Hello,
I am not a helicopter model builder (mostly WWIIaircraft) but I would like to make a copy of the chopper the TV station I work for flies. I believe it is a Bell 407. I don’t think that it is manufactured, nor anything close to it. I do not want to have to convert some other kit, and I think the differences are too many. Is there a military version out there?
Thanks for any help.
I believe your best starting point will be the 1/35 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior produced by MRC. It is the US Army’s up-gunned attack/observation variant. Being the militarized version, the kit will need some serious modification to give it a civillian interior and to rework the doghouse fairing – but this is still the way to go for your 407.
above image copyrighted to Michael Wyatt and Fernan DeGannes via the ARC gallery.
Andy
Thanks for the heads-up. I will have to decide if the modifications are worth the effort right now. I had actually thought about taking an Apache or Blackhawk and painting it with the TV station logos, along with the ordnance.
Making a 407 from an OH-58D is nearly impossible. The 407 is bigger, heavier, and more powerful. The new ARH-70A Arapaho is a military version of the 407, but there is no kit available yet. You may have to wait a couple years for that. The Arapaho is proceeding slowly, but operational capability is still a few years off. And of course, there’s no kit of the civilian version out there at present. Closest you can get is a Bell 206B3, which is what the Heller OH-58A kit really represents.
HTH,
Jon
Errrr, my bad.