oes anyone have a refrence to a OD Huey in either gulf War one or two? thanks
Army helo’s were painted in helo drab
Granddad to u have any pictures
Someplace on one of my CD’s, try to find them tomorrow for you. One’s I have on my computer and photobucket are all 60’s and 70’s
During the mid-late 70’s the color changed from OD Green to a darker shade called US Army Helo Drab, FS#34031. The color is available in Testors Model Master paints, both in their enamel and acrylic lines. Helicopters coming out of rebuild or new from the factory were painted in the new color.
It looks like these ODS-era (Operation Desert Storm, '90-'91, ie. The Gulf War) UH-1Hs, not necessarily in ODS, but from the same time period.
By ODS timeframe, there were’nt a lot of active duty Hueys left. Most were MedEvac, or DustOff birds and many were left in the National Guard. The active Army had pretty much transitioned to all UH-60 Blackhawks.
Also, the cockpit was painted flat black by the late '80s to accomodate Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) to be worn. The whole front interior from just behind the pilots seats should be black. Some had totally blacked out interiors, except for the fabric sound proofing on the ceiling and rear walls, which remained medium gray.
There are no UH-1s being used by the US Army in Iraq now, active nor National Guard.
There are some interesting Hueys in Iraqi service and some state department schemes, along with “civilian” models operated by Blackwater and other “Private Security Contractors” around the country.
Like these.
Iraqi AF UH-1H Huey II
Dept. of State UH-1H Huey II
“Private Security Contractor” (a.k.a. CIA) Hueys are in similar schemes to these below. They are using Bell 212 and 412s too. There are some really nice helos flying around here in Iraq.
Blackwater OH-6/Hughes/MD-530
Gino gave you some good info and some photo’s, but I’ll throw this one in, It’s not Iraq though
Thanks for the great pictures guys reall appreciate them hopefully ill get to post some pics of my WIP UH-1N i’m building
Just a note, the Army never used the “N” model, you need to research USMC birds
Grandad is correct, as usual. The N was used by USN, USAF, but mainly by the USMC. The Army never bought them. The N model is still in use today in Iraq. Do a Google Image Search for UH-1N and you will find lots of pics of N models. The same guidance goes for the interior painting though.
As I stated in the last UH-1N post I directed you to, out of the box, it will not build into a current USMC UH-1N as seen in Iraq. The weapons are incorrect and it needs a lot of work to update it. The Cobra Company UH-1N sets are the best way to go for a Modern USMC UH-1N Gunship.
I know that but still I like the kit and I really don’t have the cash do but update sets and stuff so.
You don’t have to buy all the CC upgrades to make it accurate. You could build it as a late '80s to early '90s USMC UH-1N Gunship without all the added bulges and sensors. It was the basic helo with a minigun on the left side and a .50 cal on the right side. If you have 7-shot rocket pods from another kit, they are what should be on it too. Or it could be left unarmed. For painting, it could be in the 3-color Med scheme (green, black, grey), or in overall sand from ODS, or a sand/bown scheme from ODS.
hereI converted an old Revell UH-1D/H to this type long before the Panda N model came out. you can see some pics of mine .
Med Scheme.
Sand/Brown
Overall sand.
There are many other options as well, you don’t have to build it as an innacurate, OOB build.
How about a USN or USMC full color, unarmed helo. You would have to source the decals yourself though.
Or a USMC or USN HH-1N SAR bird using the Fireball decals.
Or you could make it an unarmed USAF version. Euro 1 camo (minus the FLIR ball under the nose). You would need to find decals again.
Overall grey/white scheme.
Or a 20th SOS (Special Operations Squadron) “Green Hornets” bird from Vietnam in a woodland camo scheme, using the miniguns that come in the kit. Again, you would need 7-shot rocket pods. These had no markings except for a tail number though.
Or a modern 20th SOS bird.
The options are almost endless. Just because the kit maker doesn’t get it right, doesn’t mean we as modellers can’t correct their mistakes.
Good luck.
The kit has a seven shot rocket pod. And how do i build the mount for the .50 cause i have about 5 extra’s from armour kits. And Gino are you interested in a Helicopter GB i’m trying to start.
Unfortunately, the rocket pods that come in the kit are 19-shot M200 pods. The 7-shot M158 pods only have 7 holes.
Actual 7-shot on UH-1N
Kit 19-shot part
Here are pics of the mounts. It is basically just a pipe with side supports attached to the top of the mount that holds the rocket pods. The weapons mount post slides down into the pipe. The newer ones have a guard that goes around the bottom to limit the traverse of the gun, older versions did not.
Minigun mount. The kit mount is not correct and should be replaced.
.50 cal mount. Usually, the .50 cal is an aircraft version with a cooling jacket/heat shield over the barrel. A straight barrel can also be used.
Usually I would be up for the helo group build. Unfortunately, I am in Iraq and don’t have any helo kits with me. Good luck with it though.