1/48 Hasegawa AH-64D Longbow Apache

by Mario Krajinovic

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This is my first Longbow model. The first thing you notice when you unpack the box, is the huge amount of parts and the inevitable fact that you can't close it anymore.  So you have to build it I guess ;o)   The Hasegawa kit comes with everything you need.  The detailing is exquisite, and first I decided to build it OOB. I had the opportunity to use Eduard's Zoom set that included PE seat belts, displays, various small parts and pieces for upgrading the cockpit.

Once you start building everything goes quite smooth and fast.  Except the lower joint of the 2 halves. Sanding removes almost all rivet details and since they are protruding from the plastic, restoring them is a pain. There are number of small fiddly items such as various antenna which need attention when handling the model.

I added two more things, a spare tank to get a asymmetrical load, and some home-made RBF tags on the weapon mounts.

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Painting was done with MM enamel colors - first an overall coat of army helo drab, followed by a lighter shade of postshading.  Next came oil washes with lamp black and raw umber and at last MIG pigments were used.  I had huge problems when every single decal silvered although I used gloss coat, but I fixed that, with some nitro thinner and to top everything, on a late night fix-her-up session it went flying from the desk I worked on breaking a lot of stuff.  Repaired in no time with a whole bunch of curse words.

So that's it.  It's a complex model and I enjoyed it completely.  I need to thank my friends from my modeling club MK GRUNF for helping me with lot's of things and especially two ARC-ers Jon and Brock for helping me build this eggbeater.

Mario

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Photos and text © by Mario Krajinovic