Best Early AH-1G Cobra kit?

Just a note to anyone building a G model. In several of my Fathers photos, I noticed that the lateral vent grates on the side of the engine were bent down as if someone had stood on them while servicing the rotors. I asked a former pilot who flew in Vietnam, and he said that these would get bent for that very reason. They were made of aluminum. For any one looking for that extra realism I would be willing to send some copies of these pictures, no charge. Whats up CobraHistorian. I hope the trainings going well. Make us proud. T.L.

"THIS IS MY GRACELAND"

Major G,

Whoops! Meant no insult by that last post. Merely saying that with some modification a T or W cockpit interior could be made to appear as a G. I've been going on 6 pots of coffee and 3 hours of sleep in the past 48, so please don't pay any attention to that last post!!

Yes, I know the cockpit is for the wrong type of Cobra, but I figured that it would be better for the seats, side walls, etc. than the very simplistic early 70s era Fujimi kit. Those kit seats resemble seats on a subway car more than a modern helicopter. Besides, I build just for me.

Major G,

The T or W cockpit is not going to be accurate for an AH-1G, but I'm sure it'll enhance the interior all the same. Instead of the TOW sighting device up front, the gunner's sight was mounted on an extendable arm secured to the floor. CRTs are right out. You could probably backdate the cockpit set without too much effort, though.

Hope that helps!

My local shop had the Cobra Company AH-1W (or was it the AH-1T?*) cockpit interior for $5. Even though it is the wrong cockpit, I think I'll try to add it to my Fujimi AH-1G. That kit's interior (and exterior) is very basic, but it cost me $5 as well. Hopefully it won't look too bad.

*My shop had both the W and T cockpits for $5, I bought one or the other, don't recall which one. The one that didn't come with the new intakes.

Major G,

So far, no one has come out with an early AH-1G kit. I'm pretty sure that may change in the fairly near future, but for now, the only way to go is scratchbuilding. I've actually got one of my Cobras building as an early (1966 contract) model with the TAT-102A turret (single minigun, no GL) glass nose and minigun pods under the wings. The Revell kit is the easiest to work with, and with a Cobra Company interior, its really top notch.

Hope that helps!

Rob,

Many people on this site are looking for a new 1/35 or 1/48th AH-1G to come out. I personally like larger scale to get at detailing. The small scale AH-1s don't seem to give the graceful lines the larger scales give. The old Revel kit is a nice size but detail is very poor. Hopefully FSM staff will hear our crys and get some help in getting a new AH-1G kit out on the street.

Wade