Heli-Kit News #195, 29-Oct-04

1. Almost ready for release from Anigrand is possibly their most ambitious kit so far, the Ling-Temco-Vought XC-142:




2. This photo shows the fuselage halves of the new Sanger Engineering 1:72 Mi-26 'Halo'. The fuselage is about 46cm (18") long, and about 9cm (3.5") across at its widest. There is also a bag of white metal parts, a vac-form canopy, and basic decals.


3. A new name to HKN, Llama Models, are proposing a 1:72 resin S-72 convertiplane.

4. A test shot of the additional sprue in the new Revell AH-64D Longbow has been posted at the DPMV (Deutscher Plastik-Modellbau-Verband). Other information published there suggests to us that the assertion (in various magazines) that this will be a re-box of the Hasegawa kit is not true. We will see in December.

The release date of the 1:72 EC145 now seems to have been moved back until January 2005.

5. Italeri are planning to (re)issue their OH-6A Cayuse (as #1028), and HH-53C Super Jolly (as #1035), probably in time for Christmas. It seems likely that they will include new decal options.

6. The second resin detail set from Heliborne is now ready. This is a cockpit interior set, #72003, for the Mi-8MT / Mi-17 kit #7253 from Zvezda.

Not suprisingly, many of the 26 parts are the same as in #72002, but seven of them have been modified, as follows:

• Central instrument console
• Both main control panels
• Rear bulkhead
• Starboard equipment rack
• Starboard side panel
• Roof control panel

As before, pictorial instructions with detailed assembly and painting information in English are included.

Examined with an eyeglass, some resin sets can look rather rough; but if you magnify these Heliborne parts, you just see even more detail and an almost incredible level of fine craftsmanship.

7. Whirlybird are planning an interesting selection of new 1:72 releases to coincide with Scale Modelworld 2004. Not all of them will be ready in time, but it is hoped that many of them will be:

• Puma - resin composite blades to update the Airfix kit
• Puma - resin large sponsons with and without flotation gear, plus nose flotation gear and nose radar
• Puma - general detail set (resin, etched brass & white metal) with instrument panels, cabin doors, steps, wipers, etc.
• Puma - RAF set with RWR, ECM, aerials etc. (etched brass + white metal)
• Whirlwind - flotation gear for the RAF and RN
• Whirlwind - fuselage halves & cabin door with extra windows to make the Royal Flight HCC.8 plus Danish and Japanese (among others) Whirlwinds & H-19s.
• UH-1D - detail set for the German Army/Luftwaffe including flotation gear, internal winch, bubble windows, new doors aerials, bladder fuel tank, and the new-style rotor blades which only the Germans seem to use. Some of these components are also available separately.
• Alouette III - etched brass skis and external baskets (with plastic mesh).

Also in preparation by a third party is a new Whirlwind Series 3 turbine nose, which should be more accurate than the Airwaves one and with more detail (a hollow nose cap, for example, with an engine intake visible from underneath etc.). It is not known when this will be available, but it will be distributed through the same outlets as Whirlybird products - Linden Hill and Heritage Aviation.

8. Zotz / Albatros have now released their 'Latinoamericanos' Hinds decal sheets in 1:35, 1:48, and 1:72 scales (35006, 48013 & 72013). These all have decals for four Hinds; Nicaragua AF, Fuerza Aerea Sandinista, Cuba, and Peru (with shark mouth).


Note that these sheets are designed to be used in conjunction with the Linden Hill Mi-24 stencil data sheets.

9. Aerocalcas Argentina have released a number of new decal sheets since we last gave them a mention here. The following is a complete listing of their sheets that include helicopters, all are for the Argentine armed forces, and most of them are illustrated at Aerocalcas and also at Flightdecs.

• 72002, Sikorsky S-55, Air Force 'H-4' c.1960 (plus DC3 and Corsair)
• 72005, Sikorsky S-55, Navy '4-H-12' c.1960 (plus Catalina & Skyhawk)
• 72007, Alouette III, Navy '4-H-23' pre-Malvinas & '3-H-111 & 115' Malvinas 1982 (plus Mirage & Dagger)
• 72008, UH-1H, Army 'AE-415' or 'AE-440' current, (plus Corsair & Sabre)
• 72010, Sea King S-61D-4, Navy '2-H-233' Malvinas 1982 white over light grey, & SH-3D '2-H-234' current low-viz (plus Tracker)
• 72011, Chinook BV-308, Air Force 'H-93' c.1980 orange-red & grey, (plus Mirage III & Skyhawk) HKN #125
• 72012, Alouette III, Navy '3-H-102' & '3-H-109' current lo-vis (plus Skyhawk, MB326 & T-34) HKN #150
• 72015, Lynx Mk.23, Navy '3-H-141 & 142' Malvinas 1982 white o/ light grey (plus DC-3 & Texan)
• 72016, Sikorsky S-55, (x2) (plus Catalina & M326) - newest, no further details known at present
• 72019, UH-1H, Marines '3-H-301 & 302' current, Sikorsky S-58 '2HT-10' (plus Albatros)
• 72020, Bell 212, Air Force 'H-86' Malvinas 1982 (plus Canberra)
• 72021, UH-1H, Air Force (x3) green & brown over light grey (plus Mentor & Twin Otter)
  
  
• 48003, UH-1H, Army 'AE-415' or 'AE-440' current (plus MB326 & Texan)
• 48005, UH-1H, Marines '3-H-301 & 302' current (plus Panther)
• 48009, Hughes 500, Air Force 'H-39' current (plus Mirage III)
• 48015, Alouette III, Navy '3-H-111 & 115', Malvinas 1982 (plus Dagger)

10. Future Whirlybird decals, the first of these may be ready for Scale Modelworld 2004, the second will not:

• Japanese and Danish Whirlwinds / H-19s
• Air Glaciers (Swiss) Alouette III (which uses the skis and baskets)

11. Coming soon from Model Art:

• 72/050 will include French Air Force & Navy LeO C.30s and a Royal Danish Air Force Avro C.30
• 72/051 will include markings for the Westland Dragonfly

Thanks to Roger Evans (Whirlybird), Joe Maxwell (Max Decals), Harold Stockton, and Yevgeny Borissov (Heliborne).

If you buy something as a result of reading about it in Heli-Kit News, please remember to tell them that you saw it here. This will encourage the flow of more news in the future, and maybe we'll even get the occasional review sample!

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