Zvezda 1/72 scale Kamov Ka-27PS

Kit: No. 7247
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Zvezda, available from Squadron Mail Order, 972-242-8663, www.squadron.com
Price: $20.98
Comments: Injection-molded, 128 parts, decals
Pros: Captures the ungainly shape of the real helicopter, good exterior detail, most parts fit
Cons: Poorly molded and poorly fitting clear parts, rotor axle fits poorly in fuselage, decals difficult to apply

Equipped with Kamov's characteristic co-axial counter-rotating rotors, the Ka-27, NATO code-name "Helix," was designed to replace the smaller Kamov Ka-25 "Hormone" in Soviet Navy service.
Zvezda has released the air-sea rescue Ka-27PS version (Zvezda's similar Ka-29 Helix was marketed by Italeri). This kit has the surface-search radome, a rescue winch, fuselage-mounted fuel tanks, and a molded-shut rear cargo hatch.

The parts have mold seams and some flash to be cleaned up. Most of the raised detail is found on the vertical stabilizers, and it seems to be bit heavy for the scale.

Most of the parts fit OK, but some filler was needed on the underside. I found a large sink hole on the radome. The round mounting peg at the end of the coaxial rotor shaft is short and difficult to fit into the hole deep in the upper fuselage. Test-fitting the rotor peg before closing the fuselage will help you find a better solution.

My kit's clear parts were poorly molded, and a bath in Future improved them only slightly. But they are clear enough to see the basic cockpit that includes a floor, rear bulkhead, two seats, control stick, cyclic stick, and an instrument panel. If you follow the instructions, the cockpit assembly sits too far back in the fuselage. Dry-fit the clear parts to determine the proper position of the cockpit, but be careful: The clear parts fit poorly.

There is no cabin detail, but the doors are molded shut anyway. The left cockpit door is molded separately, and you could pose it open.

Most of the rest of the assembly was straightforward. The rotor looks complicated, but it wasn't difficult to build. I left the landing gear off the model until after painting to make it easier to mask the white-and-gray pattern. I used Testor Model master dark ghost gray (FS 36320) and painted the rotor blades light gull gray (FS 36440).

Two sets of markings are provided on the decal sheet. I chose a Soviet Navy version and found the decals work fine once you get them on the model. They were so thin that they wrapped around the edge of the paper rather than slide onto the model. Solvaset worked them into the detail.

I spent a fun 10 hours on this project, but more time dressing up the cockpit and polishing the clear parts would be needed to make it a contest model. If you've built helicopter kits, you'll be able to handle this one. I like the way it looks sitting next to my Airfix Ka-25 Hormone.