Revell-Germany 1/48 Bell UH-1

[Steven H. McLain]

I have the following kit: Revell-Germany Kit # 04452, 1/48. this kit has Italeri # 849 and 8064 on the sprues so I believe them to be the same kit. Is this a UH-1D or H ? It has different intakes and the pitot tube on the roof. Also is the civilian Bell 205A equipped with only the vertical lovers on the engine cowling and the tail rotor on the right side?

Thank You in advance

[Rotorman]

Ask ray(rotorwash)...hes the man about anything on Hueys

[huey_crew_chief]

Isn't that the Revell of Germany kit? That depicts the German UH-1D, which has the pitot tube on the cabin roof, unlike the old US UH-1D's which had them on the nose. The particle separator on the German Hueys, and the old US UH1Ds have the vertical intakes.AS far as the 205A, Ray is the guy that can answer that, but I believe the tail rotor is on the right side, with a cargo compartment door on the right side of the tail boom. Some also have two pitot tubes on the nose.

[Lancer512]

Externally it is a UH-1H with particle separators of the D-Model.

From looking at pictures of the sprues, I'ld say both types of particle separators are included.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the german UH-1Ds: Because the contract with Bell could not be changed that easy, the german UH-1Ds were modified by technical change orders before delivery to match the H-Standard. This included the installation of the upgraded Lycoming T53-L-13 engine and the relocation of the pitot tube from the nose to the roof. However, the vertical intake louvers were not changed from the D-Model.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Lancer512

[PeepingBear]

Hi from Germany!

You will find several discussion threads on this topic, here on ARC and also on other forums. As beloved as the Huey is, some threads are quite comprehensive.

One can end up with the feeling that there is no really "on par" 1/48 or 1/72 scale Huey model kit. I understand that emotion, the Huey being THE icon of the Vietnam war and a workhorse for over 30 years in so many countries around the world. Still Italeri's UH-1 is not bad, even the older ESCI kit will build into a good replica with the application of knowledge, research (thank the WWW) and classic modelling skills.

The most highly visible errors of the Revell (née Italeri) UH-1D kit are the wider chord main and AT-rotor blades (correct for the Bell 212 / UH-1N that Italeri produced first). Both can be corrected with a few knife cuts, file strokes and patience. The baggage compartment in the tail boom should be puttied away as well. BTW for a latter years German UH-1D you will need to make the trapezoid fibre reinforced MR-blades, narrowing the kit MR-blades will only give you the older style metal blades.

Furthermore any Huey model will highly and visibly profit from enhancement of the rotor mast subsystem, I think it is not really possible to inject these details correctly in 48th scale. Italeri's 3D instrument panel is modeled after the 212 with twin engine controle, but IMHO this is not a really disturbingly visible error. The pilot's seats are wrong for a German variant. Look for Burkhard Domke's walk around of a German Huey.

If you are really into it, you will find several smaller errors and weaknesses (e.g. the to fat wire strike protective tubing, also an issue of injection limits).

Just do it! There are never enough Huey models around!

HTH

Ian

[rotorwash]

Seven,

Ian pretty much has you covered. AS an aside, the kit can be built right out of the box as a dang good Huey II. The Huey II has a 212/UH-1N tailboom and drivetrain just like the kit. The only real differences are the Huey II retains the old style IP while the kit has a 212 IP and the Huey II has a different particle separator instead of the old style vents seen on the UH-1D/H. Anther thing to note is the position lights on the sides of the tail in the kit. While this is correct for civil 205A's, 212'/UH-1Ns and Huey II's, it is incorrect for either the UH-1D or UH-1H which have a single position light on the end of the tailboom just like the UH-1B. The original civil 205 had the vertical vents and a right handed tail rotor. However, there are many civil variants of the 205, including the 205-1 which has the wider chord 212/UH-1N tail rotor found in the kit and usually the improved particle separator seen on late model US Army UH-1H's. No civil 205 variant had the horizontal vents to my knowledge, however, many ex-Army UH-1H's have entered the civil market so you may see just about anything if you look hard enough. Your best bet is to pick the bird you want to model and post a pic of it here. Between those of us with an extreme interest in Hueys, we can probably give you a list of all the mods needed. One final thing is the seats in the kit. They are 212/UH-1N seats not the standard armored seats found in the Huey II and US Army Hueys or the unarmored cloth seats found in many civil Hueys. HTH

Ray

[troschi]

I agree with the colleagues in the thread. The 1:48 Italeri(reboxed Revell) UH-1D/H does have a few issues, also regarding shape, but it is IHMO still to be preferred over the Esci UH-1D/AB-205.

The panel lines on the rear fuselage aft of the sliding doors should be reworked.

A replacement tail rotor is available here:

http://df-helostuff.de/12.html