs are both enjoyable and a base to show how far the industry has come (and how old some of us are getting? ). It also reminds some of us of the trials and tribulations that our less experienced selves had to put up with when "tube glue" reigned supreme and the only modelling tool was an Xacto (if you were fortunate enough to find one and had the money for fresh blades)

I also remember having the "Jolly Green Giant" that Stephen (phantom_phanatic309) mentioned as I believe that I built two in "days gone by".

I'll follow this thread with interest as you try to make the proverbial "silk object out of a sows ear".

Cheers,
Jan



Could be worse, I might have the Starfix copy of this kit! Now that would be a challenge.
JPTRR
Staff MemberManaging Editor
RAILROAD MODELING
#051
_VISITCOMMUNITY
Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
AeroScale: 3,175 posts
Posted: Friday, April 07, 2017 - 11:26 PM UTC
Hi Gruppe,

I stole a couple of hours of life after the family went to bed and worked on my Cheyenne.

I hate masking canopies! This one is exceptionally annoying because it is one continuously changing compound curve, with indistinct framing lines. I tried the old school easy way with Micro Mask but ended up using tape.




The canopy really did seem to fit tight and smart. But after the primer...





Fit not always good:


First coat of OD:
Mgunns
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Arizona, United States
Joined: December 12, 2008
KitMaker: 1,423 posts
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Posted: Saturday, April 08, 2017 - 09:09 AM UTC
I saw one of these at our reserve center back in the mid '70's. I think it was awaiting scrap. It was a large aircraft IIRC. Looking forward to following along.
JPTRR
Staff MemberManaging Editor
RAILROAD MODELING
#051
_VISITCOMMUNITY
Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
AeroScale: 3,175 posts
Posted: Saturday, December 02, 2017 - 08:08 AM UTC
Not a lot of progress lately but I just found this photo of the Cheyenne's pilots:
bat-213
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Canada
Joined: December 30, 2011
KitMaker: 902 posts
AeroScale: 19 posts
Posted: Tuesday, December 12, 2017 - 03:45 AM UTC
looks like you have a good build going on ,I too have a hh 3e goly green and a testers husky that needs to be built .I will fowwol your build .
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