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Following Hughes OH-6A presented here on April, a new Vietnam aeroscout is coming from my bench. This mid ‘80s 1/48 scale model by Esci is pretty good although its age. I got a lot of work inside the cockpit, none the less outside, with an Allison engine taken from the CMK resin set and modified for a Bell machine. I used Testors enamel colors with artistic oils and chalks as weathering. As reported in Print Scale decals sheet, the example 68-16761 (callsign 'Inferno 761') of Casper Platoon is taken in 1970, just few months after delivery, so that I chose a semi-matt finishing. Following Casper Platoon official website, I got a small diorama according the Landing Zone (LZ) English homebase during Vietnam war. Pilot from Plus Model. Enjoy, Alessandro Rome

Bell AH-1W SuperCobra Revell 1:48 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 dont 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 rest is history as they say. 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 US Marine Corps opted for a twin engine AH-1 to replace its original Cobras and thus the SuperCobra was born. The AH-1W would keep its twin rotor. The original engine would be replace by a pair of GE T700-401 turboshafts. These give the AH-1W a maximum speed of 190 Knots with a range of 365 miles. Armament is one 3 barrelled 20mm gattling gun in a chin turret with provision for 2.72" & 5" rockets, TOW missiles, Hellfire missile and AIM-9 sidewinder missiles for an air-2-air capability. The USMC continues to believe in the SuperCobra for its use with them being updated to the AH-1Z. This features integrated digital avionics, helmet mounted displays. A four bladed main rotor which is bearingless and features composite technology will be a main noticeable change. The Cobra lives on! The Kit This kit is a re-box by Revel of the 1993 Italeri kit with new decals. The it arrives on two main sprues with a small clear spure. Detail is sparse and mainly raised. Construction starts in the cockpit. The clear part for the HUD Is added to the pilots console. This along with the two seats and a rear bulkhead are added to the cockpit tub. Also added are the pilots control column & cyclic control to the read cockpit. To the gunners cockpit at the front are added a pair of control levers. Once the rear bulkhead is installed the cockpit is ready to go. The next step is to build up the chin mounted 3 barrelled 20mm Gatling Gun. With careful construction the gun will be able to move. The three barrels are assembled and added to the mount. Construction then moves to the main fuselage. The two halves are mad up by adding the engine parts to the fuselage parts. Sensor housing are then added to the front and rear of both sides. The gunners weapon sight is made up along with the engine exhausts for each side. The sight, turret and cockpit tub are then added into the fuselage sides. The tail plane, and tail rotor mounting pin must also be added at this time. Once these parts are installed the fuselage halves can be joined. Once the main fuselage is together the canopy is added along with cheek pods at the front. The exhausts are added along with the chin mounted sensor pod. To each side are added the stub wings to carry the weapons and the main landing skids. Construction then moves onto the weapons pylons, and the weapons themselves. Flare dispensers are constructed and added to the stub wings. A combination of rocket pods and Hellfire missiles, or rocket pods & sidewinder missiles is recommended. The finishing off is accomplished by building and attaching the main twin rotor blades and an assortment of blade aerials, cable cutters and other antenna. Canopy Surprisingly a one part canopy is a provided. Why surprisingly? the picture on the instructions shows the model posed with the canopy open, and canopy jacks are provided. In order to open the canopy as suggested the modeller will need to cut the various parts of the canopy open. Decals Decals are provided for three different USMC Aircraft. They are well printed, in register an look dense. #162571, HMM-163, USS Tarawa LHA-1 1989 - Grey/Green Camo #162537, VX-5, Naval Weapon Center, China Lake 1988 - Grey Camo #162541, HMT-303, Camp Pendleton, 1991 - Desert Camo Conclusion This is by no means an uber kit, however it looks like a SuperCobra and should build up to a good looking model. Recommended if you would like an AH-1W in your collection. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" pics by Mike from the Vietnam War remnants museum.

Bell OH-58 Kiowa, pics thanks to DL Munne.

Hi Everyone, With 2 out of my 3 part built kits nearly finished now, I am picking kits out of my stash to work on while I am off work. The 1st one that I have selected is the Revell 1:72 Bell AB 212 / UH-1N helicopter. The kit has the following features : - Highly Detailed Surfaces - Detailed Cockpit - Detailed Passenger Cabin, choice of seats - Rotating Rotor - Detailed Main and Tail Rotors - Separate Sliding Doors - Engine Cowling's for the Twin Engine Version - Antennae and Cable Cutters - Missile Pods for the USAF Version Decal Sets for the USAF and Civil Defence Versions: - Bell 212, c/n 30879, D-HBZS, Christoph 12 , Luftrettung - Bundesministerium des Inneren, 2007 - Bell UH-1N, 69-16670, USAF, 90th Missile Wing, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, 2005 The kit contains 132 parts spread over 2 sprues in white plastic plus 1 clear sprue. I will be building this kit as 69-16670, Bell UH-1N USAF. Anyway here are photos of the sprues. Anyway more photos when I have some progress to show. Rick

Hi, A small break in Japanese series. More close into the mainstream. Bell piston fighters of WWII: P39L Airacobra and P63C3 Kingcobra, Heller and Toko (short run), respectively. Both in 1/72. Airacobra is in markings of 98 sq. 81 Fighter Gr USAF, Tunis 1943 Kingcobra is from unknown (to me) unit of VVS, likely 1944. Comments welcome Regards Jerzy-Wojtek Airacobra: And Kingcobra:

Bell AH-1G Cobra 'Marines' Special Hobby 1:72 The US Air Force started to use helicopters early in the Vietnam War as offensive platforms. Following a failed attempt to provide a dedicated attack helicopter in the guise of the Model 207 Sioux Scout in the early ‘60’s, Bell independently invested $1m into a new helicopter using some of the technology of the infamous UH-1 Iroquois, or more affectionately known ‘Huey’. This was in spite of the fact that the Army was more interested in a Lockheed venture with the AH-56 Cheyenne in response to Bells previous failure, however that didn’t come to fruition. Only 8 months later, the Model 209 made it’s first flight and subsequently won over its rivals in evaluation. The 209 was to become the infamous sister to the Iroquois, the Cobra. The airframe took the rotor, gearing and turbine engine from the Huey, but incorporated a new tandem seat cockpit arrangement with armoured panels to go some way to protect the crew from ground fire. Other key features were stub wings to carry a variety of suitable attack weapons and an under-nose turret housing a 20mm cannon and in some cases a grenade launcher. In 1967 The first of over 1100 Cobras entered US Army service and provided much needed fire support in the Vietnam War for ground forces amongst other specialised activities such as forward ‘Hunter Killer’ teams working along side OH-6A scout helicopters searching out ground forces. The AH-1G also initially entered service with the Marines, although they wanted the extra reliability of two engines, so service in the Marines was short lived until the twin engines ‘Super Cobras’ became available. Whilst the US Army retired the last of its single engine AH-1’s in 2001, nine overseas operators included Israel, Japan and Pakistan. Israel widely used the Cobra, in particular in the 1982 Lebanon War against Syrian forces, but they too retired their fleet in 2013. Pakistan still operate their Cobra’s and Japan still operate their licence built versions too. The kit This is the 5th boxing of the UH-1 from Special Hobby. It comes securely packed in a top opening box with 5 medium grey sprues and a separately packed clear sprue. First impressions indicate a very good quality kit. Very sharp moulding with finely recessed panel lines and intricate detail is apparent with a coloured A5 sized instruction booklet on glossy paper. Presence of flash is negligible and I couldn’t find any sink marks on any exterior surfaces. There are a lot of optional parts included that aren’t used for this version, so fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your preferences, the parts use is much less than initially thought. Whilst the instructions are colour with good diagrams, the images are quite small and some of the locations for small parts are a little vague, so some studying before steaming ahead with the glue may be necessary. The paint guide refers to Gunze colours. There are decal options provided for 4 machines. Parts breakdown is quite traditional with two fuselage halves and separate tail. Construction starts with the cockpit. I would say that the detail in the cockpit is adequate. Separate seats with additional side armour parts are provided with the forward cockpit getting collective and cyclic controls too. The rear bulkhead in the cockpit tub requires removal and an alternative part is provided to replace it that includes a padded surface effect The side panels on the cockpit tub are quite minimalistic, so the optional pre-painted PE set advertised in the instructions are an option you may want to consider. The instrument panels have recessed instruments and the instructions indicate a decal for both panels is included, but I can’t find them on either of the two decal sheets provided. With the tub assembled, it locates between the fuselage halves. Pleasingly, the halves have location pins unlike some of the early short run kits my SH/MPM kits making assembly a little easier. The surface detail in the fuselage exterior is a mixture of nicely recessed panel lines, raised panels and rivet detail. If one was to be critical, you could say the rivets are a little excessive in size, but under some paint, should look fine in my opinion. Two rotor mast base designs are provided, however there’s no explanation of which one would be fitted to which versions included. As I’m far from an expert on the Huey, I couldn’t help out on this. Personally, I’d go for the more detailed one! Two separate tails are provided to accommodate either the left or the right sided tail rotor, depending upon which option you intend to build. The tail parts simply but on to the end of the tail boom of the main fuselage. The stub wings are equally well moulded with good surface detail despite their small size. The instructions call out for the fitment of both the XM-158 and XM-200 rocket launchers (7 and 19 2.75” rockets respectively). However there are also two XM-18 minigun pods, two XM-157 rocket launchers and an XM-35 stub wing mounted minigun included on the sprues which may go to good use. Three of the four schemes included call for the combined minigun / grenade launcher turret to be installed, however one of the versions is a test aircraft using a blanking part. This is provided as an additional resin part. Not called for in the instructions, but provided is a minigun only turret too. The nose section calls out for a weight to be added. Take care here, I for one often forget this or don’t notice the instruction! A great addition is the parts included to add the ground handling pack. This includes 2 x two wheeled bogies that locate on the skids and a trailing tow bar. Unlike Cobras provided by other manufacturers, the canopy is provided as all separate parts. This does make assembly trickier, but gives much better opportunity for an open cockpit display. The parts are very clear with minimal distortion. There are also several tiny clear parts included on the sprue, but fortunately, you only need a few of them with this kit as they are very small and would probably end up feeding the carpet monster! Decals The two decal sheets included have good register. The text on the stencils is a little vague, not as sharp as some I’ve seen, but again, I’m being critical here. Schemes are provided for 4 rotorcraft: AH-1G 68-17108, VT-26 HMA-367 Scarface, USMC, Vietnam 1969-70 AH-1G 68-15194, US Navy Test Pilot School, NAS Jacksonville 1974 in midnight blue scheme AH-1G 68-15045, ex USMC HMA-773 assigned to US Navy Test Pilot School, NAS Patuxent River ‘75 AH-1G 68-17105, HMA-169 (VMO-2), USMC Camp Pendleton, California, ‘72 Conclusion This is a very nicely detailed kit, arguably, the best on the market currently with no less than 4 schemes to choose from. I matched the main parts up to drawings in the Squadron Publication for a ball park check of accuracy and there were no obvious errors to raise attention to. There are lots of additional options on the sprues to venture in to aftermarket schemes if you can get decals, and the spares box will also be treated to some new parts too. The small parts and none-single piece canopy make this a more challenging kit for young or beginner level modellers, but a joy for anyone with a few builds behind them who possess a good set of tweezers. Without too much effort, this could be built into a superb little diorama given the open canopy and ground handling pack included. Also included in the box is a 25% discount voucher for 'Cobra- The Attack Helicopter' hardback book by Mike Verier, RRP £25 adding even more value for Cobra fans Review sample courtesy of

Bell H-13 Sioux, at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Texas. Pics thanks to Nigel Heath

Bell P-39Q Airacobra "Brooklyn Bum-2nd", pics thanks to Mark Mills.

Italeri kit decals from kit I know this aircraft didnt wear this scheme as it was sold overseas but if it did then hopefully this is what it would look like It is a tailsitter normally Normal proviso best seen from 5ft away Rodders

Bell AH-1F Cobra, sometimes referred to as the Modernized Cobra. Pics taken at The Don F Pratt Memorial Museum, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, USA by Rick (infofrog)

Call me insane, but here is my 6th and final entry. (Unless I find another gem on eBay cheap ) I've just won it, so until Mr Postman pops it through the door and it's in my grubby little hands you'll have to make do with an eBay photo. I built one of these in the late 80s but the skids ended up a bit lopsided, I was using Revell Contacta Pro and unfortunatly didn't leave it long enough to set. Those were the days before I trusted myself to use superglue. (I now live near a hospital as well...) I can't wait to get started on this one, the AH-1G is a beautiful looking aircraft and with my move to 1/144 (mainly) it's not often I'm going to get a second chance at building a kit from my early modelling days. ***Update*** Now I've got the kit here's a photo of my lovely sealed HueyCobra

Augusta licence built 206 as used by the Italian Police, pics taken by Bootneck Mike in the Weston Helicopter Museum

Bell X-1 Decals and Stencils 1:32 MH Models Now, MH Models are new to this reviewer and I was passed this set from another BM member who received them from the company. They appear to be a Czech form of Local Model Shop that has decided to produce their own decals and masks. As a first effort I think they have done very well. Inside the ziplock poly bag you will find quite a large sheet of paint masks and a small, but well filled decal sheet. The decals are very well printed in good register and with minimal carrier film. They look very thin and only usage will determine how they adhere and settle down, hopefully without breaking up. There are decals and masks for other Bell X-1s in the program not just Chuck Yeager’s aircraft. There is a full set of stencils for both the exterior of the aircraft and the cockpit, along with the famous name, us titles, test site name and the Bell Aircraft logo. The larger items, such as the national insignia, photographic crosses, identification codes etc come in the form of paint masks which are pretty easy to use once you have found the correct colours. The instructions only show the markings for Glamorous Glennis so research will need to be carried out if other aircraft are to be modelled. Conclusion As stated above, for a first product I think MH Models have done very well. The masks are die cut, so easy to remove from their backing sheet and the decals are very well printed. Apart from the extra research required for the other X-1s I’m quite happy to recommend them to anyone who has the 1:32 kit. Sample provided by MH Models

OK, time to start HueyCobra number two! I'm not bothering with sprue shots as they're exactly the same as my other build, and to keep it interesting I'm not telling you what I'm doing These are the only kit parts I'm using, the only other things I'll be using are scraps of card etc. I've made a start on the trenches with Mr. Surfacer already.

Hi I'm thinking about dioramas, and was wondering who, if anyone, operated the Twin Huey in Bosnia during the early UN operations. I've found this photograph but I can't be sure of the helicopter's operator... any help would be much appreciated

Originally released in the 1960s and available (yet again) this year it has been superseded by the offering from OzMods . I'll be building this OOB.

New 1/72nd Bell TP-39 Q-5 Airacobra Trainer kit by RS Models - ref.92151 Source: http://rsmodels.cz/cs/modely-letadel/plastikove-modely/1-72/92151/tp-39-q-5-airacobra-trainer V.P.

Desert Snake Hi mates, here are some pictures of my last year finished Airacobra from Eduard. I`ve used the old but great Profipack with photoetched parts, Express Masks and no less than 6 different variants of paint shemes. Additional I used both CMK accessories for engine compartment and front armarment. The model you see represents an aircraft of 346. FS, 12.AF, Noth Africa.The 346. was the last USAF unit using the P-39 in Europe. Only used as an attack aircraft, as this type didn`t rocks as dogfighter against german fighter ! The built was pure fun and gone straight forward! Only minor mods are necessary to convert this model to a L-1-BE type. A wonderful source with all necessary informations is Book No. 6129 of MMP`s Yellow Serie. [/url]

1/32nd Bell P-63 Kingcobra resin kit by HpH http://amg.cdc.cz/kat69.html Price: 3.100,- CZK = +/- £ 110,00 http://amg.cdc.cz/ V.P