BSteinIPMS
8th November 2004, 17:08
For the benefit of the newer members who are interested in helicopters, I've updated this review which was posted on the old forum. Hope you find it useful.
CORGI BELL UH-1C Iroquois - A REVIEW AND CRITIQUE
I’ve acquired the Corgi 1/48 scale Bell UH-1C “Huey” which is offered in their “Unsung Heroes” collection and thought I’d share some observations regarding it. This model carries Corgi stock number #US50409, and my example is number #3853 of 4900 produced. This is the fifth UH-1C Corgi has produced - if the catalogs are any guide - and overall I’m very impressed with it. It’s an excellent representation of what it purports to be and I’d recommend it. The model just “looks right” and I’m pleased to have it.
The model represents a gunship assigned to the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Division, An Khe, Central Highlands, Vietnam, 1966. It shows the reddish dust and mud so prevalent to the area covering the windscreen, the only clear portion of which is the swept area of the wiper blades. A bit overdone, perhaps, but nicely carried off.
Corgi has captured the long-chord asymmetrical vertical fin unique to the “C” model, something the plastic kit manufacturers seldom get right. In appearance the fin is convex on its starboard side, concave on its port. This provided an anti-torque moment to the right at high airspeed that unloaded the tail rotor, allowing more power from the engine to go to the main rotor for lift and thrust rather than being wasted on the tail rotor.
Corgi also shows the two white navigation or position lights – unique also to the “Charley Model” – which appear as two teardrop shapes on the aft tail boom. Huey models with the symmetrical vertical fin have a single navigation light stemming aft from the fin’s trailing edge.
The tail planes, actually synchronized elevators, show the correct inverted airfoil shape intended to hold the tail down at high airspeed resulting in a more level deck angle.
Another authentic touch is the transparent green color of the overhead cockpit windows. They appear to be just the right color and density.
The model duplicates the particle separator - a sort of fancy air filter - which appears on the model as a ladder-like apparatus covering the inlet plenum of the engine, and which runs from one side of the engine midsection, over the top, and down the other side. These were retrofitted to Hueys in Vietnam from 1966 onwards due to engine deterioration from dust erosion.
The main rotor assembly is well done by Corgi, and shows abundant detail and accuracy. I’m quite surprised to find the correct 27-inch chord of the Charley Model’s main rotor blades, increased from the standard 21-inch chord of other models. Corgi does a fine job replicating the remarkable Bell 540 “door hinge” rotor head, the stabilizer bar, dust boots, and various linkages. These are all well done and Corgi is to be congratulated.
This gunship is armed with the XM-5 Weapons Sub-system, a 40mm grenade launcher mounted in a turret on the nose with its ammunition feed chute emerging from the turret top and entering the nose through the battery compartment cover. This weapon was nicknamed the “chunker” due to the slow firing rate of the weapon and the peculiar noise it made.
The model also carries the XM-16 Weapons Sub-system comprised of hard points on each side of the fuselage, a universal bomb rack carrying a seven-tube rocket launcher with 2.75” Folding Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) within, and two M-60 7.62mm machine guns on flexible mountings per side. In practice the pilot flew from the right seat and fired the rockets using an electric gunsight that folded up against the overhead when not needed. The copilot sat in the left seat and fired the machine guns with an electric gunsight mounted on a pantograph that also folded up against the overhead when not in use. The guns flexed hydraulically in azimuth and elevation to the point of aim of the gunsight.
The rivet detail and panel lines on the tail boom and fuselage are a bit heavy but not too objectionably so.
My critique of the model is:
1. The two position lights on the aft tail boom are painted Olive Drab rather than white or silver. In this color they don’t appear to be lights.
2. The position lights on both sides of the fuselage are painted red, rather than the port light being red, the starboard light being green. Further, the whole teardrop-shaped light is painted rather than just the forward section representing the bulb. Lastly, the two lower position lights, situated below the lower forward corner of the cargo door opening, are painted Olive Drab and don’t appear to be lights.
3. The Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) teardrop-shaped sense antenna on the cabin roof is painted Olive Drab instead of black, as is the FM homing antenna that looks like a towel rack and is situated just aft of the sense antenna.
4. The VHF Omni directional Range (VOR) antennae on both sides of the aft tail boom appear as longitudinal rods, rather than standing proud as “towel rack” antennae.
5. The chin bubbles, or lower cockpit windows, are too long for the recess in which they sit. This causes them to protrude slightly forward from the nose revealing an unsightly edge of plastic.
6. The drag struts on the main rotor blades are too long. These push the blades away from the main rotor head at an angle, making the blade-head-blade line look like a zigzag rather than a straight line spanwise. If you don’t mind tinkering with your model you can clip a bit off these struts to allow the blades to swivel and line up with the head.
7. The tail rotor hub is simplified to the level of there being no detail at all.
8. The ammunition feed chutes to the machine guns are painted a brass color when they should be silver. Only the brass cartridge cases of the linked ammunition within the chutes should be brass. These flexible ammunition feed chutes run from the ammunition tanks within the cabin directly out to the guns, an improbable installation. In this configuration the chutes would block the main cabin doors from sliding forward to the closed position. Not very likely, considering it could get quite cold in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The chutes should actually run from the guns to an entry port in the fuselage just below the door. The chutes were then routed up through the cabin floor to the ammunition tanks, allowing the doors to slide closed. These ports are realistically cast into the model so I’m bewildered by the fact the chutes don’t run directly to them. An economy measure, perhaps.
9. The four M-60 machine guns carry rudimentary detail only and do not compare favorably with the level of detail found on similar injection-molded plastic kit weapons.
10. The red anti-collision light atop the engine cowling just forward of the exhaust stack could stand being taller and could be painted more prominently.
11. Standing back from the model a bit, I have doubts whether any Charley Model carried both the 40mm grenade launcher and the four machine guns. The ammunition for these weapons competed for stowage space within the aft portion of the cargo compartment and it’s unlikely there was room for both. Moreover, the weight represented by both weapons systems, coupled with the rocket launchers and the need for fuel, would preclude the aircraft from becoming airborne, even with half-empty fuel cells.
It was standard for “chunker”-equipped aircraft to carry the two rocket pods only, while aircraft armed with the four M-60s carried no grenade launcher, again just the rocket pods.
As an amateur aviation historian over the years I’ve learned that just as soon as you say “never”, someone produces a photograph which proves you wrong. But, until that day, when I actually hold that photo in my hand, I’ll stand by what I’ve said here.
I was there.
In summation, and despite my criticisms, this is an excellent model. My criticisms are based strictly on historical accuracy and reflect little knowledge on my part of the economics of the die casting industry. I find this helicopter model superior to the 1/48 scale Monogram or Aurora plastic kits of the Huey I’ve built long ago, I’m pleased to have it in my collection, and I applaud Corgi for it.
Well done, Gentlemen!
CORGI BELL UH-1C Iroquois - A REVIEW AND CRITIQUE
I’ve acquired the Corgi 1/48 scale Bell UH-1C “Huey” which is offered in their “Unsung Heroes” collection and thought I’d share some observations regarding it. This model carries Corgi stock number #US50409, and my example is number #3853 of 4900 produced. This is the fifth UH-1C Corgi has produced - if the catalogs are any guide - and overall I’m very impressed with it. It’s an excellent representation of what it purports to be and I’d recommend it. The model just “looks right” and I’m pleased to have it.
The model represents a gunship assigned to the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Division, An Khe, Central Highlands, Vietnam, 1966. It shows the reddish dust and mud so prevalent to the area covering the windscreen, the only clear portion of which is the swept area of the wiper blades. A bit overdone, perhaps, but nicely carried off.
Corgi has captured the long-chord asymmetrical vertical fin unique to the “C” model, something the plastic kit manufacturers seldom get right. In appearance the fin is convex on its starboard side, concave on its port. This provided an anti-torque moment to the right at high airspeed that unloaded the tail rotor, allowing more power from the engine to go to the main rotor for lift and thrust rather than being wasted on the tail rotor.
Corgi also shows the two white navigation or position lights – unique also to the “Charley Model” – which appear as two teardrop shapes on the aft tail boom. Huey models with the symmetrical vertical fin have a single navigation light stemming aft from the fin’s trailing edge.
The tail planes, actually synchronized elevators, show the correct inverted airfoil shape intended to hold the tail down at high airspeed resulting in a more level deck angle.
Another authentic touch is the transparent green color of the overhead cockpit windows. They appear to be just the right color and density.
The model duplicates the particle separator - a sort of fancy air filter - which appears on the model as a ladder-like apparatus covering the inlet plenum of the engine, and which runs from one side of the engine midsection, over the top, and down the other side. These were retrofitted to Hueys in Vietnam from 1966 onwards due to engine deterioration from dust erosion.
The main rotor assembly is well done by Corgi, and shows abundant detail and accuracy. I’m quite surprised to find the correct 27-inch chord of the Charley Model’s main rotor blades, increased from the standard 21-inch chord of other models. Corgi does a fine job replicating the remarkable Bell 540 “door hinge” rotor head, the stabilizer bar, dust boots, and various linkages. These are all well done and Corgi is to be congratulated.
This gunship is armed with the XM-5 Weapons Sub-system, a 40mm grenade launcher mounted in a turret on the nose with its ammunition feed chute emerging from the turret top and entering the nose through the battery compartment cover. This weapon was nicknamed the “chunker” due to the slow firing rate of the weapon and the peculiar noise it made.
The model also carries the XM-16 Weapons Sub-system comprised of hard points on each side of the fuselage, a universal bomb rack carrying a seven-tube rocket launcher with 2.75” Folding Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) within, and two M-60 7.62mm machine guns on flexible mountings per side. In practice the pilot flew from the right seat and fired the rockets using an electric gunsight that folded up against the overhead when not needed. The copilot sat in the left seat and fired the machine guns with an electric gunsight mounted on a pantograph that also folded up against the overhead when not in use. The guns flexed hydraulically in azimuth and elevation to the point of aim of the gunsight.
The rivet detail and panel lines on the tail boom and fuselage are a bit heavy but not too objectionably so.
My critique of the model is:
1. The two position lights on the aft tail boom are painted Olive Drab rather than white or silver. In this color they don’t appear to be lights.
2. The position lights on both sides of the fuselage are painted red, rather than the port light being red, the starboard light being green. Further, the whole teardrop-shaped light is painted rather than just the forward section representing the bulb. Lastly, the two lower position lights, situated below the lower forward corner of the cargo door opening, are painted Olive Drab and don’t appear to be lights.
3. The Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) teardrop-shaped sense antenna on the cabin roof is painted Olive Drab instead of black, as is the FM homing antenna that looks like a towel rack and is situated just aft of the sense antenna.
4. The VHF Omni directional Range (VOR) antennae on both sides of the aft tail boom appear as longitudinal rods, rather than standing proud as “towel rack” antennae.
5. The chin bubbles, or lower cockpit windows, are too long for the recess in which they sit. This causes them to protrude slightly forward from the nose revealing an unsightly edge of plastic.
6. The drag struts on the main rotor blades are too long. These push the blades away from the main rotor head at an angle, making the blade-head-blade line look like a zigzag rather than a straight line spanwise. If you don’t mind tinkering with your model you can clip a bit off these struts to allow the blades to swivel and line up with the head.
7. The tail rotor hub is simplified to the level of there being no detail at all.
8. The ammunition feed chutes to the machine guns are painted a brass color when they should be silver. Only the brass cartridge cases of the linked ammunition within the chutes should be brass. These flexible ammunition feed chutes run from the ammunition tanks within the cabin directly out to the guns, an improbable installation. In this configuration the chutes would block the main cabin doors from sliding forward to the closed position. Not very likely, considering it could get quite cold in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The chutes should actually run from the guns to an entry port in the fuselage just below the door. The chutes were then routed up through the cabin floor to the ammunition tanks, allowing the doors to slide closed. These ports are realistically cast into the model so I’m bewildered by the fact the chutes don’t run directly to them. An economy measure, perhaps.
9. The four M-60 machine guns carry rudimentary detail only and do not compare favorably with the level of detail found on similar injection-molded plastic kit weapons.
10. The red anti-collision light atop the engine cowling just forward of the exhaust stack could stand being taller and could be painted more prominently.
11. Standing back from the model a bit, I have doubts whether any Charley Model carried both the 40mm grenade launcher and the four machine guns. The ammunition for these weapons competed for stowage space within the aft portion of the cargo compartment and it’s unlikely there was room for both. Moreover, the weight represented by both weapons systems, coupled with the rocket launchers and the need for fuel, would preclude the aircraft from becoming airborne, even with half-empty fuel cells.
It was standard for “chunker”-equipped aircraft to carry the two rocket pods only, while aircraft armed with the four M-60s carried no grenade launcher, again just the rocket pods.
As an amateur aviation historian over the years I’ve learned that just as soon as you say “never”, someone produces a photograph which proves you wrong. But, until that day, when I actually hold that photo in my hand, I’ll stand by what I’ve said here.
I was there.
In summation, and despite my criticisms, this is an excellent model. My criticisms are based strictly on historical accuracy and reflect little knowledge on my part of the economics of the die casting industry. I find this helicopter model superior to the 1/48 scale Monogram or Aurora plastic kits of the Huey I’ve built long ago, I’m pleased to have it in my collection, and I applaud Corgi for it.
Well done, Gentlemen!