Leaderboard

This week I am getting closer to finishing the OV-1C Mohawk. I started by detailing the fuselage with photo etch accessories. On the bottom of the fuselage is a loop antenna. The kit antenna was difficult to separate from the tree due to how thin it was. It broke in two different places. I placed the pieces on a piece of tape the used some 32 gauge wire and made my own. I cut the mounts for the for the kit antenna and attached them to the fuselage then drilled a hole to fit the new wire antenna. With all the wings attached and landing gear mounted I placed the aircraft on the gear. As expected I added enough weight to the nose to keep the tail up. Next I built up the replacement resin propellers. The resin set came with a jig to attach the blades at the correct pitch. I then decided to make this a ground support version using incendiary and high explosive rockets. I made the drop tanks and rocket pods using photo etch details. A fellow modeler mentioned that the canopy fit very badly. So I dry fit the canopy sections to see why they did not fit. It turns out there are multiple issues. The main one is the overhead console. It mounts at an incorrect angle and is too long. I sanded down the ends and the top to match the curve of the photo etch panel. I then mounted it with the console to be flush with the top of the rear bulkhead. This allowed the top part to line up correctly. Next came the windscreen which also has a console across it. Even with the overhead console trimmed it still went past the edge of the windscreen. I marked where the center console meets the windscreen console and mounted the windscreen console .03 inches back from the edge. Everything lined up. I then base coat painted it using green drab for the late Viet Nam scheme that was used. Once painted, I looked over the side doors of the canopy. They were horrible. One side looks like the mold had a hot spot or did not cool evenly and caused distorted lines inside the plastic. Both of them also had a lot of scuffs on the outside surface. I sanded them with 2000 grit then polished them with Meguire’s PlastX. Aside for the distortion on the one side due to the mold process, they came out great. I am now getting ready to start adding the decals. You can see all the photos and details from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-ov-1c-mohawk/ After repairing and polishing using https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/how-to-repair-clean-and-polish-clear-parts/

They were painted with Model Master Jet Exhaust paint then weathered with dark brown and black pastel chalk. https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/weathering-with-pastel-chalk/