The concept of the attack helicopter was proven in Vietnam, and they have been a mainstay of the U.S. Army ever since. As a replacement for the Army's aging fleet of Cobras and Apaches, Boeing-Sikorsky has proposed the RAH-66 Comanche. Using stealth technologies, the RAH-66 features low radar visibility, low noise, and reduced heat emissions, making the Comanche a difficult target to acquire and hit. It features a stowable 20mm rotary cannon in the nose and two fully encloseable missile bays. Additional weapons can be deployed on removable wings just behind the cockpit. Two prototypes have been built by Boeing so far, with an additional six vehicles scheduled to be built in the year 2001. Production is expected to begin in 2004, with initial deployment in 2006.
Italeri is the first company to issue a kit of the prototype Comanche in 1/48 scale. Molded in dark olive plastic, the kit features weapons bays and canopies that can be displayed either open or closed. Decals are provided for both prototype aircraft. The nose gun and sensor can be rotated, and a full load of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and two Stinger missiles are provided should you wish to display your model fully armed.
The panel lines on the kit are a bit heavy. While the cockpit interior is fully detailed, the exterior seems devoid of detail; that is in most part due to the smooth, stealthy skin of the real helicopter.
Don't add the tail rotor assembly to the rear rotor ring (part No. 17B) as shown in step one. This can be added after the main painting is complete as long as the rotor guard (31B) is not glued in place. I used epoxy putty to fill large gaps in the seam where the tail-rotor ring meets the fuselage. Adding the vinyl mesh to the air intakes was a bit tricky - it was difficult to cut without the edges unraveling. I used almost all the mesh before I got four pieces that fit well.
There are a lot of parts that must be trapped between the fuselage halves, but with a little care it can be done. I filled fuselage seams with gap-filling super glue. Take care sanding around the engine housing so you don't erase detail. When adding the tail stabilizer, make sure you get it level. The odd angle of the Comanche's tail makes the correct position difficult to determine. I didn't realize that mine was crooked until I added the landing gear.
I airbrushed my model with Testor Acryl U.S. Army helo green (not the incorrect olive drab FS 34087 stated on the instructions). After a clear gloss coat, the decals snuggled down with Micro Sol; the thick film is difficult to hide on the dark paint even after a coat of Polly Scale clear flat. The stencils on the decal sheet are much larger than indicated on the decal-placement diagram, and there is no way you'll be able to fit the rescue arrows on the nose as shown. The stencils also don't seem to match those in photos on the Boeing web site (
www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/rah66).
The finished model matched exactly to the dimensions I got from the Boeing web site, but there are a few discrepancies in the details. None of the pictures showed the main rotor fairing depicted on the kit, or the guard on the rear rotor. Perhaps these are remnants from concept drawings, or perhaps they are changes planned for the production aircraft.
I spent about 13 hours on my Comanche. You'll need some experience filling seams to correctly finish this kit.