Anybody ever wonder, why did kitmakers stop producing so many interesting 1/48 helicopters, and never released them again? Revell used to make a Sikorsky H34, an H19, and a Kaman Seasprite. Fujimi put out some great ones: the Alouette III, the Westland Wasp, and the Gazelle. Some of these helos were widely used, by many air forces. Some are still flying even today. I wonder if the kits didn't sell very well?
I wish some of these manufacturers would stop burying us alive in an avalanche of Apaches and bring back some variety. Lately, I've seen some cool aftermarket decals for the Alouette and Gazelle. I wish those kits were easier to find.

Hear Hear!, J.

The Fujimi Wasp was my second helo kit. (The Airfix Scout was first.)

I'd love to see some of them again.

Graeme.

Me too, but I have heard that the H-34 mold was damaged. How about a new one and some that have never been released

Speaking of helicopters that have never been released in 1/48th scale, Heli-Kit News says that a company called Navigator, in Nizhniy Novogorod in Russia, is producing a kit of the Mi-8 "Hip" helicopter in that scale. I think the Mi-8 has been flown by something like seventy or eighty air forces (including the Blackwater "air force "). Just imagine all the possible paint schemes and markings, for modellers. Linden Hill Imports will be selling them, supposedly for just $45.00, not terribly expensive for a resin kit. I hope they arrive here in America soon.
Maybe Linden Hill or Begemot will step up and print us some cool decal sheets for the "Hip." Guys, if you're listening, how about some markings for Mi-8s in the service of Abkhazia, the Palestinian Authority, Somaliland, South Ossetia, and Transnistria? (I am really fascinated by unrecognized countries).

I think the 1/48 H-34 from Revell will never be seen again because the mould was destroyed in an accident. A train crash in fact, if my memory serves me well. Some else is bound to produce a 1/48 H-34 before too long though.

Time to shop eBay!

Sounds like a perfect subject for Academy to continue their Marine helicopter series!!! Following up on their CH-53E and CH-46 releases.... an H-34 just seems logical. Hoping, anyways