MickE Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Early in lockdown last year I fancied building a 1/35 OH-6A Cayuse but they were rather thin on the ground . However a fellow BM'er came up trumps and supplied me with an Italeri boxing kit along with a resin XM-27 mini gun, an eduard eched detail set, paint masks and a couple of resin figures for a very reasonable price. I was also lent a very interesting book called Aeroscouts in Vietnam which contains a wealth of information on how the OH-6A was used in Vietnam and also a lot of great pictures which I used to provide inspiration for the build. The M16 and M60 and, I think the grenade box, which I altered, came with the kit. The wooden ammo box came with the XM-27, the smoke and frag grenades were from Bravo*6 with the decals coming from someone on the internet. The body armour under the rear seat was scratchbuilt. After taking these pictures I had a bit of an accident and knocked the whole thing on the floor smashing it into several pieces! However I managed to get it back together again, not made any easier by the fact that I mixed up the Olive Drab colour originally. During the build I came across the fellers and decided that they would look great with the OH-6 It took quite a while to finish these guys as I am no figure painter. However I persisted and here they are: I thoroughly enjoyed the build although getting the canopy glass to fit was difficult. The book also includes pictures of other heli's used by the Aeroscouts soooooo I am now the proud owner of Italeri's 1/35 OH-13 Thanks for looking Mick 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmerboy Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 That’s a smart job and the extra’s and figures really add to the build, good job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Impressive stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PZRGREN Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 lovely build and the figures set it off so well!! Those aircraft are so small! regards, Roger. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 The build looks great and I confess that the interior is what caught my eye and made the biggest impression. Very well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickE Posted May 7, 2021 Author Share Posted May 7, 2021 Thanks all for the great comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMSCHLOM Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Nice job, and on the figures. An old boss flew 6s in 'Nam. He was on patrol when a VC popped out of the grass. He grabbed his M-16 CAR and fired out through the windscreen. I believe he got the guy but had to fly back to his base with the pilot's side window shot out. That would make a cool diorama! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickE Posted May 7, 2021 Author Share Posted May 7, 2021 Thank you. Yes that would look good. The book on the aeroscouts had some great pictures of shot up and crashed OH-6As. It is amazing how much damage that they took when they crashed and still protected the crew. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Great, the one thing about the original is how small it is. I remember one arrived at our local airfield in civilian guise but it was a genuine Vietnam veteran. The guys who flew them in combat had balls of steel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 (edited) A great rendition of a rarely-seen bird. Thanks for sharing with us. By coincidence, I'm currently reading "Low Level Hell" by Hugh Mills Jnr. He flew Loaches and Cobras in two tours of Vietnam. He was shot down sixteen times during those tours, including four times in one day! As the previous poster stated, the Aeroscout's crews had titanium cojones. They deliberately looked for firefights with both the VC and NVA troops. They had incidents when they took fire from less than 20 feet away. I am very keen to see what kind of a job ICM do on their brand new 1/32 AH-1G Cobra, due out later this year. It should render the Revell version a museum-piece, with any luck. Chris. Edited May 7, 2021 by spruecutter96 Correcting a typo. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickE Posted May 8, 2021 Author Share Posted May 8, 2021 Thanks Noel, Chris As you say, those guys that flew them were incredible. The stories in the book I borrowed are incredible. When I give it back I shall be looking to get a copy for myself, which is rare for me as I normally get my reference material from the net rather than buy a book. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 If the book is anything like Chickenhawk, I'll have to get it. Beautiful build and the internal equipment certainly looks reassuring. The figures set the model off very nicely, too. Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 Really nice `Loach` there, great job on the figures too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 That looks spot on 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickE Posted May 8, 2021 Author Share Posted May 8, 2021 Thanks guys I was quite pleased with the figures although I could have done the eyes better - that's one area I find really difficult. Joachim, I haven't read Chicken hawk but can recommend the Aeroscots book. Trouble is it is hard to get a copy outside of the US and Canada. I think I found a copy in Germany, which could be pricey to import to the UK as we are now out of the EU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMSCHLOM Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 On 5/7/2021 at 4:43 PM, MickE said: Thank you. Yes that would look good. The book on the aeroscouts had some great pictures of shot up and crashed OH-6As. It is amazing how much damage that they took when they crashed and still protected the crew. Mick It was nicknamed, the "Killer Egg" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickE Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 Easy to see why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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