1/48 Esci UH-1D Huey

by Neil Commerford

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Hi there. This is my 1/48 scale Huey representing a Bell UH-1H “ZU-UHI”, operated by Working on Fire in South Africa. The model was rather challenging, only because it was squashed and broken in my bag on the long flight home from USA.  So if you are wondering why it looks slightly out of shape, it’s because it is. Besides that mishap there were no real problems with the kit.  The only fault I noticed was the large windows on the passenger doors.  I added the tailboom strakes, rear view mirror and the passenger steps, all easily constructed with some styrene strips and rods.  All the decals are custom made.

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The following photo was taken on 26 of January 2007 when ZU-UHI made an emergency landing in a dam following engine failure, since then she has been referred to as “Underwater Helicopters Inc” or the yellow submarine. The aircraft was pulled from the dam by a Mil MI 8 and luckily suffered no severe damage. The aircraft was rebuilt and continues to fly for Working on Fire today.

Below are some more pics of UHI.

Neil Commerford

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Photos and text © by Neil Commerford