Mil MI-24 Hind A Zvezda 1/72, kit # 7273 - inbox review

Mil MI-24A

Zvezda models 1/72, kit # 7273 - inbox review

History

   The Mil Mi-24 (NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force and its successors, along with more than 30 other nations.

 Mi-24A is the first version to enter the Soviet Union air forces. Its most distinctive difference with later models is the greenhouse canopy.

The comprehensive build article is available here: Mil Mi-24A 1/72 scale model build

Inside the box

   The Mi-24A kit comes in what appears to be a top opening box with very attractive painting style box-art. Once you open the lid you'll be surprised to see that the actual box is from sturdy cardboard and again top opening but hinged lid. Inside there are the plastic sprues - tightly packed together. Being 1/72nd scale this model kit is made of lots of pieces - 239 parts, to be precise.

     There are four solid gray sprues, one transparent and a decal sheet.  Overall the quality of the molding looks really high. There is no apparent flash  throughout the sprues but the parting lines on the smaller details are visible. Surface detail is very high quality. 

            

Closer inspection 

Mi-24 A: Cockpit

  The shell of fuselage's front section is comprised of three parts - left and right halves plus the greenhouse canopy. 

    The cockpit have the basic architecture well captured. Unfortunately instruments, knobs and other bits are provided only as decals. Here are also the pilot and gunner seat, collective and control columns and some controls for the gunner. The exterior details of the front section are very nice. There are two pitot tubes, the front wheel well and rails for the sliding door but the steps under each door are not available.

     There are also two really nice crew figures included in the kit.  

        

Mi-24 A: Rear portion of the fuselage

    Behind the cockpit, the fuselage comes in two parts and is split vertically. The passenger doors, engine covers, and service hatches for the transmission box are provided as separate details, therefore they can be posed opened or closed.There are slots to fit the wings making that component of the building process easy. The panel lines are fine, crisp and with good depth. If you like rivets.. well get your riveter out. The fuselage of the scale model has the distinctive twist of the real Mi-24 depicted. This, as far as I know, is not the case for any other kit in any scale.  Inside the passenger cabin there is some raised framework.  On the side walls there are some ejector marks but they are not going to be visible. The ceiling comes with nicely molded detail representing the quilted insulation, and a central support with two bench seats.

    

Mi-24 A: Engine, gearbox, rotor hub area

   Sitting on top of the cabin are the engines and the reduction gearbox. This compartment is reasonably detailed as well and all will be very visible since the engine cowling and transmission hatches are separate parts and can be posed in open position. The ribbing detail on the interior of those hatches is well done and with careful painting will look excellent. The engines are well reproduced, but will need some extra work, piping in particular.  The intake for the starter engine is well made with very fine details. The shafts that go from the engines to the transmission are also provided.
   The level of detail provided for the rotor hub is impressive as well, but you can add cables that go from the center of the hub to the blades. Speaking of the blades, they are very well made too and have molded in droop. Only thing that I am not particularly happy with is the very prominent ribbing.

        

Mi-24 A: Undercarriage

   The front gear leg fits snugly into the wheel well and is nicely detailed, but needs some clean up. The rear is a bit harder to build because the location aid is not so good and the instructions are a little bit vague. The wheels themselves look a bit simple but the real thing is not that complicated either.

   

Mi-24 A: Armament 

Inside the box you'll find four the UB-32 S-5 rocket pods, four 9M17 “Phalanga” rockets and the forward cannon. Detail is rather good and with only little work you can achieve excellent results. 

    

Mi-24 A: Clear parts

The transparencies are in very good shape. The frames are slightly raised over the windows leaving a right to scale impression. Both gunners and pilots doors are positionable in closed or opened position.

Mi-24 A: Decals

   The decals are the weak link in the kit. They have severe yellowing  of the carrier film. In my eyes this makes them unusable. 

  

Mi-24 A: Conclusion

  Zvezda's kit 7273 of the Mil Mi-24 Hind A is a excellent example of modern tooling. So many details in 1/72 are not seen so often. There are few bumps but the only major issue in my opinion are the decals.  I strongly recommend this kit but also should point out that it is not very suitable for the beginners due to the high detail count.

If You want to see how this kit builds please follow this link: Building the Mil Mi-24 Hind A

Best regards and Happy modeling

Metodi Metodiev