Just started this little guy. Going to try to add all the tiny details from the real one. should be a opti-visor challenge.
John
Looks like you are off to a good start. A few notes on the kit. Firstly, I don’t know what country it is supposed to represent, but it is not a US Army AH-6J Little Bird (as the name alludes to - sort of). The US version has a totally different setup for the weapons with a “plank” that goes through the rear cabin and the weapons hang off of it, not on supports attached to the sides of the fuselage.
US Army 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment - the only unit that uses them) AH-6J
As you can see above, US versions usually fly w/out doors. If the doors are installed, the rear door is cut off to fit over the plank.
There is a great, full walk-around here: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/185268-ah-6j-walkaround-photos/
Also, I don’t believe the kit includes any decals. Werner’s Wings does a great set of 160th SOAR decals that includes eight Little Bird options: http://www.wernerswings.com/product.html
Review here: http://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=8501
Sorry I should have mentioned that I’m doing an Israeli version. I’ll try to get the painting guide picture tomorrow.
John
As far as I can tell, the IDF/IAF only uses Hughes 500 Defenders (which is a very different aircraft), not AH-6s.
IDF Hughes 500 Defender armed w/TOW lanchers.
Bottom one here is a Hughes 500 Defender with rocket pods mounted instead of the TOW pods.
Hello!
You have to be careful with those Italeri kits, sometimes they take a lot of liberties with the reality… I’m currently building a related kit, the OH-6A - lots of inaccuracies, too. Here’s the WIP, maybe it will help you:
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/16/t/173369.aspx
Good luck with your build and have a nice day
Paweł
Thanks for the help guys. I downloaded a bunch of relevent pictures yesterday, some of them from one of the Israeli museums. here’s some pictures of the current progress.
John
I haven’t built this particular kit (1/72 is way too small for me), but does it include the parts for the IDF MD-500 Defender? These include the nose-mounted sight pod and TOW launchers, along with a few other smaller pieces.
Yes it does. the same ones in the IDF pictures above, I can add sprue pitures tomorrow.
Ahh, OK. That clears up some of my confusion about what you were looking to build and what the boxtop shows. Thanks.
Ya that box top is completely wrong. I only wanted to build it after I saw the back of the box. I want to try to learn to do the desert fading type of painting on Israeli aircraft, It looks like a challenge, especilly if you’ve looked at the jets in their outdoor museums, wow talk about weathering, faded paint, loose caulking etc etc.
John
I have this same kit in stash. Will follow along to learn the ins and outs