Hasegawa

1/72 Mi-24 Hind “Hungarian Air Force Special”

Kit Number: 00896

In-Box Review by  Mike Howard, IPMS# 30741

MSRP: $33.00 Kit Supplied by Dragon Models USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com The 1/72 Hasegawa Mi-24 Hind series of helicopters has been around for many years. This latest release is of the original "Hind-E" with special markings and associated instructions for the unique decals and required parts modifications. The parts, approximately 160 of them, are molded in the usual light gray plastic, with recessed panel lines and crisp details. The one clear parts sprue is nicely done with very clear plastic and good levels of framing detail. There's a small PE fret with some windscreen wiper blades and some tail rotor parts. Also found in the box are pilot and gunner figures along with 4 infantry troops armed with AK-47s, four S-8 rocket pods and 4 Shturm anti-tank rockets.

The instructions are standard Hasegawa : well laid out and nicely detailed. The cockpit uses decals for all of the instrumented panels (no raised details on any of them). Clear parts and the special "Red Deer" decal sheet are packaged in a separate bag, which helps to keep the clear parts from being scratched. The main rotor blades are nicely cast with a droop to them that will look realistic in a static display. There are options to have the side doors to the troop compartment opened, but no interior detail is provided. No markings, other than the "Hungarian Air Force Special" are included.

While the construction of the Hind should be fairly straight forward, the paint scheme for these special markings are the component that make this kit geared more towards an experienced builder. With lots of straight line masking to separate the five special colors (gloss white, Gloss bright green, gloss red madder, gloss black and gloss yellow), the task will take lots of pre-planning and some post-paint assembly work to keep it manageable. Even the main and tail rotors will require three separate colors for this paint scheme.

When all is said and done, this kit will make a very unique and brilliant addition to anyone's model collection. A big thanks goes out to Hasegawa and IPMS USA for this great review sample.

Information, images, and all other items placed electronically on this site are the intellectual property of IPMS/USA ®.