History Brief

By June, 1967, Bell Helicopters delivered the first AH-1G Huey Cobra. The Snake, as she was also known, was the genesis, the initial production model gunship for the US Army’s attack helicopter fleet. It was flown by a crew of two, one pilot and one co-pilot/gunner (CPG), sitting in what is now the classic gunship tandem step-up configuration. The overall design was conventional; it was derived from the Bell UH-1 Huey. They basically slimed it down and added stub wings with hard points while keeping the aft empennage and the two-bladed tail rotor. It also retained the large 44’ diameter main two-bladed rotor. The Snake sported an M-28 chin turret with optional 2 × 7.62mm (0.308 in) multi-barrel miniguns, or 2 × M129 40mm grenade launchers, or one of each. It was powered by one 1400 shp Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft.

We at IPMS USA are truly blessed to have the passionate detail experts at Eduard providing us their latest releases. We appreciate your support, and thanks also to the IPMS reviewer corps leadership, (Steve, Dick, and Dave) for having confidence in my abilities to deliver the goods on this most daunting task!

Over the next few weeks, I will be reviewing some of the primary Eduard sets for HK (Hong Kong) Models’ 1/32 B-17G. I refer to this effort as a “metal storm” because there are at least a thousand little bits and pieces in these sets that I will attempt to do justice to without making a “dog’s breakfast” of the parts. I think I’m up to it, so let’s move on.

I must begin this review by giving a big thank-you to one of my fellow IPMS Wright Field Scale Modelers, Robert Cobb, who at our January 2013 modeling retreat got me hooked on Japanese Anime. “Thanks, Bob!” Specifically, Bob introduced me to the “Girls und Panzer” series. (And yes, it has snowballed from there.) “Girls und Panzer” follows several characters from the Ōarai Girls High School in Japan. The Ōarai girls participate in the sport of sensha-dō (tankery) along with several other all-girls high school teams located worldwide. The schools participate in non-lethal tank battles fought in World War 2-era tanks. The Ōarai Girls team runs a very eclectic mix of tanks, including the “Chi-Nu” tank operated by the school’s computer nerd team (The Anteater Team).