Nicknamed “Snake” during the Vietnam War, the AH-1G Cobra was one of the first purpose-built helicopter gunships. Using the engine, transmission, and tail of the ubiquitous UH-1 transport helicopter, the Cobra had a deadly bite with various combinations of unguided rockets, cannons, and grenade launchers in its early life; TOW wire-guided missiles armed later versions.
For its first 1/32 scale helicopter, ICM has released the early production AH-1G. A new Cobra has not been seen in this scale since Revell’s 1967 offering, which has been re-released several times. ICM’s modern kit has beautiful surface detail, good fits, crystal-clear canopy parts, and a bunch of weapons. Later production variants are obviously planned because TOW launchers are included on the parts trees. Four finishing options are included: three in standard overall green and one in a striped tan and green disruptive scheme.
The cockpit features detailed instrument panels with decal dials, flight controls, and sharp seats, although they lack harnesses. Interior details also include the transmission and gear-box bay with posable doors. All the interior parts are easily assembled and painted before the fuselage is closed, but I finished the cockpit after the tub was glued in place and the exterior completed to avoid awkward masking. I left all the details (like the seats and controls) out of the cockpit until the final stages. Reference photos online supplied detailed information for painting the transmission bay.
The early-production left-handed tail rotor mast is supplied in two halves with substantial tabbed surfaces for alignment. The bulkheads for the transmission bay fit well but check them closely because some scraping may be needed on the base plate to clear the stub wing recesses.
I added the small intake screen above the cockpit after the fuselage was glued together for precise alignment. You can install the engine exhaust recess after closing the fuselage if you have not installed the lower fuselage plate. All fuselage panel additions fit beautifully; the only filler I used anywhere on the build was a touch around the skid mounts where a swipe of Deluxe Material Perfect Plastic Putty wiped off with a damp finger did the job.
Just before attaching the lower fuselage plate, I added weight to the front to ensure the Cobra didn’t rock back on its tail. (I may have added too much as the skids look a bit squatter than they should.) The skid mounts are substantial and align perfectly.
The stub wings, pylons, and weapons went together without issue, but I ran into trouble with the chin turret. The twin slots seem too wide making it difficult to align the weapons. Also, there is no internal structure to mount the weapons, so I glued them to the bottom of the slot to give them enough purchase area. I painted and decaled the ordnance separately.
While test-fitting the center canopy section, I noticed it was floating free at the rear where it should attach to the fuselage just below the transmission housing. To fix the tenuous fit, I added a styrene strip “shelf” for the glass to sit on. Unnoticeable when the canopy is in place, it adds significantly to the sturdiness of the attachment. I painted the beautifully clear and thin canopy off the model.
The main and tail rotors and the rotor head are beautifully detailed. I assembled the blades and left them separate for painting. The arms that connect the transmission to the rotor head require care because alignment is critical, and the connections are not very robust.
I painted the Cobra using Mission Models acrylics: FS34088 US Army Khaki Drab (No. MMP-023) for the exterior and FS36231 Dark Gull Grey (No. MMP-064) for the cockpit; Mr. Color Interior Green (No. C27) completed the transmission bay.
I finished the seats and instrument panels separately then installed them after painting. The decals worked well over a gloss coat, even conforming to the raised rivets on the boom. But be very careful with stencils and long decals; they tend to fold, and, once folded, they are extremely difficult to recover. Weathering and a flat coat finished the build before I added the canopy, weapons, and rotor.
I spent almost 27 hours on my AH-1G — a bit more than I expected — but this is a bigger kit than I thought! Luckily, it won’t take up a huge amount of room with the rotor stowed in line with the fuselage. Modelers with some kits under their belt will have no issues with ICM’s Cobra, just be careful of the decals and give the glass a bit of attachment help.