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Mi-8MT/Mi-17 from Annetra, Trumpeter & Zvezda in 48th scale


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6 hours ago, cruiz said:

Thanks, Gabor, for taking the time to do these reviews; it will help significantly in this exceptional occurrence of a timely triple offering.

 

Hi Cruiz,

 

Hope it helps to see more clearly.

 

But I think the choice from the 3 different kits will be also made by geographic / geopolitical base (without politics simply based on where they are manufactured). The Annetra/AMK should be available both in far east as well as in Europe more openly, Trumpeter more in far east and the Zvezda where ever it is available. Czech's see the Annetra/AMK more as their own product (which it is), in R. the today released kit will of course have priority just as the Trumpeter kit in China.

 

Best regards

Gabor

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3 hours ago, ya-gabor said:

The Annetra/AMK should be available both in far east as well as in Europe more openly, Trumpeter more in far east and the Zvezda where ever it is available.


In the US, Trumpeter will be probably be the easiest to get by a wide margin as AMK is not distributed well and Zvezda has been cut off from the normal supply chain. The later two will have to be international hobby stores or eBay. 

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The instructions for the new kit have been released.  

The jury is still out on this. Here is how the tail boom is built for the Zvezda kit. I was curious about those two round things on the sprues. Here they are as spacers inside the boom. Questions have been asked how well the fit of the four quarter parts be for the side walls of the boom. Remember there are positive rivets all over those parts. There is little or absolutely no room for error here. If they don’t fit well then all the surface rivets will be gone in adjusting and sanding. Lets hope not. 

 

lWk2xZP.jpg

 

6g9rc3l.jpg 

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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2 hours ago, ya-gabor said:

Questions have been asked how well the fit of the four quarter parts be for the side walls of the boom. Remember there are positive rivets all over those parts. There is little or absolutely no room for error here. If they don’t fit well then all the surface rivets will be gone in adjusting and sanding. Lets hope not. 


I agree.

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Obviously just as in the past there is synchronized work between Zvezda and Quinta Studio. On the day of the kits official release Quinta also introduced its own sets for the cockpit of the Mi-8 adapted specially for this kit.

 

There is a “full set” and a “small” set. In the small set one gets only the instrument panels, while in the full sets there are other internal details and also the seat harness sets. Remember the seat in the Mi-8 helicopter has a double set of straps, one is for the personal parachute of the pilot while the other one is for strapping into the seat. Here they are shown separately, in real life they are all crammed into one seat!

 

4iXjraT.jpg

 

EBtPOEb.jpg

 

 

uAO50Co.jpg

 

G1Z5N2m.jpg

 

OPdVpIR.jpg

 

Best regards

Gabor

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One more comparison. This time the main rotor blades from the three manufacturers.

 

As you can see Annetra / AMK has given the main blades the distinct “drop”.

 

Trumpeter provides them completely flat, so you will have to do all the bending.

 

The Звезда kit also has a correct drop.

 

As for details, it is difficult to get it wrong, there is little detail on them. The sections have a divider line and also a line for the joint to the main spar. The end plate is slightly different on the real blades, from the available photos it is difficult to say which version was made by each kit maker. The Annetra kit has a later version of the blade tip.

No manufacturer even tried to make the leading edge protector plates. One will have to paint them by hand.

 

R28Bonz.jpg

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Little addition to the Annetra / AMK kit details on the main rotor blades. The five rotor blades are each separately on a single sprue. I would imagine this was to save on production costs. Only one single sprue had to be manufactured.

 

goMvCLF.jpg

 

h4vVDFh.jpg

 

fc2qRNu.jpg

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Here is little more comparison of the 3 kits. While yesterday it was all about the main rotor blades, this time lets look at the tail rotor blades.

One important thing about them. On the original Mi-8T (the TV2-117 engine version) helicopters a lets say “small” blade was used. The same was inherited for the modernized Mi-8MT (the TV3-117 engine version) airframes, but to increase power a slightly wider tail blade was introduced which was latter also used on the Mi-24 gunships. Basically it is the same blade but an additional metal strip was added to the trailing edge. It has a very distinct “cut” at its end making it easy to identify.

 

5BmEtFO.jpg

 

sq3pSsv.jpg

 

 

So here are the tail rotor blades of the three manufacturers. Only made the wider blade, obviously in this case it was inherited from the earlier Mi-24 kit. There was no need to manufacture a new anode, just take the Mi-24 and produce the new pressforms.

 

zCKAlUa.jpg 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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2 hours ago, Tank said:

Great information Gabor, thank you for doing this. 👍

Hi Tank,

 

You are welcome! Its good to share some info.

 

Actually it is interesting to be able to compare 3 kits of the same subject released with few days interval by three different manufacturers!!! This makes this thread interesting for me! If it gives some help in unravelling what is what for others then it was worthwhile.

 

OK. There are two kits in 48th of the F-4G Phantom released just now, but how many Phantom kits are there on the market already, and those kits have been in the modelling news for decades with virtually everything discussed about their details.

 

 

For the Mi-8 in 48th scale this is a first!!! Well there was a resin kit from Poland, but its price (and also working with resin) severely restricted the target group. But it was at a right time in a right place. Did speak to the maker at this years Moson show (again), and just about at the right time he was finishing production of his kit. He had the very last three pieces there at the show! (photos from the 2018 Moson show)

 

rK1YxBD.jpg

 

The man who has a true love for the Mi-17 and made this kit.

 

SzGvu0n.jpg

 

Best regards

Gabor

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On 12/11/2022 at 3:19 PM, ya-gabor said:

 

 

The man who has a true love for the Mi-17 and made this kit.

 

 

 

Best regards

Gabor


 

It is everytimes a real joy to speak with this guy. His knowledge in types operated by the Polish Air Force is amazing!

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One small note for the Zvezda kit.

Amongst the proposed paint schemes there is a Slovak version. There is a small problem with this choice. You could not build it as suggested by the kit. Helicopter 0844 when delivered to the Czechoslovak AF was a Mi-17 with small, 3 strap external fuel tanks. It had a “standard” Soviet delivery scheme. With years in service it was sent for general overhaul and modernization. This included the replacement of the external fuel tanks for big 4 strap versions. But not everything was changed. The right forward part of the fuel tank is in fact the housing for the KO-50 cabin heater unit. The housing cover was narrow and its outer walls were parallel to the fuselage side walls. When the new bigger and wider 4 strap fuel tanks were added the KO-50 covers were not replaced which resulted in a very well visible “step” going backward from the KO-50 unit towards the fuel tank.

For Mi-17’s factory built with the bigger and wider fuel tanks a new set of KO-50 covers was introduced which widens constantly going backward towards the fuel tank.

 

It was after overhaul that 0844 received that striking camo scheme and went into service with white SFOR markings.

Here is a closer look at 0844 that I made some years back. It shows well the “step” before the wide fuel tank.

 

Y3nmHia.jpg

 

Now the thing is that actually the kit contains parts for both versions, the wide late model 4 strap tanks and the earlier small 3 strap tanks. But the instructions tells you to build 0844 as a late Mi-17 with wide fuel tanks and wider KO covers which is completely wrong. The interim version with big fuel tanks and small KO covers could be made with some “cross kitting”.  

 

If one intends to build 0844 in authentic way then one should NOT use parts E34 and E54 for the KO covers as suggested by the instruction sheet. Instead the original narrow version of the cover should be used, which are E35 and E2. It is as simple as that. Or is it? Well I believe one should also replace the KO air intake at the front and use G15 instead of E3. Also there could be some surgery required on the front end of the right fuel tank to make the joint right with the narrow KO cover.

 

The real fun begins only after this. The Slovak 0844 apart from the fuel tank modification had a lot of changes with its upgrade to Mi-17M level. This included a lot of new antennas all over the helicopter which are not included in the kit. On the after end of the fuselage body a local modification of double ASO-2V flare launchers were added. Apart from the new outside cockpit armour (not the same as parts D16 & D17 in the kit) also a lot of protection armour was added also inside both the cockpit and the cargo compartment. So here one would need a lot of scratch building to reproduce authentically 0844. And of course one would need to source somewhere the outer LPG-150 winch system which is so iconic for the Mi-17 version and is completely missing from this kit.

 

It is not really worth mentioning that the four view drawings in the instruction sheet as well as the colour paint scheme drawings give images of an early Mi-8MT with small 3 strap fuel tanks and not the 4 strap version that the kit is intended for.

 

Best regards

Gabor

Edited by ya-gabor
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  • 2 weeks later...

In the comparison a note was raised at the beginning that the Engine Exhaust Mixer, the EVU top holding rods are in wrong position attached to the fuselage on the Zvezda kit.

 

d1R1Eg0.jpg

 

Had a little dig amongst my things, and here it is the base part № 8МТ.6900.100 to which the rod in the back is attached. Looking in the helicopter manuals it states that this base should be attached to the fuselage frame with four 3017А-6-16кд bolts, fixed with 3302А-8 washers and 3402А-1-6-12кд spacers in the four 6.1 millimetre diameter holes.

 

0AyZHK7.jpg

 

NHagZWh.jpg

 

EiUnUN6.jpg

 

wlo3X7a.jpg

 

Back to our own scale from the real helicopters when building the Zvezda kit it is possible that the two rods (kit parts D9 and D11) will have to be cut back in length to have them attached in the correct position on the fuselage covers.

 

c98vyCE.jpg

 

I take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year! Can only hope that it will be better than 22 was!

 

More about the Mi-8 kits next year.

 

Best regards

Gabor

Edited by ya-gabor
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  • 3 weeks later...

To get back to the subject of the Mi-8MT or Mi-17 helicopter kits just released around the world, here is a little comparison I made.

 

Just as before all I can do is to show a comparison between the kits available and the real helicopter. Everyone is open to make his own conclusions, I am not here to influence anyone, all I can do is the show what the kits have in the box.

 

Unfortunately (not sure if really) I don’t have the Trumpeter kit for comparison and the few photos shown so far of the sprues does not give the details I need, so you will have to do with the original helicopter and the two kits.

 

ltlAQgh.jpg

 

Best regards

Gabor

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On 1/23/2023 at 6:23 PM, ya-gabor said:

To get back to the subject of the Mi-8MT or Mi-17 helicopter kits just released around the world, here is a little comparison I made.

 

Just as before all I can do is to show a comparison between the kits available and the real helicopter. Everyone is open to make his own conclusions, I am not here to influence anyone, all I can do is the show what the kits have in the box.

 

Unfortunately (not sure if really) I don’t have the Trumpeter kit for comparison and the few photos shown so far of the sprues does not give the details I need, so you will have to do with the original helicopter and the two kits.

 

ltlAQgh.jpg

 

Best regards

Gabor

 

Thanks for the comparison, especially the photo for the real part! Not sure what Zvezda was thinking there, that looks like a toilette😆 They probably did not waste any time to check the real part there. AMK is almost there, but... Personally I could live with both, as once the rotor head is installed, it will be largely covered.

 

At first I find the seam line on the Zvezda part annoying, but when I look at the real thing, the seam or edges of the parts are even more prominent. Interestingly on the real thing parts at the rear(right side in the photo), the starboard side overlaps the backboard side noticeably more, really strange.

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I have to say that I am very SORRY!!!!!!

Some time ago I commented in the comparison of the main rotor blades that the:

 

. . . Trumpeter provides them completely flat, so you will have to do all the bending. . .

 

 

This is complete rubbish! I am so SORRY for saying this but the only photo I had at the time showed what looked like a completely flat blade on the sprues. The fact is, Trumpeter also made correctly the blades with that distinct drop in them! It was my bad! SORRY for this.

 

DCzT8H4.jpg

 

afMaN0N.jpg

 

The Trumpeter kit is supposedly been out in the shops for two months now but I have not seen any good “independent” reviews of the box content as if the kit never existed.  

In the past ten days a video has surfaced of a box-opening for the Trump kit and it is clearly visible that it has the correct sagging blades. More than that it shows correctly the raised line between the sections of the blades, which is in fact a rubbery sealant applied to the joint line of the sections to protect from moisture getting into the honeycomb structure of the sections. This should be a raised line, given correctly by Trump and also Annetra. Only Zvezda gives it as an engraved line.

 

The new images are stills taken from this video. The only problem with the video is that the workbench cutting matt’s surface has fooled the cameras auto-focus and unfortunately when the author lifts sprues to show us details, only the matt remains in focus and the rest (which should be important) is a sort of blur. Anyway thanks go out to the author for making this video!!!

 

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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In addition to the previous post about the opening on the top of the helicopter the video box-opening of the Trumpeter kit from yesterday provided some clues. There is one view where from an angle this particular opening is visible.

 

It looks similar to the Annetra version and to the original helicopter. So in the end the Zvezda version is the only presenting that not so authentic round version.

 

CjxaRRX.jpg 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Little more on comparison between the three available kits.

Let’s have a look at the cockpit. First of all the back wall which is the most visible part of it. Three makers had three different takes on what it should look like. Judge for yourself.

 

XC2rTSR.jpg

 

Here is a dry fit trial of some cockpit parts for the Annetra and the Zvezda kit. For Trupeter only one CAD image has been published of the furnished cockpit to illustrate what it should be like.

In the Annetra kit the cockpit door is provided as a separate part, so one has the option of showing it open. The back wall looks busy which could be enhanced with some detailing wires and lots of paint. No seat straps are provided but the seat itself looks alright.

Throttles, control columns and pedals are separate parts, well detailed for the scale, same goes for the Zvezda kit.

 

Based on CAD image and sprue shots, in the Trumpeter kit the door is closed, the back wall is spars, there should be a lot of details here. The seat looks alright, (back is a little strange) will need some straps for detailing.

 

In the Zvezda kit the door is closed, back wall looks good, will also need some detailing. The seat looks very square and flat, the real seat is more rounded. Need for straps here also.

 

HnOoRYZ.jpg

 

p3Ev3Ev.jpg

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Once again three different takes on what to do with the cargo lifting door in the centre of the fuselage.

The way it works on the original helicopter: there is an internal door on the floor of the cargo bay. You open it up and inside you will find another door which corresponds to the bottom of the airframe. The actual lifting hook is attached to 4 loadbearing points on the roof of the cabin with cables connecting up to a single point just right over the door in the floor. From here the hook is lowered for any lifting duties.

 

How is it all represented in the 3 kits?

 

Going in alphabetical order, just as with the photos.

Annetra AMK made the outside door almost perfect, the radius of the corners is perfect and they added the surface detail on the outer side of the door. The corresponding internal door is made on the floor of the cabin section perfectly for the Mi-8MT / Mi-17 version. It is as easy as that.

 

AZH9lPi.jpg

 

00Qd5Lf.jpg

 

 

Trumpeter has solved the problem the easy way. There is absolutely no reference / surface details for the underside door either in the cabin or on the bottom of the fuselage. They completely ignored this detail, as not essential for a kit in 48th scale. Well this can be also a solution from a manufacturer!

 

AaPBA9A.jpg

 

yNwNJIk.png

 

The Zvezda kit has the outer door on the bottom of the kit in right position, but it lacks details and looks a little too square. On the inside there is a problem. Since the manufacturer plans to make many versions of the Mi-8 family, they elected to have one common interior floor part and for this the door is of the type used on late models. This is not what it should look like for the standard Mi-8MT or Mi-17 version. Oh well!

 

s4ZeZ7C.jpg

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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