Mi-8 Hip - Afghan Vet

[John1]

So.. this is a project from a few years ago.  For some mad reason, I decided to build the massive Trumpeter Mi-8 to represent a helo serving during the USSR's Afghanistan adventure.  Here's my motivation:

Hard to believe that over 40 years later, there are still helo's probably landing on this peak, under fire.  

 

The list of aftermarket stuff I added is too long to fully recall but it includes the awesome Begemot decals (full exterior, interior and weapons), Part PE under-boom flare dispensers, very nice resin external pylons and rocket pods from a guy in Russia that calls himself Ruperator (he sells on Ebay), IR exhaust suppressors from the defunct Cobra Company (pretty much crap) and bits from a bunch other kits. 

 

The interior was completely built from scratch.  I'm guessing I spent at least a hundred hours of time on this.  First had to use a couple of tubes of squadron green putty to fill in all the voids between the framework, then just went crazy with styrene, sprue, etc.  Begemots decals really added to the final look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scratchbuilt nose MG position (one of the hardest parts of the build). 

 

That's it for interior shots, I'll be back to post exterior pics in a bit. 

[John1]

Just noted I posted in the wrong forum.   If any moderator happens to wander by, please feel free to re-post this in the RFI forum!

[alaninaustria]

What a great start mate!

Amazing

Cheers

Alan

[Alain Gadbois]

2 hours ago, John1 said:

Just noted I posted in the wrong forum.   If any moderator happens to wander by, please feel free to re-post this in the RFI forum!

Great project! Is it finished yet?

[John1]

7 hours ago, Alain Gadbois said:

  Is it finished yet?

Well.... it's a long story on that one.   I'll post the remaining exterior shots and then explain.

 

Here are the Ruperator pylons and rocket pods.  Mandatory for pretty much every Hip the USSR flew in Afghanistan.   Make's the helo much more b-a'ssed I think.   Great quality and great service if anyone is interested in ordering from this guy.  Decals are from Begemont.   I added all the smaller diameter bracing rods shown below.   A great deal of work but it had to be done.   One nice think about the Ruperator parts, he moulded brass rods in all the support struts to give the whole assembly extra strength. 

 

 

The Part PE flare dispensers.  A really nice set and again, mandatory for any Hip flying in Afghanistan once the CIA started sending in Stinger MANPADS.  Control cables and their sockets were added. 

 

The overall size of this thing is impressive.  The Mi-8 is a beast compared to my tiny little AH-6C Littlebird.

 

I rebuilt the rescue hoist to represent the later version used on this helo and added a PKM machine gun to the troop door.

 

Ruperator pylons and rocket pods installed.  Did I mention I really like these?  

 

 

 

Rotor head.  This took ages to add all the hydraulic lines.

 

Rotors.  These took ages to add all the Begemont decals.

 

And lastly various external pics.

I also replaced the lower landing gear struts with the solid fairing you see below. 

 

 

 

So that it's lads.  Unfortunately, about this point I opted to take a break and put her on a shelf out of the way.   Still had a few bits to add to her but I got interested in another project.  About six months ago, I decided to finally complete her.   Went to move something out of the way and instead, a large object hit my Hip.  The fragile Trumpeter landing gear snapped off.   Try as I might, I can't get it to hold back in place under the weight of this beast.    Someday I'll probably decide to give it another shot but that day is a ways off.  Hope you all enjoyed my progress and if I ever complete her, I'll be sure to provide another update.

 

 

Edited October 29, 2018 by John1

[Uncarina]

Thanks for sharing this. It looks amazing, and obviously an epic work!

 

cheers,  Tom

[Gazzas]

An amazing job!  Sad about the fall.

 

Gaz

[dodgem37]

This is some good stuff.  Great details.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Bruce_Crosby]

Lovely work!  I can almost smell them cargo bay, very realistic.

 

Regards,

 

Bruce Crosby

[Troy Molitor]

Lovely for sure.  When I went through flight school way back in the late 80’s the US Army had a Hip and Hind flying around Fort Rucker.  We weren’t supposed to discuss these evaluation flights but I recall the Hip on several occasions parked nearby on several training airfields we fly into.  I really like how you simulated the engine exhaust on the tail boom.  Not many do this but it’s always prevalent especially with flat paint in that area.   

 

Well done and looking good.  

[Radders]

Great work... I can remember the LSP user '11Bee' ? doing an Afghan Hip, but I can't find the thread. Love the mi-8... such a great helicopter.