1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO of the Romanian Air Force, 2009

[Dizzyfugu]

This is/was actually the last build for/from 2017, but due to the pictures it took some more days and ends up as first finished project of 2018. However, here's an 1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Italeri kit conversion):


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Some background:
The Bell AH-1 Cobra (company designation: Model 209) is a two-blade, single engine attack helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was developed using the engine, transmission and rotor system of the Bell's UH-1 Iroquois. The AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake.

The AH-1 was the backbone of the United States Army's attack helicopter fleet, but has been replaced by the AH-64 Apache in Army service. Another major operator who drove a parallel development of the AH-1 was the US Marine Corps. The resulting Bell AH-1 SuperCobra was a twin-engine attack helicopter based on the United States Army's single-engine AH-1 Cobra. The twin Cobra family  included the AH-1J SeaCobra, the AH-1T Improved SeaCobra, and the AH-1W SuperCobra. The AH-1W, the backbone of the United States Marine Corps's attack helicopter fleet for decades is being replaced by the next generation Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter.


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The SuperCobra was furthermore exported to a number of foreign operators, including Iran, Taiwan and Turkey, and in 1995 Romania acquired from Bell the rights for license production of the AH-1W in Romania.
Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR), today IAR S.A. Brașov)  was to produce the fuselage, while the engines, a couipled pair of Turboméca Turmo, which were also used in the IAR 330 (a license-built version of the Super Puma multi purpose helicopter) were prodcured from Turbomecanica. No weapon guidance or advanced avionics were part of the deal, though.

The Romanian Air Force had been in dire need for a dedicated attack and anti-tank helicopter, a role that had been for years rudimentarily filled by the IAR 316 (Alouette III) and lately by the IAR 330.
An initial attempt by IAR to make an attack helicopter out of the IAR 316, the IAR 317 "Skyfox", had failed in the Eighties. Equipped with the same license-produced Turbomeca Artouste IIIB turboshaft as the Alouette III, the light IAR 317 featured a stepped two-seat armored cockpit for the pilot and the gunner. The tail boom and rear fuselage was almost identical to the 316. Stub wings mounted on either side of the airframe allowed for the carriage of weapons, including rocket pods, machine guns, and anti-tank missiles. Only one prototype was built. It participated in the 1985 Paris Air Show and later took part in the 1989 uprising, but was damaged and never made it into series production.


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The AH-1W deal appeared like a new opportunity to men the Air Force's weakness. The Romanian Air Force  planned to produce 96 AH-1W derivatives, which received the local designation IAR 328 and was christened "Drakula". At Bell and within NATO, this variant became known as AH-1RO.

The IAR 328 was basically a stripped-down AH-1W with different engines and domestic equipment. Since the helicopter lacked the guidance capability for TOW missiles, no cheek fairings - characteristic of the late USMC Cobra versions - were fitted. Instead of the single sensor and sight unit in the nose of the AH-1W the IAR 328 received two separate, smaller sensor units: a night vision scope above the pilot's seat, which would also allow persicopic sight from behind cover to a limited degree, and a small sight with a laser rangefinder for the gunner in the nose tip.


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Later, from 2005 onwards, the gunner's sight was upgraded with a SOCAT system (Sistem Optronic de Cercetare și Anti-Tanc) procured from Israel, making the IAR 328 compatible with the RAFAEL Spike-ER anti-tank guided missile. Up to eight of these weapons can be carried, and this upgrade was automatically integrated into the final production batches of the helicopter.

Another major difference to any other AH-1 variant was the IAR 328's landing gear: in order to ease ground handling, IAR changed the typical landing skids of the AH-1 into a fixed, wheeled tailsitter landing gear.

Production was slated for 1999, but financial troubles and other, partly political delays, postponed the production of the IAR 328 until 2001. Production lated until 2007, when the last of the 96 "Drakula" helicopters had been delivered to the Romanian Air Force.


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



General characteristics:
    Crew: 2: pilot, co-pilot/gunner (CPG)
    Length: 58 ft (17.7 m) (with both rotors turning)
    Fuselage length: 45 ft 7 in (13.9 m)
    Stub wing span: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
    Height: 13 ft 9 in (4.19 m)
    Rotor diameter: 48 ft (14.6 m)
    Disc area: 1809 ft² (168.1 m²)
    Empty weight: 10,200 lb (4,630 kg)
    Max. takeoff weight: 14,750 lb (6,690 kg)

Powerplant:
    2× Turboméca Turmo IVC turboshaft engines, 1,175 kW (1,576 hp) each
    Rotor systems: 2 blades on main rotor, 2 blades on tail rotor

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 180 knots (206 mph, 332 km/h)
    Range: 317 nmi (365 mi, 587 km)
    Service ceiling: 12,200 ft (3,720 m)
    Rate of climb: 1,620 ft/min (8.2 m/s)

Armament:
     Chin barbette with a stabilized, single-barrel Nexter THL-20 20mm automatic cannon with 550 RPG
     Four stub wing hardpoints for a wide range of ordnance, including LPR 57 unguided rocket launchers,
     RAFAEL Spike-ER anti-tank guided missiles and Nexter NC-621 20mm gun pods with 180 rounds



The kit and its assembly:
One might think that this whif is nuts and pure fiction - but the AH-1RO, in the form of a license-built AH-1W, was a real project that was initiated in 1995, but the whole thing was stillborn and terminated in 1999 due to financial problems.

However, the "Drakula" (yes, according to my sources the Romanian Cobra was to be christened this way!) is a classic what-if theme, and so I decided to build a model of what such a helicopter might have looked like in service?

The basis is the Italeri AH-1W kit, a decent offering with raised (but delicate) surface details and meciocre fit. The kit was basically built OOB but underwent some minor changes in order to reflect its status as a domestic product. First of all, the TOW scope on the nose had to go (since the Romanian helicopter would not use this weapon) and was replaced by a pointed standard nose - actually from an A-4 Skyhawk and blended into the front fuselage with PSR. However, some sensors and sights were added in the form of leftover parts from an Academy AH-64 kit: one small sensor for the gunner on top of the nose, and another one on top of the cabin for the pilot.


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Then, in order to add a slightly weird touch, I wondered why no AH-1 carries a wheeled landing gear, like the AH-64 and many other modern attack helicopters? An experiment worth the effort, and consequently I changed the model - and this move fundamentally changes the Cobra's look! The mod was pretty simple, though. First, the original attachment points for the skids were sanded away or hidden under some putty. The new main struts originally belong to an 1:72 Tornado from Italeri, but they were modfied to feature three attachment points to the fuselage, for improved stability on both the model and real life. The balloon wheels come from the aforementioned Academy AH-64 and are IMHO a good match. The long tail wheel comes from an FW 189, but it received some extra struts - once more for better stability.


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The ordnance was puzzled together and was to reflect the downgraded character of the helicopter. The small unguided rocket pods come from a KP MiG-19 (the Romanian Air Force used very similar pods on their helicopters!) and the gun pods are converted smoke oil containers from a Frecce Tricolori G.91 (Revell), outfitted with hollow steel needles as gun barrels. The AH-1W's gatling gun under the chin was replaced by a single-barrel gun.

Final cosmetic changes concerned some antennae all over the hull.


Painting and markings:
The Romanian Air Force uses some striking paint schemes on its vehicles, and with this benchmark things became colorful, to say the least. For instance, contemporary IAR 330 helicopters carry a three-tone scheme of yellowish sand, grass green and a bluish dark green, with light blue undersides. The same colors were also carried by MiG-21 tactical fighters of the Romanian Air Force (Lancer A and B), with the addition of a fourth upper tone, a reddish brown. Together with the red-yellow-blue roundels, this looks somewhere between cool, garish and spectacular, and I decided to adapt the more complex scheme from the MiG fighters for my AH-1RO.

The basic tones are Humbrol 63 (Sand), 80 (Grass Green) and 160 (German Red Brown), plus RLM 73 from Modelmaster, which is a very good approach to the bluish dark green of the scheme. The undersides became Humbrol 65, while the interior and visible technical parts became very dark grey (Humbrol 67). The typical Romanian MiG-21 pattern became the benchmark.


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The kit received a wash with black ink and was then dry-brushed and post-shaded with lighter shades of the basic tones, including Mid Stone, Zinc Chromate primer, RAF Dark Green and Rust. The slightly shaggy or patched-up look is intentional.

The national markings come from PARC Model sheets. A few other markings were added from the scrap box, and some small stencils and signs were added with paint, too.

Finally the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 IAR 328 'Drakula'/Bell AH-1RO; aircraft '165' of the 906th Attack Helicopter Squadron, 90th Airlift Flotilla, Romanian Air Force (Forţele Aeriene Române); Câmpia Turzii AB, 2009 (Whif/Italeri kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A relatively simple conversion of a stock kit, but I am amazed how much the look of the classic SuperCobra changed through the different landing gear arrangement?
The garish paint scheme has some considerable shock value, and I tried to come as close to the colors of the Romanian Air Force's tactical camouflage(?) scheme as possible. And while the result looks weird and even hurts the eyes, the whole thing is not unattractive? Furthermore, when the model was coupled with appropriate backgrounds, the scheme appears to be quite effective at low altitude.

[Gondor]

That's very nice again Dizzy 

Gondor

[Old Wombat]

Nice bright camouflage - which seems to be typical for the Romanians. Good job, Dizzy!

[chrisonord]

That is really something else. Any wiffed helicopter gun ship is a winner for me. 
Chris

[Logan Hartke]

Then, in order to add a slightly weird touch, I wondered why no AH-1 carries a wheeled landing gear, like the AH-64 and many other modern attack helicopters? An experiment worth the effort, and consequently I changed the model - and this move fundamentally changes the Cobra's look!

Very, very true! It looks great!

Cheers,

Logan

[Rick Lowe]

Now that's started the New Year off the right way!

Nice job, and as you said the change in landing gear makes a world of difference.

[DogfighterZen]

I know skids aren't as versatile as wheels but i've always preferred skids for the looks... Still, that is great work as always.

[loupgarou]

Very interesting idea and build, Dizzy! But, YEECH, what's that obscene thing in the background of the first build photo?

[Dizzyfugu]

Thanks a lot, glad you like it. It's bright - but, like mecha kits, a nice visual distraction from standard, subdued cammo schemes... I am just not 100% happy with the nose. But, heck, it's done...

I know skids aren't as versatile as wheels but i've always preferred skids for the looks... Still, that is great work as always.

LOL, I wonder how many people mention this "blob" over the years! The best guess so far was the speculation that it was a brain model... But it's - technically - a holder for wee parts that I put on toothpicks, like wheels. This originally started as a block of styrofoam, which, over the years and with more and more holes, literally disintegrated. Then, in a flash of creativity and a can of polyurethane foam (for diorama experiments - but it's unsuitable due to the uncontollable expansion!), I flushed the block with the foam, it expanded, and, well, this is what became of it. 

[loupgarou]

Thnaks a lot, glad you like it. It's bright - but, like mecha kits, a nice visual distraction from standard, subdued cammo schemes... I am just not 100% happy with the nose. But, heck, it's done...

I know skids aren't as versatile as wheels but i've always preferred skids for the looks... Still, that is great work as always.

LOL, I wonder how many people mention this "blob" over the years! The best guess so far was the speculation that it was a brain model... But it's - technically - a holder for wee parts that I put on toothpicks, like wheels. This originally started as a block of styrofoam, which, over the years and with more and more holes, literally disintegrated. Then, in a flash of creativity and a can of polyurethane foam (for diorama experiments - but it's unsuitable due to the uncontollable expansion!), I flushed the block with the foam, it expanded, and, well, this is what became of it. 

I was afraid it was a REAL brain, something from Frankenstein Junior. 

[AXU]

It is quite a surprise for me considering that Romanian subjects are rarely exploited.
Great job Thomas,that landing gear really make a difference and the camo is almost perfect!

[TheChronicOne]

Yeeeeeah buddy!! That is some nice work, T!!!

[Dizzyfugu]

Again, thanks a lot, everyone.

BTW, here's the "brain thing" in better view and action. Very handy! 


1:72 SdKfz. 181 Jagdpanzer VI "Keiler"; 2nd Company, Panzerjägerabteilung 512, Ruhrgebiet region, February 1945 (Whif/Trumpeter kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[NARSES2]

It is quite a surprise for me considering that Romanian subjects are rarely exploited.

Agreed. I quite often use Romania for my WWII Axis wifs as the schemes tend to be quite colourfull  , but you don't see that many. Currently thinking of a pre-War Romanian Spitfire instead of their Hurricanes.

Nice build Dizzy