Hi guys (and gals),just gotten hold of a kinda vintage Revell 1/32nd boxed set called Helicopter Patrol containing two kits,one being a UH-1 and the other being an OH-6 Loach.My question is is this another casting of the panda kit i`ve heard so much about.I`d like to know coz i`m thinking about trying to get an etch set for it and do`nt want to fork out mega-bucks for it,only to find it does`nt fit.

Danny,

any chance you can post a photo of this ??? I'd love to see it.

Also the old revell kit in 32nd is nothing like the panda huey... the old revell kit needs some work to it.. and well I think the panda does also... the panda is alil thick on the plastic in MHO... others would say it's great... I still prefer the old 32nd hueys.. revell germany, revell and even monogram came out with 2 I think.. I've been looking to get more.. but finding them old birds is a royal lady... as for PE for the 32nd kits.. I haven't seen any, though there are some for the 35th brids out there... panda adds a set in there Nam huey and the german rescue huey as well... lol picked up the rescue chopper just for the PE lol



just my 2 cents worth..

The Revell 1/32nd Huey is COMPLETELY seperate from the 1/35th Panda/Dragon Huey. The 1/32nd Revell is superior in shape and detail, IMHO. Check both Cobra Company and Fireball Modelworks for some sweet resin upgrades.

Just won a Revell 1/32 UH1D with a 1968 date stamp on the box... 1st Air Cav decals...
all for 15 quid including postage... I was most of the way through the Dragon UH1D and struggling with all of those rivets, when I got bored... but I saw this and won.
I am hoping it's a good one but is the difference in scale/size very evident? I was going to use it in a dio with some 1/35th figures - will it look too big?

Yes, the Revell 1/32 Huey is very good. It is lacking on some interior details, like the B piller detail behind the pilots, just as the Dragon one is. The cockpit is great though. It goes well with 1/35 figures, gear, and accessories. I use them together often. I have used them on this exact model as well.

The guns on the kit are horrible though, and all wrong. The US never used D or H model (actually the kit is an H model) Hueys in the gunship configuration. All D and H models were "Slicks" (troop carriers) with M23 doorgun mounts w/M60s on them. The kit is trying to depict an M6 quad M60C w/M157 rocket pod gunship mount. Only short fuselage B and C models were equipped this way.

Best bet is to get a set of M23 doorgun mounts from 2 of the Dragon US Helo Crew Vietnam set (as is in the Dragon UH-1D kit, they only have one each for some stupid reason), or a resin set from Cobra Company.

If you are looking for different decals or some extra detail/conversion sets, check out Fireball Modelworks. Joseph does some great decals, a MedEvac conversion set, and a Aircraft Survivability Set (anti Heat missile measures) for them. Cobra Company also has some great sets for it as well.

Good luck.

Thanks Gino, that's what I'd hoped... I have the quad 60 set from Cobra for my UH1C seawolves along with the Fireball decals, both of which are great... And I have a pair of M23 mounts to fit the Dragon/Panda one I'm halfway through... I might use the best parts of both to make one for the dio...
Meanwhile I have two C models, one of which will be the Seawolves one as mentioned above (just waiting for the missing weapons sprue to come from Academy for the rockets) and the other will be a crashed army gunship on its roof for an interim dio I'm doing with eight Hobbyfan airborne figs investigating the wreckage. Could somebody remind me which way the Huey was supposed to be rolled to prevent the drivetrain obliterating the cockpit? I have it in my head it was to starboard, so when the rotors hit the deck, they would push the shaft and gearbox backwards away from the rest of the airframe... anybody any idea if this is correct? I want to model a realistic crashed bird but don't want it to look like shredded metal!
Taa

Richard