Wood is Good! - Even for helis...

[CSpaced]

I love to huck my helis, but deep down inside there has always been a closet scaler waiting to burst out. There are many scale helicopter models available and I was looking for something that I could spend some time working on, and really go to town on the detail. I recently came across a model offered by Starwood Scale Models, of a Cobra AH-1F gunship that is constructed of all plywood and balsa instead of the more common fiberglass. The fact that it is a built up fuse really got my attention, as working with and repairing fiberglass is not something I have had a lot of experience with and this kit provides an alternative.

The model consists of all laser cut, interlocking parts, and is designed to fit either Century Heli's Swift or Mikado's Logo 10. Thats right, its electric! The kit comes with everything you need to slide your mechanics in, including a longer tail drive belt and pulleys to drive the raised tail rotor. Other accessories included are tow rocket launchers, rocket pods, and of course the chain gun (which you can attach to a servo).

So while I am waiting for the kit to arrive I have some decisions to start thinking about. What power system will I use, what kind of batteries, and of course - what color scheme will I model it after? Watch this space for the build thread...

There are many different kinds of models out there in many differrent sizes. You can use just about any kind of mechanics, from turbine to gas/glow and electric. If you want to take a look at some of the models available, check out the links below.

www.eastcoastvario.com
www.starwoodscalemodels.com
www.modelrectifier.com
www.centuryheli.com

[3DFreak576]

cool, the approach engineering kits are very nice. Looks forward to seeing the build!

[CSpaced]

Wow...the kit got here quicker than expected. Here are some pics of how it looks out of the box.

[CSpaced]

One other thing to add real quick was that the included CD has a ton of really good reference photos of the real chopper, which is great because I was having a hard time finding anything decent off the web

[3DFreak576]

looks like a fun build! be sure to give everything a good coat of epoxy if your goin nitro

[CSpaced]

This ones gonna be electric...

[CSpaced]

With the winter days rolling in I finally got started on this. I ordered the Swift 16 kit and while waiting for it to arrive I made a start on the fuse. All of the parts are beautifully laser cut with part numbers and guide lines laser etched into the wood.



First thing to do was to put the lower side sheeting together. The pieces are laser cut like a jigsaw puzzle so gluing them together was a no brainer.



Then I had to epoxy the three piece plywood doubler on the inside, alignment was made easy beacuse of the locating holes for the main formers.





While that was drying I received the Swift 16 and started putting it together. The Swift is a nice kit but the instruction manual is a little counter intuitive as they don't clearly explain the assemblies in any particular order. Also the self tapping screws are very soft....ask me how I know



Once I had finished tinkering with the mechanics I went back to the fuse and glued in some triangle stock that will be sanded to give the boom its rounded look.



Well thats about as far as I've got so far, I'll post more pics as I progress.

[joshatapp]

Chris this looks awsome!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to see it.

Josh

[Neogenesis]

subscribed......I've been looking for something more to do with my swift........this may be it!!!!



Neo

[CSpaced]

The fuse is coming along nicely, the sides are now glued to the formers and mounting beams (for the mechs). I spent a lot of time measuring where the blind nuts had to go (for mounting the mechs) and it paid off because the mechs are dead center!

The plywood floor is glued in now and so are the skid blocks. Now the fuse gets put to one side while I work on the tail section.

[CSpaced]

I've started work on the tail section. The kit comes with a longer belt for the tail rotor so that you can run up the angled part of the boom at the rear. The system for raising the tail rotor is pretty slick, just a few pulleys and bearings and a neat frame for mounting everything in and voilla!

These are the bearings and pulleys for the tail, before and after assembly.



This is one of those cool laser engraved details, the text is tiny and lets you know not to remove the piece until the whole section is glued in place as it aids assembly.


This is the tail rotor assembly. Now I just have to add the bellcrank for the pushrod.

[Unbalanced]

Giggidy giggidy. Lookin' good there...