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  1. Dassault Mirage 2000 family by Kitty Hawk confirmed - 1/48th or 1/32nd? Images look like 3D scans from M2000B 5-OW n°519 preserved at Espaces Aéro Lyon Corbas - EALC http://www.ealc.fr/ & https://www.tripadvisor.fr/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g1582569-d5979211-i156131920-Ealc_Musee_de_L_aviation-Corbas_Rhone_Rhone_Alpes.html Source: http://www.greenmats.club/topic/1267-новый-mirage-от-kitty-hawk-слухи-и-догадки/ Hey Tali, your source? I mean the Chinese forum link? Updt: Thanks Tali!!: http://tieba.baidu.com/p/4260567148 V.P.
  2. Haven’t posted on here for a while. This is one of a pair I did simultaneously last year (the other one motorised with sound) but I called it finished before I weathered it, and last week I decided to finish it so here it is. Used the Aires resin cockpit. Not the easiest kit I ever made. Quite poor fit in places. Anyone who builds one should know the guidance about weight in the nose it out by a factor of about 2, hence the bodged tail strut! Thanks for looking
  3. Hello guys! Today I received this awesome kit, Kitty Hawk's DB Super Etendard in 1:48. As you can see, the box is full of plastic, most of that plastic is dedicated to the weaponry and fuel tanks. A small photoetch fret is included with the kit. Because I don't have a very good experience with Chinese decals, I bought two sheets from Calcas del Sur for the Kinetic SuE, but I assume they'll work just fine with this kit. Anyways, I hope to be able to post regular updates for this kit (I haven't seen many build reviews of KH kits on the internet).
  4. Kitty Hawk is to release a 1/48th modern Russian airfield set - ref. 80158 - including: a URAL 4320 truck & APA-5D Russian airfield starter truck Source: https://www.facebook.com/song.wang.5076/posts/2105122629746351 as well as Russian bomb loading carts Remember AMK is supposed to propose - one day... - a APA-5D kit: link V.P.
  5. Hi all, I wonder if anyone can help me? i purchased a Kitty Hawk F-35b (1/48 scale) which is a stunning kit, the problem is some of the parts on Sprue B are ‘short shot’ and only half moulded. My question is..... does anyone have any way of getting in touch of either Kitty Hawk themselves or the U.K. supplier so I can purchase a replacement sprue? I’ve tried the usual ways- Facebook page, original supplier etc. though with no luck. Can anyone please help?
  6. Sukhoi Su-30SM Flanker-H (KH80171) 1:48 KittyHawk The Su-30 was a development of the Su-27 with two branches of development being carried out simultaneously, one manufacturer making export versions for China and other countries, while the Irkut Corporation that are based in Moscow handled the Russian airframes and those for other Allies, both under the over-arching banner of the Sukhoi name. The Russian variant is the SM, which is the subject of this kit. It has small canards for manoeuvrability, to which is added vectored thrust from the twin engines, which are capable of adjusting the angle of the exhausts up to 15o in half a second, giving it even more agility that is great for airshows as well as useful in dogfights. SM stands for “Serial Modernised”, which fortunately for us starts with the same letters in Russian too. A few vanilla Su-30s entered service, and over a hundred SM later joined them, becoming operational in 2018, although they did take part in the 2015 Russian intervention in Syria, performing some low-risk missions and more than a few low-intensity combat sorties according to Western intelligence. The SM is also flown by the Russian Knights that are often seen at airshows, so up until this year’s Covid-related show cancellations, a lot of airshow-goers will have seen them hanging in the sky on their exhausts. The SM is to be joined by the SM1 that has more powerful avionics and engines, standardising on the same power plants that are fitted to the Su-35 along with other aspects of its service and repair envelope to reduce costs while improving availability of both qualified technicians and therefore airframes. Delivery of these airframes should begin in 2021, with a further updated SM2 following along after a contract for a small number was signed in 2020. The Kit This is part of the new range of Su-27 and Su-30s that are arriving this year from Kitty Hawk. It turns up in KH’s usual sturdy top-opening box, and includes eight sprues and two fuselage halves in grey styrene, two sprues of clear plastic, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE), a pair of exhaust nozzles in resin that are kept safe in a small plastic box. The decals and instruction booklet complete the package, with colour profiles on the inside cover and in the centre of the booklet. All the sprues are individually bagged, and there is a huge amount of detail moulded into this kit, with a pair of engines included, along with a detailed painting guide and access hatches to show them off, a very nice cockpit with lots of parts and decals for better detail, a full representation of the N011M Leopard phased-array radar and avionics black box in the forward fuselage. Construction begins conventionally with the cockpit, specifically the two RD-36 ejection seats, each made from eleven parts, PE belts for both crew members, plus their four-part rail and bulkhead assemblies. The inner facets of the side consoles are moulded into the dual cockpit tub, with the outer sections added separately, with the bulkheads, seats, control columns, main instrument panels and decals, rudder pedals, rear seat coaming, and the jack for the canopy installed at the rear. The preparation of the interior continues with the avionics ‘black box’ and the nose gear bay assemblies, plus two intake trunk sections that form the bulkhead in front of the engine faces, which are made next. The engine housing is made up from two halves, and inside is the front and rear fan with the rear bullet fairing surrounded by the afterburner ring, and the various external ancillaries taking up a further nineteen parts for each power plant. These are then dropped into their sponsons in the lower fuselage along with the aforementioned bulkheads and blanking plate to the sides, then two small brackets linking them together. The main gear bays are next to be put together, filled with good detail in just three parts, then they, the nose gear bay, radar box and cockpit are all fitted inside the lower fuselage, joined by the canards that slot into their sockets and are trapped in place by the top fuselage. Also trapped is the ‘beaver-tail’ or ‘stinger’ that extends the fuselage between the engines and has a number of important sensors and self-protection features inside. The top and bottom portions are joined over a representation of the braking para-pack, then seven PE parts representing the chaff and flare pods and two small blade antennae are glued into place in their recesses, with the resulting assembly trapped on pins inside the rear of the fuselage during their mating. Curiously isolated from the making of the rest of the cockpit, the HUD with separate glazing and push-button panel is made up, then set aside for a while as you make up the front sections of the twin engine nacelles. The main skin has ramps and louvered auxiliary intake fitted to the floor, then in the roof is another ramp, plus the lower half of the trunking. They can be set either closed or open to suit your needs, and of course there are two to make up. They are attached to the lower fuselage after adding the HUD and demisting hosing to the cockpit aperture, then after that the GSh-30-1 autocannon is glued into the recessed bay and covered by its door, with just the muzzle left visible. The nose is then tipped with an angled adapter panel that covers the avionics equipment made up earlier, and this can be posed open by adding two struts and a bracket, or closed by omitting these parts. At the rear the para-pack door is able to be posed open with pack showing, or closed using the same parts. The two upper access panels on the forward section of the engine bulges are dropped into the holes or left off to expose your hard work, with the central air-brake at the rear of the cockpit hump again able to be shown open or closed by using the ram that is included to prop the brake at the correct angle. A pair of sensors are then installed on the outer sides of the engine nacelles. This picture shows one nozzle with the flash removed to show off the internal detail The included resin exhaust nozzles have them angled down to depict maximum deflection in that direction, and these parts have a sheet of flash covering the open end that you should carefully cut from the part before washing and painting. Take care with cutting too close, and add back the steps on the interior of the petals with a sharp blade or file before you wash them to remove residual mould-release agent. They mount on a lug to ensure they are fitted the correct way, and are noticeably longer than the unused plastic exhausts on the sprues, which are marked Su-27. The wings have the usual tab and slot fit, and have separate front slats and flaps, two-part elevons and strakes just under the pivot-point. The landing gear struts are fairly complex on the real thing, and the detail has been replicated by using separate parts for the top, the oleo-scissors, brake assembly and ancillary brace, topped off with a two-part tyre that has the hubs moulded-in, and the two bay doors each having their own struts to hold them at the correct angle. The nose gear strut is similarly complex with separate top, three landing lights with clear lenses, additional details, and one large bay door that has a cylinder on the inside face, with a retraction jack set deep into the bay. The twin wheels are each single parts and are surrounded by a louvered mudguard at the rear. There are a large number of sensors in the Su-30SM, with many blade antennae around and under the nose, and aft onto the LERX and cockpit hump. The refuelling probe is also found on the port side of the nose, and that too can be posed open or closed, the latter requiring the aft section to be removed so that it sits semi-flush inside its receptacle. The radar gives you a choice of two flat sensors, which are both nicely detailed and fix to the bulkhead in the nose, to be covered with the radome and probe or not, depending on whether you are showing the nose tipped up for maintenance. The canopy is moulded as a single part and is very clear, but has a couple of very small sink-marks in the “b-pillar” vertical frame where there are contact point for the interior structure. As a result, the “glass” portion dips ever-so slightly as it approaches the frame, which will be difficult to do anything about without taking your life in your hands. It is small, so could well be ignored, and will be further obfuscated by the internal frame that is fitted from inside along with the rear section where the canopy attaches to the aircraft. A set of rear-view mirrors are also attached to the inside, which should look good with some Molotow liquid chrome applied to the mirror area. The windscreen part is separate and has two thin kinked PE strips added to the inside before fitting, which would be best attached with some clear acrylic gloss such as Klear. In front of the windscreen is the OLS-30 laser-optical locator system (think IRST with extras) in a bullet-shaped housing that has a clear lens and aerodynamic fairing so that it blends in with the windscreen. The airframe is completed by the twin fins with moulded-in rudders that have fairings added to the rear and a small insert fitted to the leading edge to complete the intake there. A pair of wingtip rails with tiny tip lights are added to the wings, with a dual-rail pylon included for under each wing. No weapons are included for a change, but if you have any of KH’s other Russian/Soviet kits, you’ve probably got plenty on hand already. Markings There are three decal options on the supplied sheet, which are protected by a ziplok bag and coated paper during transit and storage. From the box you can build one of the following: Russian Federation Air Force Red 24 Russian Navy Blue 45 Russian Knights Blue 31 Check your references for Blue 45, as it has an apparently monotone flag and code number that both seem to use the blue of the fuselage instead of a separate blue shade. This could of course be at a different point in the aircraft’s career, so don’t take my word for it. The decals are printed anonymously, and are in fair register, although my sample has a slight drift in the white, as well as a couple of blemishes in two of the larger Russian Knights decals, marring the red/white stripes and one of the sunbursts on the tail. Hopefully your copy will fair better from being on the slow boat, rather than the fast aircraft from China. Conclusion Another good-looking kit from Kitty Hawk that has lots of detail and some striking decal options straight from the box. There are a few minor issues with the decals, but nothing that can’t be fixed. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of and available soon from major hobby shops
  7. Kitty Hawk is preparing a 1/32nd North American T-28 Trojan family for 2015. Sources: https://www.facebook.com/736521713066784/photos/a.736557876396501.1073741828.736521713066784/811973858854902/?type=1&theater https://www.facebook.com/736521713066784/photos/a.736556396396649.1073741827.736521713066784/812667008785587/?type=1&theater V.P.
  8. SH-60F Oceanhawk (KH50007) 1:35 Kitty Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk was the Military designation of the S-70 design which was the winner of the US Army's 1970's competition for a twin engine medium lift helicopter to replace the UH-1. Following tradition it was named "Black Hawk" after the Native American leader and warrior of the Sauk tribe. Following the original UH-60A there have been many improvements and variants of the original airframe. Following the competition for replace the Seasprite which was won by the SH-60BSeahawk; the USN Navy then found itself in a position of needing to replace the venerable Sea King in the anti-submarine role. Again there were various submissions but Sikorsky came in a with a new version of the Hawk family the SH-60F. This helo would differ from the Seahawk by not having the search radar or MAD boom, but having a dipping sonar system and six tube sonar buoy launcher. As well as anti-submarine duties they were uses as plane guards and for shore side rescue. These have now been replaced in service by the MH-60S. The Kit This is a new tool from Kitty Hawk, like other members of the family it shares sprues with the other kits, The kit arrives on 13 sprues of plastic, two clear spures, a sheet of PE, and three sheets of decals.. The large box is fairly stuffed with plastic! some parts are common sprues for other versions so there will be a lot of parts left over. The first thing to strike you when you open the instruction booklet is the first 5 stages are blank! They are misprinted along with further pages of the booklet. Now this is the third one of these large Naval Helos to be reviewed and they have all had issues with the instructions. I would say that KH really need to address this issue as from their Facebook page it becomes clear they have shipped to customers like this. Construction then starts with the main cabin which is in effect a module which will fit inside the fuselage. We start with the floor and opening up of various holes for the internal fixings. The central well for the cargo hook is boxed in, then the centre console for the cockpit is added. Three main seats must now be built up for the pilots and the rear sensor operator; PE belts being provided for these. The cabinets and consoles for the rear position are then built up and installed on the left side, and the six shot sonar buoy launcher goes on the right in the area occupied by the radar avionics for the SH-60B. At the front end the main control panel goes instruments being provided as decals). Behind the rear operator the sonar buoy launching rack goes in, and behind that the rear bulkhead. The pilots controls need to go in and the left & right sides go on. Two additional seats go in the rear these hang from the cabin roof. The bulkhead separating the flight crew area and the rear area needs to be fitted in followed by the side parts. The cabin roof then needs to be fitted to the main module, at the front of this is the pilots overhead console where again instruments are provided as decals. The cabin module is then complete and can then be placed inside the fuselage halves. There are a large number of holes to be opened up before fitting this and rear wheel assembly (much further forward on the Naval helos) must be installed at this time. Once the cabin is built up attention then moves to the engines. There is quite a lot of detail here as two complete engines are built up along with all the internal structure. These are all fitted into the roof of the engine house. Gearboxes to the main rotor are added along with the exhausts. The intake assemblies are also built up and added. If wanted the external covers can be added, or they can be left off for maintenance dioramas etc. To the top of the housing antennas are added. The main glazing now needs adding along with all the doors and external pylons and fittings. including the over door winch. The landing gear sponsons and the gear itself then needs to be built up and added to the main fuselage. Other sponsons and rack are also added for the armament. For this version the tail is separate and can be attached in the normal or folded positions. The large rear stabiliser is then made up and added along with the tail rotor. Unlike the SH-60B the instructions for folding the tail are better here. The rotor head must now been built up. This being a Naval helicopter the blades can be folded and the instructions do show some detail of how to do this, but again they are not the best for this area. If making an armed version the kit contains torpedoes and external fuel tanks. If Again unlike the SH-60B these are shown in the instructions as well as how to hang them. Also at this point there is what looks to be a 7.62mm door gun and mount which can be built and added if needed as part of your chosen decal option. Decals The decal sheets are in house and should pose no issues. The main sheet (which is rather large) provides the colourful main markings. These have been developed by Kitty Hawk in collaboration with Shayne Meder who did the real artwork on these aircraft, so there should be no issues there. A smaller sheets provides cockpit and other details, and a sheet with colourful graphics. From the box you can build one of six helos NAS Fallon Rescue HS-7 Dusty Boys Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (Camo Helo) HS-4 Black Knights HS-14 Chargers US Navy COMSEVENTHFLT (VIP Green) Conclusion The plastic looks great, and it should build up into an impressive looking helicopter. There is much to recommend this kit in terms of the quality of the parts and the available options, however it is let down again by the instructions. Overall though recommended to those who want a modern tooling of this Helo and are prepared to put the work into the research and building of the kit. Not for the faint hearted or those who want a quick / easy build. Review sample courtesy of Available soon from major hobby shops
  9. SH-60B Seahawk (KH50009) 1:35 Kitty Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk was the Military designation of the S-70 design which was the winner of the US Army's 1970's competition for a twin engine medium lift helicopter to replace the UH-1. Following tradition it was named "Black Hawk" after the Native American leader and warrior of the Sauk tribe. Following the original UH-60A there have been many improvements and variants of the original airframe. During the 1970s the US Navy began looking for a replacement for its Kamen SH-2 Seasprite which was used by the Navy as its platform for the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) MK.I system. The new avionics of the LAMPS Mk.II needed a bigger airframe. After looking at a variety of airframes the USN decided on a maritime version of the S-70. The biggest changes being the addition of a folding tail, and main rotor assembly for ship board operations. The S-70B would be designated the SH-60B. Also added to the helicopter for Naval operations would be a sonar buoy launcher, emergency floatation system (later removed), and the left hand door of the UH-60 was removed. The new helicopter would keep an 83% commonality of parts with the UH-60. The prototype fist flew in 1979 with production deliveries beginning in 1983. The Kit This is a new tool from Kitty Hawk, like other members of the family it shares sprues with the other kits, The kit arrives on 12 sprues of plastic, two clear spures, a sheet of PE, and two sheets of decals.. The large box is fairly stuffed with plastic! some parts are common sprues for other versions so there will be a lot of parts left over. Construction starts with the main cabin which is in effect a module which will fit inside the fuselage. We start with the floor and opening up of various holes for the internal fixings. The central well for the cargo hook is boxed in, then the centre console for the cockpit is added. Three main seats must now be built up for the pilots and the rear sensor operator; PE belts being provided for these. The cabinets and consoles for the rear position are then built up and installed on the left side, and a box which contains avionics fits to the right side with a gap down the middle to reach the pilots. At the front end the main control panel goes instruments being provided as decals). Behind the rear operator the sonar buoy launching rack goes in, and behind that the rear bulkhead. The pilots controls need to go in and the left & right sides go on. Two additional seats go in the rear these hang from the cabin roof. The cabin roof then needs to be fitted to the main module, at the front of this is the pilots overhead console where again instruments are provided as decals. The cabin module is then complete. Once the cabin is built up attention then moves to the engines. There is quite a lot of detail here as two complete engines are built up along with all the internal structure. These are all fitted into the roof of the engine house. Gearboxes to the main rotor are added along with the exhausts. The intake assemblies are also built up and added. If wanted the external covers can be added, or they can be left off for maintenance dioramas etc. To the top of the housing antennas are added. The main rotor head is then built and the blades added. Now here is where Kitty Hawk and their instructions let us down. The parts are in the kit to support the rotors when folded, however there is nothing in the instructions to show how the rotor head needs to be configured for folding blades. The main cabin module can then be places inside the fuselage halves. There are a large number of holes to be opened up before fitting this and rear wheel assembly (much further forward on the Naval helos) must be installed at this time. The main glazing now needs adding along with all the doors and external pylons and fittings. There are optional structures such as a FLI turret for the front, but nothing is mentioned in the instructions about which option is for which decal option. The MAD and its pylon go on as well as the main landing gear and its mounts. For this version the tail is separate and can be attached in the normal or folded positions. The large rear stabiliser is then made up and added along with the tail rotor The complete top section and rotor can then be added to the main fuselage and the underside radome is added. Again here the instructions do not really explain how to attach the folded tail section very well. If making an armed version the kit contains torpedoes and external fuel tanks. If you are looking for how to attach these in the instructions then dont bother nothing is mentioned at all for this. Decals The decal sheets are in house and should pose no issues. The main sheet (which is rather large) provides the colourful main markings. These have been developed by Kitty Hawk in collaboration with Shayne Meder who did the real artwork on these aircraft, so there should be no issues there. A smaller sheet provides cockpit and other details. From the box you can build one of six helos YSH-60B LAMPS - Prototype Helicopter USN HSL-41 "Seahawks" - USN HSL-43 "Battle Cats" - USN HSL-45 "Wolfpack" - USN HSL51 "Warlords" - USN SH-60B From the Spanish Navy Conclusion The plastic looks great, and it should build up into an impressive looking helicopter. There is much to recommend this kit in terms of the quality of the parts and the available options, however it is let down again by the instructions. Overall though recommended to those who want a modern tooling of this Helo and are prepared to put the work into the research and building of the kit. Not for the faint hearted or those who want a quick / easy build. Review sample courtesy of Available soon from major hobby shops
  10. MH-60S Knighthawk (KH50015) 1:35 Kitty Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk was the Military designation of the S-70 design which was the winner of the US Army's 1970's competition for a twin engine medium lift helicopter to replace the UH-1. Following tradition it was named "Black Hawk" after the Native American leader and warrior of the Sauk tribe. Following the original UH-60A there have been many improvements and variants of the original airframe. The MH-60S is the US Navy's replacement for the venerable Sea Knight. Unlike other naval versions of the 60 the MH-60 is not based on the original S-70.SH-60B platform but the UH-60L platform, but still with Naval features. The airframe is in reality a hybrid with twin sliding doors from the UH-60 airframe with the engines, gearbox and rotor from the SH-60. They also have the integrated glass cockpit from the MH-60R along with some of the avionics and weapons systems. The Kit This is re-boxing of the MH-60L which was a complete new tool from Kitty Hawk, The kit arrives on 15 sprues of plastic, two clear spures, a sheet of PE, decals, additional resin parts; and not least the two large fuselage halves. The large box is fairly stuffed with plastic! some parts are common sprues for other versions so there will be a lot of parts left over. As mentioned before starting the kit the modeller needs to decide which version they are doing. The instructions shipped with the kit are a complete mess they have some pages from the MH-60S boxing and some from the HH-60 boxing. New PDF ones can be obtained from Kitty Hawk but quite honestly these are not great as well. They show the sand filters being fitted though looking at reference photos not all the decal options had them. There is also included in the kit an excellent resin and PE M197 cannon for mounting on the side as per the box art. This does not feature at all in the instructions! The parts for stowing the folded blades are also included in the kit, however there is nothing in the instructions for this, and there seems to be no way to fold the tail, something I feel should have been included for a Naval Helicopter model of this size, complexity and cost. Construction starts with the main cabin. The centre console for the cockpit is added along with the control columns and pilots seats. The main and overhead panels go in with all faces provided as decals. In the rear the lifting well is boxed in. The rear seats, and those directly behind the pilots go in and then the cabin roof can go on. The internal side structures are then added to this module. Once the interior module is complete the main fuselage can be closed up around it, not forgetting to add in the tail wheel assembly. The main front screen can then go on along with the pilots doors and the main doors (though I suspect these will be left off until later). The main wheels and there support brackets can now be added on. Once the cabin is built up attention then moves to the engines. There is quite a lot of detail here as two complete engines are built up along with all the internal structure. These are all fitted into the roof of the engine house. Gearboxes to the main rotor are added along with the heat diffusing exhausts. The intake assemblies are also built up and added. Take a note from your references as to whether or not the sand filters are needed. If wanted the external covers can be added, or they can be left off for maintenance dioramas etc. To the top of the housing antennas and the IR jammer are added. The main rotor head is then built and the blades added. There is no option to fold the blades though this should not be too hard to do if the modeller wanted to. IR suppressing exhausts are also included in the kit, though again I have seen aircraft operating with and without these so again the modeller will need to check their references. The large rear stabiliser is then made up and added along with additional tail parts. At the front various antennas and sensors are added. The front FLIR turret and its mounts are made up and added. There are a few options here with no explanation so sounding like a broken record its back to your references. The rotor head is added to the engine housing at this point though I suspect most modellers will leave it until the end. A note on the rotor head I have seen on facebook that some parts of it are moulded back to front and will need to be cut off and repositioned to make them right. Again check your references or the discussion on KH FB Page! If making an armed version the stub wing assemblies for each side need building up and the appropriate weapons adding. The kit provides a lot of different options NONE of which are covered in the instructions along with no details of how to fit the stub wings or pylons. Decals The decal sheet is in house and should pose no issues. The main sheet (which is rather large) provides the colourful main markings. These have been developed by Kitty Hawk in collaboration with Shayne Meder who did the real artwork on these aircraft, so there should be no issues there. A smaller sheet provides cockpit and other details, though I detect a slight shift where the yellow has been overlaid on the white. From the box you can build one of four helos HSC-6 Screamin Indians HSC- 21 Blackjacks HSC-7 Dusty Dogs HSC-3 - Merlins SA07 To commemorate the 2011 Centennial of US Naval Aviation, this helo was painted as a 1950s era HU-2 Sea Blue scheme. Conclusion The plastic looks great, and there is an impressive array of weapons included. There is much to recommend this kit in terms of the quality of the parts and the available options, however it is let down badly by the instructions even if you manage to get a copy of the correctly printed ones, Overall though recommended to those who want a modern tooling of this Helo and are prepared to put the work into the research and building of the kit. A lot of options are doable from the box with the correct research. Not for the faint hearted or those who want a quick/ easy build. Review sample courtesy of Available soon from major hobby shops
  11. Trumpeter is to release 1/32nd Curtiss P-40 Kitty Hawk kits in 2016-2021 Source: http://www.themodellingnews.com/2015/12/trumpeter-catalogue-2016-2017-lets-see.html#more - ref. 02211 - Curtiss P-40M Kitty Hawk - released - ref. 02212 - Curtiss P-40N Warhawk - released - ref. 02228 - Curtiss P-40B Warhawk (Tomahawk Mk.II) - released - ref. 02269 - Curtiss P-40E Kitty Hawk - released - ref. 03227 - Curtiss P-40F Kitty Hawk - released V.P.
  12. So my previous project finished and some weather that is just screaming "STAY INSIDE!!!" coming up, it is time to start something new. Rummaging through the stash to find something to build is fun, and I felt I needed something different from my WWI Roland Walfisch build. Something without rigging. Something without struts. Something with only one set of wings, if even that. The XF5U1 is certainly one of the weirdest planes ever built, and based on its incredible estimated performance figures I am sad that it never came closer to flight than ground taxying, due to problems with vibration caused by the complex arrangement of two radial engines, gearboxes, clutches and overly long propeller shafts. Any engine could drive any propeller, so both propellers would turn even if one of the two P&W R2000 radials buried in the wing stopped. Pretty cool stuff! And the Kitty Hawk kit looks nice too, all injection molded with good surface detail and adequately busy cockpit. Open engine bays, but for some reason there is no detail there... I feel that the model would gain from having one of the engine bays open to make it more visually interesting (and not just visually baffling), so I will make an attempt at scratch building the Pratt & Whitney R2000 engine installation.
  13. Kitty Hawk has a 1/48th Mil Mi-28 "Havoc" kit in project/design - ref. KH???? Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/369828906819827/permalink/668836086919106/ 3D renders V.P.
  14. Su-34 Fullback (KH80141) 1:48 Kitty Hawk The Sukhoi Su-34, known by the NATO reporting name 'Fullback' is an all-weather strike fighter, designed to replace the ageing Su-24 Fencer in Russian service. Despite being based on an existing design (the Su-27), the type endured an extremely protracted development, punctuated by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Eventually, 200 of the type are expected to enter service, replacing approximately 300 Su-24s. There are many differences between the Su-27 and the Su34, principal amongst which is a completely new nose, which accommodates the crew side-by-side, and gives it a duck-billed look that is hard to capture, plus small canards forward of the main planes, all of which has a reduced front radar signature, due to basic stealth shaping. Since September 2015, Su-34s have been involved in the conflict in Syria, dropping BETAB-500 and OFAB-500 bombs. There has already been interest in the type from overseas customers. Algeria has ordered an initial batch of 12 aircraft, while Vietnam is apparently also interested in the type. The Kit This is a complete new tool from Kitty Hawk, following on from another manufacturer's slightly flawed attempt, so a lot of people are hoping it's right. It arrives in a large box, as it is a big aircraft with 12 hardpoints for attaching munitions, of which KH are apt to include many! The boxtop art shows a Fullback climbing out after causing some chaos with some oil storage tanks, and inside the lid it quite a full box – the artwork header has also been updated from the original to a more modern, funky look to catch the eye, as you can see above. Many of these semi-blended designs are moulded with wings integral to the fuselage halves, which reduces the part count and usually means that half the box is taken up with just two parts. Not so here, as the wings are separate, and all the available space is taken up with parts. The fuselage halves still take up the full length of the box, and there is a high parts count due to the generous provision of Russian weapons. Beside the two fuselage halves there are thirteen sprues in pale grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, four resin (yes, resin!) exhaust cans, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) parts, and three decal sheets of various sizes. The instruction booklet has a glossy cover with fold-out leaves that detail the box contents in front and painting of the weapons at the rear, while the full colour painting and markings guide is found in the centre of the booklet, which will be more use when removed carefully and the staples bent back so your instruction booklet doesn't fall apart, which is exactly what I've just done. First impressions are good, with a little flash around the large complex fuselage mouldings, which isn't entirely surprising, as they are complex shapes. There are slide-moulding seams behind and forward of the cockpit opening that will need a little attention before construction, and just aft of that a few panel lines have been tooled very faintly so they don't catch on the mould as the part is ejected. These would be best deepened with your favourite scribing tool before you get too far into the build. The inboard walls of the rear engine nacelles also suffer from this to a slightly lesser extent, so while you have your scriber out, fix those too. They're not defects, but necessities of production that have been present since injection moulding model kits began. The massive array of weapons provides spans six sprues, and it's best to consider them as a generic set, as there are some that won't be used and more that the Su-34 can carry. It's cheaper for KH to tool one set of weapons for all Soviet/Russian subjects than individual load-outs again and again. Construction begins with the cockp…. Nope, with the engines for a change, which KH have included for good measure, and to which are fair quantity of parts are devoted, only to be hidden away unless you're planning on opening up some panels, which will of course require some surgery to the upper fuselage, but if you flip it over, you'll see that KH have thoughtfully included two panels above each engine that can be cut out from the inside to provide access to the engines, with rivets engraved on the interior so they can be left lying about as if they are being worked on. Sure, they're a bit thick, but this is a much better option than just hiding the detail away, and if you're interested in scale fidelity, you have a shape template to base your work on. Both Saturn AL31FM1s are included, and they are set aside until later on in the build. Whether you paint them fully is entirely up to you and whether you want to cut those panels out, but I'd probably just do the front and rear faces, as they're all that will be seen eventually. Now it's the turn of the cockpit, and the first item is a pair of well-detailed Zvezda K36dm seats, which have PE seatbelts included, and are an improvement on earlier kits. The cockpit floor has the side consoles moulded in, and slots for the ejection ladders, plus control columns and decals for all panels, which are printed on a small decal sheet that has an almost photographic look to it. The rear bulkhead and access door fit to the back, and the instrument panel to the front to finish off, then this too is set aside while the gear bays and cannon bay are built up. The former are well-detailed with individual panels and additional parts to give a busy look, while the cannon bay is somewhat simpler with only a few parts in addition to the breech. The nose gear bay is more complex, and has the hatch for crew access moulded in, with a ladder built into the nose gear bay later on. This explains why you should never see a Fullback with its cockpit open, unless the crew are about to disappear on their ejection seats. Finally, the fuselage is ready to close up, after the aforementioned fettling and the removal of the residual sprue gates that can be found on the mating surfaces in places, which is an effort to avoid marring surface detail and IMHO is a great idea that is slowly creeping into kits from various manufacturers. The gear bays, two engine supports, the engines themselves and the cockpit are all added to the lower half, with the upper fuselage dropped on and glued along with the canards, which pivot on a pin, so you can set them to whatever pitch seems appropriate after checking your references. The forward facing radar is fitted to the blunt end of the fuselage, and the nose cone is popped over it, covering it up unless you do some scratching and pose it opened. The pilot's HUD is a sizeable part, and has a trough in the cockpit coaming, a PE glass support, and two part glazing, plus a horizontal lens on the clear sprue. A few probes and the refuelling probe are added, although I'd leave those until later on in case I broke them off. The twin vertical stabilisers are next, with a single thickness that is bolstered at the root, and with separate rudder, antennae and clear formation light. These are also set aside (the theme of this build!) while the exhausts and stinger are made up. You may have noticed that the exhaust cans are resin, and you can choose open or closed positions to suit your intended situation, with the tabs at the rear locking it in place on the two-part exhaust trunks. Careful painting whilst paying attention to your references will result in a good finish to this area. The Stinger is the fairing between the engines, and contains the rear radar, as well as various other equipment, and the chaff and flare dispensers that are fired to confuse and thwart incoming missiles. The body of the stinger is two part, with a recess in the top for the PE dispensers, and holes in the rear that accommodate three PE exhaust vents, which will need rolling to fit the contours of the surrounding area. These assemblies are all fitted to the rear along with some more small parts, and the tail fins attach to the sides of the fuselage with two locating pins each. Before the engine nacelles are installed, additional parts are added inside the main wheel bays that will mate with the corresponding cut-outs in the nacelles later on. Each nacelle is built up in the same manner, with a main outer skin, small PE auxiliary intakes on the sides, plus a pair of blow-in doors further back. The intake ramp attaches to the eventual roof of the intake, and a two-part trunk changes the interior profile to match the cylindrical shape of the engine front. A small elliptical insert is added to the outside of each one before they are fitted to the fuselage, along with a few more small parts hither and thither. It still needs wings, which is next and begins with the elevators, which have fairings added at their base, and when they are attached to the fuselage, another part is added, which connects them to a hinge-point in the fuselage rear. The main wings are each two parts, with slats and flaps front and rear respectively, along with a small wing fence toward the tip, and a choice of straight or curved fairing where the leading edge meets the tip rails, which you'll need to check your references to select the correct one for your airframe, as all the decal profiles show curved fairings. They fit into the fuselage on two tabs with a good mating surface, and should blend with the upper surface with a little care and test-fitting. Landing is tricky without wheels, and Russian fighters invariably have tough gear for rough field operation, and twin rear wheels on bogies are the norm. The Fullback has sturdy struts reminiscent of the Mig-31, but with both wheels on the outer face of the bogie. The legs have separate scissor-links and additional actuators, with a pair of two-part wheels each, which have decent hub and tyre detail. There should be some circumferential tread, which is absent due to moulding limitation, but as these aircraft are often seen with threadbare tyres, painting them to resemble well-used examples gets round needing to replicate this. Either that or you could treat yourself to a set of wheels from Eduard that will doubtless fit this newer tooling. The nose gear is also pretty substantial and has a high parts count, which includes a pair of clear landing lights. The crew ladder is in two parts and fits to the rear of the leg, above the mudguard that nestles behind the tyres to reduce FOD intrusion into the airframe on rough airstrip movements. The wheels are each two parts, and again there is no tread, despite it being shown on the diagrams. Happily, each gear leg can be added to a completed airframe, which is good news as it saves them from damage during handling. There are scrap diagrams of each main gear bay showing how things should look once you have installed them and the small surrounding panel at the rear of the bays. The front gear bay doors are single parts, while the rear bay doors all have additions before they can be inserted, with actuators adding a bit of realism. More scrap diagrams show their orientation after they are added, so there's little chance of making a slip-up here. Before you can load up your Fullback, you need pylons, which are all fitted with PE shackles or styrene sway-braces before they are added to the model alongside the wingtip rail. A twin rail fits between the nacelles, and either three underwing pylons, or two and a double are attached to each wing, plus the wingtip pods already mentioned. Additional single rails fit to the underside of the nacelles level with the gear legs. As already mentioned, there is a ton of weapons on those six sprues, with ten pages devoted to building them up. This is what's selected to be carried by the Su-34: 2 x FAB-500-M54 general purpose bomb 2 x BETAB-500 bunker buster 2 x OFAB-250-SZN bomb 2 x SPPU-22 gun pod 2 x U-6 pylon adapter 2 x R77 Missile Adder medium range A2A missile 2 x R73 Archer short range A2A Missile with APU-73 adapter 2 x UBK-23 gun pod 2 x GUV-8700 gun pod 2 x R27-ET/R27-ER Alamo medium range missiles with APU-470 pylon adapter 2 x R27-T Alamo medium range missiles with APU-470 pylon adapter 4 x R60 Aphid short-range A2A missile with three types of pylon adapters 2 x U-4 adapter rail 2 x UB-32 rocket pod 2 x KH-35 Kayak anti-shipping missile 2 x S-24 rocket with APU-68 pylon adapter 2 x KH-23 Kerry A2G missile with APU-68 pylon adapter 2 x KH-59 Kazoo TV guided missile 2 x KAB-250 satellite guided bomb 4 x FAB-250-M62 bomb 4 x FAB-250-TS bomb (there's a spelling mistake showing it as "F2B" on the instructions) 4 x FAB-250-M54 bomb 2 x BETAB-500-ZD penetrator bomb 4 x SAB-100 high explosive bomb 2 x S-25-A, B & C rocket 2 x RBK-500-250 cluster bomb 2 x B-8M rocket pod 2 x B-13 rocket pod 2 x KH-25-ML/MT Karen A2G Missile 2 x KH-29L Kedge laser guided A2G missile 2 x KAB-500KR TV guided bomb 2 x KAB-500L laser guided bomb 2 x KAB-1500-L/KR laser/TV guided bomb 2 x UB-16 rocket pod 2 x KH-31 A2G missile 2 x KH-58ME Kilter missile 2 x KH-58 Kilter missile with AKU-58 pylon adapter There are two pages of diagrams showing which stations the various weapons are suitable for, but if you're going for accuracy, check your references for some real-world loadouts, as with all aircraft there are limitations. The parts on the sprues are also marked by designation, with all the parts for each weapon sub-numbered within that section of the sprue. Markings The largest decal sheet is for the armament, with each weapon's stencils and markings sectioned off with a dotted line and the designation, which will make applying them a much easier proposition. Four pages of colour diagrams at the rear of the booklet show their colours and markings. Once you have unpicked the main painting guide from the centre of the booklet, you can rotate them so they're easier on the eye, where you'll discover that there are four markings options, each with four views so that there is no guesswork with the camouflaged options. Everything is a good size too, which makes reading the decal numbers and other details a lot easier than some of their first kits, proving that KH have come a long way in all departments. There is a variety of schemes available out of the box, two of which use the three shades of blue camo, one in primer, and another in dark blue over blue, and all rocking a fetching white radome. There are also large expanses of bare metal where paint wouldn't last, on the underside of the engine nacelles, and the leading edges of the elevators (hot missile exhaust?). From the box you can build one of the following rather generically described airframes: Russian Aerospace Defence Forces Red 02 in three-tone blue camo Russian Aerospace Defence Forces Red 03 in three-tone blue camo Russian Aerospace Defence Forces in primer Russian Aerospace Defence Forces in dark blue over pale blue It is unclear where and by whom the decals were printed by, but in general they are of good quality with decent sharpness and colour density except for the use of half-tones to create orange and the dielectric panel decals. On my sample, the dielectric panels also expose an element of mis-registration of the white, which is offset, giving the panels a drop-shadow effect on the sheet, which will probably disappear once applied. I would however be tempted to paint them and create some masks using the decals as templates. The white also shows up in the outlined digits as well as the tail decal BBC POCCИИ having the entire white outline projecting from the top, rather than equally spaced around the letters. Conclusion The plastic looks great, and as Kitty Hawk has stated that they want their Su-34 to be the best on the market in the scale, it shows that they have put additional effort into this model. The huge choice of weapons are also highly detailed, which are likely to be seen again as KH fill more gaps in the Soviet/Russian line-up, and we can forgive them for the little faux pas with the decals, which can be rectified fairly easily – hopefully it's an isolated case. As to shape, I've put some of the main parts together with tape to get a feeling for the overall shape of the airframe, and my first impression is that it's a good overall shape, with maybe a little more of a flare to the tip of the radome needed at the front, but it's very hard to gauge against photos of the airframe due to distortion and such, so I'll leave the final decision to you guys. If you want to discuss it further, start a thread in the main forums and link back to this thread Very highly recommended. We're now building this one, and you can find the thread here, with plenty of hints and tips, as well as pictures of the process Review sample courtesy of Available soon from major hobby shops
  15. Kitty Hawk has 1/48th Mil Mi-24 "Hind" helicopter kit(s ?) in project. Let's have a look at the M. Song Wang message herebelow. "all, on the way": SU-25 ok, Su-25UB ok, APA-5D ok but also something new... A Mi-24P "Hind-F"! Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/369828906819827/permalink/679965482472833/ V.P.
  16. After the 1/48th kits (link) Kitty Hawk is to release 1/35th Bell UH-1 Huey family of kits - ref. KH50001 Sources: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/6201308633 https://www.facebook.com/groups/369828906819827/permalink/662143230921725/ https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/KH50001 3D renders V.P.
  17. Afternoon, all. I hope everybody is safe and well. I imagine that a lot of Britmodellers will be - like me - using the lockdown as an excuse to thin out the stash a little bit. I picked up Kitty Hawk's UH-1Y at Cosford model show just after it's release, and it's been one of those kits that has stared at me from the stash ever since. I figured that seeing as I have a little extra spare time on my hands of late, I'd pop the box open and have a peek. One thing led to another, and, well here we are! Everything is OOB, a few details added here and there. This was my first KH kit. I have very mixed feelings on the build overall. I feel the kit is very well designed, some clever design work. However, what works in CAD on a screen doesn't always translate well on the modelling desk, and the fit of this kit fought me throughout. Dryfit dryfit dryfit was my mantra throughout the build. The flash was something else entirely. I'm still considering replaying the doormounted M134 with an aftermarket offering because the moulding of the kit supplied one was so warped and flashed over. The plastic was so brittle, most small parts had to be repaired straight from the sprue. And let's not mention having to pay to get replacement parts for the chin mounted optics mailed over because they were strangely not present in the kit. I used Vallejo model air paints to finish it. I like the colour match for the FS numbers in their range. However, be careful if building this kit, as the colour callouts are incorrect, so as well as having to do a little homework, you'll have to live with the kit decals getting lost in the paint scheme, as they are printed in the wrong colours. However, the end result was... just about worth the hardship. I already have my eyes on their UH-1N, and I'm still undecided as to whether I'll add the Venom's stablemate, or if I'll stretch to Academy's 1/35 offering of the AH-1Z. Regardless, if the UH-1Y is a kit you feel you need in your cabinet, I'd definitely recommend it, on the proviso that you may spend more time banging your head against the wall than you'd like! C&C welcome as always, and I hope you enjoy! Take care, and stay safe folks. Daryl
  18. Rumour with very basic 3D renders... Doesn't look Tanmodel quality IMO. Except the subject and the 1/48th scale I confess being up until now not impressed by what I see. Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/8586041972?view=permalink&id=10156026295996973 Song = Kitty Hawk V.P.
  19. A close look at the Kitty Hawk's messages in a chinese forum concerning the future Mirage 2000 kit ( link ) display, in the signature from the KH representative, a Bell UH-1 Huey CAD. Would be quite logical after the 1/48th AH-1Z Viper ( link ) and UH-1Y Venom ( link ) kits isn't it? Source: http://tieba.baidu.com/p/4260567148 V.P.
  20. AH-1Z Viper 1:48 Kitty Hawk The original Bell Cobra from which this latest model was developed shares rotors, engine and transmission with its stable-mate the UH-1 Iroquois, or Huey as it is more colloquial known. It was also known as the HueyCobra in acknowledgement of that fact, but the early Cobras had only one engine. A later development added an extra engine, which became known as the SuperCobra, and it is this AH-1W that was the basis for the newly named Viper, which is sure to confuse people due to it also being the unofficial name for the F-16 Falcon. Sometimes known as the Zulu Cobra, it stemmed from a few failed attempts to reinvigorate the airframe in the 80s and 90s, but has become a more cost-conscious programme that has included the UH-1, offering compatibility of parts, a common tail boom, four-bladed rotor and engine package, and some of the controls, including software for the avionics. Unbelievably, there are over 80% of the same components in each type. At time of writing, deliveries are ongoing, scheduled to finish in 2019. The Kit Another complete new tooling from the Kitty Hawk stable, that holds plenty of promise for lovers of Marine Corps aircraft, and helo modellers in general. It arrives in one of KH's standard sized boxes, with a dramatic painting on the top, and examples of the included schemes on the sides. Lifting the lid reveals a relatively low sprue count for a KH release, but as the fuselage of this beast is streamlined and painfully skinny, that's not surprising. There are four sprues in the box in a grey styrene, plus a clear sprue in a separate card box within the package, showing that they have been listening to the moans about crushed clear parts, which don't react well to stress. There is also a small but useful fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a ball-bearing for a nose-weight, and two decal sheets. The instruction booklet has colour & markings diagrams on the glossy cover, but there is a separate single-sided sheet of glossy paper with another rendition of one of the schemes, which seems to have been printed in a less bluey-grey than that in the booklet. It is a typical kit from the Kitty hawk stable, showing the same design cues and moulding style as their previous releases, including a few over-energetic ejector-pin hits, and one of those annoying folded-over sprues. All that aside, the detail looks good, and there has been a lot of sensible use of the PE to depict the numerous vents found on the outer skin of most modern helicopters. The ball-bearing nose weight is a considerate extra too, and should ensure your Viper stays level on its skids. There's a bit of flash here and there, but for the most part that is limited to the sprues, and of course with this being amongst the first pressing, it might have taken a wee while to get the mould pressures just right. Construction starts with the cockpit, which has a long basic tub to which all the parts are added, such as the crew seats, control sticks, instrument panels and crew armour panels. There are a couple of ejector pin marks on the backs of the seats, but as each one sits against a big chunk of equipment, they should go unseen. The instrumentation of the Z is of the modern glass MFD type, and is depicted by raised detail on each pilot's panel, with a decal placed over each on to ease painting. Even the sub-panels on the edge of the coaming have their own decals, as do the other areas of the panel, so there will be very little detail painting left to do. Seatbelts are decals too, but you can always lay those on some tape and cut them out to give them a little depth, or wait until Eduard get in there with their PE sets. Next up are the engines, which sit either side of the fuselage in semi-recessed pods. Detail is included for the engines and their bay, which should look very nice with the addition of some wiring made from lead wire. You get an engine front, engine body, as well as engine rears, which should be faintly visible through the intake/exhaust apertures. The engine bays are inserted from inside the fuselage halves, after which it can be closed up around the cockpit, and the first round of PE vents added into pre-cut recesses. The intakes are two-parts each, and fit on a peg into the side of the fuselage, while a myriad of small bumps and lumps are fitted around as part of the sensor suite. The cannon is fitted within a small turret under the nose, and this is made from a front and rear part, into which you place the ball-bearing nose weight. I'd recommend a bit of Milliput in there to prevent it from rattling during handling, or at least a bit of epoxy to keep it still. The barrels are individually moulded, as are the triangular supports and the base. Another part affixes to the ends of the barrels, and this has recessed muzzles moulded in. The FLIR turret that forms most of the nose is built from a two-part clear orb, which sits within a gimbal mount within the nose, and this is added to the front of the fuselage along with the gun turret and yet more sensor blisters. Two avionics bays are moulded open on the fuselage sides, and these are supplied with basic black boxes to put inside as well as separate fuselage panels if you want to leave them open. The same applies to the engines, which have two part panels (with PE vent) that can be installed opened or closed. Having the option of posing them open or closed is a step in the right direction, and shows that KH have been listening. At this point you can add the skids, which are made from separate struts and skis, the wings/weapons platforms, and their end caps. The exhausts are made up from a main section that includes both exhaust stubs (split horizontally), into which a couple more PE panels are dropped, and the single part exhausts with their heat dissipating baffles cap them off neatly, with no seams left visible inside the lip. The canopy is quite a large greenhouse, and is made up of five parts, all of which are nicely moulded with minimal distortion. The main section is the windscreen and canopy roof, which is moulded as one, and is fitted first to enclose the cockpit and provide the hinge-points for the pilots' doors. Each side of the canopy is in two parts, with the pilots exiting on opposite sides, so only one part on each side capable of hinging open. The front seat exits to the port, while the back seat goes out starboard side. The port rear and starboard forward panels are fixed, although I guess they can be jettisoned in the event of a landing that results in the aircraft lying on one side or the other. Next up is the rotor and tail boom, which you will probably see again on the UH-1 kit that is coming in due course. The new four-blade rotor improves lift and manoeuvrability, as well as doing away with some of the more complex aspects of traditional layouts. The rotor head is quite simple as a result, and assembles around a cross-shaped former, each arm of which has two holes in to mount the blades. This part has been badly stressed on ejection from the mould on my copy, but as it will be hidden this doesn't really matter. The blades fit to the top of the former, and the separate inner section on the underside seals the former within the assembly. A small actuator rod is added to the blades, which fits into a corresponding depression in the top of the top-cover over the drive-shaft, which can be left capable of rotation with careful gluing. If you want to be able to remove the blades for storage, just leave off the little retaining cap when you install it. Then the blades can just rest on the top of the housing, making them both easier to store, and more resilient to damage. The tail boom is split into two parts vertically, with a half bell-shaped housing at the fuselage end fixed later, avoiding an annoying seam-hiding exercise. More sensors, antennae and PE grilles are added, along with the rotor head for the tail-rotor, which is made up from two sets of paired blades, and a short axle, which fits into the rotor head. The rear stabilisers fit into holes in the sides of the fuselage, and a set of chaff and flare dispensers are slotted into their angled recesses near the front of the boom. A PE plate fits between the exhausts before the tail is added, the rotors are installed, and a few last PE grilles are glued within their recesses on the starboard side, and that's the main build finished. No attack helicopter would be complete without a shed-load of armaments, and KH are pretty generous on the whole with the munitions they supply. In this kit you have the following: 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinders 2 x 70mm HAP rocket pods 8 x AGM-114 Hellfire missiles on 2 x rail adapters The Hellfires have alternate rounded and tapered heads, so you can model the laser or radar guided options. Markings There are two schemes included in the box, although you could be forgiven for thinking there were three on first glance. I think the extra sheet was printed because someone forgot to put the paint call-outs on the grey machine though. From the box you can build one of the following: US Marines No.615 HMLAT-303 – Medium Sea Grey (FS318C/637) over Light Grey (FS36495). US Marines No.640 HMLAT-303 – Black/Red/Gold bands on the upper surfaces over Light Grey (FS36495) (HMLAT stands for Helicopter Marine Light Attack Training) The decals are well printed on the whole, although on the loviz sheet there is a slight mis-registration of the black on the slime-light decals. Other than that, they are well done, with a gold to red fade on the more colourful sheet. The aforementioned instrument decals extend to fourteen separate decals, which should result in a nicely detailed cockpit. Conclusion A modern tooling of the Cobra's ultimate form in 1:48 is welcome, and Kitty Hawk have put some effort into the task, including slide-moulding the fuselage and tail boom halves to ensure full coverage of detail on the main parts. A full complement of weapons, and some very carefully protected clear parts round out the package nicely, although another decal scheme from an active unit would have been appreciated. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of and available soon from major hobby shops
  21. MH-60L Black Hawk (KH50005) 1:35 Kitty Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk was the Military designation of the S-70 design which was the winner of the US Army's 1970's competition for a twin engine medium lift helicopter to replace the UH-1. Following tradition it was named "Black Hawk" after the Native American leader and warrior of the Sauk tribe. Following the original UH-60A there have been many improvements and variants of the original airframe. The MH-60L is based on the UH-60L and upgraded 60A. This featured uprated engines, gearbox, and flight control systems. The MH-60L is a special operations version used by the US Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment the Night Stalkers. This was an interim Helicopter before the MH-60K could be brought into operation. It featured FLIR, colour weather mapping, more fuel, and a Laser designation and rangefinder system. In addition the MH-60L would gain the DAP, or Direct Action Penetrator (DAP) designation as a Gunship. This version would not carry troops but purely weapons. This version was equipped with stub wings to carry 19 shot Hydra 70 rocket pods, Hellfire & Stinger Missiles as well as the M230 30mm Chain gun, GAU-19 & M134 gun pods. Cabin weapons included the M134D Miniguns and .50 Cal Machine Guns. The Kit This is a complete new tool from Kitty Hawk, The kit arrives on eight sprues of plastic, a clear spure, two sheets of PE, decals, and not least the two large fuselage halves. Before starting any build the modeller will need to decide which airframe they want to build as there are a lot of "optional" parts with little or no guidance in the instructions as how to use them, There are a lot of parts on the kit for the DAP model with the weapons and stub wings, however all of the decal options are for aircraft in Somalia which never flew with these wings. It is also noted that the covers for the aircraft when the wings are not used have for some reason been missed from the box. Kitty Hawk have though made these parts and indicate they will get then out to modellers who have bought the kit, As mentioned before starting the kit the modeller needs to decide which version they are doing. The instructions begin by showing how all the internal seating is built up, however most of this is not needed for aircraft from the 160th. In addition it looks like the seating for the gunners behind the cockpit is in the wrong place so will need to be modified by the modeller. They should be back to back not facing backwards like the kit has them. Once you have decided what to do with the seats (or not) they can be built up, or left in the spares box and other parts of the interior built up including the pilots seats and cockpit area. For this kit the entire internal cabin is built up and then put into the fuselage. If building the DAP version then the internal ammo stowage needs to be built up and added into the cabin, or if building the door guns these need to go in instead. The instructions here jump about all over the place which is annoying as all the work in the cabin needs to be done first before it goes into the fuselage. Once the cabin is built up attention then moves to the engines. There is quite a lot of detail here as two complete engines are built up along with all the internal structure. These are all fitted into the roof of the engine house. Gearboxes to the main rotor are added along with the heat diffusing exhausts. The intake assemblies are also built up and added. If wanted the external covers can be added, or they can be left off for maintenance dioramas etc. To the top of the housing antennas and the IR jammer are added. The main rotor head is then built and the blades added. There is no option to fold the blades though this should not be too hard to do if the modeller wanted to. The rotor head is added to the engine housing at this point though I suspect most modellers will leave it until the end. Next up the build moves to main fuselage. Various holes are added for external fitting and then the main cabin can be added into the fuselage halves. Its nice to see these as one large part as often in the past KH broke these larger parts down. The tail wheel assembly and the forward FLIR turret are added in as everything is closed up. The large rear stabiliser is then made up and added along with additional tail parts. At the front various antennas and sensors are added. Again the modeller needs to consult their references as I have read that the plume detectors were not fitted during the deployment to Somalia. The external doors are then made up and fitted as needed. The tail rotor is also built up and fitted, followed by the front undercarriage units. Chaff/flare units are made up and added o each side. If making an armed version the stub wing assemblies for each side need building up and the appropriate weapons adding. The kit provides the 30mm cannons, Hellfire missiles and both 7 shot and 19 shot rocket pods. Door guns are also added where appropriate. The engine housing and front part are then added to the top. To finish up a variety of aerial etc are added where needed. Decals The decal sheet is in house and should pose no issues. A smaller sheet provides cockpit details. From the box you can build one of four helos 64 - 89-26188 66 - 91-26363 "Gun Slinger" 61 - 91-26324 "Thunder struck" 68 - 91-26288 "Razors Edge" Figures There has been some confusion as the review kits have shipped with a set of 7 figures, though on the box it states these are not included. For this boxing the figure ARE NOT included, though it appears that KH will do a later boxing with these in for an additional cost. This will be an additional $60 or so, which in the grand scheme of this is cheaper than buying after market figures. The figures are all very well made and include the two pilots, two door gunners, a figure descending on a rope and two figures providing ground support. Conclusion The plastic looks great, and there is an impressive array of options in the box as well as all the parts for the DAP. However all of the decal options are for aircraft in Somalia which never had the stub wings. It is hopped that Kitty Hawk find a way to get the missing covers to all those who bought the kit. There is much to recommend this kit in terms of the quality of the parts and the available options, however it is let down by a few points as well as the instructions. Overall though recommended to those who want a modern tooling of this Helo. A lot of options are doable from the box with the correct research. Review sample courtesy of Available soon from major hobby shops
  22. Next Kitty Hawk 1/48th kit (http://www.kittyhawkmodel.com/) will be... the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II (ref.KH80102). Release date: July 2012. May I've to say that I'm not really excited by this new release. After the beautiful Kitty Hawk 1/48th F-94C Starfire, I'd have preferred new quarter inch kits of aircraft like the RF-84F Thunderflash, F-101A/C Voodoo, CF-100 Canuck, F-82 Twin Mustang, B-45 Tornado, B-66 Destroyer, F2H Banshee, FH-1 Phantom, AF-2 Guardian, F9F-8 Cougar, F-11F Tiger or AJ-2 Savage etc. Source: http://www.aeroscale...=...e&sid=11598 V.P.
  23. Hot on the heels of my last Kitty Hawk build comes this OV-10 Bronco, built as a USAFE FAC aircraft based in Germany in the 80s. It's a strange kit in keeping with Kitty Hawk's reputation for over-complexity but builds up very nicely given the appropriate application of effort, determination and swearing! I painted it with MRP paints for the greens and Xtracrylix for the grey. Decals weer from the kit and went on well with a bit of MicroSol. The base is one of those ubiquitous examples from Coastal Kits. I had a go at detailing the cockpit with various thicknesses of enamelled wire but the less seen of that the better! All I'll say is if I ever built this again, I'd do the Vietnam USAF FAC colours of all-over grey, this camouflage was an absolute beggar to paint! Cheers, Alan
  24. Kitty Hawk has a 1/48th Mil Mi-8/17 "Hip" family in project. Sources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/369828906819827/permalink/689993798136668/ https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68170&start=12000#p2244338 V.P.
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