[:)]Hi all,
I’ve got an idea for a vietnam dio consisting of a SEAL team being picked up by helicopter. Anyone know which model hueys were used, what colours or markings they had?
Second question relates to another dio I’m still putting together. I have two hueys waiting for Air Cav. decals before I start building them. Any of know where I can Air Cav. markings in 1/35th scale?
As always any tips will be apppreciated.[:)]
Thanks,
Darren.[;)]
Hi Darren,
For a great reference sight, where you can find all kinds of detailing information, go here… http://www.vhpamuseum.org/
The dio idea’s sound great, be sure to keep us posted! [:)]
Frank
Darren,
If you’re doing a SEAL team extraction, you want the MRC 1/35th UH-1C “Seawolves” kit. HAL-3 was the only Navy gunship unit in Vietnam and they operated with the SEALs quite frequently. In order to further accurize the dio, you might want to get the Cobra Company UH-1B backdate set, as the Seawolves operated a lot more UH-1Bs than Cs.
The HAL-3 Association website is here: http://www.seawolf.org/
Good luck!
Darren,
HAL-3 operated UH-1Bs exclusively until 1970 when they received their first UH-1Cs. A year later, they received 11 UH-1Ms from the Army, so you can do any of those options. Can’t wait to see your dio!
Thanks for the info Frank & Cobra! I’ll check it out right now.
As always, your help is very much appreciated.
Darren.
Jon (Cobrahistorian)…
I’ve been looking for MRC’s 1/35 Seawolf kit…does it actually exist? If so, could you point me in the right direction?
I work with a couple of former Seawolves (both door gunners) and would love to put one together. Thanks!
Carl
Darren,
Just as historical reference, many SEALs (including Richard Marcinko) highly praise the Seawolves support during Vietnam…for added ref. Daniel Kelly’s books, “Seawolf: First Choice” and “U.S. Navy Seawolves” are a good read.
Carl
You can also use army UH-1H’s with markings from aviation units assigned to the 164th CAG “The Delta Group”. My unit, C Troop (Air) 16th Cav, had several missions with Seals in the delta. The Seawolfs by that time (1971) had gone home.
Hi Darkhorse3,
Thanks for the heads up on the Daniel Kelly books, I’m greateful for you info. on the UH-1H’s too-I’ve got just the kit for the job, and I’ve been waiting for the oppotunity to built it-looks like this is it!
So here’s how my idea is panning out, I’ve got a LSSC in the water with SEAL’s on board and they’ve taken ememy fire(I’ll put a little battle damage on the boat) From the bank,(lots of tropical foliage) they come under fire,(I plan to simulate incoming rounds by adding “ping” splashes to the water) Here enters a big UH-1H to lay down some suppessing fire and take the guys home. (suspended by a clear plastic rod, through the dio base)
O.K., it’s a bit dramatic, but what do yoiu guys think? I’ve got most of what I need already,here’s the inventory:
Next on the shopping list is the simulated water(trip to LHS) and the base (homemade).
I’m certainly going to be busy-and to think it’s only my 2nd dio! What was I thinking when I bought all this stuff?..!
Sounds like a great plan. You might even simulate the door guns firing on the Huey with cotton. I saw at a local contest where a guy anchored small pieces of cotton to the end of M-60 barrels with a small piece of streched clear sprue. He speared the cotton “ball” to this sprue, but before doing that he stretched it to the appropriate length to appear as muzzle blast. He also painted the clear sprue reddish orange and the cotton grey and black. The result looked VERY REALISTIC. The reddishe orange looked like muzzle blast out the bore and the grey/black cotton looked like the muzzle blast smoke.
Just an idea. I know I’ll be using it in several dioramas I’ve got planned.
Salbando
You have a lot of choices in this dio. My father flew on UH-1’s through Viet Nam as a crew chief and a door gunner, as well as some time in the right seat. These other guys are right on with the different classes of Heuys and operations, though once in a while the seals would use whatever was available, so some army helos were used. Most of the choppers of viet nam were left an olive drab and minimal markings, so I’d say a lot of research would be in order to get the model of chopper you want and keep everything consistent with markings and the branch of service the chopper is from. The doors would most always be open and a SEAL insertion mission would not have any external rocket pods or guns. Normaly the chopper crew consisted of pilot/co and two door gunners, one of wich was the crew chief. The seals piled in aroudnthem and usualy jumped off at low levels, roaps weren’t very convienient in the jungle.
Many thanks for the info. Bee. I’ve elected to use my UH-1H, but I’ll need some M60’s for my door gunners. The kit comes with external pods/guns so they won’t be useful for this dio. Looks like I’ll have to mix’n match bits parts from other huey kits.
I’m making various sketches of a plan for this dio and if I include the LSSC, it’s going to be quite a size in 1/35th if I want it to look convincing. I may have to scale my idea’s down a bit to just the Huey picking up the team from the ground. Otherwise, the whole thing may be too large for me to display.