The Helicopter Project

Every once in a while, I get a few questions asking why I don’t build any helicopters. Well, I really don’t have a profound and scientific answer for that except for my greater interest in airplanes. Helicopters are extremely interesting and invaluable aircraft. They actually amaze me more than airplanes in the fact that they can get off the ground without any forward thrust. So, it’s helicopter time.

I truly do love helicopters and I have noticed the lack of effort into this category of the aviation world. Call it a New Years resolution if you will, but I am going to try to add a few throughout 2017. To kick off the year, I have gone completely crazy and will begin five helicopter builds. There was no real criteria in choosing except that one of them HAD TO be a Huey. I can’t think of a more iconic subject than that.

When it comes to the Huey, I have a few options to pick from. In the end, I chose Hobby Boss’s 1/72 UH-1B. I wanted to build a medevac variant so this kit was the best pick since it comes with the proper markings. The goal is to get as detailed as possible here. I may try for a battle damaged Huey. The idea has been rattling around in my head for years now so I will certainly look further into it.

Next up is another iconic helicopter. I think the first time that I saw a Hind was in one of the Rambo movies when I was a kid. It’s a good size aircraft with lots of options to get detailed. The kit that I picked is Hasegawa’s 1/72 Mi-24 Hind-D. I like this variant the best. I want to spend some extra time and make improvements where I can. I’m excited to start this one.

Italeri’s 1/72 Eurocopter will be the third to get moving. I am not sure where I want to go with this build so added research needs to be completed. The decals are garbage so it will receive a completely new identity. I’m not keen on the desert scheme anyways. 

The final two picks are two of my favorites in the American inventory. Hasegawa’s 1/72 HH-60D Nighthawk and Fujimi’s 1/72 AH-1S Cobra Step III. The Nighthawk will be pretty basic in SOAR markings while I may try to make the Cobra in IDF markings. We’ll see though. I’m not sure if they have even used this variant. 

So all in all, I have a big set of builds in slightly unfamiliar territory coming up. The Beaufighter, Peggy, and Mustang are first priority but I will be doing all the preliminary work to transition to the helicopters as seamlessly as possible. Should be fun and extremely interesting. Stay tuned!