1/32 Revell EC-135

Gallery Article by Grant Matthews on Aug 7 2003

 

Well, here is my first submission to ARC and my first big scale model. I bought the kit to use as set dressing for my Scalextric (slot car) tracks - it is the same scale as the cars. Apart from the wrong tailplane end fins and too small a Fenestron bump stop, what have Revell provided? In this scale, not as much as I would have expected. Plus, several bits were snapped, the fuselage halves didn't meet, even without the interior in place, and the front canopy fitted where it touched - in about 3 places.

 

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This, my first attempt at using many of the tips picked up from ARC, wasn't going be a straight forward build. The large seam gap on the lower fuselage couldn't be dealt with using Italeri putty - 'cos it didn't stick to the plastic!! So I used the 'Glue'n'Sprue' fix from Tools'n'Tips. The engine cover was a particularly bad fit that required a lot of cutting down. Then I was ready for my first attempt at airbrushing a model. Hmm - doesn't that show up all the imperfections! In the process of masking up the black side patch I proved that you really can cut masking tape to shape, on the model, without damaging the model. Then the penny dropped, so many other things like crisp, clean canopies, camouflage, pinstripes etc all become feasible. Cool! The only problem I had was the fogging up of the Klear under the Maskol. Despite waiting weeks, it never really cleared, so I got out the cotton bud and nail polish remover and successfully cleaned off the Klear.

The decals went on fine, although the red is way out of register. The next big step was an overall coat of Klear, before a limited attempt at weathering. As the model is being left in 4 'bits' (main rotor, tailboom, fuselage and skids) for packing and transporting to races, it was a simple matter to prop the fuselage and tailboom in a tin full of rice, through a strong plastic lid. This provided a solid, turntable support that allowed me to hand paint the Klear. I had tried spraying, but that didn't really work. You seem to need a reasonable 'weight' of fluid to get it to settle nice and smooth. It is certainly the best finish I have achieved and it was so easy to do. Thanks to Matt Swan for his missive 'The Complete Future'. For weathering I just wicked in a very, very dilute black wash. The effect was immediate and quite stunning. Like decals, it completely transformed the model. I shall definitely be doing that again.

To see the real helicopter click here. I didn't check the photos during the build and my aircraft recognition obviously isn't up to scratch, otherwise I might have done something about the end fins at least. So I'll claim I was just building it OOB .

Thanks To Matt Swan for his comments and spot on advice about finishing the model. And BIG thanks to all who have unknowingly contributed to this model through their participation in ARC. This has been an enjoyable learning experience, which has definitely improved my modelling.

Grant Matthews

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Photos and text © by Grant Matthews