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 Post subject: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 07 May 2018, 14:25 
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Hi guys, my next crazy project is to take the ancient Heller 1/50 scale SA330 Puma, and scale it up to 1/48. The fuselage has already been lengthened and increased the height. Will have to scratch build a lot of extras, as most of the other parts are either inaccurate or too basic.

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Cheers, John

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 07 May 2018, 16:41 
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:shock:

I'm surprised that you still can't get a decent 1/48 scale Puma! Look forward to this one, should be a winner. \:D/

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 07 May 2018, 19:18 
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fantastic work Bladerunner.

I must say what is really great about your recent releases, is that you are producing kits of subjects that have every right to have been produced by main stream manufacturers but never were.

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 07 May 2018, 19:21 
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Just a suggestion but depending on how you engineer the kit you could make a common base for Puma and Oryx releases.

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 09 May 2018, 15:32 
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Joined: 13 Jul 2004, 13:06
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Location: In .... S.E.A & M.E.N.A. et al
John, seeing that you are doing 1/48 SAAF choppers, how about a 1/48 B-707 :wink: Even better a 1/32 Bucc and F1AZ :idea:


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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 09 May 2018, 22:11 
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Joined: 31 Aug 2010, 15:01
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Location: Centurion, Pretoria, SA
John, that's crazy stuff :smt082 :smt082 . Following with interest to see the master at work.


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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 10 May 2018, 21:20 
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Thanks guys.

Dean,it is rather strange that this was neglected as a mainstream kit

MARS, yes I've been doing some research on the big fish that slipped through the fingers of the mainstream manufacturers. The Puma will be designed modular, that should I wish to pursue another derivative, it could easily serve as a base. :smt023

Spice, I'll give those a miss, just too big for me :lol:

Mistral, crazy indeed. Not sure if I'm a master, but most certainly brave! :mrgreen:

Anyway, another update.
Some more cockroaches came out of the woodwork today with this kit. The bottom of the fuselage halves are slightly warped inward. A rough slot was cut on the inside to make a weak spot to bend it out. Luckily it worked first time.

Then the main rotor fairing has a flat surface on top, and the opening for the rotor mast had to be enlarged. Also the side profile of the fairing, which is supposed to be a curve down to the back was wrong. It also had a slight downward angle to the front, which needs to be raised level. Then discovered it's also too long at the back and the overall shape viewed from the top is wrong. This plate on top will be removed completely and replaced with a styrene sheet with the correct shape and size.

Note that this is all still very rough work, to get to a good shaped "shell" of the Puma, and once this has been sorted out, some normal building can start.


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The top of the fairing has been removed, and a template has been made for a replacement. Will use a thinner sheet of styrene.

Also the sponsons were started on, and they are from hell! Way to big and wrong shape. Started modifying one in the meantime, and the difference can already be seen. They also seem to be too wide, but I want to get the shape right first.


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Cheers, Johm

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 11 May 2018, 14:52 
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Location: Centurion, Pretoria, SA
Can't see the images (work net-nanny in operation...) - will look tonight.

What are you going to do with the riveting. Sand the whole thing down and then use Archer rivets ? Lot's of debate on forums relating to the Kitty Hawk 48th UH-1 and 35th AH-6 in terms of recessed rivets which are not accurate.....


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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 11 May 2018, 17:55 
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It will be sanded down, panel lines scribed and rivet tool used. Raised rivets are good for injection molding, but a casting nightmare in resin. The current rivets on the kit is already over scale. :wink:

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 14 May 2018, 20:15 
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Discovered the tail fin was too thick. So the inside was built up, to avoid the plastic collapsing from too much sanding. The tail rotor gearbox location also appeared a bit off, and it was. The tail fin shape was corrected after filling the old tail rotor gearbox placement. The a new cutout was made in the correct place.

The fairing around the main rotor also needed some more work, as it was a few millimeters short at the front. A 1.5mm thick strip of plastic was heated and bent around a file handle to make it into a curve. It was glued onto the front and shaped.


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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 24 Jun 2018, 12:15 
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Hi guys,

Here's an update on the Puma.

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Cheers,
John

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 25 Jun 2018, 23:05 
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Made a resin copy of the "Turmo" engine master for the second engine. Also turned the center section of the gearbox, which still needs a couple of parts added to it.

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 27 Jun 2018, 00:19 
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Some more work done on the Puma. Made the engine deck from plastic card, Added some detail to the gearbox and made the lower part of the swash plate. Here is a picture of the test assembly.

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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 27 Jun 2018, 23:28 
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 Post subject: Re: 1/48 SA330 Puma
PostPosted: 30 Jun 2018, 00:37 
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Work started on the interior. Had to trim the cockpit floor and extend the rear of it by 1.5mm. Built the two bulkheads behind the cockpit from plastic card. Also had to lengthen the cabin floor quite a bit, and scribed majority of the panel lines.

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