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  1. P-39Q Airacobra Engine (7515 for Arma Hobby) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby Model manufacturers Arma Hobby have created a welcome modern tooling of the Bell Airacobra recently, and this set is intended to upgrade the detail further on the P-39Q variant that we reviewed here, adding engine details. As usual with CMK's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar clear vacformed box, with the resin parts safely inside, and the instructions sandwiched between the header card at the rear. Inside the box are three cast grey resin components, plus a pair of 3D printed exhaust stacks on a single print base. The engine on the Airacobra is set back behind the cockpit, and is accessed by a large panel just behind the pilot’s door. To install the set, the first task is to remove the port panel, which is indicated by a diagram on the short instruction sheet. A boxed-in bay is installed in the space inside, which then receives the detailed portion of the engine block that will be seen through the hatch, adding the longer set of exhaust stubs with hollow tips to the recessed outer side of the engine. A shorter set is applied to the opposite fuselage half, which remains intact, as the panel is cut from only the port side. The final part is a replacement access panel, which can be left on the wing or nearby, having additional detail, a more scale thickness, and the added bonus of not having to be too careful with the section of fuselage that you must cut out, allowing you to cut it more accurately, leaving a margin around the edges that you can trim and sand to obtain a better fit. Painting of the new parts is up to you, but there is plenty of reference material out there, so it shouldn’t be too taxing. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  2. AH-1G Cobra - Early Production (53030) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The AH-1 Cobra was the first dedicated production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see US service as a new type of weapons platform. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its (mostly) unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. Fortunately, Bell Helicopters had been independently investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s, so in 1962 Bell was able to display a mock up concept to the US Army, featuring a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under-powered and unsuitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition, which gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter that proved to be too technologically advanced and therefore risky for its time, eventually being cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things never change). Despite the failure of the AAFSS programme, Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1 further. They used as many of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed slender fuselage that had a minimal frontal profile, making it harder to hit. When The US Army later asked for plans for an interim gunship for use in Vietnam, Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the ready-made AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was called internally. Given the work Bell had already done, the programme was completed in a relatively rapid eight months and won the evaluation battle against the competition. In 1966 the US Army signed an initial contract for 110 aircraft. Some slight modifications were made to the production airframes, replacing the heavy armoured glass canopy with Plexiglas to improve performance. Wider rotor blades were fitted and the original retracting skids were replaced by simple fixed units. The G model was the initial 1966 production model gunship for the US Army, with one 1,400shp (1,000 kW) Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft. Bell built over 1,100 AH-1Gs between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras would go on to fly over a million operational hours in Vietnam, losing approximately 300 to combat shoot-downs and accidents during the war. The U.S. Marine Corps would use AH-1G Cobra in Vietnam for a short period before acquiring more damage resilient twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The M-35 Gun System was a single M195 20mm cannon (a short-barrelled version of the six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan) on the port inboard pylon of the AH-1G, with 950 rounds of ammunition stored in boxes faired to the side of the aircraft. The system was primarily pilot controlled, but featured dual controls so it could be either pilot or gunner controlled by an M73 sight. The AH-1 went on to serve the US Army until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache, the last one leaving active service in 1999. The Kit This is a new boxing of the recent 1:35 kit to match the wave of 1:35 helicopter kits we’ve had lately, many from ICM themselves. The kit arrives in a reasonable-sized top-opening box, with a captive inner flap on the bottom tray, and inside are five sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour on glossy paper in A4 portrait format, with colour profiles on the rear pages for the decal options. Detail is crisp throughout, including engraved panel lines, plus recessed and raised details, all of which should result in a highly detailed model without a pressing need for aftermarket. Construction begins with the armoured crew seats, each made from five parts, the shell for which differs between them. The completed seats and control column plus pedals are all inserted into the nicely appointed cockpit tub, adding ancillary stick and a quadrant to the side consoles in the front cockpit, and a collective in the rear cockpit that is similarly mounted on the side console. The rear instrument panel is inserted into a coaming with a box on top, and a decal is applied over the moulded-in dials to add detail, the same is applied to the front cockpit, although without any box on top. A complete change of pace is then made, assembling the rotor base, some of which is visible once installed, especially if you leave the hatches open, so be sure to make a good job of aligning the circular sections in between the bulkheads and louvres, which takes up more than a page of the instructions, and as you can imagine, it must be fitted between the fuselage halves during closure. Some small parts are inserted into the fuselage halves from inside, plus the tail fin halves are mated with a long overlap for strength, and surprisingly, you are instructed to install the tail rotor, locking it in place with a washer, and inserting the actuator crown into depressions in the outer side. The two rotor base assemblies are inserted behind it and a blank bulkhead in front are glued into the port fuselage half, with another quilted bulkhead in front, and the cockpit assembly is inserted in the nose, adding insulation and armour panels in the sidewalls during closure of the fuselage halves. The base of the exhaust is inserted in the rear of the rotor cowling, adding a beacon with clear part on the top, then gluing the nose and a choice of two separate cones, one with a probe competing the front. As with many chopper kits, the underside is a separate insert, and while it is inverted, there are a couple of small parts such as optional antenna or cover, skid wire, and two fairings on the lower side of the rotor/engine cowling. A further insert and fairing is added to the front of the underside behind the gun turret, which is built up next from a cylindrical fairing, and option of a centre-mounted 7.62 mm Minigun, a pair of miniguns, or one minigun and a short tube that could be a 40mm grenade launcher. A drop-down searchlight is placed in a recess behind the turret, and a pair of tie-down loops have holes waiting for them on either side of the underside. A short exhaust lip fairing is installed on the rear of the trunk, and a choice of two style of tips are fixed to the top of the tail. The Cobra’s winglets are where the external weapons are stored, and these are built up from top and bottom halves, with a three-part combined tip and shackle on each one, plus another three-part pylon mid-span. Each pylon receives an insert with anti-sway braces, then they are inserted into depressions in the side of the fuselage. One decal option has an additional 20mm minigun under the port winglet, with ammunition storage in panniers on each side of the fuselage, linked together by a shallow feeder that inserts into a slot in each one, and into the breech of the weapon via the rear of its nearest panier. The gun itself is moulded in two halves, with additional details on the sides, a rendition of the muzzles applied to the front, and a mounting adaptor to allow it to fit onto the pylon. A tiny clear light is added to the wingtips and two more on wedge fairings behind the stabiliser fins on each side of the boom that were installed earlier. The skids are each a single part, and join to the sides of the fuselage on long pegs for strength, one on each side. The narrow cockpit has a similarly narrow canopy, starting with gluing the combined roof and windscreen part in place after fixing a small instrument binnacle to the frame according to the accompanying drawing, then adding the individual panes to the sides, with stays included if you wish to pose them open to expose the detail within. The turboshaft engine can be exposed by choosing different parts for the cover, with the same option being available on both sides, adding hinges or inserts depending on which option you choose. Creating the twin rotor blades involves building each one from two halves, aligning them on small ribs and thereby avoiding sink marks from the parts being too thick. The rotor head itself is a well-detailed assembly that is made from top and bottom halves, and has extra detail fitted before it is joined together, trapping the blades in position, then applying actuators to each one that joins to a lifter-ring moulded into the rotor shaft with an additional layer supported by a pair of tapered links. Then it’s just a simple matter of lowering the rotor assembly down into the hole in the top of the fuselage and deciding whether to glue it in place or not, and if so, at what angle to the line of flight. To move a Cobra around the base while the rotors aren’t spinning, a set of wheels are fitted onto the rear of the skids, each one made from four parts including the wheels. At the front of the skids are two towing arms that have a small wheel moulded in, locked onto the skids by a small part underneath, then they are joined together at the forward end, so it can be hitched up to a tractor to transport it. The model itself is finished, but there is a choice of additional weaponry, should you so desire. Three different rocket pods are included, as is a gun pod, just in case three miniguns isn’t quite enough firepower. 2 x M200 19-tube Rocket Launcher 2 x SUU-11A 7.62mm Minigun Pod 2 x M260 7-tube Rocket Launcher 2 x XM-158 7-tube FFAR Rocket Launcher The tubular rocket pods are built in halves, plus end caps with details moulded into them, while the bare XM-158 pack is made from two halves, plus a semi-cylindrical mounting plate, and end caps. The gun pod is again made from two halves, with a muzzle insert in the tapered front. Markings There are five decal options on the sheet included with the kit, all wearing US Dark Green overall and operating in Vietnam, with the differences in fixtures and fittings as well as the personal markings of the aircraft separating them. From the box you can build one of the following: 66-15272, 334th AHC, Platoon ‘Playboys’, Bien Hoa, 1967 67-15756, 227th AHB, Lai Khe, 1969 68-15063, 2nd Battalion, 20th Aerial Rocket Artillery, Tay Ninh, 1970 68-15209, 114th AHC, Vinh Long, 1970 69-16442, 227th AHB, Vietnam, 1970 Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The instrument decals for the crew panels are printed predominantly in white on a black background, so little in the way of colour-matching will be required. Conclusion If you’re a 1:35 AFV or helicopter modeller, or even a wider aircraft modeller that has taken up the recently burgeoning 1:35 scale outpouring, this kit will be good news. It has plenty of detail, a choice of decal options, and should build up into a good replica of this early attack helicopter. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of
  3. P-39N Airacobra (70056) 1:72 Arma Hobby The P-39 was the result of Bell’s response to a specification for a fighter from the USAAC, which was to be a high-altitude interceptor. With Bell’s usual left-field approach to aircraft design, the team produced the world’s first tricycle landing geared prop-driven aircraft, as well as the first aircraft to site the engine behind the pilot, while the airscrew remained at the front. The prop was driven by a long drive shaft that ran under the pilot’s floor, with a coaxial 37mm cannon firing through the centre of the spinner, in a quest for high penetration and accuracy. Ancillary armament varied depending on model, from nose mounted .50cals to four 7.62mm machine guns in the wings. The Airacobra had limited internal space for fuel thanks in part to its tapered nose, and the lack of a supercharger substantially limited its abilities at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks, and the likelihood of engine failure after hits from a rear attack, the Airacobra flew in most arenas of combat, but distinguished itself best on the Eastern Front in Soviet service, where almost 5,000 were flown with some notable aces racking up victories whilst flying them. The N model started life as a G model, but due to changes on the production line, were designated N instead, with around 500 made. In fact, no G models ever left the factory, being superseded and re-engineered as later marks. The final variant was the Q, which ceased production in 1944 after a variety of sub-variants and one-offs were created. The Kit This is a reboxing of their recent kit, and detail is exceptional, especially for the scale, with finely engraved panel lines, raised and recessed details, and gorgeous crisp details within the gear bays and cockpit. There are two sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet, masking sheet for canopy and wheels (not pictured), a bag with three ball bearings for nose weight, and the glossy instruction booklet in stapled A5 format with colour throughout. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the footwell, which has the rear of the breeches for the nose machine guns, and the rudder pedals fixed to the front, then the instrument panel with decals and gunsight are added to the top half. The rear of the cockpit has a horseshoe-shaped frame glued to the front to hang the pilot’s seat from, which has decals to depict the four-point seatbelts. The two assemblies are fixed to the floor at either end along with the control column, and a V-shaped support under the floor. A scrap diagram shows the location of the instrument panel, and the fact that the drive-shaft is painted a brass colour. The V-shaped part is actually a cross-member within the nose gear bay, which is beneath the forward end of the cockpit, and the bay is completed by adding the side walls, which also have two scrap diagrams to show their orientation, and that they taper toward the front. The forward roof of the nose gear bay is installed over this, and here’s where the ball bearings come in handy. There are three hemispherical depressions in this part that you glue the ball bearings into with super glue or epoxy, and this acts as the model’s nose weight. It’s always nice when a company includes the nose weight to take the guesswork out of the process, so it’s appreciated. The cockpit still isn’t finished, as there is a detailed side console on the port side, plus a small detail part on the opposite sidewall that has its own decal. The fuselage halves have a circle of neatly positioned ejector-towers inside, and the instructions advise removing them with a pair of nippers before proceeding as they will interfere with the internals. Then it's time to put the cockpit in position within, along with a long, ribbed shelf behind the pilot’s position, which should have two holes drilled out to receive the radio before it is glued in place. A bobbin is trapped between the two halves as they are brought together, which will allow the prop to spin if you don’t glue it in place. There is a small inspection panel under the nose on the starboard side and two smaller rectangles, which should be removed for this version, and these are ringed in red to assist with their location. The Airacobra is a low-wing monoplane, so the lower wing half is full span, with some optional holes drilled first if you are using the centreline bomb or fuel tank. The upper halves are glued over the top with a small inverted T-shaped stiffener in the centre, first installing the twin gun barrels, which are mounted in pairs on a backing support. The tail is a separate assembly that begins with the elevator fins, which have the fin fillet moulded-in, and has a separate elevator pair fitted across the span before it is glued in place at the rear, plugging the fin into the top, and a separate rudder panel glued into the rear. The wings are also added at this point, filling the three engraved recognition lights in the starboard tip, taking care to avoid marring the detail around it. There’s a nose insert appropriate to this mark placed in the gap above the prop, and the radio unit is installed behind the pilot. The Airacobra’s ground-breaking landing gear format revolved around the nose gear, and that starts with you bending a triangular frame and locking it into position with another strut to form the retraction mechanism for the front leg. The long leg itself is moulded with a separate oleo-scissor and wheel, and inserts into the front of the bay, supported by the cranked strut that fixes to the rear on four raised pips that give it additional strength, as shown in a scrap diagram. The main gear legs are comparatively short and have separate wheels and captive gear bay doors. Unusually, the inner main bay doors and their actuators are added first at the same time as the three cooling flaps under the engine, slotting the legs into the outer ends in the following step. While the model is inverted, a front nose gear door is inserted in front of the strut. With the model back on its wheels for the first time, the canopy is dealt with. The P-39 had peculiar car-doors on the sides of the canopy, with the rest of the glazing fixed in place, so the main part covers the whole cockpit aperture. The two side doors are painted inside and have a few decals added to the door cards to detail them further, so you can choose to leave them closed, leave one open, or both open at your whim. The exhausts fit into slots midway down the sides of the fuselage, but the prop is still in the front, so don’t worry. The blades are moulded as one, with the spinner fitted over it and the assembly glued to the bobbin you trapped between the fuselage halves earlier. In the centre of the spinner is a cannon muzzle for the coaxial 39mm cannon. There are two long bay doors to be added to the nose bay, the pitot probe in the leading edge of the port wing, a recessed landing light under the port wing, and you also get to choose what to hang on the centreline pylon. You have a choice of a two-part fuel tank, a three-part 250lb or 500lb bomb, both of which have a tiny arming spinner inserted in the rear. Markings The stencils are common to all four decal options, and those are described in the last step of the instructions before turning the page to see the profiles. The back of the box shows three decal options, but there are indeed four on the sheet, the last one shown as “Bonus” on the rear page of the instructions, and is a variant on the first Soviet option. From the box you can build one of the following: 42-9033 ‘White 01’, 100th Guards Fighter Regiment, Pilot: Grigoriy Dol’nikov, April – May 1945 42-18354, 345th Fighter Squadron, Sardinia-Corsica, Spring 1944 42-18736, Cdt. Jean Machet de la Martiniére, GC 1/4 Navarre Commander, Reghaia Airbase, Algeria, March 1944 42-9033 ‘White 01’, 100th Guards Fighter Regiment, Pilot: Ivan Babak, 1943 – 1945 Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. It includes seatbelts, instrument panel and stencil decals where appropriate. Conclusion Another good-looking boxing of this unique WWII fighter that perhaps didn’t get the appreciation it deserved, although it was by no means perfect. High quality moulding with a choice of decal options from three users that gives plenty of variation. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  4. Bell AH-1G Cobra Carrera Revell 1:32 (03821) Most modellers will instantly recognise the Bell AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter. The AH-1 was the first production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see service. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. In parallel to this Bell Helicopters had been investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s. In 1962 Bell displayed a mock up concept to the US Army. This Helicopter featured a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under powered and not suitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition. This competition gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter. However this proved to be to advanced for its time and was eventually cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things don't change!). Despite the AAFSS programme Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1. They used all of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed fuselage. When The US Army therefore asked for pans for an interim gunship for Vietnam Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was then called. Given the work Bell had already done the programme was completed in a relatively speed eight months and won the evaluation against the competition. In 1966 the US Army signed an initial contract for 110 aircraft. Some slight modifications were made to the production airframes. The heavy armoured glass canopy was replaced by Plexiglas with an improvement in performance. Wider rotor blades were fitted and the original retracting skids were replaced by simple fixed units. The G model was the initial 1966 production model gunship for the US Army, with one 1,400shp (1,000 kW) Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft. Bell built over 1100 AH-1Gs between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras would go on to fly over a million operational hours in Vietnam, approximately 300 were lost to combat and accidents during the war. The U.S. Marine Corps would use AH-1G Cobra in Vietnam for a short period before acquiring twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The AH-1 went on to serve the US Army until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache. The last one leaving active service in 1999. The Kit This is a brand new kit from ICM, which is reboxed here by Revell. The quality of the moulding is first rate from ICM with fine engraved panel lines and nice rivet detail on the tail boom and tail. While this boxing is the the early G you can see from the sprues that other versions will be along as there is the opposite handed tail, different landing skids, an upturned exhaust, different winglets and TOW missiles on the weapons sprures. The kit arrives on 5 main sprues of grey plastic and a clear sprue. As well as the main helicopter and armaments, the kit also comes with the ground handling attachments for the skids, something often missing from kits. While there is good detail on the kit and the option to open up the engine and gearbox area, this area is not massively detailed and will open itself up for the super detailer if they want. Work starts conventionally in the cockpit. The two five part armoured seats are built up and added into the main cockpit tub. Tail controls are added to the floor ,and for the pilots station a cyclic and collective columns go it. For the front seater the weapons control column is made up ad fitted in. Side controllers are also fitted for the gunner. Instrument panels and coamings go in for both stations with instruments being provided as decals. Now the cockpit is complete the visible parts of the engine/gear box and its compartment are built up. This is followed up by parts for the rotor controls. The tails are added onto the fuselage. Here there is quite a large part which overlaps to compete a good solid join. The tail rotor needs attaching to fuselage half before closing up if you want it to move. The engine / gear box parts are fitted into the right fuselage followed by the cockpit and cockpit rear bulkhead parts. The fuselage can now be closed up with additional cockpit armour panels being fitted at each side. At the rear of the engine housing the exhaust part goes in. At the front of the helo the nose goes on, being careful to choose the right parts for the decal option being modelled. Turning things over the large central fuselage insert goes on with additional parts at the nose. The chin turret is now fitted with either one or two miniguns depending on your decal option. A light goes behind the turret. The final exhaust ring goes on the back and the tip of the tail is added. Next up we concentrate on the stub wings. The two wings are built up and the weapons pylons are fitted. These are fitted to the fuselage along with the rear stabilisers towards the tail. The landing skids can then be fitted. Next up the large clear canopy parts go on. A sight is fitted to the front of the central glazing section. The front and rear large side canopy parts are fitted, these can be open or closed as need by the modeller. The access panels can be fitted to each side of the open engine/gear box area; again these can be open or closed as required. We now move to the main rotor. Each of the two blades are split upper/lower, and they are joined together. The central rotor head is made from tow parts, these are upper and lower, these sandwich in the rotor blades. Once these are on the control arms to the swashplate are then added along with the central mounting shaft. The rotor this then mounted. To finish off armaments can be added to the pylons as needed. The kit provides Two M157 7 shot rocket pods, two M158 7 shot rocket pods, two M200 19 shot rocket pods; and two M18 minigun pods. If the modeller want to use them then two pairs of ground handling wheels can be made up and attached to the back of the skids, Towing bars then can be attached to the front of the skids. Decals The decal sheet is from Cartograf so there will be no issues with it. Revell give us two options; 68-17054 C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 20th Aerial Rocket Artillery (C/2/20 ARA) Call sign Blue Max. US Army, Vietnam 1971 AH-1G (Early) VT-7, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Sqn 367 (HMLA-367) Call sign Scarface, USMC, Vietnam 1970 (As per the box art) Conclusion This is great kit and even in 1.32 will not take up a large amount of space. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  5. P-39Q Airacobra (70055) 1:72 Arma Hobby The P-39 was the result of Bell’s response to a specification for a fighter from the USAAC, which was to be a high-altitude interceptor. With Bell’s usual left-field approach to aircraft design, the team produced the world’s first tricycle landing geared prop-driven aircraft, as well as the first aircraft to site the engine behind the pilot, while the airscrew remained at the front. The prop was driven by a long drive shaft that ran under the pilot’s floor, with a coaxial 37mm cannon firing through the centre of the spinner, in a quest for high penetration and accuracy. Ancillary armament varied depending on model, from nose mounted .50cals to four 7.62mm machine guns in the wings. The Airacobra had limited internal space thanks in part to its tapered nose for fuel, and the lack of a supercharger substantially limited its abilities at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks, and the likelihood of engine failure after hits from a rear attack, the Airacobra flew in most arenas of combat, but distinguished itself best on the Eastern Front in USSR service, where almost 5,000 were flown with some notable aces racking up victories whilst flying them. The N model started life as a G model, but due to changes on the production line, were designated N instead, with around 500 made. In fact no G models ever left the factory, being superseded and re-engineered as later marks. The final variant was the Q, which ceased production in 1944 after a variety of sub-variants and one-offs were created. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from the designers at Arma, and again it’s another stunner for the scale, with tons of detail baked-in. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of the aircraft flying over the Golden Gate Bridge, although I’m not America and have never been to San Francisco, so I could be wrong. On the rear are the five decal options in side profile with a little information about each aircraft to the side. Inside are two sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a Ziploc bag containing three 5mm ball bearings, the decal sheet, two small sheets of canopy and wheel masks (not pictured) and of course the A5 instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour with profiles on the rear pages. Detail is exceptional, especially for the scale, with finely engraved panel lines, raised and recessed details, and gorgeously crisp details within the gear bays and cockpit. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the footwell, which has the rear of the breeches for the nose machine guns, and the rudder pedals fixed to the front, then the instrument panel with its decals and gunsight added to the top half. The rear of the cockpit has a horseshoe-shaped frame glued to the front to hang the pilot’s seat from, which has decals to depict the four-point seatbelts. The two assemblies are fixed to the floor at either end along with the control column, and a V-shaped part under the floor. A scrap diagram shows the location of the instrument panel, and the fact that the drive-shaft is painted a brass colour. The V-shaped part is actually a cross-member within the nose gear bay, which is beneath the forward end of the cockpit, and is completed by adding the side walls, which also have two scrap diagrams to show their orientation, and that they taper toward the front. The forward roof of the nose gear bay is installed over this, and here’s where the ball bearings come in handy. There are three hemispherical depressions in this part that you glue the ball bearings into with super glue or epoxy, and this acts as the model’s nose weight. It’s always nice when a company includes the nose weight to take the guesswork out of the process, so it’s appreciated! The cockpit still isn’t finished, as there is a complex side console on the port side, plus a small detail part on the sidewall that even has its own decal. The fuselage halves have a number of neatly positioned ejector-towers inside, and the instructions advise removing them before proceeding. Then it's time to put the cockpit in position within the fuselage, along with a long, ribbed shelf behind the pilot’s position, which should have two holes drilled out to receive the radio before it is glued in place. A bobbin is trapped between the two halves as they are brought together, which will allow the prop to spin if you don’t glue it up. There is a small inspection panel under the nose on the starboard side, which should be removed for this edition, which is ringed in red to assist with its location. The Airacobra is a low-wing monoplane, so the lower wing half is full span, with some optional holes drilled first if you are using the 0.50cal gun pods under the wings, or using the centreline bomb or fuel tank. The upper halves are glued over the top with a small inverted T-shaped stiffener in the centre, then once the glue is dry, you should fill in the holes for the wing-mounted guns. The tail is a separate assembly that begins with the elevator fins, which have the fin fillet moulded-in, and has a separate elevator fitted across the span before it is glued in place at the rear, plugging the fin into the top, and a separate rudder panel glued into the rear. The wings are also added at this point, filling the three engraved recognition lights in the starboard tip for all but one decal option, taking care to avoid marring the detail around it. There’s a nose insert appropriate to this mark placed in the gap above the prop, and the antenna mast is placed behind the intake that is itself behind the cockpit. The Airacobra’s ground-breaking landing gear format revolved around the nose gear, and that starts with you bending a triangular frame and locking it into position with another strut to form the retraction strut for the front leg. The long leg itself is moulded with a separate oleo-scissor and wheel, and inserts into the front of the bay, supported by the cranked strut that fixes to the rear on four raised pips that give it additional strength. The main gear legs are comparatively short and have separate wheels and captive gear bay doors. Unusually, the inner main bay doors and their actuators are added first at the same time as the three cooling flaps under the engine, slotting the legs into the outer ends in the following step. While the model is inverted, the two gun pods are added under the wings for all but one decal option, and a front nose gear door is inserted in front of the strut. With the model back on its wheels, probably for the first time, the canopy is dealt with. The Airacobra had weird car-doors on the sides of the canopy, with the rest of the glazing fixed in place, so the main part covers the whole canopy, once you have glued the radio rack in place behind the pilot. The two side doors are painted inside and have a number of decals added inside to detail them further, so you can choose to leave them closed, leave one open, or both open at your whim. The exhausts for the mid-engined Airacobra fit into slots midway down the sides of the fuselage, but the prop is still in the front, don’t worry. The blades are moulded as one, with the spinner fitted over it and the assembly glued to the bobbin you trapped between the fuselage halves earlier. In the centre of the spinner is a choice of two styles of cannon muzzle, which differs between decal options. There are also separate barrels to be inserted into the gun pods, and a barbed pitot probe in the port wingtip. It’s not over yet! There are two long bay doors to be added to the nose bay, a recessed landing light under the port wing, and you also get to choose what to hang on the centreline pylon. You have a choice of a two-part fuel tank, a three-part 250lb or 500lb bomb, both of which have a tiny spinner inserted in the rear. Markings There are five options on the decal sheet, with a variety of disparate schemes to choose from. From the box you can build one of the following: P-39Q-10 363rd FS, 357th FG, Lt. Clarence ‘Bud’ Anderson, Oroville, California, October 1943 P-39Q-1 6th FS, 15th FG, Makin, Gilbert Islands, late 1943 P-39Q-15 10° Gruppo, 4° Stormo, Galantina Air Base, November 1944 P-39Q-5 82nd TRS, 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Lt. Michael Moffitt, Saidor, New Guinea, Spring 1944 P-39Q-20 2nd Mixed-Special Air Regiment, Gen. Col. Fiodor Polynin Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. It includes seatbelt, instrument panel and stencil decals, the latter covered on a separate set of diagrams from the main markings to avoid confusion. Conclusion This is a stunning 1:72 model of the oft-neglected Airacobra. It is packed with detail and has some excellent decal options and masks included in the box. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  6. AH-1G Cobra ‘Over Vietnam’ with M-35 Gun System (SH48230) 1:48 Special Hobby Hi-Tech The AH-1 Cobra was the first production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see US service as a new type of weapons platform. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. Fortunately, Bell Helicopters had been independently investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s, so in 1962 Bell was able to display a mock up concept to the US Army, featuring a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under powered and unsuitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition, which gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter that proved to be too technologically advanced and therefore risky for its time, eventually being cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things never change). Despite the failure of the AAFSS programme, Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1 further. They used as many of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed slender fuselage that had a minimal front profile. When The US Army later asked for plans for an interim gunship for Vietnam, Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the ready-made AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was then called. Given the work Bell had already done, the programme was completed in a relatively rapid eight months and won the evaluation battle against the competition. In 1966 the US Army signed an initial contract for 110 aircraft. Some slight modifications were made to the production airframes. The heavy armoured glass canopy was replaced by Plexiglas with an improvement in performance. Wider rotor blades were fitted and the original retracting skids were replaced by simple fixed units. The G model was the initial 1966 production model gunship for the US Army, with one 1,400shp (1,000 kW) Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft. Bell built over 1,100 AH-1Gs between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras would go on to fly over a million operational hours in Vietnam, losing approximately 300 to combat shoot-downs and accidents during the war. The U.S. Marine Corps would use AH-1G Cobra in Vietnam for a short period before acquiring more damage resilient twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The M-35 Gun System was a single M195 20mm cannon (a short-barrelled version of the six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan) on the port inboard pylon of the AH-1G, with 950 rounds of ammunition stored in boxes faired to the side of the aircraft. The system was primarily pilot controlled, but featured dual controls so it could be either pilot or gunner controlled. For this purpose the pilot was provided with a M73 sight. The AH-1 went on to serve the US Army until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache. The last one leaving active service in 1999. The Kit This is a Hi-Tech reboxing of a new tool from Special Hobby and brings us a long-overdue update to some of the older kits of the type on the market, plus a big handful of resin, Photo-Etch (PE). This edition depicts the American airframes used in Vietnam, and arrives in a standard top-opening box in Special Hobby’s Hi-Tech black theme, and inside are eleven sprues in various sizes in grey styrene, a bag of resin parts totalling 47 in all, a 3D Printed palette of 5 finely detailed parts, two frets of PE, one of which is nickel-plated and pre-printed, a tiny slip of acetate film, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-style masking material (not pictured) a large clear sprue with a choice of canopies for upcoming versions, a decal sheet and their usual glossy A4 instruction booklet with spot colour throughout, plus colour profiles of the decal options in the rear. There are a number of red Xs on the sprue diagrams, as they have been tooled with future boxings in mind, so after you’re done building it, you will likely have a number of parts left over. I’d also recommend checking the sprues for parts that have come off the runners during shipping, as a fair few were loose in an boxing and one in this one, so don’t go tossing it in the recycling before you’ve checked for lurkers. Detail is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from SH, especially in the upgraded cockpit, the exterior surface and the rotors, while the instruction booklet takes you through the build process with colour and scrap diagrams used to clarify the process. Construction begins with the cockpit, which will be highly visible through the crystal-clear canopy parts, and this starts with the new resin seats with separate cushions and pre-painted PE seatbelts, with scrap diagrams showing the correct layout of the belts, and the further installation of a set of bases for the two seats, which differ between mountings. These are installed in the cockpit tub along with resin foot pedals front and rear, and a pair of boxy cushions to the side of the front seat. A 3D printed control is glued to the front-right side console, and other 3D parts are made up into a weapons control column, plus cyclic and collective sticks for the pilot in the rear, with more resin parts completing the consoles. The modeller has a choice of highly detailed multi-layer pre-painted PE instrument panels for both crew, which fit within styrene coamings, or these can be exchanged for styrene panels that receive dial decals to complete them. The completed panels are applied to the appropriate crew seat, with a 3D printed gunsight fitted to the pilot’s coaming with small pieces of film representing the glazing. To the sides of the gunner’s seat, a pair of resin wedges are applied to build up the bulkhead, with a resin fire extinguisher applied to the port side. The quilted rear bulkhead is augmented with a pair of resin upgrades before it is inserted into the fuselage. We’re rapidly starting prep of the fuselage halves by drilling out a number of holes, adding the nose cone and tail fin, taking care to align them carefully as well as choosing the correct one, as there are two tails provided on the sprues. The rotor-head is installed on a flat plate, allowing the head to rotate if you’re careful with the glue, then it is inserted into the fuselage along with the cockpit tub and the short exhaust trunk, closing it up and leaving it to set up so you can deal with the seams. With that done, the cockpit is outfitted with more styrene and resin armour panels on the internal sidewalls and on the port side exterior, adding a number of appliqué panels in two parts. The underside of the fuselage is bereft of detail until you add the two armoured panels under the cockpit, and glue an insert into the hole in the underside after drilling out a pair of holes from within. Two narrow intakes are added to the sides, followed by the main intakes with PE grilles above that slot into recesses on the fuselage sides. The Cobra has wings! Little winglets that are essentially weapons carriers, and these both have a separate wingtip plus a root mounted ammo pod under each one, the port pod later directly feeding the M35 Gatling gun and a link between the starboard and port pods. At the rear you have a choice of two styles of stabiliser fins, one covered in rivets, the other flush. Speaking of the tail, the boom is covered in well-rendered raised rivets, as is correct for the type. Two pylons attach to the underside of the winglets, one in the tip, another fitting into two holes. There is a short exhaust ring, and a pair of inserts just below it to complete the fairing between fuselage and the boom. The fuselage is flipped on its back to create and insert the nose turret, with a pair of inserts added into the main turret part, and a resin 7.62mm Gatling gun in one aperture, plus a 40mm grenade launcher in the other, or twin Gatling guns if you are depicting one of the schemes. The large underwing 20mm Gatling gun is made up from styrene parts for installation under the port winglet along with the routing for the ammo feed, antennae, pop-up light and the rotating gun turret, plus the tail bumper rod under the two-blade rotor, and the very tip of the nose cone that has a pitot probe added near the top. A choice of skids with the thicker or thinner supports finish off the main fuselage for now, after which the cockpit is enclosed. The Cobra’s crew exit on opposite sides, and the long narrow top is fixed first, with the windscreen moulded-in. A small instrument and PE grab-handles are glued to the side of the screen, after which it is glued onto the fuselage. After the fixed sloped starboard section and port rear section are fixed in place, the two openers can be mounted in the open position and supported by styrene or PE props to achieve the correct angle for them. The Cobra had a twin-blade tail rotor that slots straight into a hole in the top of the tail fin, with a control mechanism fixed to the centre. The main rotor sits on a chunky axle, over which an angular washer slides that is joined to the base by a pair of actuators. The two main blades are moulded as a single item, and are first detailed with additional parts before they are glued to the top of the drive-shaft, and supported by a pair of long control rods linked to the blades to adjust their incidence. A scrap diagram shows the various parts in false-colour to help you get everything correctly aligned. It is lowered into the top fairing later and glued into place. In addition to guns the Cobra could carry rocket pods, and two each of the seven-shot M157, M158 and four of the 19-shot M200 pods are included on separate sprues, the M157 & M200 pods are cylindrical and have detail inserts in both ends. The bare tubed M157 pods are replaced by two resin parts and a curved PE cover at the top that is attached to the pylon. An optional towing equipment pack is included that consists of a pair of strap-on wheels that attach to a pair of pegs on the upper rear of the skids, lifting them off the ground, and it is towed by a pair of bars that also have castors near the skid-end to facilitate movement when they’re off the airframe. The bars attach to the front of the skids, then it’s down to you to find a suitable towing vehicle if you wish. Incidentally, the resin parts include a pair of pilot helmets with two-part PE chin-straps for you to build, paint and leave lying in the cockpits if you feel the urge. Markings There are four markings options in the box, all painted in a variant of olive green with various personalisations. From the box you can build one of the following: S/n. 67-15536, Thor’s Hammer, 7th Sqn., 1st Cavalry, Tra Vinh, Vietnam, 1971 S/n. 67-17068, Cindy Ann, 1st Sqn., 9th Cavalry, Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam, August 1970 S/n. 68-15031, Pandora’s Box 2/20 ARA (Aerial Rocket Artillery), Vietnam, Summer 1971 S/n. 68-17074, The Gladiator, C/16 Cav, Can Tho, Vietnam, January 1972 Decals are in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. As the PE appears to have been made by Eduard, I wouldn’t be surprised if the decals were by them too. I’ll be testing to see whether the carrier film can be peeled off using a spare decal when I build this one, because I like that facility. Conclusion An impressively comprehensive Hi-Tech boxing of this gutsy attack helo that stayed in service for a long time and saw service with a wide variety of operators. Upgraded detail and relatively simple construction add to the appeal, but if you're masking phobic, you already have a full set in the box. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  7. M35 Armament Subsystem for AH-1G Cobra (5144 for ICM/Revell) 1:32 CMK by Special Hobby ICM’s recent AH-1G Cobra kit in 1:32 has also already been seen in a Revell box, and although it is a good kit, with resin, Photo-Etch (PE) and now 3D Printing, the limitations of injection moulding have been well-and-truly topped, allowing greater detail to be added to kits by aftermarket producers. This set is to upgrade the detail in the M35 armament sub-system for the Cobra, which is a derivative of the M61 Vulcan multi-barrelled minigun, but with shorter barrels, mount and mechanism for remote operation from the cockpit. As usual with CMK's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar clear vacformed box, with the resin parts safely inside, and the yellow-themed instructions sandwiched between the header card at the rear. This set also includes some 3D printed parts in a light orange resin, with a total of sixteen parts overall. The two largest resin pieces are replacement tops for the ammunition panniers either side of the fuselage, with the rest of the parts going to make up the gun mount, breech, and the six barrels that are made in two lengths, one resin, one 3D printed, separated by spacers. The largest 3D printed part is the ammunition feeder-guide that leads from the panniers to the breech of the gun. This part is extremely well-detailed and more delicately moulded than the kit parts. The gun’s mount attaches under the port winglet in the same manner as the original kit assembly. Review sample courtesy of
  8. AH-1G Cobra Update Sets (for Special Hobby) 1:48 Eduard Special Hobby have launched a new range of 1:48 Cobras recently, much to the excitement of anyone that’s got a soft spot for the type, as there hasn’t been a new kit in years. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner. Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE), 3D printed SPACE, Löök and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Update Set (491279) Two frets are included, one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass. A complete set of new layered instrument panels and side consoles with added levers for the cockpit and the extensive instrument panel for the rear cabin are in full colour, with a floor skin for both crew; added armoured side panels for the seats; an oval vent no the side of the fuselage; extra equipment in the rear shelf, and additional cockpit internal detail for the canopy roof and openers. The two ammunition paniers are detailed with extra parts that need some 0.3mm rod added as rollers and a replacement part for the ammunition feed that leads to the gun. On the underside of the tail boom a pair of oval surface panels are added appliqué style after removing the moulded-in detail. This will also make hiding the seams a much easier task, without caring if the kit detail is demolished during the process. Zoom! Set (FE1279) This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. SPACE 3D Printed Cockpit Decals (3DL48067) The Eduard SPACE sets use new 3D printing techniques that lay down successive layers of different colour resin, creating highly realistic almost full complete panels that are supplied on a decal sheet. They can depict metallic shades, plus glossy, satin and matt colours too, which really ups the detail on everything they print. In addition, a small sheet of nickel-plated and pre-painted PE is included for the aspects of the set that lend themselves better to this medium, such as seatbelts and rudder pedals. The PE sheet has two sets of seatbelts for the crew, plus backing parts for some of the decals to give them even more of a 3D look. The instrument panel decals are applied over the kit panels after removing the moulded-in detail, as are the side consoles. An equipment box is folded up from PE and covered by individual surfaces from the decal sheet, with another decal on a support on the windscreen frame. The same process occurs with some additional instruments on the other panels. Seatbelts STEEL (FE1280) These belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting. Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. As well as the two sets of crew belts there are comfort pads for under the furniture. Masks (EX862) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition, you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels on the optional towing rig, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Masks Tface (EX863) Supplied on a two sheets of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything above, but also give you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism. Review sample courtesy of
  9. AH-1G Cobra Spanish & IDF/AF Cobras (SH48202) 1:48 Special Hobby The AH-1 Cobra was the first production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see US service as a new type of weapons platform. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. Fortunately, Bell Helicopters had been independently investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s, so in 1962 Bell was able to display a mock up concept to the US Army, featuring a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under powered and unsuitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition, which gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter that proved to be too advanced and therefore risky for its time, eventually being cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things never change). Despite the failure of the AAFSS programme, Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1 further. They used all of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed slender fuselage that had a minimal front profile. When The US Army later asked for plans for an interim gunship for Vietnam, Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the ready-made AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was then called. Given the work Bell had already done, the programme was completed in a relatively rapid eight months and won the evaluation battle against the competition. In 1966 the US Army signed an initial contract for 110 aircraft. Some slight modifications were made to the production airframes. The heavy armoured glass canopy was replaced by Plexiglas with an improvement in performance. Wider rotor blades were fitted and the original retracting skids were replaced by simple fixed units. The G model was the initial 1966 production model gunship for the US Army, with one 1,400shp (1,000 kW) Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft. Bell built over 1,100 AH-1Gs between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras would go on to fly over a million operational hours in Vietnam, approximately 300 were lost to combat and accidents during the war. The U.S. Marine Corps would use AH-1G Cobra in Vietnam for a short period before acquiring more damage resilient twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The M-35 Gun System was a single M195 20mm cannon (a short-barrelled version of the six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan) on the port inboard pylon of the AH-1G, with 950 rounds of ammunition stored in boxes faired to the side of the aircraft. The system was primarily pilot controlled, but featured dual controls so it could be either pilot or gunner controlled. For this purpose the pilot was provided with a M73 sight. The AH-1 went on to serve the US Army until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache. The last one leaving active service in 1999. The Kit This is a new tool from Special Hobby and brings us a long-overdue update to some of the older kits of the type on the market. This first edition depicts the Spanish Navy and Israeli Defence Force (IDF) airframes, and arrives in a standard top-opening box in Special Hobby’s usual blue and white theme, and inside are eleven sprues in various sizes in grey styrene, a large clear sprue with a choice of canopies for upcoming versions, a decal sheet and their usual glossy A4 instruction booklet with spot colour throughout, and colour profiles of the decal options in the rear. There are a number of red Xs on the sprue diagrams, as they have been tooled with future boxings in mind, so after you’re done building it, you will likely have a number parts left over. I’d also recommend checking the sprues for parts that have come off the runners during shipping, as a fair few were loose in my bag, so don’t go tossing it in the recycling before you’ve checked them over. Detail is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from SH, especially in the cockpit, the exterior surface and the rotors, and the instruction booklet takes you through the build process with colour and scrap diagrams used to clarify the process. Construction begins with the cockpit, which will be highly visible through the crystal clear canopy parts, and this starts with the twin tub (no, not a 60s washing machine), into which the quilted rear bulkhead, twin pilot controls and tail rotor pedals are fitted, followed closely by a pair of instrument panels with decals and deep coamings to reduce glare coming though the big windows. The panels are different for front and rear crew, but their seats are very similar with armoured wings and sides on the cushioned seat, made of four parts each. Remarkably quickly we’re starting prep of the fuselage halves by drilling out a number of holes, adding the nose cone and tail fin, taking care to align them carefully as well as choosing the right one. There are two tails on the sprues. The rotor-head is installed on a flat plate, allowing the head to rotate if you’re careful with the glue, then it is inserted into the fuselage along with the cockpit tub and the short exhaust trunk, closing it up and leaving it to set up so you can deal with the seams. With that done, the cockpit is outfitted with more armour panels on the internal sidewalls and on the port side exterior, adding a number of appliqué panels in two parts. The underside of the fuselage is bereft of detail until you add the two armoured panels under the cockpit, and glue an insert into the hole in the underside after drilling out a pair of holes from within. Two small intakes are added to the sides, followed by the main intakes above that slot into recesses on the fuselage sides. The Cobra has wings! Little ones that are essentially weapons carriers, and these both have a separate wingtip and root mounted ammo pod under each one, the port pod later feeding the M35 gatling gun and a link between the starboard and port pods. At the rear you have a choice of two styles of tail stabilisers, one covered in rivets, the other nice and smooth. Speaking of the tail, the boom is covered in nicely rendered raised rivets, as is correct for the type. Two pylons attach to the underside of the winglets, one in the tip, another fitting into two holes. There is a choice of exhaust ring types, the Spanish one having a short circular type, while the Israeli airframes have a longer, upturned unit that is made from two halves. The Israeli bird also has a half-moon upstand near the outlet, and both types have a clear part mounted on a tapered turret. Speaking of turrets, with the fuselage flipped on its back, the nose turret is next, with a pair of inserts added into the main turret part, and a 7.62mm gatling gun in one aperture, plus a 40mm grenade launcher in the other that you’ll need to drill out the muzzles on. The tip of the nose cone is separate, and has a pitot probe added near the top, then it’s time to add a few antennae and clear lights, plus the BIG gun, which has a separate hollow muzzle part, ammo feed and two other small parts, which is suspended from the underside of the port winglet, and linked to the ammo pod as mentioned earlier. The skids with the thicker supports and a safety skid on the rear finish off the main fuselage for now, after which the spinning parts are made. The Cobra had a twin-blade tail rotor that slots straight into a hole in the top of the tail fin, with an M-shaped control mechanism fixed to the centre, and a couple of clear parts added to fairings nearby. The main rotor sits on a chunky axle, over which an angular washer slides that is joined to the base by a pair of actuators. The two main blades are moulded as a single item, and are first detailed with additional parts before they are glued to the top of the drive-shaft, and supported by a pair of long control rods linked to the blades to adjust their incidence. A scrap diagram shows the various parts in false-colour to help you get everything correctly aligned. It is lowered into the top fairing later and glued into place, but first the canopy is completed. The Cobra’s canopy opens on both sides, and has the long narrow top is fixed first, with the windscreen moulded-in. A small instrument is glued to the side of the screen, 3.5mm up from the bottom, after which it is glued onto the fuselage. The pilots exit from opposite sides, so after the sloped starboard section and port rear section are fixed in place, the two openers can be mounted in the open position and supported by props to achieve the correct angle for them. In addition to guns the Cobra could carry rocket pods, and two each of the seven-shot M157, M158 and four of the 19-shot M200 pods are included on separate sprues, the M157 & M200 pods cylindrical and with detail inserts in both ends. The bare tubed M158 pods have two ends, a central section and a curved cover at the top that is attached to the pylon. The final assembly is the optional towing equipment pack. This consists of a pair of graft-on wheels that attach to a pair of pegs on the upper rear of the skids, lifting them off the ground, and a pair of towing bars that also have castors near the skid-end to facilitate movement when they’re off the airframe. The bars attach to the front of the skids, then its down to you to find a suitable towing vehicle if you wish. Markings There are four markings options in the box, two each of Spanish and Israeli machines, painted blue and olive green respectively. From the box you can build one of the following: 007-8 Z.14-8 (72-21464) Arma Aerea de la Armada Española, 7 Escuadrilla, Base Naval de Rota, Spain, 1973-84 01-702 HA.14-2 (71-15091) Arma Aerea de la Armada Española, 7 Escuadrilla, Base Naval de Rota, Spain, 1973-84 No.126, Evaluation Unit/First Attack Helicopter Sqn., Chel Ha’Avir, Basis Tel Nof. Israel, 1975-6 No.130, Evaluation Unit/First Attack Helicopter Sqn., Chel Ha’Avir, Basis Tel Nof. Israel, 1975-6 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A welcome new tool of this gutsy attack helo that stayed in service for a long time and was used by a wide variety of operators. Great detail and simple construction add to the appeal. If you're masking phobic, you'd do well to view our review of the inside/outside masks by Special Masks, here. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  10. AH-1G Cobra Inside/Outside Masks (M48005 for Special Hobby) 1:48 Special Masks If you’ve spent time making your new AH-1G Cobra model from Special Hobby (reviewed here), you should probably consider making the best of the clear canopy using this new masking set from Special Masks. It arrives in a flat pack with a card backing and a sheet of kabuki-style tape sheet inside that has been pre-cut with masks specifically for the new model. these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. The masks are duplicated in a slightly smaller form for the inside of the canopy to allow the modeller to paint the interior for a more realistic-looking finish. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  11. P-39 Airacobra Wheels (4441 for Hasegawa or Eduard) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby Kit wheels are generally moulded in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set arrives in Special Hobby’s yellow themed blister pack, with a header card and the instructions forming the slot-in back to the package, and holding the resin in place within the blister, using a sheet of clear acetate to separate the Photo-Etch (PE) parts to the rear. Inside are two main wheels and a choice of two types of nose wheels, plus two front hubs for the main wheels, with all but the hubs on separate casting blocks. The PE parts are caps for the narrow-tyred nose wheel, covering up all that nice detail. All the wheels are attached to their casting blocks at their flat-spots where the tyre is slightly deformed to give the impression of the weight of the aircraft on its undercarriage, so clean-up will be simple, and after a wash in warm soapy water, they’re drop-in replacements for the kit parts. The interior of the main wheels and the outer hubs should be painted first, then the hubs can be glued in place after a little bit of weathering to bring out the details that will be seen through the spokes, which should have the flash removed with a sharp blade or awl before use. The balloon tyre equipped tyre is simply dropped in between the two arms of the yoke, while the shallow tyre just needs the PE covers adding with a dab of super glue (CA). Conclusion Once painted, they will give a much better impression of realism than any kit wheels, raising the level of detail for a comparatively small outlay in time and beer tokens. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  12. This is an old Revell model. I'm very pleased with how it turned out in the end. They said only aftermarket. Here's the picture.
  13. Hi All! I built another quarantined plane. Eastern Expres/TOKO. Completed in a week. Pleasant viewing!
  14. Based on the Italeri kit for the Bell OH-13S, I build the H-13E used in Korea almost exclusively for MedEvac applications. For this purpose, the engine and tank had to be modified, the entire grid frame shortened, baffles attached to the tail fin, the instrumentation modified and of course the distinctive stretchers with the protective hoods on the outriggers had to be built. Also the engine had to be modified, because early models were not equipped with Lycomings, let alone turbo engines. After all a wild mix comprising of a detail set from CMK, a small set of etched parts from JADAR-Model, parts from the Pavla kit, a 3D printing as well as self-build parts from thin sheet metal, medical supplies, finest nylon yarn, lead wire, rod and sheet were used for the model. The whole misery is described here in this build report in the German "Flugzeugforum". (You need to be logged-in to see the pictures, unfortunately.) But it is worth it… Since the helicopter was in massive use in the Korea-war, there are no well documented individual models, which were flown by a later known pilot, for example. My H-13 is a typical representative of these helicopters, which were memorialized in the film and the TV series M*A*S*H. I have built an average type from all available picture material. Not even a list of assignable serial numbers could be found, and I actually even bothered the manufacturer Bell (now Textron) with it, but they say that they have nothing to do with the old military models anymore. It was the first time ever that I took part in a competition with this model and actually made second place in 1/72 against very good modellers in 2017… But you better form your own opinion.
  15. Bell AH-1J SeaCobra, at Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Dallas, Texas. Pics thanks to Nigel Heath.
  16. Hi folk's,I was spending the last of my Christmas money on a couple of thing's on King Kit and had just enough left to cover a last build for this GB(yes definitely the last) I've not built or even seen this little kit but a look at a couple of on line reviews shows it to be a decent enough build so this replaces the Twin Otter which sadly failed.
  17. X-1 Mach Buster (8079) 1:48 Eduard Bell built the X-1 as their attempt at breaking the elusive sound barrier as it was known then, although it was having problems with control at high mach numbers due to the lack of surface area on the elevators. After agreeing to share data with the Miles company that were developing the superior Miles M.52, the US reneged on the deal after Miles had naively given their data over, after which the Bell engineers fitted an all moving elevator to their design, while the British government cancelled the Miles project. This left the Americans free to break the sound barrier without any competition, reaching 1,000mph in 1948 with the well-known Chuck Yeager along for the ride. The rocket propulsion system was later improved with added fuel tank capacity and achieved 1,450mph. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 1998 plastic with some additions and subtractions from the original Profipack boxing. Inside the box are two sprues of dark grey styrene, a single clear part, a sheet of nickel plated and pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE), a bag of resin wheels, a small sheet of pre-cut masking material, decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed on glossy paper in full colour at A5 size. This is one of Eduard's early kits and as such it has a "Classic Airframes shine" to the parts, and they aren't of the same detail and quality of their modern uberkits, and as such they should be considered as somewhere between short run and mainstream – "long run" maybe? This is a simple kit however, and the lack of locating pins on the fuselage halves shouldn't worry any but the most cautious novice. Construction begins in the cockpit, and with the choice of three different instrument panels, all of which are pre-painted, and a set of seatbelts that are also pre-painted, this part of the build shouldn't take long. You will need to add a bit of nose weight behind the cockpit to make it sit on its nose wheel, but after that, you can close up the fuselage and add the wings. A choice of either the original ineffective elevators or the later Miles inspired units are included, which depends on which decal option you choose. Before you put on the canopy, your choice of instrument panel is added along with the rudder pedals, which looks like it could be a bit fiddly, although you do also have the escape hatch to peer through during fitting of this assembly. With that done, the faceted windscreen can be applied, and this is where those masks come in handy, saving you the tedium of cutting individual masks for each pane. The escape hatch can be added closed if you wish, hiding away the little PE handles on the inside, or you can leave it off, but as it is not tethered, you'll have to come up with some way of keeping it with the model, such as a base, or gluing it to a wing. The landing gear on the original was simple, which is replicated by the kit parts, with the addition of some very nicely 3D mastered resin wheels to replace the soft detail of the original parts. The gear bay doors however are a little agricultural, but this can be remedied by either applying a little modelling skill, or getting the PE Upgrade set that is now available under the code 48908. Markings The decal sheet is printed in-house, and the quality has improved since they began this practice. The sheet is in good register, sharp, and with adequate colour density, having a closely-cropped glossy carrier film. From the box you can build one of the following two airframes at different points in their careers: 46-062 Muroc Dry Lake Base, 2nd half of 1947. 46-602 Edwards AFB, 1950. 46-063, Muroc Dry Lake Base, late 1946. 46-063, Edwards AFB, October 1947. Conclusion It may be a little old-skool, but it is still a welcome re-release of this important little aircraft. With a little care it should build up into a creditable replica of the real thing, ably demonstrated recently by our member Orangesherbert, or Simon as we prefer to call him. You can see some more pictures here. Recommended. X-1 Overtrees (8079X) If you don't need the decals, resin and PE parts for what you have planned, the Overtrees offer you the option of purchasing just the two grey sprues and the windscreen without the expense of the handsome box, instruction booklet etc. It comes in a plain white box, as below: X-1 Photo-Etch (8079-LEPT) If you change your mind about the PE, or you have an older boxing that you'd like to get the pre-painted instrument panels for, this little set is just ziplok bagged on a white card to keep it safe, as below: NOTE: Overtrees are available only from Eduard's website, so please bear this in mind when ordering. Review sample courtesy of
  18. X-1 Updgrade Set (48908) 1:48 Eduard If you feel that the detail on your X-1 could be improved, Eduard have thought of that and released this handy upgrade set that will do just that. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. The set contains parts for the cockpit in the form of additional panels behind the pilot, rudder pedals, and a complete replacement for the aft section of the left side console, control column details, plus a replacement access door with an improvement to the locking and handling details. Both main gear bays receive neat inserts to add a detailed skin within the bays, plus new in-scale door parts that will improve the look substantially. The nose gear doors are also replaced, although the bay is so small that no added detail is needed. Review sample courtesy of
  19. Does anybody know of any decals for the Defence Helicopter Flying School Griffin HT1 1/72 scale. Cant seem to find anything on the interweb Rodders
  20. Hello again, I'd like to participate with this other Huey I'm making. Being an Italeri, my expectations weren't too high (my expectations from my own skills aren't high either). But... Good things of the kit The clear parts were thick and shiny enough not to need polishing. Clears parts fitted perfectly except for a few inconsecuential gaps. The main halves of the fuselage fitted perfectly, along with all major parts. Bad things: Having the doors closed would've required too much work, unnecessarily. A lot of guesswork to fit the rocket launchers. Exhaust piece was a total nightmare because it didn't have anywhere to hold to if you wanted it in the correct position. The building manual was WRONG in the installation of the control stick and I had glued them with CA. So anybody else who has built or who's building a 1/72 Italeri UH-1 single engine Iroquois, could you please drop a line saying if you had the same problems as I did? Anywho, onto the WIP: Front of box exclusive for Japanese market. Sprue shot My philosophy is to glue first, then paint bcz 1) glue doesn't work well with paint; 2) touching/holding painted parts is bad for the paint; 3) you'll need to repaint them anyway. Doing other stuff while the grey paint dries... Note how the grip of the control sticks fold forward, just as the manual suggests. But the manual was wrong and I wan't happy about that. Consequently, a less than desirable look to the base of the control stick. An example of how well the clear parts fit. So far so good. This was after a lot of headaches with installing the rocket launchers and the exhaust pipe, that I had to fix after taking this photo. I would've liked to finish it today but I'm tired of the problems it gave me and wanna take a break, watch a movie with helicopters or something : P And I know what you're about to say, there's blitzbuild GB and yes, I'm on my way there, too!
  21. Agusta-Bell AB.212ASW - Anti-Submarine Warfare variant of AB.212. Built under license in Italy by Agusta. This is a Turkish forces ASW fit, pics thanks to A.C.Acikgoz.
  22. Fisher Models & Pattern is to release in July (?) a 1/32nd Bell X-1A/B resin kit- ref. 3214 Sources: http://www.fishermodels.com/product/bell-x-1a-x-1b-rocket-plane-132 http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=62873 V.P.
  23. Cunarmodel is to release a 1/72nd Agusta-Bell AB.47J Ranger resin kit - ref.CM7223 Source: http://www.italiankits.it/cunarmodel.html V.P.
  24. AZ Models is to release 1/72nd P-39 Airacobra kits - ref. 73037 - Bell P-39D Airacobra Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AZM73037 - ref. 74006 - Bell P-39 Airacobra Mk.I Soviet Air Force Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AZM74006 V.P.
  25. Bell OH-58D "Kiowa" Revell 1:72 The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a military version of the successful Bell 206A Jet Ranger helicopter. Bell developed this back in 1960 in response to a US Navy requirement (On behalf of the Army) for a Light Observation Helicopter. The aircraft was originally rejected on favour of the Hughes OH-6. In 1967 the US Army reopened the helicopter competition as Hughes could not fulfil it's contractual obligations. Bell resubmitted their helicopter with some changes which included more cabin space. Bell underbid Hughes to win the contract. In following with US Army tradition of naming helicopters after native American tribes the new helicopter was given the name Kiowa. The OH-58D brought the most distinctive feature of the Kiowa, it's mast mounted sight. This contains a gyro stabilised thermal imaging system, and a laser range finder. The OH-58Ds would work in conjunction with Apache helicopters finding targets with their sight. In a move which has caused some controversy the US Army are to retire their entire fleet of Kiowas. These are to be replaced by Apaches and the new OH-72 Lakota. This restructuring by the Army is a move to divest itself completely of one aircraft type primarily it would seem to save money. The final flight of a Kiowa was the 8th June 2015. Foreign sales of these aircraft are already lined up Lebanon currently in the last stages of a deal to acquire the helicopter and upto 1000 Hellfire missiles. The Kit This is the old Matchbox kit PK-43 first released back in 1987. You can still see MATCHBOX on the sprues though the "Made In England" bit has had the "England" removed from the mould. The kit features raised detail and slightly heavy recessed detail, though I think the infamous Matchbox trencher had retired by this stage! The kit seems to be as good now as it was back then with no flash present. Construction starts in the cockpit / cabin area. The instrument panel is constructed using decals to represent the instruments. Next the pilot seats are added to the bulkhead. Cyclic controls are supplied, but no collectives or rudder pedals. The forward and aft bulkheads are added into the fuselage halves, along with the main rotor shaft. Once these are in the fuselage halves can be closed up. Once all is closed up the engine top decking can be added, along with front canopies. On the underside the landing skids are added along with a cable cutter. The tail rotor, tail fin, and tailboom wings are added at the next stage along with the side windows and doors. The last construction phase is to complete the main rotor. This is then added along with the mast mounted sight. The last few bits added are another cable cutter and a couple of aerials. Canopy The clear parts are well moulded if a little thick for this scale. The are though clear and relatively distortion free. Decals Decals are provided for two US Army Machines based in Germany. Conclusion This looks like it will make up into a good representation of the Kiowa. Detail may be a bit sparse in places but the overall shape appears to be good. Recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit
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