I’m using eBay.co.uk and not the American eBay.com
if you do a search using the UK version, you should find them…I could buy them for you if you like and then send them on?
I just bought a good old ESCI kit. It will be fun and if I recall correctly it is not a bad kit.
Looking forward to this one 
Thanks David, but I’ve ordered the Print Scale sheet from someone in my time zone. I think that’s the easiest option.
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The same for me, mates…
I’ll try to get on board, the timetable suits me fine.
Cheers 
Peter
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I saw a couple of Revell 1/72 UH-1D SAR’s when I was last in. Not sure who’s toolings they might originate from, but they were going cheap. Half tempted to grab one.
IIRC they are Revell’s own mold. Generally looks the part if you want a Huey. Not the first choice if accuracy is your concern.
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welcome aboard peter, it looks like we have a good crowd for this campaign.
I’ll join. I’ve been planning a UH-1 build.
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@JPTRR glad you are joining us
It can be a bit hard to tell with Revell until you open the box. Could be Italeri, Hasegawa, Matchbox, their own and even Academy these days!
I think they’re selling them for a fiver, so might be worth the gamble.
Thanks
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I completely understand. While it’s there own mold it appears to possibly influenced heavily on the Hasegawa kit but the detail is better in the Revell kit after looking at both instructions this morning. I have had a few of SAR kits myself and still might have at least one kit. It does look the part of a Huey. As with most kit glass attachment could be an issue. Cannot go too wrong with the price.
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I picked it up on my way home tonight.
Not a bad kit, bit rough in spots but should clean up ok. It definitely has a Hasegawa feel about it. Long narrow sprue that’s typical of their older kits. Revell have included a new sprue with parts for the stretchers.
I’m in two minds about how to finish it. The kit markings are very nice, especially the contrasting cammo and Day-Glo doors. But I also saw a sheet by Printscale which features some Vietnam era MEDIVAC’s.
Decisions decisions.
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I got my kit - the venerable old ESCI kit. This will be a trip down memory lane when I build this. Really looking forward to it!
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Build that one about 30yrs ago to include in a Vietnam diorama.
Hi Jesper,
I’m really interested now in the Italeri rebox of that kit…not ordered yet, but…
Peter
Do it, Peter. You know you want to 
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@SGTJKJ - Jesper, I just ordered it! Together with another Black Friday bargain at plastmodel.pl from Poland 
Cheers Peter 
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Excellent, Peter. Double ESCI Huey build it is!
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This one isn’t for the rivet counters.
I’ve been meaning to post photos of this for some time. At first I was going to try and post a more dramatic set of outdoor photos, but the summer turned into fall and fall into winter.
Since this isn’t a traditional box kit, I can understand if it doesn’t qualify for the campaign. But, as I noted before, the campaign gives me an impetus to actually finish this thing. This blends my lifelong love of model building with my interest in action figures. In many ways, it’ll be more challenging than a box kit.
The chassis is made of fiberglass and pre-built by the man in Germany who makes them. Likewise, he painted it and applied the markings. The interior items are cast in resin, as are the exterior equipment details. So these items need to be sanded and painted. Unfortunately, since his sole focus is building R/C helicopters, he admits that the interior details are not model quality. They exist for the aesthetic of having seats and an instrument panel and a console, but they lack fine details. I can hear the gears popping out there in model builder land, “If it’s THAT BIG why doesn’t it have AMAZING detail?”. The builder custom makes these to order, and while his resin work is really good, he has no interest in adding fine details. I asked him if he would consider casting the pilot and co-pilot seat armor. He politely but firmly declined. You can also see that the troop cabin is empty. It’s sole purpose is to house an R/C body and engine. While it would be cool, I have no interest in R/C. I want to make the cabin a functional compartment, but I’ll need the R/C motor and rotors to ensure that this is actually a helicopter model. Therefore, the blades and motor will be the best R/C kit I can find to resemble a UH-1 rotor assembly, but it won’t be an accurate model of it. As noted earlier, the helicopter is modeled with closed doors. I’ll have to remove the troop doors entirely. As for the pilot and co-pilot’s doors, I’m up in the air on whether to remove them. Fortunately, there’s precedence for this.
As of right now, there are no 1:12 pilot figures of any sort, and I highly doubt any will ever be made. This will require me to make my own, and therefore to fabricate helmets and chicken vests. I think I’ll make the helmets using the Tamiya 1:12 “Motorcycle Rider” as a base. The vests will have to wait until my sewing machine skills improve substantially. That’s a project for another time.
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Here are the things that I need to build:
- Pilot and co-pilot seat armor (using sheet styrene)
- Troop cabin floor
- Troop cabin walls (to be “upholstered”)
- Door Gunner’s seats
- M-23 Armament System (requiring conversion of additional 1:12 M-60’s to M-60D models)
- Cabin ceiling
- R/C main and tail rotor (to be rigged in such a way as to accommodate the troop compartment)
I figure the rear doors will be easy to remove with a Dremel. The problem with keeping the pilot’s doors is accessibility to figures in the future. With the sear armor and the doors, it may be impossible to fit them in with the doors.
I know that the paint color isn’t correct for the Vietnam era Hueys. The modeler uses the later dark U.S. Army helicopter OD on all of the Hueys. While I have the ability to print my own decals, I’m not likely to repaint this thing and re-create all the markings. I’ll have my hands full with the scratch building as it is. But my anal desire to get the details right might overwhelm my sense. I definitely plan, however, to print decals for more colorful nose art and unit specific markings, most likely for a bird in A/227th.
Thoughts? Comments? Boot me out of the campaign?
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