Cobra Company 1/32
XM-35 20mm Cannon for AH-1G

Here is an interesting weapons configuration for the Revell 1/32 AH-1G Cobra, the XM-35 20mm cannon. Cobra Company has released a conversion for the Revell kit that replicates the parts and fittings that make up this interesting 'gunship'.

You can see in the accompanying photos that the XM-35 is essentially a pair of conformal ammo cannisters, one on each side of the airframe, interconnected through a feed chute under the belly. All of this ammo is routed to a single GE M61 Vulcan mounted to a flex mount on the port wing station. The remainder of the aircraft's armament is removed out of the chin turret and wing stations to compensate for the weight of all of that 20mm ammo. While I don't have the specs for the AH-1G, the standard Vulcan can fire 6,000 rounds per minute (100 rounds per second!). At that rate of fire, the AH-1G only has several bursts available before running out of ammunition.

This detail set has the ammo cannisters, gatling gun, mounts, and blast panels all cast in resin. An innovative ammo chute is cast in rubber so it can be fitted to your particular installation.

If you're looking for a distinctive configuration for your Revell kit, this is definitely one worth considering. This snake has a serious bite!

This detail set is available directly from Cobra Company (www.cobracompany.com).

My sincere thanks to Cobra Company (www.cobracompany.com) for this review sample!