Mil Mi-48 "Hemlock"

[jalles]

So I really like reworking Testors/Italeri's stealth whif kits from the 80's.  Having tackled their F-19 and Mig-37 on other projects I now want to turn my attention to their LHX Stingbat.  Unlike their other stealth kits, this one was never released in 1/72.  That's an issue for me because I really don't like modeling in 1/48. Luckily this thing never existed in real life, so I can make it any scale I like.  Therefor my 1/48 Stingbat is turning into a 1/72 Mi-48.

The original subject is pretty small, so at 1/72 it's about AW101 size.  That rules out being a scout or attack helicopter, so this thing is going to be a Low Observable assault helicopter.  Kind of like the Russian version of the stealth helicopters that performed the Bin Laden raid.  That means it needs a troop compartment and a means to disembark said troops.  After studying the parts for quite a while, I've decided to remove the sponsons/weapons pods.  The resulting flat area should serve as a good place to add doors. I also thought about widening the cockpit so I could have side-by-side seating. Unfortunately there's no easy way to do this and the helicopter's already pretty wide so I'm keeping the gunship style seating. If it's good enough for a Hind, why not?  Finally, I'm ditching the curved blades and going with a more traditional 5 blade setup.

Here's where I am so far.



The five bladed rotor is close to finished.  The sides look good in the photos, but need a little more PSR.  The figure is there for size reference.

[TheChronicOne]

Nice.

I found myself hollering various agreements at my computer screen (things like "damn right!!" )  as I read so you know I'm a fan. 

[PR19_Kit]

Nice bit of scale-o-rama going there, and a five bladed, swept tip rotor should really work too. 

[zenrat]

 

[DogfighterZen]

Ya ya, this is gonna be good!

[KiwiZac]

I love anything LHX so to see a Soviet Stingbat is a very exciting prospect! I like what you've done so far.

[jalles]

Thanks guys!  Progress is probably going to be pretty slow, especially once the amphibian GB starts, but this is something that's been percolating in my brain for 20 or so years so I'm excited to actually be working on it.

I found myself hollering various agreements at my computer screen (things like "damn right!!" )  as I read so you know I'm a fan. 

Awesome, I'm glad they're others that share my affliction 

I love anything LHX so to see a Soviet Stingbat is a very exciting prospect! I like what you've done so far.

I agree, I feel this kit doesn't get much love.

[AXU]

Love all your projects and this one will strengthen my appreciation for what you are doing!
Verry interensting subject...please,go ahead