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Soviet Mi-8 - Afghanistan War


11bravo

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Trying to do some research on a potential project (the Trumpeter 1/35th Hip helicopter) and I am down to two options, a CIA operated Hip in Afghanistan or a Soviet Hip from "their" war over there. Believe it or not, I think I have been able to find more pics of CIA Hips than Soviet ones. I've tried Google and Bing but have not been able to find much on these. Just wondering if anyone can point me to some good pictures?

Thank you,

John

PS - Also wondering if anyone has seen aftermarket decals for this model? So far, I have not found anything out there, which is somewhat surprising given how many of these helos that are clattering all over the planet.

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I did a google search for Mi-8 Helicopter and I found thousands of photos ??????????????????????????????????

Tony

I did the same and also found thousand of pictures. However, as mentioned in my post, I am looking for specific pictures. Very, very few of those "thousands" were of Soviet Hips during the Afghan war. I am hoping for some detail shots that show late war Hips. Not sure what you used for search parameters but I have not had much success.

John

Edited by 11bravo
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Ordered these for mine :)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/details/..._bfom_hip.shtml

also there are some etch intenal and external sets for it

Hi Tony,

I just received that rocket / pylon set in the mail yesterday! It's first-rate, I really like it. I know that PART offers some etch sets as well, haven't been able to find out much about the quality. They are a bit pricey so I am hoping to get some feedback on them before purchasing.

Caleb - I believe the Blue Rider decals for the Hip are all 1/72 :( I'm working on the Trumpeter 1/35th Hip.

Regards,

John

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Hi Tony,

I just received that rocket / pylon set in the mail yesterday! It's first-rate, I really like it. I know that PART offers some etch sets as well, haven't been able to find out much about the quality. They are a bit pricey so I am hoping to get some feedback on them before purchasing.

Caleb - I believe the Blue Rider decals for the Hip are all 1/72 :( I'm working on the Trumpeter 1/35th Hip.

Regards,

John

None of the special Hips I have seen in Afghanistan carried rockets/pylons. The Afghan Hips didn't either, but I did see the pylons lying on the ground next to the Hips and Hinds.

The special Hips were mostly unmarked as far as I could see. You have the choices of blue-grey, sand, dark green, dark green and brown Hips if you're into the special ones.

Regards,

Jens

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None of the special Hips I have seen in Afghanistan carried rockets/pylons. The Afghan Hips didn't either, but I did see the pylons lying on the ground next to the Hips and Hinds.

The special Hips were mostly unmarked as far as I could see. You have the choices of blue-grey, sand, dark green, dark green and brown Hips if you're into the special ones.

Regards,

Jens

Hi Jens,

You are correct... I purchased the rocket pods / pylons on a whim after reading a positive review of them. If I go with a modern, special ops version, they will not be needed. Most of the spec-ops / CIA versions seem to be pretty much civilian standard Mi-17's, often with the rear doors removed. I did find some pictures out there of some CIA Hips with very unusual exhaust diffusers installed but that is pretty much it for external mods.

If I opt for the modeling the Soviet Afghan version, circ 1984 - 1988, those rocket pods seem to be a very common fixture.

Regards,

John

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John,

I'd think you could use the rocket/pylons assy if building an Afghan Hip. You sure can if you build it in Soviet markings.

I have one of those huge Hips myself, but mine will end up as an Afghan Hip. I tried to find a WIP thread with it here, but it might have been posted a long time ago (2006/2007) on ARC instead.

Regards,

Jens

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