Once again IPMS USA provides our thanks to Ross at SAC for providing us one of his gear sets to use and review! In this case, it is a skid set for the New(er) Trumpeter UH-1B

This new Huey from Trumpeter kit is a mixed bag; Glad to have it but it needs work. The eagle-eyed among us will note the underside of my first one is being heavily redacted/sanded. That’s because the company appears to have researched the kit using a combat veteran complete with a bunch of battle-damage repair patches. They all need to go for a new bird.

I mentioned this a while back online and someone obviously within the company pretty strongly gave a “nuh-uh” answer and pointed to their photo references, a Huey from a museum, (I’ll bet somewhere in Vietnam) who made the assertion the panels were always there.

Background About ResKit

ResKit products are designed and manufactured in Kyiv, Ukraine. Founded in 2015, the company produces high-quality, detailed resin aftermarket parts, engines, wheels, and conversion kits for scale model aircraft, armor, and dioramas. Despite the ongoing war, they continue to produce and ship their products from Ukraine.

Historcal Notes

There is a considerable amount of information regarding this system, and I feel some place for further research is needed. I recommend using Wikipedia and searching for “AGM-130C” for a wealth of information.

Product Description

I should mention that there is another resin option by another manufacturer for this same weapon set, but it is not nearly as detailed or precise, which is quickly evident, especially in the surface details. While this kit is shown for the pylon for an F-16I, F-15E and F-111F, I believe you’ll also find photos showing it mounted on other aircraft as well.

Packaging and Product

The sample review I received came in a nicely packed blister pack as do all SAC metal landing gears sets. There are no instructions included, but the set goes together in the same format as the intended kit parts [Italeri].

Review Process

I separated the tires from the white metal pour stubs by using an X-acto blade & fine sprue snips. I then cleaned up the parts with files and a brass wire brush w/ a Dremel tool. The Dremel tool needs to be done in a slow and methodical manner as to not damage the parts. The effort is well worth it since it polishes the white metal to a high shine for later washes.

Since I like to build in-flight, I attempted to get a gunner in the turret, but it was not to be. The cage within which he was supposed to fit was so tight, that even after cutting off an arm and shaving him down substantially, once I got him in, he was still too tall for the canopy to fit over him. I decided he would be taking a nap down near the rear gun.

The detail of the kit is terrific – nice panel lines and rivets, plenty of detail in the cockpit, etc. The PE added some dimension to the open bomb bay doors, and nice scale to the underwing radar.

Working on these makes me want to buy the kit just so I can add the crew!!

ResKit is doing some crisp lines, creases, and detail work. The resin comes off the supports cleanly without risk of breaking or chipping. The attachment points are very fine and placed in inconspicuous places, behind the legs and the back of the helmet for example. Another thing I’ve noticed in my ResKit reviews of late is that the resin is very easy to sand. It takes almost no effort with some 400 grit wet-sand paper to clean these up without a trace of the connections.

The instructions are easy to interpret and include a color chart in a neutral choice of green, grey, and khaki. These skycranes have seen all kinds of service so I expect many modelers will identify their uniform of choice. Both collective and stick are well detailed and the attachment point at the hand is going to be very solid. There’s a lot of glass in the skycrane cockpit and these figures will definitely shine!