Academy AH-1Z 1/35 Scale

Member Chris Vandergrift has certainly been busy this past year with builds. Here is his tribute to the Marine Corps.
Chris says: “I’ve wanted one of these since they came out and finally got it. Really wanted to do it up well. Here is the 1/35 Academy AH-1Z Viper –
She is all done and looking like she threw down some ordnance!
I used the Flying Leathernecks decals, so many to choose from. I decided on the Red Skeleton Jolly Roger of VMM-163. I picked up the Werner Wings decal for all the stencils. And of course you have to use some of the kit decals as well. I will say they go on swell and were thin and easy to apply. I ended up buying Eduard seatbelts to really match everything else done in the cockpit. Since i was spending money on shipping why not get more right, so i picked up Def Models 20mm gun barrels as well 🙂 And with my jolly roger choice I needed some full motion video which I got from Shapeways.
The cockpit additions are all scratch built. My favorite add is the tiny wound cable behind the gunner’s seat. Lot’s to see in this one. All the plastic behind the PE vents was cut away and wiring and components were added. Hard to see with my camera skills tho but I did my best to show something 😉 The 4 sensors(i assume) on the corners are hand painted and filled with testors window maker to try and simulate the glass. The pitot is brass tubing bent and sanded to shape. The seal where the stub wing meets the fuselage was painted and then coated wi5 mask solution so upon final painting it could be uncovered for a little added detail. And lastly some inspiration from a local buddy of mine, goes by Bradley25mm over on the IPMS forum – fine detailing the tail rotor gear assembly with wiring, sensors, and wire clips. His looks awesome and he gave me lots of pointers on this build.
Paint was my usual mix with 1 addition this time. I ended up with Mission Models for the upper bluish gray color as they were available locally. Primer is Citadel Chaos Black (satin). Color coats are Mission Model and MCW acrylic lacquer. Cockpit is all done in Vallejo colors. Weathering is all Flory Models washes. And the final flat clear is MCW to close it out.
I’ve been looking forward to this model for some time and am excited to show these pics. Once I have the base done she’ll make one more fly-over.”

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