1/32 Revell AH-1G Cobra

Gallery Article by Angelo M Picardo on June 7 2013

 

 

This is Revell's old Huey Cobra kit.  It does show its age, but it is basically a sound kit with some nice details.  It has a mixture of raised and recessed panel lines with some neat riveting and panel fasteners.

I engraved the panel lines that needed doing, trying to preserve the rivet and fasteners.  I also added some after market parts.  Cobra Company's excellent resin cockpit is a work of art, replacing the kits parts and including a lovely gun turret.  To the turret I added a brass Gatling gun barrel and to show off the cockpit I replaced the kit's canopy with a vac formed one from Werner Wings.  The cockpit set does not include replacement cyclic or collectives so I used a combination of up detailed kit parts and some bits from the spare box.  Airscale decals were used to detail the instrument panels.

 

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I used a combination of Humbrol enamels and Tamiya acrylics to paint the model.  To weather the model I used techniques I usually employ on armour models, washes and filters, to impart a faded, weather worn look.

I intended to use the kit's decals but they broke up on contact with water, so at the last minute I got a set of decals from Fireball Model Works.  I can recommend these decals, they are really top quality and include stencil data.  Apparently the Helicopter I have modelled is famous for flying the longest mission for a Cobra during the Vietnam War.

Angelo M Picardo

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Photos and text © by Angelo M Picardo