2Aircraft1Tank

Well I've gotten the attack helicopter built. Once again GHQ delivers superb quality and detail. I've looked around at many many other manufacturers of 6mm scale models and I honestly don't know how any of them stay in business. Their models just can't hold a candle to GHQ's. This is a similar situation to when I played Flames of War where I only bought figures from Battlefront because the quality in my opinion was worth the extra expense.

Here is the AH-64D Saraph. Paint is a long ways off as I do not have the proper colors for the IAF. Note that the doodad that sits on top of the main rotor fell off so I have to figure out a good way of securing it. Probably going to need pinned although I have never pinned anything before so it'll be new to me.

Next up is a test Merkava Mk IV. Nothing special here. Just a magnetized turret and custom antennae. The antennae were made by using the bristles from a $1 black paint brush from Walmart. The synthetic ones you'd paint your house with. A $1 brush has enough bristles to give like 100-200 tanks aerials. I felt this was a better option than some of the other ideas I've seen kicked around such as piano wire. The bristles are flexible so you're not having to bend anything back in place.

Finally, I bought a GHQ F-16. This model was chosen to become an extensive conversion project to change what appears to be an early model F-16C (Block 30?) into a modern Israeli F-16I Sufa. The only F-16I Sufa currently available in 6mm anywhere is a model on Shapeways at https://www.shapeways.com/model/327961/1-285-6mm-f-16i-sufa.html?li=productBox-search&materialId=62 . That's all good an dandy but I worry about the detail and the material the model is made of. There are no panel lines to speak of and all details must be painted on. The other downside is that that model isn't even an F-16I. It's just an F-16 with CFT (conformal fuel tanks) which aren't even shaped accurately.

What sets the F-16I apart isn't just the use of the CFT but also a modified cockpit that utilizes a crew of 2 instead of 1 and an interesting dorsal spine that runs from the cockpit to the aft stabilizer. Go easy on me with this model because it is the very first time I have ever modeled anything with kneadatite. I've always wanted to play with green stuff but just never had a reason to use it. So far I've gotten the extended cockpit modeled and just finished doing the preliminary work on the dorsal spine. I've gotta wait a day for it to fully cure so I can do some detail sanding on the spine and reduce its size slightly. It also needs to be a bit more teardrop shaped and remain wide in the middle while tapering at either end. I gotta say though, for my first time ever sculpting anything, I am fairly proud of myself.

Up next are the CFT which I am absolutely dreading. They are curvy and I think it is going to be very difficult for me to get them just right. After that I will add some kneadatite under the nose to round out the bottom a bit. The GHQ model is nearly flat under the nose and I don't know why that is but the F-16I is rounded. Finally, I will take some of the bomb pylons the model came with that I will not be using and I will cover them in kneadatite in order to model the 600 gallon drop tanks that many Israeli F-16s use. Having a whole hell of a lot of fun in this GHQ stuff so far.

If you're interested and you chanced upon this blog because of my Flames of War stuff, check out GHQ at http://www.ghqmodels.com/