H.M.S. Victory

Model: H.M.S. Victory

"HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, best known as Lord Nelson's flag-ship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805."

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Victory was commissioned (put on active duty) in March 1778 under Captain John Lindsay until May 1778 when Admiral Augustus Keppel made her his flagship, and appointed Rear Admiral John Campbell (1st Captain) and Captain Jonathan Faulknor (2nd Captain).

Victory was armed with smooth bore, cast iron cannon. Initially she carried thirty 42-pounders (19 kg) on her lower deck, twenty-eight 24-pounders (11 kg) on her middle deck, and thirty 12-pounders (5 kg) on her upper deck, together with twelve 6-pounders on her quarterdeck and forecastle. In May 1778, the 42-pounders were replaced by 32-pounders (15 kg), but the 42-pounders were reinstated in April 1779; eventually, in 1803, the 42-pounders were permanently replaced by 32-pounders. In 1782, all the 6-pounders were replaced by 12-pounders. Later, she also carried two carronade guns, firing 68-lb (31 kg) round shot.^[18] In January 1808, Victory was reduced to a 98-gun second rate, but was reclassed as a 104-gun first rate in February 1817.

More info @ The Wikipedia page

My goodness this model had me tearing out my hair (what little is left) from my head with all those cannons and other fiddly bits. The model require a slow build especially having to leave the glue overnight to set hard - else it just fell apart at every stage!

The ship came alive when I put the sails up, making the project come to a excited end. It sits every so proudly now on the high shelf in my bedroom. A testimony to my hardest project yet.

Compiled and written by
David "Modelling Away in Perth" Innes

Navy UH-1B Huey

Model: Navy UH-1B Huey (87228) 1/72 Scale

"The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a military helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine, with two-blade main and tail rotors."

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During service in the Vietnam War, the UH-1 was used for various purposes and various terms for each task abounded. UH-1s tasked with ground attack or armed escort were outfitted with rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and machine guns. As early as 1962, UH-1s were modified locally by the companies themselves, who fabricated their own mounting systems. 

These gunship UH-1s were commonly referred to as "Frogs" or "Hogs" if they carried rockets, and "Cobras" or simply "Guns" if they had guns. 

UH-1s tasked and configured for troop transport were often called "Slicks" due to an absence of weapons pods. Slicks did have door gunners, but were generally employed in the troop transport and medevac roles. UH-1s also flew hunter-killer teams with observation helicopters, namely the Bell OH-58A Kiowa and the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse (Loach).

Towards the end of the conflict, the UH-1 was tested with TOW missiles, and two UH-1B helicopters equipped with the XM26 Armament Subsystem were deployed to help counter the 1972 Easter Invasion.

More info @ The Wikipedia page

This was actually my first model attempt, so I made a few noob mistakes! Still had some fun learning better techniques and what not to do on future projects. Both the helicopter propellers move and it came with a number of side weapon variants - to which I chose the rocket launcher and the chain gun.

While only a fairly simple model to build, some of those small pieces drove me nutz, using tweezers to hold them in place while I awaited for glue to harden. Still, my patience was rewarded and the detail in the cock pit looks rather good.

Compiled and written by

David "Modelling Away in Perth" Innes