[TC15] Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk in white WIP

[brickhappy]

Hello everyone. I am a newbie here and this is my first LEGO post ever! I am very excited.

I am a big Lego Technic aircraft fan so when I see TC15, i jump to the opportunity.

I am trying to make a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and I hope you like my progress so far. 

It started in early 2017 as a modification project to expend Lego helicopter set 9396 dimensions. I wanted to sit two Lego Technic minifigures comfortably inside the helicopter cockpit and to make the 9696 mail rotor assembly look less bulky and exaggerated in relation to the helicopter fuselage. The project sat on the shelf without much progress for over a year.

Mockup One 2018.10.20 by Chia En Lin, 於 Flickr

The 9396 MOD project somehow evolved and morphed into a  UH-60 Black Hawk look-a-like project. This is the photo of UH-60 mockup build.

Mockup Two 2018.10.30. by Chia En Lin, 於 Flickr

I am about 75% completed with this project (i hope). This is what i have so far:

PF motor and battery box mounted and working.

Collective and cyclic pitch control for the main rotor is working and reasonably stable.

Tilted tail rotor is working but not satisfactory. 

Tail stabilizer is not working, or rather have not been worked on yet. 

I apologize for the poor quality photos. I will take some proper photos when i have time.

 

DSC_0039 by Chia En Lin, 於 Flickr

 

I see jwarner is also working on a S-70. jwarner's gear box is awesome! My collective and cyclic pitch control is nowhere near jwarner's design. jwarner keep it up, we all look forward to seeing you completing your S-70.

 

Cheers.

 

Edited February 15, 2019 by brickhappy

[1gor]

On last image what I can see that shape is very good. You have started the right way using blueprint on which you can replicate 1:1 your solution with LEGO parts 

About functionality it us true, I have seen few helicopters with great solutions here in TC15, so you can have a peek on them

Edited January 14, 2019 by I_Igor

[brickhappy]

18 hours ago, I_Igor said:

On last image what I can see that shape is very good. You have started the right way using blueprint on which you can replicate 1:1 your solution with LEGO parts 

About functionality it us true, I have seen few helicopters with great solutions here in TC15, so you can have a peek on them

I_Igor, thank you for your comment and suggestions. I often look to other master builders for inspirations. I have learned quite a bit from steph77 as well.

 

Any suggestions on my yellowed white panels? Is there a good way to whitening them back to their former glory? 

Edited January 15, 2019 by brickhappy

[jwarner]

Thank you very much for your kind words @brickhappy, your model looks great as well! I love the shaping, and seeing the whole thing outlined in Lego gives me a better sense of what mine might end up looking like. If you would like I would be happy to share my gearbox design once TC15 is over and I have time to draft some instructions. 

As far as your yellowed panels are concerned, I've used hydrogen peroxide and it works fairly well. For best results you'll want to completely submerge your parts and set them in the sun for a while (weird I know but it works). I've used this technique with my Shuttle Expedition which saw extensive yellowing and most of the parts are phenomenally better. Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!

[1gor]

34 minutes ago, brickhappy said:

Any suggestions on my yellowed white panels? Is there a good way to whitening them back to their former glory? 

Perhaps this video could help you:

https://youtu.be/gmZOQJ1dHRg

[brickhappy]

2 hours ago, jwarner said:

Thank you very much for your kind words @brickhappy, your model looks great as well! I love the shaping, and seeing the whole thing outlined in Lego gives me a better sense of what mine might end up looking like. If you would like I would be happy to share my gearbox design once TC15 is over and I have time to draft some instructions. 

As far as your yellowed panels are concerned, I've used hydrogen peroxide and it works fairly well. For best results you'll want to completely submerge your parts and set them in the sun for a while (weird I know but it works). I've used this technique with my Shuttle Expedition which saw extensive yellowing and most of the parts are phenomenally better. Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!

jwarner, I have taken some better lit photos. Please feel free to take a look at my flickr album and hopefully we can inspire each other.

DSC_0233 by Chia En Lin, 於 Flickr

 

I_Igor, Thank you for the video. I was a bit apprehensive about hydrogen peroxide soak but now I think I will give that a try.

[steph77]

Hello,!

good looking bodywork for a wip project 

After having a (very) close look at your rotor setup I don't understand how the collective control works.

I do see the cyclic commands, but don't understand the collective.

Some detailed explanations?

Steph.

[brickhappy]

21 hours ago, steph77 said:

Hello,!

good looking bodywork for a wip project 

After having a (very) close look at your rotor setup I don't understand how the collective control works.

I do see the cyclic commands, but don't understand the collective.

Some detailed explanations?

Steph.

Hi steph77

Thank you for your kind words. I have learn a great deal about how to build from your Eurobricks posts and YouTube video, thank you for sharing.

Perhaps this YouTube video can explain how my build works with regards to its collective and cyclic pitch control.  My pitch control assembly is unsteady, as you can see from the video. Improvements are much needed still.

 

[steph77]

ok, understood!

seems your main rotor mas need strong reinforcement, no?

good job so far keep on this way!

[brickhappy]

Oh my god, i need to hurry up.

I want to try using worm gear to raise/lower the entire rotor platform for collective pitch control, but i am out of time.

 

DSC_0076 by Chia En Lin, 於 Flickr

[brickhappy]

On 1/17/2019 at 3:40 AM, steph77 said:

ok, understood!

seems your main rotor mas need strong reinforcement, no?

good job so far keep on this way!

@steph77 Thank you for your advice. You are spot on about enforcing rotor mast and I have been working on different solutions since.

[steph77]

[shadow_elenter]

I Love these things!
I've actually been in them twice IRL.
I do really hope you finish it in time, but if not then it's still an awesome MOC!

[brickhappy]

@shadow_elenter I am a big fan of your MOCs. I admire you the fact that you have been into a UH-60. Where? Was it in airshows?

DONE!

P1011757 by Chia En Lin, 於 Flickr

[Rudivdk]

This looks awesome! That front view is really intimidating. Good that you finished it in time, final result looks very polished and complete, no signs of rushing there

[brickhappy]

6 minutes ago, Rudivdk said:

This looks awesome! That front view is really intimidating. Good that you finished it in time, final result looks very polished and complete, no signs of rushing there

@Rudivdk Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, it is finished, however it can be better. I worked through last night and only had a few hours sleep. I was still getting down to the final fine-tuning just a few hours ago. My wife was wondering if I am ever going to start taking photos and do the video. Congratulations on your P-38, I love it very much!

[BrickbyBrickTechnic]

Perhaps missing some roundness toward the front, but that can be overlooked for sure because this MOC is surely awesome! You've done a great job!

[shadow_elenter]

10 hours ago, brickhappy said:

 I am a big fan of your MOCs. I admire you the fact that you have been into a UH-60. Where? Was it in airshows?

Thanks man!
I'm gland you finished it in time!

I was in the Dutch armed forces for 6 years and we worked and trained with the Americans from time to time let me see if I can find a picture. 
edit:
I made this in Germany in 2012 on exercise maneuvers (the Americans have a number of bases there).

Edited February 18, 2019 by shadow_elenter

[brickhappy]

15 hours ago, BrickbyBrickTechnic said:

Perhaps missing some roundness toward the front, but that can be overlooked for sure because this MOC is surely awesome! You've done a great job!

@BrickbyBrickTechnic Thank you for your suggestion, you are right. I gotta work on the head/nose section curvature/roundness. However I guess you know how Lego bricks are, not very friendly towards creating curved surfaces. The "lower part" of the nose is made out of grey and black #32250 (3x5) and #32249 (3x3). I am trying to find some white replacement parts ever since I read your suggestion. Perhaps the white color can make the structure of the lower nose look more prominent, and hence rounded.

[brickhappy]

12 hours ago, shadow_elenter said:

I was in the Dutch armed forces for 6 years and we worked and trained with the Americans from time to time let me see if I can find a picture. 
edit:
I made this in Germany in 2012 on exercise maneuvers (the Americans have a number of bases there).
 

@shadow_elenter

Great photo! Must be quite an experience.

I have Dutch and Dutch-origin friends in Taiwan and back in New Zealand. I had Dutch business clients. I have several pieces of Dutch furniture and I just find that I have Dutch cheese in my fridge. I buy Lego parts from sellers in Holland, And now I have a new Dutch Lego friend. What a coincidence!