Whilst in the loft, found my 'Puma' that I started a few years ago. Seeing as I'm on with a Sea King at the moment thought I could follow it on with this.
I have already done some work on the fuselage and the cockpit bulkheads, rotor blades, engines, etc.
A typical 1970's offering, lots of rivets, flash, but a reasonable shape nonetheless.
More to follow in between the sea King build.
You'll do it justice Kevin.
Excellent! I'm now the proud owner of an Airfix Puma too. My intention is to build it as a South African Air Force machine for which I've purchased an Air Graphics bucket intake filter set.
Jon
Well, I've got to try and make a decent job of mine now.
Are the 'Bucket intakes' the same as the dust filters fitted to a HC.2 Puma?
Kevin
Quote from: Bigkev on August 03, 2025, 07:44:23 PMWell, I've got to try and make a decent job of mine now.
Are the 'Bucket intakes' the same as the dust filters fitted to a HC.2 Puma?
Kevin
Similar, but not identical. The RAF filters had a ring intake at the front around a central circular solid 'dish', whereas the front of the SAAF intakes were solid 'bullets'.
Thanks Jon,
I'll see if I can locate an accessory set for these, otherwise it will be a HC.1 as kitted.
Well I have found an update set for the Puma, which should arrive this week so hopefully I'll be getting on with this one.
Well the aircraft Models (Formerly Whirlybirds) update set has arrived and I think will help in this project, especially the intakes.
As I want to pose the side doors open, I thought of creating some sort of replication of the quilted insulation in the rear cabin. To do this I have used some 5 thou plasticard and scored it at 45 degrees to create a sort of cross hatch. This was then glued to the cabin insides. I had already attached the clear windows which have a thick surround, so I roughly cut some holes for each of these. As can be seen the windows joins need some tidying which I will do with Milliput once dry as I can smooth it out with water to blend in.
Some pictures to show what I've done. Thanks for looking.
Nice padding/quilting.
Looking good how long before you have as many helos as Chris ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
Quote from: MSea on September 03, 2025, 10:03:40 PMLooking good how long before you have as many helos as Chris ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
Kevin's got some way to go yet!
Hi All,
A little more progress on the Puma. I've now filled around the windows and padding with Milliput which should help disguise the gaps. Also the cockpit has had a little work, the controls have been fitted together with the seat framing. The Pilots seat have a represent of framing to the back for the seat harness attachment a bit later. The instrument panel/mount has had holes drilled in the mount sides and some small scraps of plastic rod to simulate the instrument casings at the back of the panel. Wires will be added to these to final installation. The seat frames, and seats for the cabin are ready to paint. The undercarriage sponsons assembled and filled ready to attach to the fuselage sides. I also added some lead sheet to the cockpit floor undersides to give a bit of 'umpfh' to the fuselage.
I drilled out the two vents at the front of the rotor housing and whilst shaping into rectangular ham fisted me broke both. Both repaired, using superglue on the port side I have used Black CA as it sets slowly for correct alignment, and also you can see it!
Some pictures, thanks for looking.
Great detailed work Kevin.
Quote from: chriswil42 on September 13, 2025, 02:07:24 PMGreat detailed work Kevin.
I fully agree!!!!
Impressive work.
Thanks for your comments chaps, appreciated.
This morning I looked at the cockpit again and decided before doing any painting, I would embellish the instrument panel a bit more and also add some further bits and bobs around the cockpit walls and 'tunnel' between the cockpit and main cabin. Used some of the etch brass from the update set for the instrument panels on console, cockpit roof panel, and rudder pedals.
Looks a bit busier now, still to add the wiring/plumbing but I'll probably add that near to closing the cockpit up.
Some pictures, thanks for looking
Looking good. I see there's connectors on the back of the panel so fitting cables should be relatively easy?
I am hoping so. Basically they are just small sections of plastic rod and plastic card. Then sanded back to make them more uniform. Drilled with a 0.3mm drill.
I'll use some lead wire to make the cables.
Looking very nice Kevin. Great detail.
Thanks Chris,
Today I've focused on the engines. They are not detailed at all, so I thought I would add some sprue detail to make them look at bit better. Most of this won't be seen but 'I know its there' syndrome. Also added a firewall between each engine. The exhausts are resin replacements. On the APU unit there is a replacement resin exhaust section with an etched brass grill. Unfortunately the section is poorly cast being rather 'wonky', so I've added a section of plastic tube (actually a cut down SNEB rocket body) and I will then glue the etch to the inner section, and then trim the excess outside the airframe to shape once fuselage assembled.
Some pictures, thanks for looking:-
A blast from the past, it's looking very good, another masterpiece.
Bob c
Great work, as always.
Hi all,
Engines almost finished, I have used AK metals and Alclad II on them.
Just a few pipes to pick out and some panels to highlight
Thanks for looking,
Very nice Kevin.
Nice Kevin.
Bob c
Hi All,
A little bit more on the Puma. The cabin seat frames are now in situ and I have begun to paint and add some seatbelts/harnesses to them. Not sure if this is totally accurate but it busy ups the interior. Some detail painting and shading to do before attaching them to the frames. In the cockpit the seats have had harnesses added, again detail painting and shading needed before installing.
A few pictures, thanks for looking.
Nice detail again.
Great detail.
Sorry not posted for a while, in between Man-Flu and family commitments modelling has taken a bit of a back seat.
Anyway, I have returned to the Puma and have started to add the wiring/plumbing to the cockpit console.
Hope you have got all those wires colour coded, for future reference.
That'll keep you busy.
Quote from: zak on October 28, 2025, 01:42:25 PMHope you have got all those wires colour coded, for future reference.
I still have some colour code tabs if you need them but as they are 1:1 scale think they might be a tad tooooooo large
Coming along nicely.
Hi All,
Back to the Puma. Have got the wires painted and the instrument panel too. All the seats now detailed and shaded and added to the cabin floor and also the pilots seats in the cockpit. The instrument panel is in situ, but not glued, so I can remove it to prevent damage whilst attending to the fuselage cockpit glazing.
The engines and gearbox assembly glued in place in the starboard fuselage halve, also test fitting the cockpit/cabin assembly prior to gluing everything together.
Some picture of the above, thanks for looking.
That looks a great job on the interior.
Fantastic work Kevin.
More progress. The fuselage has now been joined together and left clamped overnight. There will be some filling to do to get the seams sorted for which I will use both Milliput and Mr. Hobby fillers, depending on the depth, shaping etc.
I also took the opportunity once the glue had set to add the previously assembled sponsons to each side of the fuselage, and the replacement resin engine intake with filter intake. This didn't quite fit as I would have liked and it took a few attempts to get the best(ish) fit I could. Still it needed a plasticard shim to the uppers to get near to the fuselage shape.
I also test fitted the windscreen assembly to check. It revealed a small gap between the upper glazing and the resin intake part so more plasticard added to the interior, and roughly shaped. This seemed to be better though probably a little more fettling to do further on in the build.
I have also noted after taking the photos that the cabin floor isn't quite seated properly, but after an experiment with a thin clamp it can be persuaded to sit as it should, so after the filling a quick application of superglue and a clamp should do the trick.
Some pictures, thanks for looking:-
Looking great Kevin. Excellent internal detail.
Another fantastic build.
Filler applied, allowed to dry hard, and then a long sanding session followed. All will need a coat of Mr. Surfacer applying, a further sanding before an undercoat applied, but looks much better now.
Next job will be to 'box-in' the undercarriage bay at front, and the winch, load bay in centre of fuselage.
Pictures of the amount of filler applied and the resulting finish after sanding.
Looks tidier now.
Definitely better than my filling and sanding, well done.
Looking good Kevin. A fair bit of work.
Thanks for your comments chaps. A bit more progress today.
I have 'boxed' in the nosewheel bay and the winch/load bay using thin sections of plasticard. Cut to length and allowed to protrude slightly. Glued in place and when set trimmed with scalpel to fuselage outer edge. Any gaps filled with Mr. Surfacer 500.
Before I added yet more Mr. Surfacer to all those areas that had been filled with Milliput or Mr Hobby Putty, I thought I would check the fit of the canopy and doors. You need three pairs of hands.......
Anyway after perseverance, I realised that the doors need to be supported at the top, so I stuck some thin strips of plasticard to the inside edge of the intake/cockpit roof. When the canopy is in place together with the doors, there is a gap at the top of the front edge of each door, a bit bigger on the starboard side than the port. To overcome this I propose to build up the canopy frame with card, and then sand to shape.
I think for this build I will attach the canopies with epoxy resin which will dry clear and help fill any remaining gaps prior to painting.
Some pictures, thanks for looking:-
A very detailed build Kevin. Do you have shares in the filler manufacturers?
Ha ha for the filler.
I have now completed all the major filling and sanding that I think will be needed, maybe just a little around some bumps and lumps still to be added to the airframe.
The replacement resin cabin doors have had glazing added and the etch brass 'quilted' padding added to the insides.
The cockpit glazing has also had some attention, with some thin strips of plasticard to the main piece on the upper edges. Once sanded to shape and test fitted it seems to line up much better, just need to touch in the edges of the glazing with a black sharpie pen to help disguise the thickness of the glazing. Then it will be masked up, and finally glued in place with epoxy resin.
some pictures, thanks for looking:-
Nice tip about using the Sharpie.
Here is the canopies given a dip in Kleer and then once dry have had the edges touched in with the Black Sharpie.
Only thing I hadn't thought about was the plasticard should really have been black, I don't think it will show on the finished canopy once all painted up.
The kit doors were intended to be 'moveable', but to do this Airfix had to grossly oversize the runners. As I am using replacement doors, new door runners have been made from shaped plastic strip. Also two new resin conduits under the fuselage have been fixed in place.
Your attention to detail never ceases to amaze me.
That's why he always produces fantastic models. He goes that one step further.
No he goes 17 steps further than me - well done another great model on the way
As I've said before Kevin; great attention to deail.
Hi All,
Little update. Canopy now attached with Epoxy Glue. Taped up quite tightly to get as close finish as possible. On drying still a couple of small gaps could be seen. These will be filled with Kristal Kleer and Vallejo Black paint mixed together. The Black will blend in with the frame colour and the Kristal Kleer will seal the gaps. I tried some as an experiment on some plasticard and it seems to work.
Coming along nicely. The wiring looks great through the glazing.
I've just caught up with this, Kevin, and it is looking really good. I've gone the opposite way with my Airfix Puma and decided to build it more-or-less OOB as an antidote to fighting an utterly rubbish vacform kit, plus the aftermarket resin SAAF sandfilter which would be quite nice if it actually fitted. I've used the kit side doors but tweaked them and replaced the rails, although yours looks far nicer than mine. It's currently sulking in the desk drawer until I pluck up enough enthusiasm to fettle that sand filter!
Jon
Thanks Chris and Jon,
A bit more progress. Yesterday I managed to get most of the front canopy masked ready for filling and then painting. Masking is with thin strips of Tamiya tape around the edges of each panel, then in filled with bigger bits of tape. I filled the gaps with my Klear/Black paint mix and it worked quite well. When it had dried I noticed a couple of faint gap lines on the cockpit door sides, so these has pure Kristal Klear touched in and then cleaned up the excess with a wet brush. The base of the glazing on the nose had a bit of a step, so out with some filler applied, and ready for sanding smooth later.
Some pictures of the above, thanks for looking.
Really nice detail Kevin and a good tip to produce some black filler.
Hi All,
A bit more progress. The filler under the nose has been sanded smooth and the masking re-applied where necessary. I also did a quick bit of rubbing down on a door frame to improve the fit where it appeared raised. The masking helped to prevent the sanding stick from damaging the transparency. Next, I masked all the open doors, windows, engine openings with either Tamiya Tape, or damp Toilet Tissue. This can be pushed into all the openings with a pair of tweezers of filling tool. It can be left until the main paining is complete, by re-wetting it and pulling it back out.
Once happy, all masking done, I have sprayed Tamiya Flat black to give inside colour to the cockpit framing. Now I need to make up the etch brass steps for either side of the cabin and drill out new location holes for them. After that a quick coat of Mr. Surfacer to act a a general primer for the camouflage colours.
Some pictures of the above, thanks for looking:-
All primed. Still had a little more work on the cockpit door seam. This time some Green Stuff water soluble putty applied sparingly and smoothed out with a damp brush.
Holes have been drilled for the steps and some of the aerials ready for later in the build.
Next, Dark Grey part of Grey/Green/Black camouflage to be sprayed on.
Some pictures, thanks for looking
.
Looking good Kevin.
Speechless!!!
Hi All,
Todays update. Airframe painted Dark Grey, as are the doors, stabilizer, engine intakes. Wheels have been painted pale grey, then when dry, masked off the centres using small discs of masking tape both sides, a then given a coat of Tamiya Rubber Black.
Tail Rotor and main rotor tips painted first in white, then pink ready for the red on the tail rotor and yellow on the main tips.
Whilst airbrush out the hubs have had a coat of Gun metal to start with.
Some pictures of the above, thanks for looking:-
Lots of detail airbrushing there.
Looking good. Your pink is more colourful than the one I made up before painting yellow. Any tips on a good undercoat for red? I'm erring along the lines of a brown/tan.
Quote from: cph64 on December 05, 2025, 05:21:44 PMLooking good. Your pink is more colourful than the one I made up before painting yellow. Any tips on a good undercoat for red? I'm erring along the lines of a brown/tan.
I've used the Pink mix as a base for the red tips on the tail rotor today and it looks pretty vibrant.
Problem with Red is it requires multiple coats to get an even finish. The Brown/Tan mix might be the answer.
Thanks Kev, I went with Tan but think it will need 'glossing'.