[LPII]

The fairing and the forward steps were next. Again using pictures, I calculated the scale height and length of the short and long steps and the angle, shape and size of the front fairing. I drew out the fairing and laid it out on cardstock, and modified it until it looked right. I then traced the fairing and the small front step on .010 brass sheet and cut them (photos 1 and 2).

For the main step, I used 3/8 by 1/8 brass rectangular section because it had the right scale proportions. (The real step is a C-channel, but it is not noticeable unless you look straight at it from the back). After shaping the front of the brass rectangular section into a semicircle and undercutting it to fit the fairing, I clamped the fairing to the rectangular section and soldered it into place, then filed and cleaned it up (photos 3 and 4).

The rear support for the long step was made with a piece of the same 3/8 by 1/8 in. rectangular section cut, shaped and soldered to a clamp made from .030 brass strip. I epoxied a 2mm nut into the top of the support, and attached the step to the support bracket with a 2mm screw. I fastened the clamp with 1.2 mm screws (photo 5 show teh support partially completed).

I trimmed the front of the skid to the proper height , then epoxied the small step in place, ensuring it was horizontal and in line with the skid (photo 6).

I then positioned the fairing/step assembly on the landing gear and drilled two holes on each side of the fairing for 1.2 mm screws (photo 7).

Photo 8 shows the landing gear with the front steps and fairing, with a shot of the real helicopter inset for comparison.

[LPII]

LANDING GEAR Wrap-up: To make the rear step (photo 1), I again measured and calculated the angles and scale dimensions of the parts from photos, then made the clamp with .030 brass (photo 2). I shaped the clamps with the side of a 5/16 in. transfer punch and the edge of a steel square. I drilled a hole in the clamp to help hold the tube in place when soldering, and soldered a piece of 1/8 in. brass tubing to make the step. I filled the end of the tubing with filler to close off the open end of the tube (photo 4).

For the extensions at the rear of the skid, I happened to have a bag of giant cable ties, and the tip of those is almost a perfect match for the extensions. I used the rounded tip for the extension, and a piece of the main part of the cable tie to make the block and a tongue to attach it inside the skid tube (photo 3). Being plastic, they would also easily flex if needed during actual landings, so they were the perfect material. I trimmed the rear of the skid to the correct length, and epoxied the extensions into the hole in the tube along with a few small pieces of wood to fill the gaps.

Finally, I made the stainless steel skid plates on the bottom of the landing gear using .010 stainless steel (found in the K&S display at my LHS). I made a few cardstock mockups to get the correct shape (final version in photo 5), then traced it onto the stainless steel strip and cut it with the body scissors, finishing with the edges with a hobby file. Then I marked the holes for the screws, taped the skid plates in position and drilled them and the skid for 1.2mm screws.

Photo 4 is the unpainted landing gear installed. Photo 6 shows one side of the complete landing gear with all its metal parts and screws.

To duplicate the no-slip surfaces, I used 120-grit silicon-carbide wet/dry sandpaper. I coated the back with white glue and let it dry, and I discovered that this allowed me to stretch it slightly and make the compound curve over the top of the rear strut. I also sprayed the sandpaper with several light coats of clearcoat to give it a darker, blacker look. I used two-sided tape to attach the sandpaper strips, but over time, the edges lifted on the curved surfaces (the flat steps were fine). So I’ll have to glue down the sandpaper strips before I finish the project.

I painted the landing gear white (automotive touch-up spray can), and added a few coats of clearcoat, then attached the sandpaper strips. The finished product is shown in photo 7. I made a composite picture with the scale gear and the real helicopter in the background for comparison.

Making the landing gear was a major milestone. It took many hours of work over about a one month period, but I was very happy with the results.

[LPII]

With the landing gear complete and set aside, it was time to start on the fuselage. The first thing to do was to strip the old paint. I used furniture stripper. I was concerned that it might damage the gel coat, so I tried a little bit on a small area. I found that if I just left the remover long enough to soften the paint, it didn’t damage the gel coat. (However, at some point, I accidentally dipped one end of the horizontal stabilizer in a bowl of paint remover, and it stayed there unnoticed for several hours. This did soften the gel coat and distort the fiberglass. Fortunately I was able to repair the damage). I also tried to keep the paint remover away from the edges, just in case it could soak into the fiberglass, and just left it on long enough to soften the paint. I used an old craft paint brush to apply the paint remover, then paper towels to remove the paint as soon as it was soft, and wipe the surface dry. I also tried a plastic scrapper to remove the softened paint, but I found that it was leaving marks in the gel coat. I reapplied paint remover on spots as needed, but tried to keep the remover away from the bare gel coat, and again, tried to work quickly. I finished by cleaning the surface with methyl hydrate.

[LPII]

After the paint was stripped, I decided to jump right in and reposition the tail boom. As mentioned earlier in this thread, when I was trying to find the right attitude of the fuselage on the landing gear, I noticed that the tail boom on the model is not at the same angle relative to the cabin as on the full scale AS 350. This is not very noticeable, but by that time, I had spent so much time looking at helicopter pictures that everything was noticeable! I would have probably lived with this, except that I already had a long main rotor shaft on hand, which would allow me to lower the mechanics and still put the head at the scale height (otherwise, the non-scale head height would have been more noticeable than the non-scale boom angle). Also, I realized that this mod would not be all that hard to do, and in fact it went pretty well.

First I cut off the boom where it joined the fuselage (photos 1, 2), leaving about ½ in. uncut at the top of the tail rotor driveshaft tunnel. Then, I rotated the boom down to the desired angle, tucking it inside the fuselage. To determine that angle as accurately as possible, I measured the angle between the fuselage and the tail boom using different references (e.g., top of dog house, roof, etc.) from as many pictures as possible (my own and many from airliner.net). I was not getting totally consistent results, so I also set up the model on a table with the landing gear installed, and fined tuned the angle. I also fined tuned the angle of the landing gear (i.e., relative length of the front and rear struts), until I was satisfied with everything, and confirmed that the mechanics would still fit in the fuselage. I then blocked the tail into position, also ensuring that it did not get out of alignment laterally.

Because the boom is tapered, I knew that rotating the boom into the fuselage would open a small gap between the fuselage and the tail boom (photo 3). To close that gap, I pinched the sides of the front section of the tail rotor shaft tunnel, ensuring that each side was pinched evenly. I then tacked the bottom section of the boom in place from the inside, using 4-minute epoxy, holding the surfaces in place with my fingers while the epoxy hardened. I finished this step by reinforcing the inside surface around the joints with epoxy and fine fiberglass cloth.

Once the bottom was glued back in place (photo 4), I cut the rest of the boom off at the top of the tail rotor driveshaft tunnel. In order to pick up the slack around the now smaller circumference of the tail boom, I calculated how much I had to remove, then cut a narrow V along the top of the section of the fuselage that sits below the engine exhaust pipe (I forgot to take a picture of that step). I then reattached that section together, with fiberglass and epoxy on the back, and finished by filling and sanding any gaps and imperfections on the outside (photo 5).

[Layng17]

nice !!

[LPII]

Thanks, Cody. Stay tuned. I am trying to post something everyday until I am caught up. I am also hoping to finish the project in the next month or so.

Pierre

[LPII]

The next phase was to cut new openings and block others to configure the scale fuselage like C-FZTA. First in line were the windows. I had read on other threads that the chin windows were smaller than scale on the model. Also, C-FZTA has a floor window and a lower door window on the starboard side. Again from pictures, I tried to determine how to open up the chin windows to make them more scale. The nose of the model is not totally scale to start with (it is shorter), so I had to find the best compromise for the chin windows. After looking at many pictures taken from different angles and sighting the model from the same angles, I came up with the shape as shown in photos1 and 2, although I realized later that I could have gone a bit deeper at the front.

I then did the door and floor windows (photos 3, 4). Before drawing the lower door window, however, I lowered the angle of the lower edge of the top window and the rear door window by starting at the front bottom corner and cutting on a line ending about ¼ in. below the back of the rear window. Then I drew the lower door window parallel to that new line (photo 3).

Since the windows had already been cut to size by the previous owner, I needed a way to make new chin windows, as well as the two additional windows. The chin windows have compound curves, and the floor window has a simple curve. I am not equipped to shape plastic, so I was going to order a new set of transparencies and adapt the unused parts to make the extra windows, but I found an equally good solution right in my basement. I had recently ordered a new canopy for one of my airplanes because the deck part of the canopy (but not the transparency) had warped in the heat in my car. Looking at my old canopy, I realized that I could find areas near the front that had the compound curves needed to make the chin windows, and others areas could be used to make the floor and door windows. The colour of the plastic was also very close. So, my old 50-size Edge 540T canopy supplied all my needs to make my new windows (photo 5, together with the new canopy). (Something for other modelers to keep in mind as an option).

Photo 6 shows the right side of the model with the new windows.

[LPII]

Next was the windscreen. The windscreen on the AS-350 is attached with screws. The screws on C-FZTA are black and the heads are about ½ in. diameter. I found a bunch of screw sets for a Proto CX micro helicopter on line at Hobby Hobby that were black and about the right scale (1 mm head diameter). I made the center strip with a 3/8 x .020 styrene strip, drilled the screw holes then painted the strip flat black and screwed it on. I made the metal bracket at the bottom with soft aluminum. The previous owner had already drilled all the holes around the circumference of the window.

Eventually, I will paint the window frame on the fuselage flat black, and screw the windscreen in place. There is also a yaw string mounted on the center post of the windscreen that I will make later.

[Filipe Pascoa]

Amazing work !!!

[LPII]

Thanks Filipe. You won't recognize it when it's finished! I have been too busy to work on it over the past two months, but I should be able to get back into it soon.