1/32 Airwolf (formerly an Ertl diecast toy)

[pengbuzz]

This one began life as an Ertl 1/32 scale diecast toy originally (like this, only a "coast guard" version in white):

And with that, a lot of cutting, sanding, grinding and scratchbuilding:

Had to make the main flight dash/ console and seats:

Body work in masking tape, and doing the sponson ends for the removable chain guns:

Airwolf as of today:

Final configuration for the stand base:

Main logo and the file number from the series' briefing (at the start of the S1 episodes, IIRC):

A pic with the unextended sponson ends attached:

Bottom shot without and with ADF pod:

Rare Earth magnets embedded in both hull and ADF pod:

Sponson ends: normal and chain guns deployed; both attach via a series of posts:

Airwolf's weaponry at a glance:

3/4 rear view port; extended exhausts for rotor engines and turbo boost nozzles in place:

Work done to hollow out and rebuild turbo boost intakes and cooling intakes for rotor engines:

Main rotor hub:

The helicopter still needs work: a final buffing down of the hull (lumpy in some areas and the shine is too much), refining some details, and a couple of other nitpicks. But overall, this project has succeeded beyond what I had hoped for!

Finally... a shot of "The Lady" coming straight for the camera:

Stay tuned folks....

 

[DarthBra]

That’s brilliant, good work.
I remember watching that series as a youngster.
One of my favourites for sure, so seeing that model was a blast from the past.
Very inventive and excellent use of parts

 

[DarkKnight]

impressive, so sad the real thing is not in a museum

 

[pengbuzz]

That’s brilliant, good work.
I remember watching that series as a youngster.
One of my favourites for sure, so seeing that model was a blast from the past.
Very inventive and excellent use of parts

Thanks! For me, this was a once in a lifetime dream that came true. I loved the first three seasons (fourth was...er... yeah.) and always wanted a larger model of The Lady!

impressive, so sad the real thing is not in a museum

Yeah; sadly, the real one was sold after the series and served as an air ambulance in Germany IIRC. It crashed and all aboard were killed:

The End | airwolf-online

www.airwolf-online.com

They do have replicas around, and one is in a museum I believe.

 

[drusselmeyer]

Heroic ending though. Not like the Love Boat.

 

[drusselmeyer]

Back on topic... Nice conversion and display design! Metal is more satisfying for models than just plastic.

 

[pengbuzz]

Back on topic... Nice conversion and display design! Metal is more satisfying for models than just plastic.

Thanks on both counts! I really wanted the stand to be something different than say, a diorama. I always loved the colored schematics at the beginning, and found a copy that I threw into Photoshop and inverted, then did the color work myself. I kind of envisioned this as "What if Archangel had a display model of this for his office at the Firm?"

 

[DarkKnight]

Thanks on both counts! I really wanted the stand to be something different than say, a diorama. I always loved the colored schematics at the beginning, and found a copy that I threw into Photoshop and inverted, then did the color work myself. I kind of envisioned this as "What if Archangel had a display model of this for his office at the Firm?"

thats a cool idea, kinda like the Roddenberry Enterprise that was recently found

 

[DarkKnight]

I love the idea of using magnets and having interchanggable parts

 

[Millenniumf]

Definitely a good sign that the finished article immediately got the theme song playing in my head when I saw it.

 

[DarthBra]

Definitely a good sign that the finished article immediately got the theme song playing in my head when I saw it.

Same

 

[pengbuzz]

Final pic on this:

Can anyone tell what's missing?

 

[drusselmeyer]

Barry Van Dyke?