History

The US Army has been conducting operations using helicopters in dusty environments for many years. With recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was found that the helicopters were having problems due to ingesting too much dust and debris. This problem was causing early engine failures and crashes due to these failures. To combat the problem, the Army developed an Engine Inlet Barrier Filter to clean the air and prevent FOD (Foreign Objects and Debris) from entering the engines.

Note: Click on the thumbnail at the right for an excerpt from the Army Technical Manual (TM) for the filters.

The Kit

Cobra Company has a vast array of updates and detail sets for UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. This latest released is great addition to Academy’s 1/35 UH-60 kit. It adds the Engine Inlet Barrier Filters that have been fitted to Blackhawks in Iraq and Afghanistan. This set allows you to update any of Academy’s Blackhawk kits.
The set comes in a Ziploc baggie attached to a paper card containing, 12 parts cast in blemish free, light gray resin. The parts are bagged to keep them from being damaged during shipping. Also included is a nicely done sheet of instructions with descriptions and clear pictures to assist in assembly.

The Parts

The individual parts are sharply cast and have no flash. The parts look awesome. The finest detail of rivets and the fine lines of the filters are exquisite. There are no real downfalls to the set.
The assembly is easy and simply laid out in the instructions. First you attach the transition ducts to the filter assembly boxes, next attach these to the helicopter’s intakes, and then attach the support poles. Painting instructions are also called out on the directions sheet. There is also a clear drawing and a picture of the filters installed on a Blackhawk for reference.

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