Years ago, I
remember waiting anxiously for the Monogram Mi-24 Hind to be released. I built
three of them and still love the kit despite the flaws. When I hear about
Trumpeter’s push to create one in 1/35 scale I could not believe it.
I have been waiting
months for this kit and it has finally arrived. Let me say that pictures do NOT
this kit justice. You have to see it to believe it.
The completed kit
measures 22.25” long with rotors spinning, wingspan is 7.35” wide, and main
rotor diameter is 17”. I do not have an overall height as of yet, but it will
be tall.
A total of twelve
sprue molded in that absolutely wonderful grey plastic that we all love, with
three more clear sprue and one set of photo-etch to round out this kit.
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Fuselage |
The sprue containing
the fuselage halves is a giant 22” long by 13” wide, with the fuse halves stretching almost the entire
length. Panel lines are crisp and clean, along with flush rivets that are deep
enough to accept primer, but not enough to clog and disappear.
Weapons, weapons,
weapons!! Six full sprue containing nothing but weapons are shown above!
Actually there are 3 pair of weapons sprue, so to save space here on ARC; I have
left out the dupes. Note that the rocket launcher pod faces are all open and
clear, ready to accept rockets.
The cockpit canopies
are all positionable as open or closed, and are clear with no scratches. A
dip in Future will make these gems beautiful. I could not get a photo of the
canopies that was in focus, so none are shown.
The instrument
panels are pre-punched in clear as well, with high definition acetate prints to
be used as instrument faces. A few drops of Krystal Kleer or future will have
them looking real in no time. There is no lack of detail on the flight deck in
this kit. The main cabin is fully detailed as well, with seating for troops,
floor, ceiling, etc.
The photo etch set
is minimal, containing three inlet screens, windshield wipers, seat belt
buckles, and a small three-bladed prop that looks like it should be on a
trolling motor for a bass boat (probably something having to do with airspeed
indication). There is certainly more room for photo etch on this kit (Eduard?)
There is zero flash
on most of the parts, with a tiny bit on a few like the main rotor blade
trailing edges. All the other parts look perfect, with just a few ejector pin
markings in places that will not be seen.
The kit has a
complete pair of detailed engines made up of about 15 different parts for each
turbine. The engine bays are begging to be plumbed, wired and weathered.
One area that could
use resin right off the bat is tires (for the weighted look), as well as some
individual rockets to be used to fill what looks to be empty rocket pods. I may
attempt to make some from brass rod.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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Decals |
Decals supplied are
for two different versions of the Hind, One the Czech Air Force and the other is
the CIS Army. I scanned the entire sheet, then a zoomed portion to show clarity.
The decals are printed in Italy.
Just out of the box,
this appears to be a “shake and bake” kit. I am starting this kit tonight.
As I complete each major sub assembly, I will create a page for the ARC and post
it as construction progresses.
Jon
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