1/72 AH-1W (pics)

QUOTE: Originally posted by snakedriver Supercobra; Thanks a "Phrog" full. As soon as I saw your photos I dug out a 1/48 scale kit from my stash and started on the prep to build another "W". That's what I like about this forum; we can get first -hand information to fill in the gaps. I got a little misled by my early references which made a firm distinction between the test/evaluation airframes and those delivered to the FMF squadrons. Now I need to decide whether or not to build mine "with or without". While I'm at it, when was the nav antenna added (the box-like appendage below the "hell hole")? It looks like it is in the same place as the smaller aft fairing on the kit. In checking photos it appears on some aircraft and not others. Again, thanks for the info.

A "Phrog" full? That isn't very much now days. It's been a long time since the cat destroyed my 1/48 Italeri so I don't recall the belly flaws. I'll look for some pictures this weekend to better explain changes to the belly but basically you have three things down there starting at the tailboom/fuselage seem and working forward: 1) tranny/c-box oil cooler fan shroud. Started small (non-existant on T+?) and got bigger. 2) UHF DF antenna - never changed/always there on production AH-1Ws but I don't see on the T+
pictures. 3) Doppler - came out in early 90s when the doppler was added of course (initially called Improved Navigation System - INS - but the name was changed to Tactical Navigation System - TNS - because people thought INS meant inertial nav. This started to get removed when we went to the Flir and new nose of the Night Targeting System (NTS) and EGI - Embedded GPS/INS. This mod started early 90s but the box didn't always get removed right away and the mod drug out into 2000. You really just have to pick the era you want and try to find a picture.

Very nice looking, thx for the pics

nice cobra, it is anawsome bird. Loved to hear the sound of the blades when i was over in OIF. The ones that I saw over there all had the two tone grey camo scheme, and a ton of soot on the tail boom.
Again great model!!!

Jon,
That's it. I finally finished it. I think you saw it before the final touches were added.
I've got three helos in the works right now; the Fujimi "S" which is being finished as an "E", an Aurora AH-56 which is in surgery at the moment, and a Hasegawa Hind A
which is undergoing major cockpit rebuilding and rotor head detailing. For relief from AMS I've got the Italeri 1/48 AH-1W which I'm going to concentrate on the finish aspect as opposed to any 'super detail' work. The photos and info posted by Supercobra got me cranked up to do the "W". After a long lay-off I'm having fun again.

Hey Snakedriver,

Is that the same Snake I saw at your place? Beautiful bird!

Good looking Snake

Wow, you read my mind... I was wondering how a good 1/72 Cobra would look. I recently flipped to 1/72, because I just don't have the time for the detail in the larger scales anymore. My only worry was helos, since they are smaller. Looks good though.

Dave

-DPD Productions - Helicopter Reference Photo CD-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

Supercobra; Thanks a "Phrog" full. As soon as I saw your photos I dug out a 1/48 scale kit from my stash and started on the prep to build another "W". That's what I like about this forum; we can get first -hand information to fill in the gaps. I got a little misled by my early references which made a firm distinction between the test/evaluation airframes and those delivered to the FMF squadrons. Now I need to decide whether or not to build mine "with or without". While I'm at it, when was the nav antenna added (the box-like appendage below the "hell hole")? It looks like it is in the same place as the smaller aft fairing on the kit. In checking photos it appears on some aircraft and not others.
Again, thanks for the info.

Nice job on a great build. I particularly am impressed with the cammo job, yours turned out better than mine on my snake.

Actually airfoil shaped. What you are referring to are the cross tube fairings. They came from the factory on the AH-1Js, AH-1Ts, and AH-1Ws. They are just a flimsy plastic that broke easily and made it harder to inspect the crosstubes for cracks. Marines took them off almost as soon as the aircraft were delivered. Bell stopped installing them around the mid-90s. I use section of stiff wire like coat hangers in place of the faired kit cross tubes. The AH-1Z and UH-1Y have square cross tubes now.

What about ( for lack of a better term in my limited helo - vocabulary) the "skid supports". In all of the AH-1W kits these are made "rectangleish" and with all of the real - life AH-1W's I've seen they are of a round configuration. Hopefully someone can figure out what I'm refering to. Pete

What about ( for lack of a better term in my limited helo - vocabulary) the "skid supports". In all of the AH-1W kits these are made "rectangleish" and with all of the real - life AH-1W's I've seen they are of a round configuration. Hopefully someone can figure out what I'm refering to. Pete

Snakedriver,
I wasn't trying to bait you but I thought this is what you were talking about. Actually maybe I was trying to bait you because I keep hearing people refer to this look as incorrect. I've seen many Ws like this. A few dozen this week. The "cutout" you are referring to has nothing to do with prototype or production. It has been standard on every single AH-1W. Howoever, it is normally covered by a fairing or cowling called the "2nd stage cover." This cover is easily removed and is in fact designed to be remove. The factory paint job even has there "BEWARE of BLAST" stencil repeated under the cover in case you opt to fly without it. Here are a couple of pictures of the complete cowling section where you can see the screws that retain the 2nd stage cover:



Here is a picture (taken last week) with the cover removed:


Whether the cover stays on or off is completely up to the squadron. I've have seen squadrons with a mixture even. Trend goes back and forth based on corporate knowledge and memory of the squadron. Leaving it on give you a little more airspeed. Taking it off gives you a little cooler exhaust. Some squadrons leave the on simply because they don't know they can be removed or because they don't have anywhere to store them and they get broken and lost.

Here are a few pictures from early and mid 90s where we had them removed:


The current fad is to remove them. All squadrons deployed right now have them removed. Here are a pictures taken from two different squadrons within the last couple of weeks:




Regardless, it is an easy fix to add the covers to the Italeri kit; a couple of strip of thin styrene. I even put a couple of strip over the cover on the 1/35 MRC to improve the look.

"Surgery" may have been a bit too strong. The first two "Whiskey" airframes,
162532 and 162533 differred from subsequent "production" deliveries, starting with 162534 around the exhaust area. The "cutout" forward of the exhaust nozzles is filled on the "non-test" versions. The "cutout" was an original feature of the exhaust nozzle IR cooling system. Oddly enough, 162536 which was delivered to HML/A-169 had the "cutouts". I have photos of 32, 33, 34, and 36.
161022 was the "proof of concept" airframe (modified AH-1T). It also had the cooling "cutouts". Since I was just getting back into building, I didn't feel like tackling even a "minor" modification.
There's lots of little nit-pickey differences between the two test (what I call prototypes) vehicles; ie. no cable cutter on the chin, and the airframes delivered to the FMF. All of the references I have after 1989 show the "Whiskey" with the "updated" exhaust configuration. I don't have the intimate knowledge of the "W" as you seem to have and need to rely on reference material at hand. I could be wrong, but I just can't find a Desert Storm or OIF photo of a Marine "W" with the exhaust cutout as molded on the Italeri kit.
Even their 1/48 version, which has Desert Storm box art, has the test airframe configuration. An early kit review contained in a rival publication points out the "problem"
with the kitting of the early production version versus the version delivered to operational squadrons. Fine Scale did a review in March 1993 of the 1/48 version, but I can't seem to find it in this disaster I call an office.

Looks great to me.

I'm curious why you call this kit a prototype and say it would need surgery to bring it up to production standards? For a newer NTS W it would need a new nose and some antennas removed but the kit is fine for any build up to the mid-90s.

Woooah... now that's a MEAN looking Snake!!

Beautiful job on the camo, thanks for sharing!!

Take care,
Frank