AH-6Z Littlebird Night-Ops build project

[dogzilla]

those serial connectors you've got, are they milled or stamped? been looking for some milled solder cup serial connectors. I bought some off eBay but they were stamped and poor quality.

[Zeeflyboy]

So I've got a few days off coming up after tomorrow followed by a fairly light week at work. I decided I needed a list of objectives and really buckle down to get some work done over the next 10 days or so. This was partially driven by the realisation that in a little over 2 weeks its my birthday and since the GF bought me the fuselage for my birthday this build has been officially underway for nearly a year!

A freaking YEAR! And it's all your fault (yes you)! This build really went beyond all initial plans mostly thanks to the support, encouragement and of course ideas that I recieved from the build thread. Thank you all for helping me ;)

So, the list... Once this list is done, the bulk of the build is nearing a somewhat complete state. Obviously there are a million and one little things left to do if I were to list every little thing, but not much more that should stand in the way of some fully dressed test flights.


- print missile fin jigs
- print v2 fuselage connector mount (deeper bracket)
- fill, sand and prime front fuse
- rivet front fuse
- paint front fuse
- Assemble and paint hellfires
- wire up ppm and tracker audio cable
- wire up fuselage connectors
- finish wiring LEDs
- sand and paint fuselage centre console
- print centre console screens, install led back lights.
- finish building vacuum frame
- re-set up Naza-H for new head, tail and Tx
- paint new Naza hatch door
- paint missile mounts
- finish channel wizard install and figure out programming.
- install minigun ammo chains and feed ramps
- create upper mechanic to fuselage mount brackets

So not much to be getting on with....

I got some additional motivation from seeing this at work thus evening - it's an EC medical rescue heli of some description - it looked awesome!


http://youtu.be/_t0TLI5jzoM

[Zeeflyboy]

So lets start crossing things off the list shall we

Printed the missile fin jigs and built up a hellfire... mmmm precision munition....

[Gundummy]

Isn't there some legal bumf about 3d printing weapons  :+

Great thread FB

[Zeeflyboy]

No... if one were to print a 3D gun, it would be illegal to own it... just the same as it would be illegal to own a gun you made from some steel pipe and a hammer.

But the day a cardboard tube with some plastic fins is classed as a weapon anyway is the day I no longer want to live on this planet lol.

Finished up the 4 hellfires and primed them ready for painting








I also measured up and ordered decals to make them pretty much like this

[CurryKitten]

I'm only shocked that you didn't fabricate some scale ammo-crates to put the missiles on :D

[Zeeflyboy]

I am sad to say I did actually think about that lol... I may make some further down the line when I make the transportation case for this beasty.

[Zeeflyboy]

So here are the hellfires all base coated... look cool!






In bad news, I finished filling and sanding on the front fuse... I then primed it and when going to sand the primer layer parts started coming off, this despite having wiped it all down well before painting.

Soooo.... just spent the last 45 minutes scrubbing with a scrubbing sponge and some acetone to remove all the primer and then another 15 minutes scrubbing with soapy water to get all the residue off. Just given it it's first fresh coat of primer and seems to be sticking this time - must have still been some silicon releasing agent on the surface that I hadn't got off in places.

So, other than being an epic waste of time at least the problem has been solved!

[Zeeflyboy]

One last pic update on the missiles for a bit... I painted the missile launchers (the back of the rails are open still for now for wiring), pre shaded them and the missiles then gave them a blow over. Still need to apply decals and then weather some more and clear coat but that is now on hold until the decals arrive and it's on to other things on the list for now. Think they'll look pretty badass with all the decals and finished painting!

[Zeeflyboy]

Made some little feed ramps on the 3D printer and installed my ammo belts. First person to say it should be a flex feed belt gets banned from the thread! We all know I like to take my own artistic license with the "scale" aspect ;)




Starting to look intimidating....




And after yesterday's debacle, the front section is finally rivetted and primed. I'm excited about getting this part painted as it will be the first time I really get to see how the heli will look as a whole.... come on paint, dryyyyyyyyy....

[Zeeflyboy]

Man, I'm being productive these last two days.... glad to have found my motivation again!

So, I cut my vacuum forming frames out of two pieces of plywood.... I then proceeded to drill out the holes for some bolts.




Next dropped the bolts in with some 5 min epoxy to set them in place




And finally topped the holes off with filler and sanded down to end up with a smooth underside where the seal is made.




And so now she's almost ready to go. I just need to pop to the shop tomorrow to buy some L section which I will screw to the corners of the box to act as guides for the frame as you press down - this should make it much easier to get a good pull without missing the seal or twisting while the plastic is already partially down... After that I need to construct a little stand to keep the plastic clear of the oven grill as it droops and then it'll be time to try it out!

[Zeeflyboy]

Quick base coat on the exterior and then remembered I had to install some aluminium spacers on the inside before I paint it. Figure this is a good time to show how I'm mounting the canopy... obviously with all the weight in the canopy that I have, it's imperative that the thing is securely fastened. If it fell off that would be game over...

It has the 4 guide pins that came with the kit, and I added two large magnets at the top - these are pretty powerful and to remove the canopy with them attached is extremely difficult, so I made the forward ones removable in a small holder. These holders will have a little drawstring on the back which makes them easy to grab and disconnect from through the side doors.




Then for total security and to draw the two pieces as close together as possible to minimise the gap, I installed two m3 screws. These go through and into the back where a captive nut is positioned for them to thread into... I was worried whether this would be a big hassle but it only takes a few seconds to screw/unscrew each one and I think the added security is worth it.

[Badlands]

Starting to look good (as if it didn't anyway!)
Where you getting your decals from bud?

[Brucey]

Mint

[Zeeflyboy]

From callie graphics - very cheap and lovely to deal with.


Man I messed up....

Just got done painting the front fuse section and FLIR pod ready for some weathering. I just noticed the paint is a fraction darker than the rest of the fuse, and realised I mixed 10 parts green, 3 parts grey and 2 parts black. It was supposed to be just 1 part black.

The good news is its close enough that it'll work just fine as a base coat so I can just do a few light coats of the correct colour over the top. The bad news is that I have no more paint... Just reordered some more. Sigh.

Anyway, here it is for now:




And I also prepped my vacuum forming frame for tomorrow. This material sure is clear but I am worried its not quite rigid enough. We'll see.