Heli-Kit News #208, 06-Aug-05

Kits

1. Hasegawa have released their latest version of the 1:48 Sea King, 'UH-3H Seaking HSL-51 VIP', #09628. This is a limited reissue with decals and white metal parts to build. For more details see HKN #205.

2. Several interesting Japanese 1:144 kits have recently appeared on Ebay. These include a Kawasaki OH-1 'Ninja' and an SH-60J Seahawk from Air Force Arsenal, and an AH-56 Cheyenne from TwinNuts.

At present we do not know of any source for these apart from the Ebay auctions.




There is a Japanese Language website that has some information and pictures of the Air Force Arsenal kits, and the Ebay vendor has a temporary site with more images.

3. A new addition to Revell's list of 2005 releases is #4483, a 1:72 Ka-52 Alligator with a release date of October.

4. Revell have also updated their information on the forthcoming 1:32 EC-145 #4481, which we now know will have a choice of markings for two ADAC aircraft D-HLRG and D-HWVS, and one from the French Securite Civile. Parts will include rescue winch, stretcher, and searchlight.

5. Academy / MRC are working on a 1:48 CH-53E, with a release date tentatively set for mid-2006.

6. An email from the MPM group suggests that their 1:72 Mojave will finally appear sometime early next year. Meanwhile their 1:48 Fa 223 E-0 'Drache' is now featuring in advertisements in the modelling press, so release of this must presumably be imminent.


7. Enemy submariners will be quaking in their seaboots. Anigrand Craftswork continue their prolific output with the announcement that their 1:72 resin Bell HSL-1 will be released in September.

Conversions & Accessories

8. Hannants latest batch or re-issues of etched brass detail sets from the old Airwaves range includes:

• AC72-165, Westland Scout/Wasp, for the Airfix kit
• AC72-171, Westland Whirlwind HAS.22, also for Airfix

9. This is an early sample test cast of the 1:72 S-58T nose that's in preparation at Cobra Company. There's still a more work to be done on the master; the finished article will be a good deal more refined than this example. It's shown here to reassure the doubters and to temporarily assuage the curiosity of the impatient - so yes, here's the evidence that it really is 'in progress'. Cobra tell us that the IPMS USA Nationals was a huge success for them (always good to hear), and they are pulling out all the stops to respond to the demands it produced and to replenish depleted stocks, as well as to press on with current projects. Just put your pending S-58T project on one side for a little while longer and build something else in the meantime!


We're pleased to be able to say that the shape of this prototype looks MUCH better than the old Buccaneer nose from Thailand, which had serious dimensional shortcomings, despite being very neatly cast.

10. Verlinden Productions have a new 1:32 Apache detail set #2198 due for release in August, designed for the Revell kit.


Decals

11. Sweet have released two more 1:144 Sea King decal sheets, each accompanied by the Sweet snap-kit plus an additional sprue carrying new sponsons, tail rotor, and radome. The marking options differ somewhat from those announced in HKN #205.

• 14-D003 'Westland Sea King Part 1' has markings for a selection of RAF HAR.3a from 22, 202, 208, and 78 Sqn; plus HAS.2 from 820, 824, and 826 Sqn.
  
  
  
• 14-D004 'Westland Sea King Part 2' covers the German Navy's Mk.41, Belgium's Mk.48, and the RAN Mk.50a.
  
  
  

The decals are immaculately printed by Cartograf, and the new parts are just as finely moulded as the kit itself (see HKN #197).


12. Andrey Kotkov (Behemoth/Begemot Decals) has sent this information about his forthcoming 1:72 Mi-8/17 decal sheets, which are now ready for printing and should be available in about 4 or 5 weeks. These pictures are from proof drawings, not the actual decals:

72-012, Mi-8 (all with right-hand tail rotor):


• Mi-8T Soviet troop in Afghanistan (with Afghan insignia)
• Mi-8T Pakistan Army Aviation
• Mi-8T frow Western Group USSR Troops in Germany (non-standard scheme)
• Mi-8T frow Western Group USSR Troops in Germany (Stendal AB insignia shield)
• Mi-8T Kyrgyzstan Air Force
• Mi-8T Egypt commando helicopter, Sinai 1973
• Mi-8T captured By Israel army in Sinai war
• Mi-8T Polar airlines, present day, Russia
• Mi-8T Indian Air Force, grey scheme
• Mi-8T Indian Air Force, SAR, red-orange scheme
• Mi-9, aerial command post, from Western Group USSR Troops in Germany (insignia shield)
• Mi-8PPA, ECM, frow Western Group USSR Troops in Germany
• Mi-8P, Aeroflot, supporting USSR off-shore rigs in Vietnamese waters.

72-013, Mi-8 / Mi-17 Stencils:


• Full stencils, including main and tail rotor blade markings, all cargo cabin interior markings, all exterior stencils, and for all external armaments, including the pylons.

72-014, Mi-8/17 (all with left-hand tail rotor):


• Mi-8MT, Soviet troops in Afghanistan, more than 1700 missions, with dragon sign on port handed armour plate
• Mi-17, Iraqi Air Force, nonstandard symmetrical camouflage spots
• Mi-8MT, Russian Army Aviation, used in hostage rescue operation in 1993
  On December 23, 1993, in Rostov-on-Don, four armed people seized a teacher and 15 ninth graders in Gymnasium No. 25, demanding a helicopter and $10 million, which they received. On December 27, the helicopter landed in Makhachkala, Dagestan, where the kidnappers were detained and the hostages released.
  
• Mi-171V, Turkish Gendarmerie
• Mi-8MT, Democratic Afghan Republic, 1988
• Mi-8MT, Northern Afghan Aliance
• Mi-8MT, from Western Group USSR Troops in Germany, unusual grey\dark grey camouflage
• Mi-17, Cuban Air Force;
• Mi-8MTV, Mexican Navy, blue with yellow stripes
• Mi-17, Czech Air Force with big sharkmouth
• Mi-17-V1, Australian Heli Harvest company, fire-bomber, grey with blue stripe
• Mi-17, Ecuadorian Army, grey / dark grey camouflage
• Mi-8MT, Aeroflot, white with blue stripe

13. Twobobs Aviation Graphics are said to be considering the possibility of making decals for the new US Army Apache grey scheme, which would include a shark-mouth. Encouraging emails are clearly required.

Reference

14. MCP have published Red Star No.22, "Mil's Heavylift Helicopters: Mi6, Mi10, V12, Mi26", ISBN 1857802063. 174 b/w and 42 colour photos. 10pp line drawings. 128 pages. Softback.

15. Ricardo Dacoba (RD Resins) is offering a number of 'Walkaround' CD-ROMs covering Argentine subjects:

• CD013, NE-555 Fennec (89 photos)
• CD014, Alouette III (92)
• CD027, S-61R FFAA (144)
• CD028, La Cierva C-30 (79)
• CD029, H-19A (86)
• CD031, AS-365 (111)
• CD032, UH-1H Ejercito (104)

We understand that RD Resins are considered to be excellent products (examples can be seen at IPMS Stockholm), so there's no reason to believe that his CDs should not be just as good.

Thanks to: Andrey Kotkov (Behemoth), Chief Snake (Cobra Company), Harold Stockton, Tony Morgan, Shuuichi Manei, Felix Troschier, Roberto "Hemsflyer", Pete Brown, and Burkhard Domke (for more German museum links).

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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