The Dragon/Panda UH-1D/H/N kits are not that bad. The kits are pretty good, but need quite a bit of work to get them to come out looking great. The details are soft and sparse in the interior. The other issue is that there are parts for many different versions of Hueys in the box and the instructions don't show which to use for which version. You have to know what you are building and which parts to use. The oversized rivets are taken care of with a light overall sanding to knock them down a bit too.
The rotor blade is not correct in the Vietnam UH-1D/H version though. The issue is the spine running the full length of the blade. It is actually a 212 (UH-1N) blade. The D/H blade doesn't have this feature. It is easy to fix though, as below. I have heard that is has been corrected in the UH-1D HEER version.
The top one has been corrected. The middle is how it comes in the kit. The bottom one has the area to be removed in red.
I also recommend the Cobra Company Interior and Drive Train upgrade sets for it. They will really spice it up and make it look great. I used the interior set on both of mine below. It just depends on how much money you want to spend on it.
Here are a couple helpful threads too: UH-1D and H model differences. Dragon UH-1D in-box Review.
The other "issue" with the Vietnam UH-1D/H kit is that it only comes with one M23 doorgun mount. All D/H models in Vietnam after '65 had the doorgun setup, but had one on each side, for a total of 2 mounts. You will either need to get a second DML Vietnam Helo Crew set for the second M23 mount, or Cobra Company has an M23 set as well.
Lastly, the decals aren't totally accurate in the kit. If you are looking for an accurately marked helo, check out the Huey decal sets from Fireball Modelworks; Vietnam Slick Decals and FlatIron MedEvac Decals.
Here are mine:
UH-1H Vietnam DustOff
More here.
And a UH-1H SAR helo from White Sands Missile Range in a Hi-Vis/Arctic scheme.
More here.
The new Dragon boxing helps take care of some of the interior details that were lacking in the Panda boxings. They still need a bit of work to make them look good though. I have a few more in the stash too and am looking forward to building them.
As far as preshading, I don't like it nor do it since it looks fake to me. I have seen people use black w/OD and it seems to work though. I still thinks it looks fake. I have never seen an aircraft or helo with dark lines around the panels. To each their own.
Good luck.
Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!
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