Kinks with Italeri's 1/48 Blackhawk

This kit had some flash to it. That's not my major problem with it, though. I am running into issues assembling the landing gear struts. The part that mates with the main body of the aircraft has ONE mounting hole and is imperfectly shaped to fit. Not only that, I have curved surfaces, a hollow part, and a very small surface area to work with. In short, Italeri could have thought that part through a little better.

The solution? I have two plans. Plan A is to use the original parts, and fill the hollow "bad" part with puddy, and sand it for a smoother mating surface. I can then work on the struts themselves and get them placed. Plan B is to botch the struts and make my own, sacrificing detail for structural stability (like a real helicopter, those struts (specifically, all of the wheel struts) will take the weight of the chopper and its load. I will likely end up with Plan B, because one of the struts was fragile and broke, and I am finished messing with them. By making my own "clean" struts, I will be satisfied knowing that the front wheels are aligned perfectly.

I've been working on the accessories, and can't get some things done because the rotor and cabin interior are due for paintaing. I am going on a family trip Saturday, so they are waiting while I welcome my cousin home from being stationed in Afghanistan. The cabin interior should come out beautifully, but painting this bird poses a few problems. I am going to seal the blackhawk up with the cabin and rotor parts, BUT after that, the rotor and cabin need to be properly masked off, which will be a pain in the butt. I have had worse jobs, though. So be it if I have to go over the rotor with Ghost Gray- I can mask off the body (when the paint is dry) and paint the rotor black again. The hard part will be not getting paint in the interior of the cabin. I am up for the challenge, though.

I unfortunately got some plastic weld on one of the wings, and a fingerprint was cemented behind. I felt pretty dumb about this, and sanded off the mark with a file and fine grit sand paper. Sadly, the rivet detail is gone, but it is something I have to live with. The blackhawk will have to be painted as a whole, I can't paint the two shell halves then join them, because I am going to do some seam work.