dragons 1/35 huey

Sorry if I got a little ahead of myself in recomending the dragon kit, I just don't build too many models besides cars. I also got ahead of myself and didn't read all the threads. But no problem, building models is about having fun. Thank you all for correcting me and providing insight about other kits and decals etc.

car-crafter wrote:

The kit is exelent. Makings for various helicopters are included, but I wanted to build one serving in the centeral highlands of Vietnam, and was disapointed to see that out of all those decals, none were for helicopters outside the Mekong delta. Fit of most parts was near perfect and the interior was very nice, but since the crew had initially been a seperate kit, they didn't want to fit too good. If I built this model again, I would leave them out. They only served to obscure all the detail in the interior anyway. Watch the fit of the fuselage halfs though, the left one in my kit was warped just under the rear door. For even more info about this, I would recomend the Fine Scale Modeler review on this website. It was in a 2007 magazine I think. If you want this kit though, go out and buy it now! I bought one when it was brand new, but have never seen another since, and it is no longer on dragons inventory list (dragonmodelusa.com). Hurry, this kit is not to be missed!

I have to agree with Gino on this one. The Panda/Dragon kit, at least to a rivet counter like myself, is FAR from perfect.  I think the 1/32 Revell kit actually a better place to start, but that's just me.  At any rate the Panda/Dragon kit has loads of innacuracies for an H model.  these have been beaten to death on any number of sites so no need doing that again here.  However, if you like how it looks and it makes you happy, enjoy em. After all, modeling is supposed to be FUN! Welcome to the forums and please post pics of your build.

    Ray 

 Oh, and by the way, Joseph at Fireball and Chris at Cobra Company are my "go to" guys for Hueys parts and decals.  Great guys, great products, great service!

car-crafter wrote:

The kit is exelent. Makings for various helicopters are included, but I wanted to build one serving in the centeral highlands of Vietnam, and was disapointed to see that out of all those decals, none were for helicopters outside the Mekong delta. Fit of most parts was near perfect and the interior was very nice, but since the crew had initially been a seperate kit, they didn't want to fit too good. If I built this model again, I would leave them out. They only served to obscure all the detail in the interior anyway. Watch the fit of the fuselage halfs though, the left one in my kit was warped just under the rear door. For even more info about this, I would recomend the Fine Scale Modeler review on this website. It was in a 2007 magazine I think. If you want this kit though, go out and buy it now! I bought one when it was brand new, but have never seen another since, and it is no longer on dragons inventory list (dragonmodelusa.com). Hurry, this kit is not to be missed!

 Its not that great of a kit.  It is the only option in 1/35 though.  With some work it can be good, but out of the box, it is only passable, barely.  To see all the issues and fixes for them, read back through this whole thread.

 If you are looking for more decal options, check out Fireball Modelworks.  Joe has a great UH-1D/H set that has marking for a bunch of Vietnam birds.

The kit is exelent. Makings for various helicopters are included, but I wanted to build one serving in the centeral highlands of Vietnam, and was disapointed to see that out of all those decals, none were for helicopters outside the Mekong delta. Fit of most parts was near perfect and the interior was very nice, but since the crew had initially been a seperate kit, they didn't want to fit too good. If I built this model again, I would leave them out. They only served to obscure all the detail in the interior anyway. Watch the fit of the fuselage halfs though, the left one in my kit was warped just under the rear door. For even more info about this, I would recomend the Fine Scale Modeler review on this website. It was in a 2007 magazine I think.

If you want this kit though, go out and buy it now! I bought one when it was brand new, but have never seen another since, and it is no longer on dragons inventory list (dragonmodelusa.com). Hurry, this kit is not to be missed! 

Mikeym_us wrote:

The Panda UH-1N kit does include the post mounted M60's that were missing in the Dragon boxing. So pretty much you can backdate the N into a D right?

Unfortunately, no.  The N has a totally different nose profile (longer and pointy) and much larger dual engine cowling.  Both the Panda and Dragon N kits do come with the standard D/H engine cowling though. 

UH-1D/H nose profile.

UH-1N nose profile.

The M23 doorgun mounts in the Panda UH-1N kit are just two of the weapons sprues from the Dragon Vietnam Helo Crew figure set.  They are what Dragon should have included in their UH-1D rebox.

HeavyArty wrote:

The Panda come Dragon Hueys are pretty good kits.  Dragon added some nice PE (however both have the same PE sheet, which means the N has a D/H model instrument panel PE) and a few other features to them.  The N and D/H are the same boxings with a few different features.  The N has incorrect weapons for a USMC helo though.  The interiors are lacking and really need the Cobra Company upgrade/detail sets.  The rivets are too big and could use a light sanding to knock them down a bit as well.  The rotor blade is wrong for a D or H model too.  You can see how to fix them below, or Cobra Company has a rotor blade correction set.  Also, you have to know which version you are building and what features go on it.  The directions do not point out different parts for different versions and there are parts in the kit to build an early D up through a current UH-1H+ model.  I have built two so far, a UH-1H Vietnam MedEvac and a UH-1H from White Sands Missile Range as a SAR bird.    The rotor blades in the D/H kit are the same as the N kit, but are incorrect for the D/H model.  They are easy to fix though.  In the below picture you see the kit blade in the middle (UH-1N or Bell 212 blade).  The bottom blade shows the area in red that needs to be removed for a UH-1D/H (Bell 205) blade.  The top is the corrected blade.

The Panda UH-1N kit does include the post mounted M60's that were missing in the Dragon boxing. So pretty much you can backdate the N into a D right?

What are the sensor ears for?

They are laser detectors that tell the crew when they are being painted by laser-guided missiles or fire control systems.

HeavyArty wrote:

Here are a few images of UH-1Ns in Iraq and A'stan to see what current sensors are on them.    APR '04.  Earlier version with sensor "ears" on roof as in CC Fleet Upgrade set.     More current versions without the sensor "ears". MAR '07     SEP '08    The MAW Decals November Hueys sheet includes markings for helos with and without the "ear" sensors as well.

What are the sensor ears for?

John,

  Glad I could help. Chris is a great guy and I'm sure he'll help you sort things out.  Good luck and post pics of those builds!

     Ray

I'm very greatful for the help Ray ;

I'll send an email to Chris Miller explaining my mistake in filling out and posting an order form.

I'll make a list of all the 1/72 and 1/35 resin parts I need and ask for all the shipping and Handling chargers to airmail the items here to Sydney .

Western Union money transfer would probably suit my circumstances .

I'm feel much happier now , I did think for a little while all those really great resin and update sets would be unavailable , so I'm extremly greatful for the help .

Thank's again Ray

                                          Kind Regards John

John,

  I got in touch with Chris Miller, Cobra Company's owner.  You can e-mail Chris at chris@cobracompany.com . Here is a summary of his reply.  I hope this helps.

    Ray

"No credit cards for International orders. Money orders only, the credit card companies are banning use of International credit cards because of identity and security issues.The policy can not be changed, the credit card companies are responsible for the policies which apply to all US credit card clients. The real fault lies with the International Governments that prohibit the sharing of identity criteria among the credit card processors. In the US, if you fail to validate the user of a credit card you face huge risks and possible penalties. The loss of easy purchasing isn't nice but the ability to purchase is still there. Any Moneyorder drawn on US funds is accepted by all US banks. Moneygram and Western Union are worldwide companies and accept their own checks no matter where they come from.

   Chris"

I may of made a mistake with one of my recent orders I filled out to send away to Cobra Company . A couple of day's ago I quickly filled out a order form for some 1/72 resin update sets and raced down to the post office and sent away my order . So last night I was filling out another form for the 1/35 weapons and upgrade sets and noticed that the order form had changed slighty from when I last order items from CC . The bottom right hand corner of the form say's International orders are not eligable for credit card use . I didn't notice this the other day when I sent my first order away , so I'm not sure wether or not to post a second order form ???

The form mentions International Money Orders but previous experiance with Money orders from Australia Post , is that very few banks , 'if any' , in the US will accept Australia Post Money Orders and if the amount is less than $100 , I can't get a refund back from Australia Post . 

I was wondering if anyone from Australia has made any recent purchases from Cobra Company and how did they arrange payment ?

                                     John

Here are a few images of UH-1Ns in Iraq and A'stan to see what current sensors are on them.   

APR '04.  Earlier version with sensor "ears" on roof as in CC Fleet Upgrade set.

More current versions without the sensor "ears".

MAR '07

SEP '08 

The MAW Decals November Hueys sheet includes markings for helos with and without the "ear" sensors as well.

Don't get too excited CJ, Dragon's is just an "improved" rebox of Panda's Huey. Actually improved is too big a word, maybe upgraded is better: they only added a few items and PE.

As for MAW decals I ordered the "November Hueys" sheet at TwoBobs' and they were here "across-the-pond" in a week or so.

I ordered the "November Hueys" decals directly from MAW Decals.  I'm not sure if they ship Down Under though.

You can get the CC Fleet Upgrade set, but a lot of the sensors are no longer on the aircraft operating in Iraq and A'stan since they are not needed due to the threat.  The interior upgrades in the set are a must though.  The kits interiors are really weak and most interior parts are oversized.

 Hi Gino ,

I'm very greatful for your help with my Dragon and Panda Huey questions

I was thinking of using two of Dragons USMC decal options .

I like the Tri-color scheme HMM-268 Red Dragons , USS New Orleans 80's

Also the overall marine green HMM-263 USS Guam 2007 , with the American flag

The MAW decals you mentioned would be a great third option .

I found a decal review on the 1/35 UH-1N decal sheet at www.ipmsusa2.org and it looks great . I was wondering which decal distributer or Hobby supplier you got yours from .

There is a internet decal supplier here in my neck of the woods , www.sandlehobbies.com.au which lists some MAW decals but they only have decals for F/A-18 Hornets .

Thank's again for the help ....                 

                               John .

I forgot to add that if I decide to go with the MAW decals on one of the Huey builds , I suppose I should also consider purchasing one set of Cobra's #35012 UH-1N Fleet Upgrade as this would go with the Current USMC decals ???

Yes, you are correct on the wepons setups.  The Dragon UH-1N comes with M93 minigun setup, which was not used by the USMC but was used by the USAF in their 20th ASOS "Green Hornet" birds.  The Panda UH-1N has the Green Hornet markings.  Additionally, the USMC does not use the 19-shot M200 rocket launcher pod either.

For a proper USMC weapons load, the Cobra Company USMC UH-1N Weapons Sets are perfect, as is most of their sets.  I highly recommend them.

I also recommend the MAW Decals 1/35 UH-1N decal sheet.  It has great markings for current USMC UH-1Ns.

On a side note, the weapons in the Panda UH-1N are M23 doorgun mounts with M60D MGs from the Dragon Vietnam Helicopter Crew set.  They are correct for Army Hueys.  They are what should be in the Dragon UH-1D kit.  Unfortunately, Dragon only provides one M23 as part of their Vietnam Helicopter Crew set and that is what is in their UH-1D kit.  So, bottom line, Dragon got the weapons wrong on both helicopters and has no idea what should be on them.

 I recently bought some 1/35 UH-1N Huey kits ,

One is Dragon UH-1N , with three USMC paint scheme options and PE set included.

The others are three Panda UH-1N's

Looking at my kits and reading all the posts in this thread , it seems I need to purchase some different weapons set up's .

In the Dragon kit it appears to have what looks like the XM-93 Gun System , am I right in thinking this is what you find on the USAF birds ???

If so , I suppose I could use it on one of the Panda kits which comes with USAF decals .

I was then thinking about buying three sets of Cobra Company's 1/35 UH-1N USMC Weapons Set #35013 , using one set on the Dragon kit and the other two on the two Panda kits .

Am I correct in what I think I need to buy ; The weapons set included in the Panda kit look like the M-60D type set up , which I think is wrong for Marine birds .

I think I've got it figured right , I just need a little advice

                                 John.

hooknladderno1 wrote:

Regarding converting the UH-1N to a 412, is the nose on the Dragon/Panda kit appropriate, or does it need to be corrected as well?  Some have said that the Revell 1/32 scale Huey kit would be a better starting point.  What major changes would have to be made versus the Dragon kit?  Thanks in advance.

The nose on the N model is correct for a 412. Some say the Dragon nose has an incorrect profile.  It look fine to me though.  If you are concerned, Cobra Company provides a new nose in their UH-1N upgrade sets that I posted earlier. 

The Revell D/H model has a short D/H nose that is not correct for a 412.  The Revell kit is also a D/H and the entire engine nacelles and upper cowling would have to be remade into the twin-engines N/212/412 configuration.  It would be a major undertaking.  I converted the Revell D/H kit into a UH-1N many moons ago, long before the Panda N was available.  It came out pretty good, but was a bear with carving masters for the longer nose and engine nacelles, then vaccu-forming them, etc.

Here is how it turned out.

Any of you that can live with a smaller scale 412, Italeri has a 1/72 412, and Belcher bits makes a resin conversion for Italeri's 1/48 212.

rotorwash wrote:

PS: PLEASE don't get your Huey info from the Military channel.  Just got finished watching two documetaries on the Huey and Cobra.  Jees, the movies were cool, but the accuracy of the dialogue that acompanied them was rather poor to say the least.

I know what you mean, I watched the great planes episode on the Huey last night, I kept trying to figure out how to mute the host without muting all the rest of the show.

Hey Guys,

Regarding converting the UH-1N to a 412, is the nose on the Dragon/Panda kit appropriate, or does it need to be corrected as well?  Some have said that the Revell 1/32 scale Huey kit would be a better starting point.  What major changes would have to be made versus the Dragon kit?  Thanks in advance.

David

rotorwash wrote:

Just friendly banter, my friend.  No offense meant or taken.  The Arbrams is a mighty fine weapon that I would never want to cross!     Ray

i know r.w. i am not taken by anything you guys are throwing at me! i'd laugh at myself right along with everyone else!

Just friendly banter, my friend.  No offense meant or taken.  The Arbrams is a mighty fine weapon that I would never want to cross!

    Ray