robert61267 Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 I'm wantin' to build a Flat Iron Huey in either 1/32nd or 1/35th scale. Are there any general agreements on which Huey would be best? I'm thinking that the Dragon 1/35th UH-1H Heer version might be the best choice; its newish and comes with a PE fret already. Also, what mods would be needed besides the Fireball goodies to make the UH-1V version, or will the Fireball mods suffice? Thanks! Robert Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 I'm wantin' to build a Flat Iron Huey in either 1/32nd or 1/35th scale. Are there any general agreements on which Huey would be best? I'm thinking that the Dragon 1/35th UH-1H Heer version might be the best choice; its newish and comes with a PE fret already. Also, what mods would be needed besides the Fireball goodies to make the UH-1V version, or will the Fireball mods suffice?Thanks! Robert Robert, Check the Flat Iron pics in the Flat iron thread for refs. I say go with the 1/32 Revell UH-1D/H kit as a base. The Fireball stuff is 1/32 and you can use the 1/35 Cobra Company UH-1H cockpit update set as well (at least it looks right on the 1/32 kit to me). Personally, I find modifying the 1/32 kit better than dealing with the grossly oversized rivets in the Dragon/Panda kit, but others have produced fine builds with the 1/35th kit as well. Good luck and post pics of your build. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 (edited) Id say go with the Dragon UH-1D, the nose of the Revell is bad shaped, but if you go with Dragon, you need to resize those rivets a lot, and youll need to buy Cobra company correction set and drive train upgrade, and fireball modelworks products, also i would buy the Academy UH-1C to use the rotor mast and tail rotor, and other details.... Dragon parts are bad... Hope you decide well and start your huey build!!! good luck! Rod. Edited September 2, 2010 by salvador001 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 (edited) The Dragon/Panda UH-1D/H/N kits are not that bad. The kits are pretty good, but need quite a bit of work to get them to come out looking great. The details are soft and sparse in the interior. The other issue is that there are parts for many different versions of Hueys in the box and the instructions don't show which to use for which version. You have to know what you are building and which parts to use. The 1/32 Fireball sest actually fit in them pretty well and can be used. I used some of the exterior stuff from the 1/32 ASE set on my WSMR UH-1H SAR build and had no issues. The oversized rivets are taken care of with a light overall sanding to knock them down a bit too. As noted, the blade is not correct in the Vietnam UH-1D/H version. The issue is the spine running the full length of the blade. It is actually a 212 (UH-1N) blade. The D/H blade doesn't have this feature. It is easy to fix though, as below. I have heard that is has been corrected in the UH-1D HEER version. The top one has been corrected. The middle is how it comes in the kit. The bottom one has the area to be removed in red. I also recommend the Cobra Company interior and drive train upgrade sets for it. They will really spice it up and make it look great. I used the interior set on both of mine below. Here are a couple helpful threads too: UH-1 D and H model differences. Dragon UH-1D in-box Review. Not issues for a FlatIron build, but... The other "issue" with the Vietnam UH-1D/H kit is that it only comes with one M23 doorgun mount. All D/H models in Vietnam after '65 had the doorgun setup, but had one on each side, for a total of 2 mounts. You will either need to get a second DML Vietnam Helo Crew set for the second M23 mount, or Cobra Company has an M23 set as well. Lastly, the decals aren't totally accurate in the kit. If you are looking for an accurately marked helo, check out the Huey decal sets from Fireball Modelworks; Vietnam Slick Decals and FlatIron MedEvac Decals. Here are mine: UH-1H Vietnam DustOff More here. And a UH-1H SAR helo from White Sands Missile Range in a Hi-Vis/Arctic scheme. More here. I am liking them more and more. The new Dragon boxing helps take care of some of the interior details that were lacking in the Panda boxings. They still need a bit of work to make them look good though. I have a few more in the stash too and am looking forward to building them. Good luck. Edited September 2, 2010 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 My pipe dream is that someone finally releases a new-tool 1/35 UH-1H. Until that happens, you have a choice of bad and badder. The winner (?) in my humble opinion is the Dragon kit. However, this kit is a beast as well. As others have noted, the rivets are more appropriate to a battleship than an aircraft. All the small bits are way overscale and poorly detailed. For example, the troop seat supports look like they were made from 4" dia steel pipe instead of small diameter tubing. The fabric seats themselves would scale out to be 2" thick in real life. It can all be fixed with some extra effort and a few aftermarket parts though. Good luck! John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robert61267 Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 You guys are awesome. THANK YOU! HeavyArty , nice job on those birds, and thank you for the detailed run through. I was planning on using the Archer rivets to replace the heavy kit rivets. That would probably make things look more in-scale and far less offensive. Okay, the Dragon kit it is. I would like to go with Revell, but the kit isn't out in general release and the prices on Ebay are getting way too high for an old model. Robert Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 You guys are awesome. THANK YOU!HeavyArty , nice job on those birds, and thank you for the detailed run through. I was planning on using the Archer rivets to replace the heavy kit rivets. That would probably make things look more in-scale and far less offensive. Okay, the Dragon kit it is. I would like to go with Revell, but the kit isn't out in general release and the prices on Ebay are getting way too high for an old model. Robert I can understand why the Dragon kit is more appealing, I just can't get over the fact that almost EVERYTHING in the interior is overscale. I think that is why the 1/35 Cobra Company parts seem to work so well for on the 1/32 Revell kit. Good luck with the build and post some pics as you go. I have a 1/32 Flat Iron bird in the works so maybe we can compare builds and see the difference. I know both will involve a LOT of work. Please someone make an ACCURATE D/H in ANY scale!!!! Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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