[Revell]
Hughes OH-6 in 1/32 scale
modelling report
The American Hughes company developed a small single-engined helicopter to U.S. Army specification. It had a crew of 2+2 passenger in the small bulbous cabin. First flight was in 1963. It was called the OH-6 Cayuse but was often known as the "Loach". In the Vietnam war it played a significant role on the battlefield. More than 1,400 were manufactured also for civil use.
In 1969 Revell USA released a Hughes OH-6A 1/32 kit #H-146. It appeared in various other releases such #H-161 -0389 title "SWAT POLICE HELICOPTER" with a few new parts and other decals.
This is an oldie which I bought second hand!
Some parts were already detached from the sprues...
The kit has about 50 parts and in my kit is dark green plastic.
The parts have raised rivets but I retained these... this is a helicopter in 1/32 scale.
A few simple parts for the M27 machine gun are also in this kit. OH-6 had some different tail configurations. In the kit are also a few other parts for the pedestral. In the instructions it is not indicated to add ballast weight below the nose floor.
The kit decals are for the SWAT Police chopper which were not in my box as I bought it second hand. I opted to make a OH-6A model in a U.S. ARMY scheme. The decals will be home designed and printed. More about that later on.
OK, let's start building.
The kit cabin doors are moulded closed. Many Cayuses flew in Vietnam with doors removed. The doors were cut out with razor saw and inscribing. Ensure not to break the frame. The doors can be discarded.
The cabin interior thus now needs some extra details. The rear exhaust #28 was deepened with a tube. The fuselage halves were joined up AFTER nose weight was added below the front floor.
A bit putty and sanding was needed. Than a base grey coat was airbrushed. It looked OK.
The skids were added. The model interior was masked and now the exterior got an "olive drab" "Vietnam" colour. I airbrushed Revell Aqua #46 acrylic paint which is about FS 34087. The scheme had a yellow spine, yellow tail and orange tail, after masking first a white base coat was airbrushed and than Revell Aqua 15 yellow (for FS33538) and Revell 30 orange (for FS32197).
The pedestral part #13 and the small base part #12 were used. Also 2 pilot control sticks #10 and pedals #6. The interior has medium grey paint for which Revell 76 Aqua was used.
From scrap various details were added in the interior. A rear bench was suggested. The instrument panel was suggested with spare decals. A fire extinguisher was added and the seats got belts/ straps. The pedestral back got some electric wires and scrap detail.
The windscreen was masked and frames airbrushed black. It was installed and upper windows were set. Some white glue was used to close gaps and hand painted when dried. There is a black edge.
The M27 minigun was fitted with some extra detail to suggest the ammo belts.
Home designed and laser printed decals were made looking at photos on internet. I picked markings of the U.S. Army A Troop / 7th Cavalry regiment around 1970 in Vietnam.
The 1/32 decals are laser printed. If you want a print for your model, let me know.
The model got a few gloss varnish coats to avoid "silvering", that is spoiling decal appearance because of trapped air bubbles. The gloss varnish airbrushed was my usual Johnson Pledge/ Kleer acrylic that airbrushes better thinned with 5% Gunze Sangyo Levelling Thinner.
After decalling, the olive drab areas got a semi-mat varnish coat. Shield off the clear areas and airbrushed was a mix of Johnson Pledge + 5% Gunze Levelling Thinner + few drops of Tamiya X-21 flat base matting agent.
The 4 rotor blades were airbrushed medium grey with yellow tips. The rotor head got some extra wires for the hydraulics. The tail rotor was painted white with red stripes.
All rotors were loosely set in place. A few anti-collision lights made from clear plastic completed the model.
The end result is seen here.
Hughes OH-6A batch "0344" s/n 66-17793, U.S. Army A Troop / 7th Cavalry regiment around 1970, Vietnam. 
... in a scenery ....
References
- Taylor, Jane's All The World Aircraft, 1971-72.
- Air international magazine, Vol 15 / no. 1
- Hughes OH-16, Porter, Aero series #38, 1990
Internet:
Wikipedia OH-6
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