| Date of Review |
May 2007 |
| Manufacturer |
Panda |
| Subject |
UH-1N Twin Huey |
| Scale |
1/35 |
| Kit Number |
35008 |
| Primary Media |
Styrene |
| Detail Media |
Styrene |
| Clear Media |
Styrene |
| Pros |
Still the only UH-1N kit on the market
in 1/35 |
| Cons |
Still the only UH-1N kit on the market
in 1/35 |
| Skill Level |
Basic |
| MSRP (USD) |
$32.95 |
Background
The Bell UH-1N Twin Huey was a stretched version of the UH-1H
that was developed for the Canadian and US armed forces. In addition
to a fifteen person capacity (one pilot, 14 passengers), the UH-1N
differed from previous versions of this Bell series by having two
engines. First flown in 1968, the Twin Huey finally offered twin-engine
reliability - if an engine quits, there's still another one that
can keep you aloft.
The Navy and Marine Corps are the principal users of the type
within the US armed forces because twin-engine redundancy over
water is a good thing. For the same reasons, a LARGE number of
countries operate this version of the aircraft (or the commercial
Bell Model 212). The aircraft is also license-built in Italy by
Augusta-Bell.
This aircraft has seen (and continues to see) a wide range of
missions including liaison aircraft, transport, air ambulance/medevac,
command platform, attack airfaircraftraft, observation aircraft,
anti-submarine warfare aircraft, search and rescue aircraft, VIP
aircraft, and more. The US Marines have opted away from the UH-60
Blackhawk family choosing instead to upgrade their UH-1Ns with
a four-bladed rotor, new engines and transmission, new avionics,
and much of this in common with the AH-1W upgrades, which will
render the UH-1Y Venom.
The Kit
Panda Models turned out an interesting kit that has not been done
(surprisingly) by any other manufacturer - the 1/35 scale UH-1N
Twin Huey. Like their other offerings, the kit is a bit on the
simple side, but the street price is comparible to the
Academy series of single-engine Hueys in this scale. It is the
only Twin-Huey kit produced in 1/32-1/35 scale to date.
Molded in light gray styrene, the kit is presented on four parts
trees, plus a single tree of clear parts. While the kit doesn't
quite capture the nose profile of the aircraft, there have been
several aftermarket upgrades available to not only correct the
nose, but detail the airframe and bring the airframe up to current
USMC configuration. The principal source for these updates
was Cobra Company, but they've shut down production.
Some of the updates that were available included:
If you have any of these sets or can talk one of your friends
out of theirs, you too can tranform this model into a serious contender.
You can always try to convince Cobra Company to put these back
into production...
Even without these updates, the model builds up into a reasonable
rendition of a 1980s era Twin Huey, not to mention the wide array
of Bell 212s out there in international service.
Conclusions
This kit is still available and can also be found at bargain prices
if you shop around. If you are a rotary-wing modeler, this is still
your only option for the Twin Huey until another manufacturer opts
to produce another.
Recommended.
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