OH-58D 1/35 Academy/MRC

[Jarda_Hajecek]

Dear LSP team, after a UH-1C I would like to present another member of the Bell Helicopter family the OH-58D. 
The kit is from Academy/MRC and is some 23 years old but it provides quite a bit of modeling fun. Fit is great the glass fits even better than on the UH-1C from same manufacturer. I added just the wiring to the avionics suite so that I can keep all doors open, the seatbelts and helmets in the cockpit were added as well and the engine plumbing and an oil cooler that nobody can see but I know its there…and basic sensors in the MMS (Mast Mounted Sight) as the kit provides just a hollow ball. 

The kit started out as a Greek machine until I realized later in the build the Greek OH-58D’s did not have the “disco ball” so I went searching for an interesting US Army one and built one with the Punisher on the side and Han Solo on the nose only to find out at the end of the build this serial number did not have the disco ball either… well I can live with the knowledge as its a hobby and it should be fun right? So here she is although inaccurate, but I am happy with the end result. 
All marking including the punisher and Han Solo are painted using masks, stencils are decals from the kit. Paints are Vallejo Model Air, Mission Models and Ammo. Weathering courtesy of Ammo and Flory Models accompanied by AK acrylic pencils for chipping. 
Greetings from Prague, Czech Republic 

Family Photo First:

 

 

 

[Kagemusha]

Fantastic model, thanks for sharing. 

[Greif8]

That is some superb work man!  Great detailing and painting.

 

Ernest 

[TankBuster]

Outstanding work, well done. Cheers.

[Cicciuzzo]

bellissimo davvero un ottimo lavoro

[Oldbaldguy]

Oh, very nice.  That is an awful lot of extra stuff for this little airplane to carry around.  Not sure how Bell convinced it to do it.

[Jarda_Hajecek]

On 11/28/2024 at 2:25 PM, Oldbaldguy said:

Oh, very nice.  That is an awful lot of extra stuff for this little airplane to carry around.  Not sure how Bell convinced it to do it.

It is a combination of new rotor system and other tweaks. Its practically a Bell 206B airframe with a Bell 407-like rotor system and other features. But yes that little bird can carry a lot of stuff. A nifty pocket size helicopter scout with precision munitions delivery capability. 

[Troy Molitor]

Oh nice!  I flew both types along with the AH-1S cobra while in the Army Guard.  Nicely done.  

Thanks for sharing this with us.