Converting the Dragon 1/35 UH-1D to a UH-1H with Cobra Company Detail Sets

By  Rod Lees, IPMS# 10821

Dragon 1/35 UH-1D "Heer" Huey, Item# 3542,MSRP: $45.00 Web Site: www.dragonmodelsusa.com (I acquired mine from Freedom Hobbies in Norman, OK) Cobra Company 1/35 UH-1D/H Drive Train Upgrade (CC35028), MSRP $ 20.00 Cobra Company 1/35 UH-1D/H Correction/Detail Set (CC35011), MSRP $26.00 Cobra Company 1/35 XM-93 Weapons System (CC35019), MSRP $ 22.00 Cobra Company 1/35 UH-1N USMC Weapons Set (CC 35013), MSRP $23.00 Web Site: www.cobracompany.com OK, everyone raise their hands if they understand the differences between UH-1D and H? All I know is the tail rotor is on the RIGHT side of the fin, verses the LEFT side. I'm certain there are other visible differences but for my purposes, the tail rotor is the big thing DML have re-released Panda's UH-1D kit, and in so doing have incorporated some very nice upgrade parts, those being in the form of Eduard color-etched metal instrument panels, seat harness/belt assemblies, and other little details. If you build the DML "Heer" UH-1D out of the box, you will have a decent UH-1D. If, however, you want to go a bit further, enter Cobra Company. Chris, the proprietor at Cobra, said "Snake's lair", is one dedicated rotorhead. Having built many other kits using his upgrades (Monogram's F-105 with 3000 LB bombs, the Monogram Hind with upgrades for the cockpit and external stores, etc, as well as the venerable Hawk/Testors Husky with interior… and Yes, I motorized it so the intermeshing feature of the rotors works) I can vouch for the absolutely cool nature of his work. And, if you intend to build an accurate 1/35 UH-1H (or N, for that matter) you need Cobra company upgrades. One note: You WILL have to scrub the hell out of every piece with "Dawn" dishwashing detergent, 409, or whatever, using an old toothbrush to remove the tenacious mold release inherent in these parts. Otherwise, the paint and CA will not adhere. Forewarned is forearmed… Do NOT exclude this step unless you like frustration as part of the daily grind. I used the sets listed above to build a UH-1H of the VNAF that my dad flew in mid-1970. He was an advisor on his second tour flying "H" gunships with the XM-93 minigun system, and 7-shot rocket pods. I won't go into details (Picture of he and his crew added) but will say that his previous tour of flying H-34's out of Danang in 1967 was nothing like his tour at Bin Thuy in 1970. We've talked at lot… and those of you who were there understand. Something about being able to shoot back helped… The DML kit is accurate in outline. The downfalls in this kit include rivets from hell, (SAND THEM OFF!) and "clunky" parts. Some of the details are excellent, but "Minor" things like the transmission and rotor head are way over scale. I started by assembling the interior with Cobra company upgrades for the armored seats, interior, and control panels (overhead and center console). The instrument panel needed reinforcing ribs added to the coaming (I used stretched sprue), and backside details for the instruments. I used a Waldron punch set to make discs of appropriate size… and liquid glue to hold them in place. After painting the basic panel, I installed the Eduard Instrument panel and instruments. MUCH better than I can drybrush! I also spent a lot of time on the armored seats; they use the kit framing, but I used additional rod and guitar strings to install the adjustment springs, as well as detail framing. Tape worked for the areas requiring additional harness details.

OK, confession time. I used a lot of detail parts from an Academy UH-1C kit to upgrade the DML bird. They were on sale at Hobby Lobby, and the rotor mast, pushrods, mass balance assembly, transmission, and engine make all the difference in the world. I also used the tail bumper, tail rotor, and myriad other details to improve the DML/Panda kit. The rotor mast and mass balance assembly in the basic DML kit are robust, but way out of scale. The Cobra company upgrade would have you use the kit items, but the Cobra transmission is almost dead on for the Academy item, (Although Chris has included blanking plates for certain items) and I decided to use the Academy Huey parts. I used the Cobra D/H interior upgrade to install the new overhead and center consoles; dry brush and detail brush, and they are in. Same for the First aid kits, cyclic stick handles, and cabin interior post upgrades…. Intercom boxes were also used; Chris has his act together.

The only real modification I performed was to cut the main rotor transmission base off totally; I had to do this at the end of the build (I was not happy) but otherwise the rotor assembly was WAAAAY too high. I did use the Cobra rotor blades; I reserve opinion if I should have inserted brass rod into them to prevent too much droop, but they look ok on the bird. I also noted I had reinstalled the transmission with a bit of left lean. I may have to re-do this whole thing…"Dangit". The Cobra XM-93 system is good for the USAF UH-1N or Viet H; It includes the integral 7.62MM magazine, drive mechanisms, control boxes, mounts, flex chutes, brass and link ejection chutes, and the Miniguns themselves. Take your time in assembling them; the only parts missing are a couple of support rods at the front of the weapon mounting frames, which are easily added from stretched sprue or extruded rod. The gun sight attached to the instrument coaming was from the Charlie kit… no overhead control pantograph needed, because the door guns were either locked fully forward for the pilot to use, or free- floating for the door gunners.

Fun facts: The armor plating on the pilot seats were more for their protection from the 2.75" rockets than bad guys shooting at them. The rockets had a bad habit of occasionally exploding right after launch. "Scarfed" (offset) on the four rocket nozzles was incorporated to impart spin to the rockets as well, as the standard 2.75" rockets for fighters were designed for launch at high speed… the spin kept the heli rockets on track instead of ziggin' off on their own without the airflow over the fins. And the forward windows which are not on the cabin doors? They were removable, and the rocket blast frequently blew them out, which is a bad thing at 100 knots with a nice, vulnerable tail rotor waiting to catch them. Solution: Remove the window. Heck, later they just totally removed. I purchased the Cobra Marine UH-1N set because it had the 7-shot pod rocket system. In retrospect I should have used the mounts; I though the UH-1C pod mounts from Academy were what were needed, but found out later that I used the wrong setup. Oops. Kill me later. Anyone needing 1/35 scale minigun with a shroud, or a Ma-Deuce system, let me know. I tried to use some model railroad mesh to replace the kit ventilation openings on the side of the engine cowl. In retrospect, not the smartest idea I've ever done, but I learned how to use mesh to make cowling. The mesh is a bit too small, needs to be bigger. I thought I'd have the "see-through" look so the T-53 engine would be visible. Wrong.... Paint rapidly filled the grill. Maybe next time I'll use larger mesh… (OK I gotta build a UH-1H in MAC markings with the yellow "racing stripe" as my dad delivered to Hill AFB in '72,… that will be the next test).

I did use a larger tube to make a new exhaust, as the Charley exhaust did not reach the back of the engine fairing. The PE additions to the kit of an exhaust turbine, flow vanes, and thermocouple leads added a lot to the exhaust area. In any event, I totally removed the side engine fairing panels, formed mesh with tape to prevent filler from filling the mesh areas, and it worked "OK"… You will also need to remove the huge hinge fairing from the top of the engine box, grind it down, and use some strip to fill the gap. To make an "H' Huey, you need to flip the tail rotor gearbox from the port (Left, D and previous) to Starboard side (Right). It was decided long ago it's more effective to pull a tail than push it… that was easy enough to do. As to the rest of the build, it was just a case of "Add parts here". The pitot tube, antennas, and tail skid were from the Charlie kit; the tail rotor was the Cobra item, with the Charley pitch link assembly and drive shaft. The Cobra tail rotor drive shaft was used, although the Charley drive would work.

End of the build; spray everything with Tamiya USAAF olive drab, remove the masking, do some minor weathering, and attach the pilot and copilot doors from the UH-1D upgrade. … Or do like I did, (because I screwed up the Cobra doors by trying to use clear-cast resin for the windows) and modify the Charlie doors. They are a bit bigger, but the windows fit better. Use the windshield wipers from the Charley, add the few remaining bits, and you are basically done. Oh yeah: Decals… Simple VNAF star and bar markings in this case according to the man who flew them. I acquired them from a 1/48th scale Eagle Strike decal sheet for Vietnamese Skyraiders. Thanks to DML for having taken time to re-release these kits; they are worth their weight in gold… And to Chris for his three-day max turn of orders from Cobra Company… Everything in this review, paid for from my depleted modeling budget!