Navy Cobra

Modeling Subjects Helicopters
1

I first built this helo as a AH-1T Super Cobra. It was damaged when I moved out of the barracks back in 1995! last year iI bought a Cobra Company NTS upgrade and brought it back to life as a Cobra from my Current Squadron HCS-5. The kit features hellfires with custom dome protectors, formation and IR lights (slime lights), skid down tubes formed with #12 solid electical wire, this was useful in supporting all that resin. Plans include a base and Navy Ground Crew.

Hellfires with dome protectors

IYAOYAS

2

Nice build! Is it the MRC 1/35 kit?

3

Fantastic work you have there, firehawk…well done!

4

One of the best AH-1Ws I have seen, Firehawk. Some things I liked: the updated ARC-210 antennas (not the kit-supplied ARC-182), the wiring in the TOW electronics bay, those round skid-tube crossbars (not the aerodynamic-looking ones from the kit), the scribing of the panel lines on the transmission access doors, and the overall weathering job (especially the tailboom exhaust).
One thing that bugs me though…is there really a Navy squadron out there that operates cobras?? I have never heard of this…[%-)]

5

Navy Cobra, Can’t be. That’s an awesome build. How’d you do the slim lights

6

That’s a well-done snake. I’d like to know how you did the dome protectors for the hellfires. I want some of those for my Whiskey Cobra.

7

Thanks for the great comments. the kit is a 1/35 MRC it took about six months of on and off building to complete. this is a fantasy build, HCS-5 is a CSAR/SPECWAR squadron that operates HH-60H aircraft. I am a reservist attached to this squadron. I offten wonder if we could operate like the Army pink teams in Vietnam.

The slim lights were made by gluing rectangular sheet plastic on the kit after paint i used black decal for the IR lights and 1/72 aircraft formation lights for the other lights.

For the dome protectors I put Sculpy modling clay on the nose then shaped to fit. Then I added the ears at the base of the protecters there are two 180 degrees apart. After baking the Sculpy I cast 4 copies and drilled out the the center. all 4 protecters are removable. Again thanks for the comments.
IYAOYAS

8

Well done Jose, it looks great…

9

Sculpey, huh? Well I think I have some of that on my bench, somewhere. I’ll have to give that a try…Thanks for the tip.

10

Ordie-
Excellent Cobra. Very well done!

Phil

11

Very nice looking cobra!! However you may not be as far away from the mark as you think with the navy cobra. I have seen a single photo while flicking through a book in a shop at one stage of an AH-1W in the two tone grey scheme carrying NAVY on the Tail. If i recall correctly it was one of the trials or evaluation or testing units (something like that) so i believe it was probably a USMC Aircraft that the Navy had borrowed to test systems,weapons possible purchase or something of that nature. But i can tell you with absolute certainty that photo exists because i did a double take when i saw the tail boom. once again awesome looking snake!!

Cheers Cairnsy

12

Lemon,
if it dosn’t work for you shoot me an email and i’ll cast a few more and send them to you.

Cairnsy,
that Cobra was probably assigned to one of the Navy’s VX squadrons. I remember being on the USS Nimitz ( ships company Feb 91 to July 93)durring carrier quals. there was a marine sqadron on board VMFAT-101. One day i was up on the flight deck and saw MARINES on the side of the aircraft. the next time i saw one of their birds it had NAVY on it’s side. I later found out tha VMFAT-101 is a joint Navy and Marine replacement squadron. I was confused because the F/A-18s have NAVY on one side and MARINES on the other. A few years later i built an F/A-18B from VMFT-101 “The Sharpshooters”
iyaoyas