MN Hobby, in collaboration with Hobby 2000, is releasing an AH-1Z Viper helicopter kit in 1/35 scale.
The model includes academy plastic decals and decals for two machines in Czech colours - 0486 and 0487.
It was the helicopter 0487 that was exhibited on the Days of Nato in Ostrava in 2023 and we are bringing some photos to the gallery.
The kit includes a sheet of decals printed at Cartograf containing most of the labels and markings for the two machines. Next in the box we find a sheet of etchings with small parts.
The instructions, outside the normal construction process, include a detailed description of the location of the labels (3x A4) and the camouflage scheme (1x A4).
The colours are described by several manufacturers, but missing from our favourite Colours Mr.Paint. Here we bring the numbers of the four main camouflage colours:
Dark green FS34096 MRP370
Gunship gray FS36118 MRP040
Medium gray FS36270 MRP039
Light ghost gray FS36375 MRP038
The moldings are beautiful with no sinkholes or plucks. The surface is littered with tiny positive rivets, the panelling lines are negative. The Academy also used multi-part moulds for some of the pieces. This, on the one hand, saves time and worries about fitting, on the other hand it will be necessary to remove the dividing line in the contact of the moulds, which, especially in places between rivets, will not be entirely straightforward. This applies especially to the tail girder. The surface is furnished with nice protruding details, various grids, some of which we add from etched planchette. The cockpit is slightly simpler, it will be convenient for fawns to replace the seats and dashboards, the seats in the kit are belt-free, the overlay can also be left in the open position. We can use the enclosed white vinyl foil masks for the clear parts. The rotors are also nice from the kit, we can add different wires to their mechanism. We will also find quite a lot of weaponry in the mouldings, but it will be good to stick to photographs of real machines and not blindly hang everything available.
There seems to be a relatively simple and quick build ahead if we decide to build out of the box alone.
We'll stick around for a little bit of camouflage spraying. Our machines have diffuse field interfaces, but not significantly. The more advanced modellers will certainly give it a freehand, the others can help themselves to snakes rolled out of Tackit or other similar non-greasy plasticine.
We also get a little sweaty when applying labels, which are blessed, but quality decals Cartograf will make our job easier.
MN Hobby should eventually release the Vipera model in 1/48 scale with repackaged Kitty Hawk mouldings. So we have much to look forward to, which the great Viper will not fit in the display case.
