S.W.

Hi all,

Just thought of sharing what i've done to my friends Tow Cobra paint job, 1st lot of pictures are of it's original condition. She's been to war and came back alive, now what she needs is a fresh coat of paint and camo scheme and back to action again!

S.W.

Had to hand-file these ugly venting holes LOL!

S.W.

Base coat of light gray painted first. I use automotive acrylic-based paints, color-matched at the shop, ready for collection on the same afternoon.

Old ply blocks removed and new ones added.

S.W.

Panel lines and rivets reproduced, using pencil.

Exhaust cone was done using airbrush and Tamiya acrylic colors thinned down.

S.W.

Fonts created from autocad, then airbrushed onto surface.

S.W.

She needs new shark teeth! Brand new ones!

S.W.

Weathering effect added using airbrush. Vent holes done up too.
This Cobra is not to scale in terms of squadron insignia or whatever, my friend just wants some fonts and logos added to give it a nice cool look to it, that's all.

S.W.

Front IR Pod, translucent red sheets were used to create this, reflective tape is placed inside, translucent sheet is then CA'd into place.

S.W.

She's done and ready for more action!

Weetobix

Wow! That really is SO much of an improvement, I don't know where to start!
You must have a very happy friend now

Would really love a Hirobo cobra one day. Ahh... one day....

XE521

Fantastic work Steve, as well as the Bell. [sm=shades_smile.gif]

Is there any chance that I can be one of you friends.

Regards. Karl.

S.W.

Hey guys Thanks for the complements! You guys are making me blush

I started airbrushing Tamiya, Airfix, Hasegawa plane model kits at a young age (about 14 years old) so it has always been in me, now that i'm into R/C, it becomes a natural progression to paint these R/C crafts too. Of course you guys are all my friends, i'm here to share and to learn too, If any of you guys are coming over to Singapore for a holiday, don't forget to contact me, F1 night racing will be in Singapore on Sept 28th 2008, Cheers!

Weetobix

Ahh, I know that well - I started painting Airfix kits when I was 11, not airbrushed though. I had about 30 suspended from my ceiling after a couple of years

Looks like I'll have to find an airbrush from somewhere when I buy my Approach apache kit...

S.W.

That's Great Weetobix! Would love to know how your apache heli would turn out, like is it easy to build etc etc. The Bell222 i'm building now is really a lot of work! LOL![sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

Hey you can ship your Apache to me for airbrushing!

Weetobix

It may be a while - I'm still saving up to buy the Raptor 50, to then convert to the Apache

XE521

Hi Steve,

mines one it's way, but I forgot to ask for your address. [sm=red_smile.gif] So if you find a lonesome Cobra crawing around, stick it in a bag and send it back to me please. [sm=lol.gif]

I see you live not far from Paya Lebar airfield, that place was opened while I was there but as the Singapore Airport. It replaced the old one, if I remember correctly it was in Gelang. My how Singepore has changed, I saw programme on TV about the current city, it lasted of one hour and I didn't recognise any of the places that I once knew except for the Raffles Hotel. [sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

Do you fly in the resevoir park? I would have thought it would be almost impossible to find a place to fly, there's not much free space left now. [sm=tongue_smile.gif]

Keep up the good work and thanks for the time and effort that you've put into these posts.

Regards.

Karl.

P.S. Have a couple of Tigers on me.

S.W.

Hi Karl,

I'm staying at Bedok reservoir area, very close to the hill slope where flyers soar with their gliders during end of the year north-east monsoon winds blowing from south china sea. Man! when did you came to Singapore? during the 70s??? Yes Singapore landscape changed very quickly, not many old buildings left standing, even nice and memorable ones are all gone, like the old National Library, all Gone! [] The 1st airport is at Old Airport Road next to the National Stadium (soon will be gone and replaced with a new same-capacity one too! Bummer!) I don't fly gliders, i get so sleepy flying it the first time many years ago LOL!

I will look out for the cobra for you and i'll send you a PM once i catch one! and yes don't forget to send me your address too! LOL!

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

I'm sending you my Approach Engineering Cobra for paint!

I never cease to be amazed by your work.

XE521

Hi Steve,

so it was Gelang, wasn't sure as it was a long time ago.

When was I there? Well as I said it was a long time ago, I think it was 1761 to 64 or was it 1861 to 64. [sm=wink_smile.gif]

In those days we only had home made single channel equipment, no tranistors, and weighed a ton. [sm=biggrin.gif] I also flew a few gliders, but it could be expensive when the batteries ran flat, very strong thermals, and the tail fuse (type that you light) failed to work. The things disapeared up country, mostly never to be seen again. One was returned from Segamat in northern Jahore, we placed chits, with our names and addresses and an offer of a reward if the kites were returned, inside the fuse.

Would love to see the place again, but I don't think there's much chance now. [sm=sad_smile.gif]

Regards. Karl.

P.S. Did the Tigers go down well?

S.W.

Thanks BarracudaHockey for your kind complements I've always enjoyed airbrushing. Looking forward to see your Approach Cobra heli! It's a beautiful Heli! Singapore is one of the lucky asian countries to have been able to purchase this Apache! one day maybe i'll own one too.

Karl, i normally go for Hoegardens or Kilkenys or Heinekens, not Tiger, i found it too bitter for my liking! Bottoms Up!

I will probably look for you in Germany during Oktober Fest! Ya-vol??? Hic!

[]TEX[]

Superb job, I like the fact that you repaired the vents and cowls etc.

Most people would have just painted it and been done.

Truely amazing.


I have been thinking about purchasing the Thunder Tiger MD-530 for my Titan. Have you seen these ARF fuselages? Are they good quality?

Oh and I prefer NewCastle...

S.W.

Thanks Tex

Have seen that TT MD-530 at a local Raptor dealer shop, looks good.

Just out of coincidence, I'm also going to re-spray a Hughes MD500 Defender for another friend. Mechanics is for Raptor90 or Freya90. The pods seems a bit far out and weak and does wobble a bit during hover but other than that, seems ok. The fty paint job from TT is standard, not bad actually.

blade_killer

that cobra turned out awesome, you do really good work, my only criticism would be it isnt accurate to the markings of any real cobra, but other then that, it's awesome!

Weetobix

Looking forward to seeing the 530 when it's done too!

ps. I got my Raptor 50 - now I just need to save up for the approach kit

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

The MD530 mounts right up to a Titan.

The gear are a bit frustrating but after a bit of sanding, cussing and fitting it went together well.

The glass is nice, the piant chips kind of easily.