rotorwash

The AH-1G pictured in this thread at the US Army Aviation Museum was actually a Spanish G model. She served in the Spanish Navy as 007-1. Ray

Yep. That's it. Ray

Yep, in fact I believe most were 20mm ammo boxes. Ray

Just type in "Vietnam Era Ammo boxes" in a Google search and you will see tons of photos of them. These are large ammo boxes with the tops removed. Ray

In country ammo bins were made of sheet aluminum based on my research. However, I've never seen great photos of them up close. So, about the bench seats. In most gunships, the bench seat was replaced with a single seat on each side of the door for the crew chief and doorgunner. My dad was an armorer\doorgunner so this topic is near and dear to me. If you want to be accurate but keep the bench, you will need to model a very early UH-1C. The UH-1C entered Vietnam around November 1965. However, the majority served between 1967- end of the war. First photo shows the interior of a typic

first off, the cylinder ammo can that comes in the kit was a real piece, but I have never seen a Vietnam UH-1C with one installed. Also, the tiny stateside 85 round ammo bin was also virtually never used. Instead, most units fabricated their own ammo bins that could carry 300 or more. Below are some pics from various sources including unit websites. One shows a comparison drawing between the drum and box ammo bins. Then there is a schematic photo of the box ammo bin installed in a UH-1B\C. Then one of my photos of the 85 round box magazine in storage at Ft. Rucker (now Ft. Novosel). Then

That would be a definite negatory, good buddy.

That is a beautiful bird! Ray

Oliver, My guess is you can use either. Let's put it this way, I doubt you will find anyone who can prove the Navy never used chromate. Afford yourself a little creative license on this one. Ray

I don't know how much this will help, but I believe this is the same stinger system. From USAAM archives. I'm sure i ahve others but thsi si what i can find at the moment. Ray

Just for clarification the modern 7 shot pod is the M260 and the 19 shot pod is the M261. I only say this because the M157/M158/M159/M200 Vietnam era pods are too short and will not look quite right. Ray

Looks great, Mig. I like your rebuilt manifold much better. Ray

John, Floyd actually just built the kit for an upcoming SAMI article so he would be the best qualified to comment on the entire kit, but from what i have seen of an online build and looking at the sprues, the detail isn't that much better than many smaller scale cobra kits. I cannot find the parts count, but it looks very similar to the parts count in the 1/72 Special Hobby kit I have. Both kits have 5 sprues and about 20% of the ICM parts aren't used on this version. While I am not an open every panel guy, there is no engine at all. Also for the price (~$60) you would think they co

Actually, the Alpha model kit is a completely different mold. Yes, the "china weights" are the blade counterweights and hang down on the A model. In the later B model they face upwards. The rotor mast on the A is also shorter. The "raised bar" across the right side of the roof is an aerodynamic strake. There was also a strake on the bottom of the left fuselage. They are designed to break up symmetrical airflow over the fuselage during flight. You can see the strake on top and the downward facing blade counterweights as well as the short mast on this bird, UH-1A 58-2091 at Ft. Camp

Mig, I think I see what you're getting at. I agree the part is certainly not perfect on the kit. Honestly, a lot about the kit seems underwhelming considering the scale an price. I don't have the ICM kit so I can't tell exactly what the proportions are but I'd be interested to see where the top of the part you circled in yellow sits relative to the seat back once it's in place. I do agree that the angle the hose exits isn't perfect, but there is a hose in both pre and post ECU birds and a corresponding part behind the pilot seat where it exits. If I understand what you did in your