Heli-Kit News #196, 16-Nov-04
Kits

1. Revell have issued another version of their 1:32 EC135, this time it's in Air Zermatt colours, HB-ZEF. This kit may have limited distribution; it is certainly available direct from Air Zermatt, and also from Luchtvaart.


2. More news of Revell's proposed releases for 2005. The known list has expanded to:

• 4476, 1:48 Bell UH-1C/B Huey Hog (ex-Monogram?) Jan
• 4477, 1:72 Mil Mi-8T (NVA/Russia) (ex-Zvezda?, ex-KP?) Feb
• 4480, 1:72 MH-47E Chinook (ex-Italeri?) Mar
• 4482, 1:48 Bo105 VBH/PAH1 (ex-Esci or Fujimi?) Apr

3. There are very strong rumours circulating in Russian and Ukranian circles regarding Amodel and covert pictures of test-shots of a 1:72 injection moulded Mi-6. More questions than answers though, I believe. Net dyma bez ognya.



Conversions & Accessories

4. Heliborne have two more products almost ready for release:

• HCO72004 is a set of external fuel tanks for the Zvezda Ka-27/28/32 Helix. These will be self-positioning in that they will have indentations on their inside faces to match the raised rivets on the kit's fuselage sides.
  
  
• HCO72005 is a set of four parts to detail the cabin side of the forward bulkhead supplied in the Mi-8/17 cockpit detail sets HCO72002 (HKN #191) and HCO72003 (HKN #195). You get the bulkhead face, plus folding seat, battery rack (Mil Mi-8T only), and electric equipment box with wiring (all other versions, excluding Mi-8TV). The corresponding Zvezda parts are shown for comparison:

5. Joseph Osborn is almost ready to start production of an exterior update set for the 1:32 Revell Hueycobra. This will be a resin set consisting of seven parts:

• 1972 anti-Strella deflector kit (4 separate parts)
• replacement exhaust cowling with the fins at the base of the tailrotor shaft cover
• the exhaust pipe to fit into this new cowling
• replacement tail fin with a right-hand rotor.

Combinination of this set with the Revell kit will allow accurate modelling of practically any Hueycobra from the Vietnam era.

To reserve a set, contact Joseph and he'll let you know when he's ready to accept firm orders, with first shipments expected to be in the first week of December. A more detailed announcement, with pictures, will be posted in the HKN Discussion Group sometime in the next couple of days.

6. Part have released more new etched-brass detail sets for the 1:35 Trumpeter Mi-24 and Mi-8. Including the two that were reported in HKN #194, we now have:

• S35-017 - Mi-24V cockpit interior
• S35-018 - Mi-24V cargo cabin interior
• S35-019 - Mi-24V exterior
• S35-021 - Mi-17 cockpit interior
• S35-022 - Mi-17 exterior
• S35-023 - Mi-8/17 'accessories' including access ladder & ramp detail

S35-018 is illustrated here. Images of all these sets are at Jadar-Model (in the shop).

7. Eduard's November releases will include:

• BIG3208 AH-1W SuperCobra, 'Big Ed' set incorporating all four 1:35 AH-1W sets previously available separately
• 73240 Merlin HC3 RAF, colour photo-etched set
• 73246 Merlin HC3 seatbelts, cargo type, colour photo-etched set (shown here)
• SS240 Merlin HC3 RAF, 'Zoom ' series, simple colour photo-etched set

Decals

8. Here's a close-up look at a few of the many decals on Linden Hill's Hind Airframe Stencil Data sheet LHD35003:

These stencil sets are primarily for use on Mi-24s in Soviet / Russian / CIS service. However, most Hinds in foreign use (with some notable exceptions - Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) also feature Cyrillic airframe stencil data; this is even true for machines that carry the tail rotor warnings in English!

Also note that the smaller stencilling is painted over - either fully or partially, on many airframes delivered to foreign users via one of the several Russian / Ukrainian / Belarussian aircraft repair and overhaul facilities that handle such contracts. Check your references.

9. And lastly, here's a close-up of the 'Dragon' artwork for one of the UH-1Bs on the recent Condor 'Columbian Attack Helicopters' sheet (HKN #194):

Thanks to George Filyagin, Pawel Okulski, Frank Herkenhoff, Joseph Osborn and Gertjan Zwart.

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!

Archive

Home