AH-6Z Littlebird Night-Ops build project

[Mike Sanders]

Brilliant, as always. Even the diversion is absolutely fascinating. I always look forward to the next post. Thank you.

[Zeeflyboy]

AH-6Z Littlebird Night-Ops build project

Thanks guys as always!

wdttg - yeah basically lol. Unfortunately I'm going back to the UK a lot this month... So not much chance to use those skies! I really need to get my new Rush 750 up and running too! I maaaay be around weekend of the 20th though by the way, don't know if you'll be around for a fly?

Milly - not near Dan unfortunately! Approximately 700 miles in fact lol... However it is definitely on my list to make a (hopefully) epic video for this birdy. I envisage a mix of external ground based footage, air to air, and if course FPV... All with a nice rock soundtrack lol. Perhaps I'll have to fly Dan out to get some footage.

As for when its gonna be completed? I wish about a month or two ago! I wouldn't like to hazard a guess really - it depends a lot on how many standbies work calls me out if this month and how much I travel back to the UK. I like to think it'll be flying as a fully built heli by the end of the month even if not 100% completed.

My latest pain is that the new (600 euro!!!!) head and tail I ordered have been lost in the French postal system since the 8th of June

Mike - hah, glad to be of service. Thanks for taking an interest!

[milly0812]

AH-6Z Littlebird Night-Ops build project

Lol I looked at the Berkshire reference in your profile

[Zeeflyboy]

yeah, that's where I used to live (parents still do, so I travel back there and oxfordshire quite a bit)

Hey guys, do you remember when I was building a helicopter - that was a cool project wasn't it?


So first up Juan's gym membership has begun, but I did one part of one arm and got bored... lol. The idea is just to get a rough arm shaped bulk to go underneath the clothing so it looks like it should. Hey, at least I'm 1/8th of the way there....







So, after getting bored with that I thought I'd fit my Naza LED access hatch. Not pictured here is the small handle that will engage the lock mechanism. Idea is simple really - naza LED goes in this hatch and during startup I can leave the hatch open until I can see I have full satellite lock, then I can close the hatch and go fly. Equally if I need to program the Naza or adjust settings I can just pop open the hatch, pull out the LED unit and plug in the USB.

[Streetluge Chris]

I don't what to say. lol

[Zeeflyboy]

is that good or bad chris? lol...

these guys arrived today... haven't fitted him out with all the kit but I think you'll agree they are an upgrade on the old ones. Detail is insane, but more to the point I think the size looks more appropriate for what is in reality a pretty small helicopter.


He's in the helicopter without seat, but you get a good idea of the fit. Those legs might have to be trimmed a bit though!

[Zeeflyboy]

So today is a good day. I have "finished" my main fuselage section in terms of the build... Added a few more details since last I showed it, like the forward door hinges (also had to fill the screw holes then rivet over the top on each hinge) and the bottom hole has been covered with a removable panel, naza LED hatch has been fitted properly and it's all been primed now.


I also just recieved my decals from callie-graphics. They aren't particularly complicated but I didn't want to go OTT on the decal front - I want the weathering and detail to speak for itself. Basically the big reg marks go on either side of the dog house, the U.S. Army goes either side of the tail, no steps are for the quad missile launcher. The Larger FPV's are for the tail and the smaller ones the nose and door panels....







And a few pics of the main fuselage now ready for painting. I appreciate a lot of the detail gets lost as the pics are resized but hopefully it's good enough to get a feel for it!


















So now I need to paint it...

[Cagey]

oh yes indeed ! and too.

[Mike Sanders]

Brilliant. Looking forward to seeing it painted.

[Zeeflyboy]

a few base coats and sanded back, you can see the panels starting to take on a weathered look already, but I'm actually going to try out a technique I have read about called pre-shading. Basically this involves taking an airbrush and spraying some black along the rivet lines and edges of panels etc... once that's done you blow over with a few light coats of paint and in theory it gives you a nice sun bleached sort of look which will be a good starting point for further detailing.


So here's a couple of pics before I start ruining it lol.

[Zeeflyboy]

So here is the pre-shading done. Once it gets a coat or two on top it should produce quite a nice effect (and hopefully not just completely vanish lol, this took quite a while!).

[Telehandler]

Wow youve got some serious skills havent ya mate. love this thread ,some proper quality building and dedication

[Zeeflyboy]

Don't know about that, but dedication yes lol. Persistence is better than skill perhaps.... Cheers!

So I had hoped to show you what the main fuse section looks like after a few top coats over the pre-shading but alas with my immense strength I broke a bit of my air compressor. I've ordered a new part but won;t be able to carry on painting until next week now


So stuck without a compressor I did something else instead - got rid of dem man nipples.


First up I finished the arms, put his gloves on (not easy putting gloves on btw lol... really fiddly...) and then gave him a T-shirt.







Then I wrestled for a while to get his camo on. Starting to look more like Juan the man that can.







I also was just chatting with one of my colleagues today showing him pictures of my heli. I mentioned that I like the setup I have with the quad as I can chuck everything in a backpack and cycle up to the mountains to go fly.


When I said "of course it's harder to strap a 7kg heli to your back" he made a very good point...


He suggested I buy a little bike trailer! What a great idea!!! It would also double as a landing pad. After I spent the next 10 minutes laughing at the mental image of a guy cycling towing a helicopter behind him, I decided that's a damn fine idea!


Was looking at something like this (minus the side bars)

[Zeeflyboy]

one more pic

[muscleflex]

that soldier is quite a hunk!