Mil Mi-24V Hind E

Trumpeter 

Previewed by Terry Ashley
 

Trumpeter's 1/35 scale Mi-24V Hind may be ordered online from Squadron.com

Following on from their excellent Mi-4 Hound comes this long awaited 1/35 kit of the big Mi-24 Hind and I can say straight up, the wait was worth it. 

The kit is big with the fuselage measuring approx. 510mm from nose to tip of rear fin and represents a mid to late production Mi-24V Hind E with features such as the AT-6 Missile Guidance pod, the two RHAW sensors mounted on the forward fuselage sides and the search/landing light on the Port side, the RHAW sensor mounted on the Gun Camera faring and the top mounted IR Jammer as well as the mounting plates for the engine exhausts IR suppressors although there are no suppressors in the kit and an extensive suite of antenna and aerials for the Hind E. 

The kit consists of 451 parts in light grey plastic plus another 18 in clear plastic, an etched fret with 48 parts and a large decal sheet plus two photo film panels for the main instrument dials.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The quality of the moulding is excellent and highlights the marked improvement in Trumpeter kits over a very short time period with finely engraved panel lines and bolt/rivet details but the thing most apparent is the almost total lack of pin ejector marks on the parts. Parts such as the Pilot’s door, main cabin doors and the separate clear engine clamshell doors all have details on both sides but absolutely no pin marks while the insides of the main undercarriage doors only have one shallow pin park which is in a spot making its removal very easy, there are many other finely moulded parts where the only cleanup needed is the usual mould seams. The clear parts are quite thin and well formed but with one minor issue which we’ll look at later and the etched parts add a degree of finesse and detail to the kit.

The Cockpits/Cabin interior:

The two seats have separate cushions with etched belt buckles while the belts can be made from any material such as paper or tape.

The pilot’s instrument panel has the main panel as a clear part with fine raised detail and holes to allow the photo film dials to show through, the large starboard panel in treated in the same manner with clear front section and photo film for the dials. 

The large cabin/cockpit floor has various instrument panels and bulkheads attached which have nice engraved and raised details along with well detailed control and cyclic sticks but no foot rudder pedals. The distinctive cooling fan in front of the gunner has etched fan blades for a nice scale look. 

The clear canopy is in one piece with separate pilot’s door with clear window and separate gunner’s window/door both of which can be shown open and includes the support braces and other details on the inside of the Pilot’s door such as the grab handle and rear view mirror with etched support but there is no map case or storage bag detail. 

The wiper blades are provided as etched parts and the extended air data sensor boom has etched winglets on the tip again for good detail definition. To achieve the correct contour of the curved rear canopy section there is a mould seam line on the left side of the canopy moulding and this will need to be sanded and the plastic polished smooth, this is similar the central seam on the Tamiya F-14 and F15 and Hasegawa F-16 cockpit canopies where there is a central seam line as a result of the two part mould to get the correct contours. 

The rear cabin has a separate rear bulkhead with basic details and a roof/ceiling with nice details included and there are the central crew seats, overall the cockpits/cabin have most of the basics provided with scope for additional wiring and detail to enhance the final appearance. Referring to the photos in the references listed below will show there is a wealth of exposed wiring and other small fittings in the cockpits that will keep the super detailer busy for some time.

The Engines:

The two TV3-117V engines have all the basic structures including additional accessories and large sections of plumbing and look quite good but again there is a wealth of additional wiring and smaller plumbing that can be added by the super detailer.  The three part exhaust outlets have the outer section as a single piece so there is no join seam to eliminate on the inside which is good.

The front Vortex dust/debris extractors are also three parts each that fit to a front bulkhead with good detail definition on the parts, while the large clamshell engine doors are included as clear parts. 

These as mentioned have no pin marks to be cleaned and have basic rib details on the insides but the real ribs are more pronounced and could do with additional work if you want to show the door open.

The small air intake on the top side of the doors is actually moulded open which is an indication of the fine moulding in the kit.

The central oil cooler intake with de-icing system mounted above the engines is in two parts with good details included. 

Fuselage:

As mentioned the fuselage is huge and moulded in the usual two halves and includes very finely engraved panel line and rivet detail, the rivets are actually raised on the real machine but I don’t think this will be overly noticeable on the final model as they are not that visible when looking at picture of Hinds except in close up and can always be accentuated by a dark wash.   

There are also other raised details where applicable such as the details above the cabin door and oil drain outlets to the upper rear of cabin, these are again moulded open, while the large APU exhaust on the port side has good detail with quite deep indentation but could do with being drilled open completely.

The small intake above the port exhaust outlet has an etched screen to be added for good detail definition and the intake screens on the rear tail section are also provided as etched parts that fit into indentations provided on the fuselage moulding. 

The large fairing under the nose for the missile guidance systems is a separate part which eliminates the central seam line and sees the large FLIR/LLLTV missile optical guidance system in two parts with good detail definition for the external door operating systems although the protective doors are moulded closed. 

The AT-6 missile guidance pod is in three parts with the rounded nosecone a single piece again eliminating any seam line cleanup. The pod has the small boarding step fairing included but without the tread plate pattern but that is getting really picky and you will need to add the small retaining rod from thin wire to finish off the pod and there is also a separate centrally mounted flood light.  

The two side mounted L-006 ‘Berjozka’ RHAW sensors are separate parts with good detail and you have to open up the locating holes in the fuselage if you are going to include these on your model, this also allows you to build an earlier model Hind E or Mi-35 without the RHAW sensors if you wish? The fixed port side mounted search/landing light is also as separate part for good detail definition as is the air conditioning inlet mounted just behind the light fairing; this is in two parts for good detail definition even though it is a very small part and goes to show the level of detailing in the kit. 

At the front is the USPU-24 four barrelled rotating gun assembly and this consists of nicely detailed gun barrels (the barrels need drilling) and mounting which are trapped between the outer curved sides of the ‘turret’ which in turn is attached to the round base plate, all this allows the guns to rotate and elevate when the assembly is completed so you can pose the guns in any position. 

The large cabin doors are in two halves for each side with clear windows and mounting and retaining rods for when shown open. The doors have details on both sides and again there are no pin marks on the insides to deal with and under the rear fuselage is the small inspection hatch and compartment with internal bulkheads and separate door again minus pin marks on the inside ribbing details.  

There are many other separate small details and antenna provided to be added to the fuselage such as the Pilot boarding step in etched metal and forward pitot tubes each side of the cockpit and the ARK-15 loop antenna, DISS-15V antenna and UHF antenna on the undersides of the rear fuselage and RHAW sensor on the fin trailing edge. There are also the top mounted UHF/VHF communications antennas and rear strobe light as well as the large ‘disco’ IR countermeasures device on the upper rear fuselage with the IFF aerials front and rear being the blade type plus the large tail bumper under the tail. All of these antenna and fittings are nicely detailed and well within scale (except the IFF blades that could do with thinning) and all this adds to the ‘busy’ external look typical of Russian aircraft. 

On the starboard front of the fuselage is a separate slide out ammo loading box but this doesn’t have any ammo included and looks a little bare, but the option is there to add your own ammo belts if showing this open. 

The rear all moving tailplanes are in two halves each with nice surface details with both engraved and raised details and are designed to be movable after assembly with an internal part that lines up the two supporting pins on the tailplanes as you join the fuselage halves. 

When fitting the two fuselage halves together you have to align the cockpit/engine assembly, the front gun turret, the rear inspection compartment, the top rotor head mounting plate and the internal fitting for the tailplanes, these shouldn’t be a problem as each have well fitting and solid attachment points on the inside of the fuselage halves but be sure not the glue the gun turret if you wish this to be movable after assembly.

Undercarriage:

The twin nose wheel has the main leg, the rear Y brace and retraction piston all with nice details plus the wheels in two halves each and separate centre hub, the detail on the hub is a little shallow but is there.

The nose gear door again has detail on both sides with the smallest of pin marks to be cleanup up on the inside, added to the door are the two support brackets between the door and main leg as well as the small white ID light on the outside of the door for a very complete assembly.

This assembly is fitted to its own nose gear bay that is attached to the bottom of the cabin floor, the inside of the bay is rather sparse and there is some plumbing that can be added to the inside you wish. 

The main undercarriage bays are in two parts each which again could do with some additional plumbing. The main legs are made up of three main parts each with the wheels in two halves with separate hubs, the detail on the legs and shock absorbers is again quite nice and all that is needed is the addition of the brake lines.

The wheel hubs have good detail but you will have to add the small valve fittings.

The two undercarriage tubs are fitting to the inside of the fuselage halves and the large mounting brackets should provide for a solid attachment and there are additional separate fittings added to the lower fuselage after the bays are attached to add additional details.

The upper undercarriage doors have nice external engraved details and internal detail with just a single pin mark to be removed while the lower doors have the distinctive bulge with external engraved details and internal detail again with very minor pin marks to be removed and are very easy to deal with.  

Stub Wings:

The two wings have upper and lower halves that include the same fine engraved and raised details as the fuselage with the upper parts including the integrated downward end pylon. The port wing tip includes the gun camera fairing with RHAW sensor and has a separate round end part for good definition.

The weapons pylons are in two parts each and the pylon fairings on the wings have separate front sections for good detail definition and about the only addition needed are the static dischargers on the wing trailing edges.

For the outer fixed pylon there is a choice of AT-2 or AT-6 launch rails depending of the type of missile you wish to use?

The wings fit snugly to the fuselage without any gaps to be filled and you should let the glue dry completely here before attaching the pylons and ordnance.

Rotors:

The main rotor head has the central section to which is added the five main blade roots with separate torque linkages and pitch control levers attached to the lower control plate and top hub cap. The detail on these parts is very good and effectively shows the solid construction of these parts, the only additions needed are the large electrical heating cables which are apparent on any images of the rotor heads.

The five blades themselves have raised ribbing and bolt head details on the roots as well as fine engraved details on the end plates and when assembled have a diameter of about 500mm, this kit will need a large home after assembly. 

The three blade tail rotor is in one piece with separate central pitch control levers with nice raised and engraved details and again there is some small plumbing to be added. The large tail rotor housing of the correct shape is part of the port fuselage part and includes the same engraved details.

Ordnance:

The kit offers a wide range of ordnance covering just about every weapon the Hind E is qualified to carry with the details and moulding being excellent with a mixture of raised and engraved detail and is well up to the standard of the rest of the kit and not looking like an afterthought as with some kits. 

The list of ordnance in the kit is:

2 x FAB-50 Bombs

2 x FAB-100 Bombs

4 x FAB-250 Bombs

2 x FAB-500 Bombs

2 x OFAB-100 Bombs

2 x OFAB-250 Bombs

2 x ZAB-100 Bombs

2 x ZAB-500 Bombs

2 x KMGU-2 Cluster Bombs

4 x PTB-450 Fuel Tanks

2 x 9-A-669 Grenade Launcher (with alternate barrels for a 9-A-624 triple Gun Pod)

2 x UPK-23 250 Twin Cannon Pod

4 x UB-32A-24 Rocket Pods

4 x B8V20 Rocket Pods

4 x 9M17P Falanga Anti-Tank Missiles (AT-2 Swatter)

4 x 9M114 Sturm Anti-Tank Missiles (AT-6 Spiral) 

Some of the tail fins on the bombs could do with some minor thinning for a better appearance and the AT-2s will need the wiring added when fitted on their rails while the UB-32A-24 Rocket Pods have the holes in the nose cone but there are no missiles included. The instructions also have a chart showing the typical pylon loading positions for the ordnance and the decal sheet includes stencil data for most of the weapons.

Decals: 

The large decal sheet has markings for two aircraft as well as a good selection of stencil data for the airframe and ordnance.  

The decals are well printed with good colour register and very thin carrier film cropped close to the printed item and should react with decal setting solution well. 

• Aircraft 1. Mi-24V Hind E “Blue 04” CIS Army-ILA Berlin-Brandenburg 1992.
  Finished in a Light Stone/Green cam scheme
• Aircraft 2. Mi-24V “Tiger 0705” Czech Air Force Kleine Brogel(EBBL) Belgium, August 1998.
  Finished in Light Grey with Dark Grey tiger stripes over the upper surfaces and sides.

The large colour painting guide has five view drawings of the two aircraft showing the cam schemes and the decal placement along with paint numbers given as FS numbers while the instruction sheet has B&W drawings showing the decal placement on the ordnance.

This is an excellent kit and continues the improvement in Trumpeter kits with very fine engraved details on the main and smaller parts with raised detail where needed on other parts. All the basic features of the mid to late Hind E are included but there is of course scope for additional detailing and with a subject such as this there is plenty of finer details in the cockpit/cabin and engines that will keep the super detailer busy for a month or two. 

About the only omissions might be the earlier AT-2 guidance pod to go with the AT-2 missiles included in the kit or the chaff/flare dispenser sometimes fitted under the rear fuselage on aircraft of the type in the kit. There is also the later side mounted chaff/flare dispensers and large IR suppressors on the engine exhausts but these are later additions and not having these doesn’t diminish from the overall excellent standard of the kit. 

The choice of this particular version of the Hind is a good one, for while the Mi-24V was predominately used by just Russia and the former Warsaw Pact countries of Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and Poland, the basic airframe configuration formed the basis for the Mi-35 version exported to many countries in the Middle East and Africa with an almost endless range of exotic cam schemes seen on these machines and with all the aerials etc as separate parts it is easy to get the right fit for about any version of the E.  

Aftermarket resin makers such as Cobra Company and Meteor Productions must be salivating at the opportunities this kit provides, not only for additional internal details but the external parts to make later versions as mentioned above, not to mention the decal manufacturers.

Highly recommended for helicopter fans and anyone who just wants a big impressive beast to get your teeth into.

Trumpeter is distributed in Australia by J.B Wholesalers http://www.jbwholesalers.com.au/