The Mil Mi-8/14/17 family of helicopters is one of the world's most produced and widely used helicopters. The design dates to the late 1950s and entered service with the Soviet air force in 1967, and it is still in production today. To me, the Mi-8, known to NATO as the Hip, is the Lockheed C-130 of helicopters, given its long production life and wide range of variants. It also formed the basis for the successful Mi-24 attack helicopter.
Modelers have waited a long time for a 1/48 scale injection-molded plastic kit, and Zvezda has answered the call with a beaut. The kit features flat instrument panels and a lack of seat cushion detail, which some may count against the kit, but I suspect it was done to accommodate 3D-printed panel decals. Instructions are logically laid out with 42 steps and 45 subassembly steps.
The cockpit is well-appointed, but I was disappointed that it lacked seat belts. This is the first place I faced the problem of Zvezda’s paint conversions to Tamiya. The kit recommends painting the instrument panel Tamiya Green (No. X-5), but the Zvezda color called for, Emerald (No. 59), is closer to the typical turquoise used in Soviet cockpits. So, my advice is to be skeptical of the Tamiya recommendations.
The kit provides two relatively basic engines and a transmission that attaches to the main rotor and the hatches can be left open to reveal the details. You need to decide early if you plan to pose them open because the build steps vary.
The first fit problem I ran into was on the rear stabilizer; the peg attaching it to the boom left it too far from the surface. The box art shows how they should be, butted almost right up the tail boom.
I encountered a couple of other fit problems. I had to fill gaps where the tail boom met the fuselage. The windshield for the version I was building was misshapen. While trying to get it to fit, I broke it — I should have used hot water to reshape it. I ended up mating the top of one of the unused windshields in the kit with the bottom of the windshield for this version. The attachment points for the clamshell doors at the rear of the fuselage did not look like they would stand up to handling, so I reinforced them with wire. At the end of the build, I noticed it was missing the winch shown in the box art.
The decals offer options for five Hips, including a full set of stencils. I opted for the Soviet-era helicopter, and the decals laid down beautifully.
The Mi-8 is not a small helicopter, and Zvezda’s 1/48 scale kit was not a small build; I spent about 8 hours on it. Some of that was breaking the windshield, building everything open, and the complex camouflage pattern. Despite the few hiccups along the way, it is an excellent kit and a welcome addition to my helicopter collection. I recommend it to intermediate modelers.