Revell

1/48 Mil 24D Hind Helicopter

Kit Number: 5856

Reviewed by  Chris Smith, IPMS# 39182

MSRP: $19.95 Website: www.revell.com Think of big, ugly, imposing attack helicopters and the Hind has got to be at or near the top of your list. The bulbous canopies and down-angled wings, with weapons hanging off them, make it look like a giant bug you would not want to tangle with. The Internet is full of information on this ubiquitous machine, so I’ll leave the history to online websites. The Kit This is a reissue of the old Monogram kit. There are five sprues, four grey and one clear totaling 146 parts. Raised panel lines except for the engine covers are the order here. There is a little flash and slightly-offset molding to clean up but the overall impression is a good one. Two pilot figures are included (which I’ve always liked) and the clear parts include open hatches for the crew. The Build Helicopter models are challenging for me as you have to stuff all the details inside and then close it up neatly, then keep the paint from the subsequent steps from getting into it. That’s the case here. There are three main assemblies that get trapped between the fuselage halves: the cockpit tub, the troop cabin and the engine-transmission assembly. Knowing a little about Soviet interior colors from this era, the instructions called out dark grey for the cockpit interiors. I know Soviet interiors colors from past projects and that just did not seem right. Since I did not have any Hind references on hand, it was off to the Internet. With the help of the IPMS discussion forum, I found some photos on airliners.net. There are a lot of photos there, but few of the cockpit and even less of the troop cabin. As a side note, if you have not joined the discussion forum on the IPMS website, you should. I’ve had several questions regarding different projects and someone has always pointed me in the right direction. It is worth the price of membership just for that but…back to the build. The cockpit color turned out to be that cool blue green the Soviets use. The cockpit has the control sticks and collectives, full instrument panels and weapon /night vision gear for both positions. The instrument panel painted up really nice. There is a decal if you want it. The troop cabin is a box affair. The side panels are molded clear and incorporate the cabin windows so the masking begins early on this project. I could not get a clear view into the cabin so I based the colors (RAF Interior green, O.D. and silver,) on the inside of the open doors I could see in photos.

The engine/transmission assembly has a prominent ridge on the exhaust pipes that are not on the real thing. I scraped it off and sanded the ends smooth. Finally, the fuselage halves were joined together and the real work began. I had difficulty getting the nose section to close up. Careful trimming of the cockpit front and the night vision scope got it close but I still had to fill a gap with superglue. Be warned if you push the engine/transmission into the fuselage half too far, the exhaust pipes won’t be even. The other area that gave me literal fits was the engine intake/ cover - part #5 - and its interface with the canopy. This part leaves a gap where the back of the canopy joins the fuselage. I fiddled with this for a while and got it close, but not tight. There was joint work all the way around the fuselage halves. After scraping, puttying and sanding it was ready for paint. Painting This kit has two options for finishing the Hind in either German or Polish Air Force markings. The colors are the same for both with variations in the camouflage pattern. My Internet photo search netted multiple views of # 457 of the Polish Air Force. What really attracted me to this bird were the menacing evil eyes painted on the engine intake debris covers. The kit instructions are fairly accurate in terms of the colors called out. I used Model Master Underside Blue, Afrika Dunkelgrun and Italian Olive. The underside blue was shot first, masked and than the Afrika Dunkelgrun. Next, I outlined the green pattern with a brush following the photos and filled in with the airbrush. The canopy framing ,toward the bottom of the main part, was faint or not there. I like to mask with Tamiya yellow tape but you need to see a line through the tape to cut to. I ended up using some old Parafilm that is clear laboratory film that you stretch to make it tacky then stick it on and trim it.

Decals If you use the kit decals, your job is very easy. You get national insignias for both versions, warning stripes for the tail rotor and some cabin step lines. The photos revealed the Polish national insignias were too small and one was missing for the underside of the fuselage. I replaced them from the spares box. The kits tail warning decals were used and went down over future just fine. I got a little silvering under the numbers, but nothing serious. Details With the camouflage and decals done, I was on to the main rotors and weapons. I was going to build this kit without modification, but the pictures of # 457 had some items too obvious to leave off. First, the photos showed a prominent antenna housing and mount just aft of the main rotor and what looks like a flare dispenser strapped under the rear of the tail boom. I also decided to follow the photos by having two rocket pods (in lieu of four,) and no anti-tank missiles on the pylons. I scratch-built the antenna housing, flare dispenser and cut the rocket pods from two pylons and added control wires to the missile rails. The main rotor was assembled and painted with Alclad aluminum on the hub and a custom mixed green that was pre-shaded and given a wash. The main rotor blades have a metal leading edge that I painted by hand. The tail rotor was also covered with Alclad and I then hand painted the edges and red tips. The various antennas and position lights were then attached. The canopies were unmasked and the details added to the inside before installation. I hand painted the evil eyes on the intake covers that I think turned out really cool. Just add the landing gear and air sensor probe and the Hind is ready for action. Conclusion In spite of the issues I’ve mentioned, I really had a blast building this kit. Monogram kits still have a high enjoyment-to-dollar ratio for me. I found this kit available on megahobby.com for $14.96 plus shipping. There are a number of aftermarket offerings to bring this kit up to current standards. The only thing I would do different is use aftermarket decals. The box indicates skill level 2 or ages 10 and up which seems appropriate. If, like me, you’ve never built this kit before, this will be an interesting, satisfying build. If you’re a detail fanatic, it is certainly a good base to work from. Thanks to Revell for the sample and to IPMS for the opportunity to add it to my small but growing helicopter collection.