Loach Driver

Very impressive work, as always. LD.

Nice video. Thanks for posting. These guys are certainly not hiding in the shadows, at least not with this trio of aircraft and their recent movements. We need a 407 model! I have the Attack Squadron MQ-8C in 1/72. Sadly, there is no way to hollow out the windows and make a 407 from it but perhaps a 407 fuselage could be made from two Italeri OH-58D Kiowa kits, using the MQ-8C as a guide. LD.

I'd say the same. Useful for over-water flights and under NVG conditions. I doubt these are equipped with an autopilot but who knows. There is no sign of any RWR system fitted, unlike the Iraqi 407s that were delivered. Could these possibly be Stateside airframes held in reserve for training only, while there might be further full-spec airframes kept out of the public eye and used on deployments? Add RWRs and an IR-suppressed exhaust system and you are getting closer to a deployable airframe. The Iraqi 407s also have a weapons plank so there is possibly the option to a

All the antennae and mysterious serial numbers point towards secret squirrel helicopters. LD.

I'd say these are the Little Bird/530F replacements and have probably been in service now for quite some time with Flight Concepts. Maybe when the 160th changed over to the A/MH-6M Mission Enhanced Little Bird, there was no longer fleet commonality between the 160th and FCD, and this forced the decision to get their own upgrade. In fairness, the 407 is basically a big-cabin 530F! It has lots of power and good range. It is also pretty maneuverable so works in the "Little Bird" role, I guess. The 407 blends in fairly well on most airfields too. I think the FBI HRT unit changed ove

Rather than start a new topic, I thought I would post my Apache-related question here. I am building an Academy 1/72 AH-64D Block II Apache at the moment. My plan is to complete it as a US Army late-D with the TOMMA antenna fitted, in service in Afghanistan in the middle of the last decade. I plan to include it in a revetment diorama with a late service OH-58D Kiowa. My query is: In relation to an AH-64D sitting in a revetment, awaiting a call-out for a mission or assigned to the "QRF" role, would the pilot's and co-pilot/gunner's helmets be sitting in the cockpit, awai

Thanks for the links and pictures. Always interesting to see what is currently going on with the AH-64E. (On a slightly related topic, I am currently building the 1/72 Academy AH-64D (Late) as a Block III D in Afghanistan. It is a fairly modern kit and the engineering behind the parts layout is impressive. Everything fits together so well! This is my first time building what I would consider to be a "modern" kit and it is quite a change from all the 1980's and 90's kits I have built in the past. The kit would also serve a a good basis for an AH-64E Guardian.) LD.

Thanks for those links. I had that PDF from a while back and it mentions some details for the rear cabin. The interesting thing was mention of a "crew comfort" area that consisted of a galley and three airliner-style seats. Behind that was an auxiliary fuel tank and behind that again was the winch system and cradle that was used to recover the satellite capsule. Would make for an interesting model! LD.

Nice build of this Mil. LD.

Thanks for starting this great thread. You have obviously invested a lot of time in research and it shows. Have you any info on the rear cabin interior layout of the 6594th HH-53Cs used to recover satellite camera film capsules in the 70's and 80's, based in Hawai'i? I am interested in that for a future modelling project. Thanks. LD.

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235084980-172-sikorsky-s-61-by-dreammodel-box-art-release-in-2021/ There is an injection-moulded kit of the S-61N on the way, apparently! I would be delighted to see this one released in the future. LD.

Sorry for the slow reply. In the big scales, you have four options; 1/35th, the Dragon series of kits and the Kitty Hawk pair of Little Birds 1/32nd, Revell's old OH-6A kit 1/24th, Hobbycraft's Hughes 500D series 1/20th scale, the Nichimo Hughes 500C. The 1/35th Dragon series include kits for the OH-6A, 500M-D TOW Defender, 530MG MMS Defender and the 500E. These kits are buildable but do require a little modelling skill to get a good result. They are fairly accurate but the skids are not the perfect shape at the front bend where the skids curve upwards. N

CHC fly them here in Ireland on a Coastguard contract too. It's the loudest helicopter I have ever heard when flying towards you! You can hear it a for at least a minute before it becomes a speck on the horizon. I've read that the cockpit is one of the noisiest in the business and pilots are pretty much guaranteed some hearing loss as a result. A kit of it would be nice, all the same. LD.

Which scale did you have in mind? LD.

Bending the blades by hand doesn't really work and never gives a uniform result, in my experience. One method I saw in a magazine involves using a couple of modelling clamps which you clamp together to form a sort of "jig". The rotor blade is then held in place at both ends by this combination of clamps. By adjusting the spacing of the clamps, you can adjust how much droop you want to impart to the blade. By using the same jig for each blade, you will get the same degree of sag in each blade. Once each blade is held in place in the jig with the desired bend in the blade, warm/hot w