Introduced to the U.S. Army in 1986, the AH-64 Apache continues its service to this day, with continual updates that extend its capabilities. The new Trumpeter 1/35 scale AH-64A Apache (Early) plastic model kit brings that attack helicopter to modelers. It’s a solid choice because many of the recent releases we’ve seen of the Apache concentrate on later versions for 1/35 scale.
With almost 400 parts in the box, the kit can be intimidating. There are two complete engines included and a couple of weapon options. The photo-etched metal (PE) fret includes screens, vents, and seat belts. The rubber tires look quite good, and the clear parts for the greenhouse couldn’t be clearer. The decals include markings for two aircraft. Overall, the plastic parts have excellent raised and recessed surface detail, like the actual helicopter.
The cockpit instrument panels and consoles receive decals over the underlying detail. I had a bit of trouble getting the decals to settle over all of the switches and knobs. Separate cushions and PE seat belts finish the seats. With the large canopy glass, everything is visible in the cockpit, so it’s nice Trumpeter put as much detail as it did here. The cockpit tub fit perfectly in the fuselage halves.
The chain gun could be considered a kit by itself. A PE ammunition belt enhances the
appearance, and the recessed gun barrel means you don’t have to try to drill the fine part yourself. While you can leave the gun assembly to swivel, it does not raise or lower.
You can pose the left- and right-side avionics bays open or closed. The doors fit closed without any gaps. The vents in the bay doors are molded open — a nice touch! You can also leave the engine covers open. Again, if you close them up, the doors fit nicely and tight. The well-detailed engines are gems with an auxiliary gearbox and all the plumbing. I was disappointed that the nacelle doors have ejector-pin marks between the ribbing. It will take some doing to remove them.
Vinyl rubber tires finish the detailed main and tail landing gear. Follow the instructions here, because the tires are a tight fit and I broke the gear while fitting the tires after painting and already affixed to the Apache.
I left the canopy doors open on my model, although you can opt to close them. Precut masks help with painting the big, clear parts. You’ll find the mask for the front door a bit large, so you’ll need to trim it for it to fit properly.
The kit includes Hydra 70 rocket pods and Hellfire missiles. For my chopper’s loadout, I chose four rocket pods all the way across.
The main rotor assembly is a work of art and a breeze to assemble. The separate rotor blades have conical attachment points that fit into the rotor head. Unfortunately, the blades don’t have molded droop. The plastic resisted my attempts to warm and shape them. The tail rotor, in contrast to the main rotor, was fiddly to assemble.
A separate, paint and decal guide shows two paint and marking options. I opted for the one with a shark mouth on the nose and a tail number. The decals proved incredibly thin and aggravating to work with. The shark mouth folded on itself almost immediately and no amount of coaxing could undo it. With half the mouth gone, I swapped to the other option. The main markings went on without much challenge, but all the myriad stencil decals proved extremely difficult. Most of them folded over on themselves and would not straighten out.
The color callouts appear accurate except for the overall olive drab scheme. After looking at an AH-64A up close at EAA AirVenture, the kit’s color choice seemed too light. I chose Tamiya Black Green (No. XF-27) instead.
The Trumpeter 1/35 scale AH-64A (Early) Apache plastic model kit does a nice job replicating this amazing helicopter. Despite the decals, it is a great kit. My only advice is to go slowly with the decals. The ones I was able to apply, worked well. They are thin and tend to fold, so work to minimize that possibility when applying them. Or look for appropriate aftermarket markings of your choosing. In the end, you’ll have an impressive model. I recommend this kit for those who have a couple of years of experience with building, but definitely not for beginners.