1:48 Mil Mi-17 cargo seats

Mil Mi-17, cargo compartment seats in 1:48 scale

A photo-etched add-on set from the Czech manufacturer Eduard for 1:48 scale, aimed at the seats in the cargo compartment of the Mil Mi-17 helicopter. The parts of thin sheet replace the simplified plastic version and give the cabin a depth that injection-molded plastic cannot offer, because its parts have to be much thicker for the sake of the mold.

The real subject

The Mi-17 is a transport helicopter from the extensive family derived from the Mi-8 type. Against the older machines of the line it received more powerful turboshaft engines and it carries the tail rotor on the left side of the boom, which is the most conspicuous recognition feature. The main rotor has five blades. The chief asset of the type is a roomy cargo cabin with large doors and rear clamshell doors, in which simple seats for the troops carried fold along the walls. That space is exactly what is well open to view on a model in 1:48, because the doors and the clamshell doors can be built open.

Building and painting tips

Separate the photo-etched parts with a scalpel against a hard surface and level the burrs with a file. Make the bends in a bending tool, so that the edges are sharp and straight; with repeated bends the sheet grows weak. Assemble and paint the seats away from the model and only then fit them into the cabin. Degrease metal parts that have no color finish and spray them with primer. The interior of the helicopter tends to be utilitarian, so it pays to set the edges off with a dry brush and to add a dark wash into the corners and joints.

Who the set is for

• builders of transport helicopters in 1:48 scale
• modelers who want to build the Mi-17 with the cabin open
• those interested in a diorama with troops disembarking or loading
• those who have already worked with photo-etched sheet