Revell 1/72 Airbus Helicopters UH-72A Lakota

[hsr]

This is the Revell 1/72 Airbus Helicopters UH-72A Lakota helicopter. The UH-72A is the US Army's primary training helicopter replacing the TH-67 (Bell 206) Creek.

 

As far as I know there are only 2 kits , with many boxings, of the Lakota; the Revell and the Heller. The only reviews I could find of them was one of the Revell that said it had good fit, and another that said that one was bigger then the other. Since they were relatively inexpensive I got both. I got the Heller UH-72A boxing and the Revell EC145 VIP boxing. Sure enough they were different sizes.

The Revell kit is the white one while the Heller is the tan. I found the EC145 manual on the Airbus web site and it had the dimensions, so I compared the 2 using my 1/72 ruler. and found that they were both too large; the Heller by a couple scale feet and the Revell by much less. So I decided to build the Revell. I thought I could use the Heller decals.

 

The Revell kit had generally good fit and there were no problems. The only issue is that the side windows are convex so very distorted and you can not really see though them. The Heller decals were useless. They refused to stick or react so Solvaset. I only used the serial number for the tail and the Danger arrow. The rest came from the spares pile. I couldn't find many pictures of the training version of the UH-72A but I did find this one and used it as my guide. Luckily the markings are minimalist. 

 

The color is supposed to be US Army Helo Drab FS34031. The only company I could find locally that makes that color is AK in their Real Colors like of acrylic lacquers. So I got a couple bottles along with their thinner. I thinned it ~1:1 paint to thinner. I was vary impressed with how well it sprayed and covered. But while the leading "3" in the FS number implies flat it dried as a semi gloss, which would be a "2". More serious it can not be touched up with a brush. Every time you dip your brush in it you get a slightly different color. It is also a hard color to photograph.

 

Having said all that here it is;

 

 

Next up will be the helicopter that the UH-72A replaced; the TH-67 Creek using the Italeri OH-58A kit.

 

Enjoy

[NMLeonov]

Excellent and neat finish on this important helo. I spy with my little eye some of the illuminated instrument panel through the top window, that's neat! Perhaps natural light would work better for showing the true color?

[hsr]

6 hours ago, Pyradus said:

I spy with my little eye some of the illuminated instrument panel through the top window,

That was a couple of the Heller decals. I had to glue them down with Zap CAA since they would not stick on their own

 

6 hours ago, Pyradus said:

Perhaps natural light would work better for showing the true color?

I might try that later.

 

Thanks

[BleedingBlue]

It’s a very nice build.  One suggestion I could make would be to polish or future dip the transparencies.  It would have really allowed you to see inside even with them being convex.  

[hsr]

21 hours ago, BleedingBlue said:

One suggestion I could make would be to polish or future dip the transparencies.

I did coat the inside and out with Future, or whatever they call it. I also need to get a plastic polish which would help in places I had to sand

 

Thanks

[mil 24]

a nice built 

 

dave

[Bertie McBoatface]

Tidy work. Well done.

[maarten.schonfeld]

Hi Hsr,

 

Very nice build and thanks for the comparative analysis of the Revell and Heller kits! I already liked the Revell one pretty much, but finding that the Heller is too large in several dimensions will keep me from buying it.

 

One note however: you mentioned the color of these helo's being FS 34031, but that's not correct. That color (being less IR reflective)  is reserved for the ones in real tactical theatres, like the Apaches and the Blackhawks. In the non-tactical Air National Guard the old FS 34087 is still the current paint color, being more yellowish as you can see from may photos. I hate to mantion it, as yor model looks the part!

 

Kind regards, Maarten

[CMSCHLOM]

Very nice job.  The TH-55 I trained in was a colorful bright orange. AMP has this kit in 1/35 scale!

[CMSCHLOM]

On 1/30/2023 at 7:26 AM, maarten.schonfeld said:

Hi Hsr,

 

Very nice build and thanks for the comparative analysis of the Revell and Heller kits! I already liked the Revell one pretty much, but finding that the Heller is too large in several dimensions will keep me from buying it.

 

One note however: you mentioned the color of these helo's being FS 34031, but that's not correct. That color (being less IR reflective)  is reserved for the ones in real tactical theatres, like the Apaches and the Blackhawks. In the non-tactical Air National Guard the old FS 34087 is still the current paint color, being more yellowish as you can see from may photos. I hate to mantion it, as yor model looks the part!

 

Kind regards, Maarten

Actually, FS 34031 is the correct color.  It is a black green and feels like sand paper due to carbon grit mixed into the paint to make it scatter radar waves.  As you mentioned, with age it fades to an almost slightly light yellowish/light green.  Back in the day they came from the depot or factory like this.  The CH-47F has a lighter green scheme for some reason.  And you might see a ghost grey AH-64.  One thing to note, no one Army helicopter has the exact same scheme, they are always variations, some dark, some light.  Thats me below with UH-1H 39 MIKE.  Note the color variations from being in the hot humid conditions of Southern Alabama.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by CMSCHLOM

[hsr]

1 hour ago, CMSCHLOM said:

The TH-55 I trained in was a colorful bright orange.

Did you also fly the OH-23 in training? I have one of those in the queue and just ordered a TH-55A

[CMSCHLOM]

20 hours ago, hsr said:

Did you also fly the OH-23 in training? I have one of those in the queue and just ordered a TH-55A

Just the TH-55.  The -23 "Hiller Killer" was out of the system.   Me on the right, July, 1983 @ Ft. Rucker, AL.

 

 

[hsr]

Tiny little thing isn't it.

[CMSCHLOM]

2 hours ago, hsr said:

Tiny little thing isn't it.

We called it the Mattel Messerschmidt.  Or, the Orange with a pencil stuck in it.  But when it was time to solo, it suddenly got huge!  Everything was direct linkage so it could be a handful to fly.  

Edited February 1, 2023 by CMSCHLOM

[maarten.schonfeld]

On 31/01/2023 at 23:33, CMSCHLOM said:

Actually, FS 34031 is the correct color.  It is a black green and feels like sand paper due to carbon grit mixed into the paint to make it scatter radar waves.  As you mentioned, with age it fades to an almost slightly light yellowish/light green.  Back in the day they came from the depot or factory like this.  The CH-47F has a lighter green scheme for some reason.  And you might see a ghost grey AH-64.  One thing to note, no one Army helicopter has the exact same scheme, they are always variations, some dark, some light.  Thats me below with UH-1H 39 MIKE.  Note the color variations from being in the hot humid conditions of Southern Alabama.

 

 

I didn't react to your email as you downright said I was wrong. I'm afraid you are the one in the wrong: only the US Army helo's in the tactical roles wear the IR suppresive matt Helo Drab FS 34031, which is indeed black green. Check for yourself with a colour card, but the Lakotas (A and B versions) are not in that color, but in the old FS 34087 Olive Drab, which is still pretty much the same as in the Vietnam years. It isn't matt, but semi matt finish, and obviously not IR suppressive either. As these helos are not supposed to operate outside the USA the need for that IR suppression isn't really felt to be required -- nor the added wear and hence maintenance needed for the IR finish.

Please check your references thoroughly - again.

 

Kind regards, Maarten

[RainierHooker]

6 hours ago, maarten.schonfeld said:

I didn't react to your email as you downright said I was wrong. I'm afraid you are the one in the wrong: only the US Army helo's in the tactical roles wear the IR suppresive matt Helo Drab FS 34031, which is indeed black green. Check for yourself with a colour card, but the Lakotas (A and B versions) are not in that color, but in the old FS 34087 Olive Drab, which is still pretty much the same as in the Vietnam years. It isn't matt, but semi matt finish, and obviously not IR suppressive either. As these helos are not supposed to operate outside the USA the need for that IR suppression isn't really felt to be required -- nor the added wear and hence maintenance needed for the IR finish.

Please check your references thoroughly - again.

 

Kind regards, Maarten

 

Maarten,

 

Im not sure that the RFI section is the right place to be having color chip arguments, but I'm sorry to say that you are incorrect as far as US Army helicopters are concerned. Here is an excerpt from the US Army's TM 1-1500-345-23 "Paint and Marking of Army Aircraft", the most recent edition dated 2015:

 

IMG_4435 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

 

FS 34031 is the ONLY dark green paint authorized on army helicopters, and unlike the Air Force and Air National guard there is absolutely no differentiation between tactical and non-tactical aircraft and their paint schemes. It is true that many LUH-72s appear lighter in shade as delivered. This is not a color variation but rather a sheen variation, an effect of the Alkyd based enamel applied in the factory compared to the CARC that is more commonly used on Army aircraft. Sheen variations are acceptable according to the manual. The vast majority of LUH-72's in the inventory have been through at least one repaint already and, if done in the continental US, were done in the standard CARC green in FS 34031 common to all green painted Army helicopters. Thus, they will appear darker. CARC is the only paint authorized for repaints, and furthermore it's the only paint that the system will let you order. The last time I saw an Army aircraft painted in the old lighter OD color was very early in my career on a UH-1H, probably painted in the mid-1990s. I retired from the Army in 2018 as a CH-47 Flight Engineer Standardizations Instructor then assigned to a maintenance company performing overhauls and phase maintenance on UH-60s, LUH-72s, and CH-47s. Even the 1998 edition of the same manual has the earlier lighter OD stricken from the approved colors list. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by RainierHooker
grammar

[kapam]

I think my last attempt at a helicopter kit was in my adolescence (40+ years ago) but I do think they make cool subjects.

You’ve done a fine job of this - so nice, I might be inspired to take on a ‘copter kit sometime (in spite of an overly large stash already)!

👍👍