AS.565SA Panther
Reference photo taken from YouTube video. Note vinyl rear seats, twin rear bench, cargo, and twin folding bench (barely visible on right side).
Reference photo taken from YouTube video. Note seat belt retraction device on back of seats.
I decided I wouldn't be using the kit seats because they are really for the civilian variant, so none of the holes are needed.
I preassembled as much as I could of the upper interior.
The kit includes decals for the instrument panel, but not for the center console. The decals are wrong for some of the instruments, specifically the dials they have where the PE has artificial horizons. To keep the coloring and details consistent between both pieces, I opted to just paint everything.
The kit seats are bottom right. I scratch built replacements using sheet styrene and teflon tape to cover the upper seats. The texture of slightly wrinkled teflon added to the realism of the vinyl seats. Left picture is a rough-in mockup to make sure everything would fit.
Kit fire extinguishers didn't have handles or nozzle, so really didn't look authentic. I created handles from tape and the nozzle from a piece of wire. The finished product is much more convincing.
Completed cockpit.
Before and after.
Before and after.
Before and after.
Mockup of the interior with all the scratch built components in the second and third rows.
I really like the wrinkle in the bench seat top afforded by stretching teflon tape over a scratch built frame. On that particular seat, the bottom is shiny vinyl, but the top is fabric.
Main rotor assembly completed. Painted all the color stripes instead of using decals.
Save yourself the pain and don't glue on the tail rotor blades until near the end. This will save unnecessary masking, as well as access to the housing for sanding and painting.
Sub-assemblies ready.
Modifications to the lower fuselage. Many thanks to Bernhard Schrock (SA.365F Dauphin II (completed) | Album by Yellowwing (1:48)) for his research and notes on the album he has posted. I'm essentially copying his work and he deserves credit.
I'm not sure if it's because I create sub-assemblies instead of assembling piece-by-piece, but the rotor housing is off by 1mm in two directions. I've made modifications so it will fit, but haven't actually filled the gaps and glued it down yet.
More modifications.
Starting to look like a helo finally!
The glass was a jigsaw puzzle. It mostly fit right. Took several attempts to get the green tint to come out looking good. Custom mix of clear blue and clear green, thinned just right, and laid it down heavy.
Fixed this section. Added some epoxy to help hold up the housing on top, then used styrene and putty to close the gap previously mentioned.
Door interiors painted. Too bad they will barely be seen.
After assembling all the clear parts and test fitting doors, there was a very large gap (about 1.5mm) behind the front left door. I had to add a strip of styrene.
None of these panels went together well. Lots of filling, sanding, filling some more, more sanding, then a rescribe. I hope it looks good after I lay down some primer.
Scratch parts added to increase the detail.
Better view of nose details I added.
Tail changes.
Had to scratch build a support arm to make the hoist more accurate and sturdy. Also added the missing cable.
Scratch made details. Three screen covers for the intakes and two pitot arms.
Had to cutoff, drill, and attach new support brackets for the cable antenna. The kit pieces were over-scaled.
Used foil tape for the clamps that attach the cable to the lower support arm.
Dammit! Found this lovely CA booger after unmasking. Can't be fixed.
Comments
48 3 October 2021, 16:53
Casey RupleyFirst time posting a work in progress album. Decided to get crazy with the interior and scratch built everything in the 2nd and 3rd rows because the kit is completely wrong for the military version of this bird. Interior is now done. Next up are the rotors, then I'll begin assembling the puzzle of the exterior - it's a ton of small pieces instead of fuselage halves.
3 October 2021, 17:17
Andrew HortonWow! Great start, Casey! I look forward to seeing this project completed.
3 October 2021, 22:53
Casey RupleyThanks, Daniel and FLM! Will hopefully have rotors done this weekend and fuselage well on its way. Daniel - your interior is making mine look like childs play, but I like the motivation it provides to step up my game.
15 October 2021, 21:16
Guillaume BoulangerFolowing, i like your work and comment on the photo help great.
19 October 2021, 16:51
Casey RupleyThank you, Guillaume!
More progress has been made. Main rotors done and the fuselage is starting to come together, bit by bit. Many thanks to the notes and pictures posted by Bernhard Schrock when he built this kit.
21 October 2021, 17:55
Casey RupleySorry for the 6 month delay. I haven't worked on this one for a while (was taking a break from everything, then finished my USS Reuben James ship), but I discovered I had pictures and progress I hadn't yet posted. So here you go! I'll be picking this up again next week. I'm almost at the point where it's ready for paint.
The fit has been pretty horrible - all the panels around the engine were horrible, and the clear pieces that make up the forward cockpit/doors left a sizeable gap. I put comments on each of the pictures to explain myself.
4 May 2022, 21:51
DanielAwesome work with all these little extras, will look great in paint I think👍🏻
5 May 2022, 07:03
Casey RupleyFinally primed, pre-shaded, and painted. Next up will be clear coat and decals.
4 June 2022, 23:30
Casey RupleyMore progress. The helo is sitting on her own legs now, paint has been touched up, decals applied, and a lot of parts and details added. Only a few things left to do at this point, so I hope to have it done shortly. It's been fun (I think), but I'm ready to move on.
25 July 2022, 16:01
DanielFantastic clean detail work and the painting is spot on as well - really nailed these softer camo edges, congrats casey 👍
9 August 2022, 16:29
Casey RupleyThank you, Florian and Daniel! Yeah, soft edges are a pain and I'm always relieved when they're done.
11 August 2022, 15:44
Album info
Military version of the AS365 Dauphin. Search and Rescue configuration. Very few reference photos available of the interior, so I exercised some creative license.
