1:72 Bell AH-1G+ ’Cobra’; Indonesian Army Air Force (TNI-AD), 1984

Dizzyfugu · July 12, 2022, 04:39:45 AM

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The formation of the Indonesian Air Force came eight months after the former Dutch East Indies unilaterally declared independence from the Netherlands. The Netherlands initially did not recognize this, and a War of Independence ensued, which lasted until 1949. The Indonesian Air Force (Indonesian: Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU), literally "Indonesian National Military-Air Force") used some machines left behind by the Japanese occupiers, but these were not of decisive importance for the war. Incidentally, the national insignia used until 1949 was only the red "sun" painted white in the lower half.

The 1950s were marked by domestic operations. Contrary to the Independence Treaty, which envisaged a federal state, Indonesia quickly became a unitary state. This included the deployment in the Christian-dominated Republic of the South Moluccas, which had unilaterally renounced itself, as well as against Islamic (Darul Islam) and democratic (Permesta) movements. The latter was secretly supported by the CIA, and, in the course of this skirmish, an Indonesian Mustang managed to shoot down a B-26 Invader piloted by a CIA pilot.
The need to prop up to what became Operation Trikora in Netherlands New Guinea, and the rise of the Communist Party of Indonesia, drew Indonesia closer to the Eastern Bloc. Several Soviet-built aircraft began to arrive in the early 1960s including the MiG-15UTI from Czechoslovakia, MiG-17F/PF, MiG-19S and MiG-21F-13, in addition to Ilyushin Il-28, Mil Mi-4, Mil Mi-6, Antonov An-12 and Avia 14 also from Czechoslovakia. Indonesia also received Lavochkin La-11, and some Tupolev Tu-2 from China arrived, too. It was during this period that the Indonesian Air Force became the first Air Force in Southeast Asia which acquired the capability of strategic bombing by acquiring the new Tupolev Tu-16 in 1961. Around 25 Tu-16KS were delivered, complete with AS-1 air-surface missiles.

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The Sixties also marked the last confrontation with the Dutch in Papua, before the Dutch, again under pressure of the United Nations, left in 1963. Indonesia made territorial claims to the young nation and the Konfrontasi ensued between 1963 and 1966. During this era a coup attempt led by the 30 September Movement in 1965 changed everything and a new anti-communist regime from the Army, led by Major General Suharto, took power. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Marshall Omar Dani was removed from his position and court-martialed for his purported involvement in the coup. Ties with the Eastern bloc countries were cut, and thus support and spare parts for the planes became short.
By August 1968, the situation was critical and in early 1970, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Suwoto Sukandar, said that the spare parts situation meant that only 15–20 percent of aircraft were airworthy. The result was a total re-orientation for the air force material's procurement, and the considerable Indonesian MiG force already made its farewell flight with a flypast of Jakarta in 1970. The relatively new MiG-19s were sold to Pakistan. By October 1970, only one Tu-16 was still flying, but after an in-flight engine failure, it too was grounded. But despite the problems, the Air Force still served with distinction in fighting militant remnants of the CPI in Java's provinces, particularly in Central and East Java.

With Suharto's assumption of the presidency and the office of Commander in Chief in 1967, the focus shifted to fighting the communist PGRS/Paraku insurgency. The Air Force launched Operation Lightning Strike (Indonesian: Operasi Samber Kilat) to support ground troops eradicate Sarawak communists that were present in West Kalimantan and along Indonesia-Malaysia border by dropping troops to the target area, dropping logistical assistance, VIP transportation, medical evacuation and recon flights.

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The period between 1970 and 1980 saw a rebirth of the TNI-AU. The Air Force began to be re-equipped by receiving refurbished former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) CAC Sabres – an Australian re-design of the F-86 Sabre with a Rolls-Royce Avon engine – to replace the MiG-21s. Pakistan Air Force took over the responsibility to train Indonesian pilots in the Sabre and in logistical aspects of the Air Force. In 1973, the United States started to supply military assistance including T-33s trainers and UH-34D helicopters in exchange for four old MiG-21F-13s, which were shipped to the US for evaluation. Over the next three years, the US also supplied 16 North American Rockwell OV-10 Broncos counter-insurgency aircraft and F-5E/F Tiger II fighters, in exchange for which the Indonesian Air Force handed over the majority of its remaining airworthy MiG-21F-13s, which were used to form a US Air Force Aggressor squadron. In the late 1970s, Indonesia also purchased BAE Hawk Mk 53s trainers from the United Kingdom.

In 1974, after the Portuguese Carnation Revolution, the last major European colonial empire was dissolved. As a result, the until-then Portuguese part of the island of Timor declared itself the independent Republic of Timor-Leste in November 1975. After the defeat in Vietnam and with a view to establishing socialist states in the two large African former Portuguese colonies, the USA and Australia did not want to let another socialist statelet develop in the region. Thus, just a few days after the declaration of independence, the young republic was invaded, with the TNI-AU and the Army Air Force (TNI-AD) dropping parachutists over East Timor, and, as a result, a year-long guerrilla war began.
To combat the rebels and the civilians supporting them, the US supplied more close air support aircraft to the TNI-AU, namely more OV-10 Broncos as well as twenty-five AH-1G attack helicopters, the latter refurbished US Army material left over from the Vietnam War. Beyond the 70 mm "hydra" unguided missiles, which were carried in pods with either seven or nineteen rounds, Indonesia also received several XM35 armament subsystems with a XM195 20 mm cannon – a fixed gatling gun that was carried on the inner left weapon station and was combined with a conformal external ammunition supply. Those roundabout ten machines capable of carrying this weapon were recognizable by additional external armor plates on the cockpit's left flank, because XM195's gun blast could damage the airframe.

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In the early 1980s, the Indonesian Air Force, needing modern strike aircraft, organized "Operation Alpha" to clandestinely acquire ex-Israeli Air Force A-4 Skyhawks. Air Force personnel were sent in secret by different routes and eventually Indonesia received 32 aircraft. To further boost and modernize its air force, Indonesia purchased in 1982 sixteen more Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II from the United States to replace their CAC Sabres under the Peace Komodo I and II procurement program, and the AH-1Gs (21 were still operational) received a MLU program and were upgraded, too. They received new Kaman K-747 composite material main rotor blades and passive countermeasures, like a diffusor for the hot engine efflux (making them less vulnerable to man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), which had become a ubiquitous threat) and an improved armor protection for cockpit and the engine. Wire cutters were fitted, and a bigger, more effective oil cooler, too. Since it protruded from the lower fuselage, a unique armored fairing was devised and protected the cooler from arms of up to 23 mm caliber.
The Indonesian Cobras' armament was improved, too: their original M28 chin turrets were replaced with the M97 system that comprises a three-barrel 20 mm gatling gun, which had more range and firepower against lightly armored targets than the AH-1G's original 7.62 mm minigun and 40 mm grenade launchers. Since the Indonesian Cobras were still only operated in the daylight CAS role, they did not receive further sensors and avionics, e. g. the M65 TOW/Cobra anti-tank missile subsystem with a Telescopic Sight Unit (TSU) or a laser rangefinder, which had been introduced with the US Army's AH-1Q in 1975. For the new M97, however a helmet-mounted sight was introduced, and the crews received night vision/low-light goggles, even though these were independent from the helm-mounted sight. After their modifications between 1982 and 1984, the TNI-AD Cobras were unofficially re-designated "AH-1G+".

Even though the Cobras' firepower and effectiveness were improved, the composite rotors soon turned out to be troublesome. The hot and humid climate in Indonesia weakened the bonding and eventually disrupted the material structure – a weakness that also appeared among retrofitted US Army AH-1s, but not as dramatically. As a result, wear and tear were considerably worse than on the former all-metal blades, even though the helicopters' handling was better with the new rotors and overall weight was reduced. However, a spectacular and dramatic crash in 1985 showed the imminent risks of the composite blades: three of four AH-1G+s in a tight formation over Aceh in Western Indonesia crashed after a 24 kg rotor balance weight of one machine came loose in flight and hit a sister ship, fatally destroying its engine and the gearbox. Spinning out of control it collided with another Cobra in the same formation, and all three helicopters crashed, with all six crewmen killed. The TNI-AD's AH-1G+s were immediately grounded, the ongoing rotor conversion was stopped and subsequently all already modified AH-1G+s had their original all-metal rotor blades re-installed – a measure that took almost a year to accomplish and lasted until early 1987.

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

After this troublesome phase, the TNI-AD's Cobras were kept busy, with frequent deployments during the Aceh Insurgency and the East Timor conflict. They soldiered on into the new millennium, even though some machines were lost in accidents or through small arms ground fire, and less and less machines remained airworthy due to the airframes' age. In 2003, only six AH-1G+ were still operational, and even these machines had reached the ultimate end of their useful service life after more than 30 years of frequent duty. They were in September of the same year replaced by Mil Mi-35P attack helicopters, directly procured from Russia, of which several batches were acquired throughout the following years.

General characteristics:
Crew: 2: one pilot, one co-pilot/gunner (CPG)
Length: 53 ft (16 m) including rotors
Fuselage length: 44 ft 5 in (13.5 m)
Main rotor diameter: 44 ft 0 in (13.4 m)
Main rotor area: 1,520 sq ft (141 m²)
Blade section: NACA 0009.3 mod
Width: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) stub wings
Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Empty weight: 5,810 lb (2,635 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 9,500 lb (4,309 kg)

Powerplant:
1× Lycoming T53-L-13 turboshaft, 1,400 shp (1,000 kW)

Performance:
Maximum speed: 149 kn (171 mph, 276 km/h)
Never exceed speed: 190 kn (220 mph, 350 km/h)
Range: 310 nmi (360 mi, 570 km)
Service ceiling: 11,400 ft (3,500 m)
Rate of climb: 1,230 ft/min (6.2 m/s)

Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.707 in) three-barreled M197 20 mm cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds
4× hardpoints under the stub wings, primarily used for 2.75 in (70 mm) rockets mounted in
M158 seven-round or M200 nineteen-round launchers; alternatively, M14 12.7 mm machine
gun or M18 7.62 mm Minigun pods could be carried or a single XM35 armament subsystem with
a XM195 20 mm gatling cannon

The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Bell AH-1 Cobra is the result of a cross-bashing of two Fujimi kits of this helicopter, namely the AH-1S and the AH-1J kit. I had both in The Stash™ and recently came across the Iranian HESA-2091 'Tiztak', an indigenous refurbished AH-1J with flat armor glazing. Since both Fujimi kits could theoretically be combined to build this exotic Cobra derivative, I decided to try this stunt – and it left me with enough surplus parts to build something like an early/standard AH-1G.

However, combining the parts from both kits turned out to be more challenging than expected. The biggest problem was to adapt the AH-1J's standard glazing to the respective opening on the AH-1S hull: the clear part is bigger/longer than the later flat, armored glazing, so that the fuselage area at the canopy's rear end had to be cut away. Fitting the clear part into this widened opening furthermore called for delicate PSR work to fill gaps and bridge the transition between parts that were never meant to be stuck together – but it worked, somehow.

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31/Serbu; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31/Serbu; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

To set the fictional AH-1G+ apart a bit further I made some cosmetic changes: the main rotor was modified to resemble Kaman composite blades (recognizable through the tapered blade tips) that were introduced with the AH-1S (and actually turned out to be not very durable!), and a "Sugar Scoop" thermal diffusor was scratched from a piece of styrene tube. I furthermore added a ventral blade antenna and a fairing for an enlarged oil cooler – it's actually a H0 scale Euro pallet! The blade cutters were scratched from styrene sheet. The rest was primarily taken from the AH-1J kit, e. g. the simple/early nose tip, the ordnance and the M97 chin turret. The pilot figures came from the Fujimi kit, too.

Painting and markings:
Indonesia as fictional operator for this helicopter model was inspired by TNI-AD markings (the standard TNI-AU pentagon with an additional black star in the middle) that were left over on a TL Modellbau sheet with generic national markings. The Seventies/Eighties offered a suitable time frame for the Cobras' procurement, and from this starting point anything developed quite naturally.
However, I did not want to paint the AH-1 in a simple all-olive drab livery, and found in the Indonesian C-130 Hercules a nice painting option: at some point in time these transporters received a unique three-tone camouflage that consists of a reddish chocolate brown, a bluish dark green and a greyish grass green, combined with very light grey undersides.

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31/Serbu; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31/Serbu; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

For the AH-1, the pattern was directly adopted from the C-130s' fuselage and the colors approximated, since I doubt that the paints conform to FS standards. I used Humbrol 133 (Satin Brown), ModelMaster 2060 (RAF WWII Dark Green) and a 2:1 mix of Humbrol 80 (Grass Green) and Revell 45 (Helloliv). The light grey underside was omitted, for a wraparound scheme.
The cockpit interior became very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite), the rotor blades tar black (Revell 09), and a black anti-glare panel was placed in front of the windscreen. For some variety I painted the 19 round rocket launchers in olive drab while the 7 round launchers for the inner stations became very light grey, so that they'd be better visible.

The decals were improvised. The TNI-AD roundels and the small Indonesian fin flashes came from the aforementioned TL Modellbau sheet. The tactical codes on the nose and the taglines on the flank consist of single black letters. The serial number on the tail came from an Iranian F-4D Phantom II sheet from Model Scale, it matched the intended time frame well. The only original decals are the small red tail rotor warning arrows.
After a light black ink washing, some post-panel-shading and an overall treatment with graphite to emphasize the kit's fine, raised panel lines, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and finally assembled.

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bell AH-1G+ 'Cobra'; '(71-4)884' of the Indonesian Army Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD) Skadron-31; Army Airbase Ahmad Yani, Semarang/Central Java, 1984 (What-if/Fujimi kit cross-bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Well, this "kitbashed" AH-1G with some mods is certainly not the best model of this helicopter type, but a good use of leftover parts from the "counter-bashed" project. Compatibility between the Fujimi AH-1S and AH-1J is limited, though, especially the canopy does not fit easily and calls for some delicate bodywork. However, with the garish paint scheme (which, as I found out after the kit had been finished, resembles a lot the livery of the illegal North Korean Hughes 500MD Defenders!) and the exotic TNI-AD markings, this Cobra really stands out and looks quite unusual.

PR19_Kit · July 12, 2022, 05:38:20 AM

A very neat job of 'Use What Ya Got' bits and pieces Thomas.

And I have NO idea where the fact and fiction starts and ends in the backstory............ $:-\$

NARSES2 · July 12, 2022, 07:14:12 AM

That looks really good Thomas, particularly in that camouflage scheme

Dizzyfugu · July 12, 2022, 07:26:40 AM

Thank you, glad you like it. There certainly better ways to create an AH-1G - e .g. simply buying one, since there are many kits around. But the story behind the Indonesian Cobra works quite well. And, BTW, reality is stranger than fiction - found this after I had finished the model:

NARSES2 · July 12, 2022, 07:47:22 AM

Well, I'll be .....

Wardukw · July 12, 2022, 01:02:17 PM

Lovely build Dizzy

..i have a few AH-1 models over the yrs but none were built from bits...love the camo and back story

Thats reminds me ive got to hunt down some 32nd scale seat belts for my 35th Zulu AH-1 ..i dont think 35th scale ones exist.

Dizzyfugu · July 12, 2022, 11:54:34 PM

Thanks a lot, glad you like it, despite some flaws in the finish. As mentioned above, there's a "sister ship", too, made from the other bits from this kit-cross-bashing. Already finished, but waiting for pics.

The background was composed from many real-world facts about Indonesia and the Cobra, too, shoehorned into a mutual time frame and decorated with some fiction. Sounds quite convincing, though.

Wardukw · July 13, 2022, 02:05:54 AM

Sounds quite convincing

.as kit said its bloody hard to know fact from fiction mate ..thats how convincing it is

and with all your posts your backgrounds are surpurb ..one pic you did with the F4u Corsair a few of us had problems figuring out if it was real or not..thats top notch stuff dude

DogfighterZen · July 13, 2022, 05:19:18 AM

Cobras are pretty... And that one is gorgeous!

NARSES2 · July 13, 2022, 05:52:33 AM

Quote from: DogfighterZen on July 13, 2022, 05:19:18 AM
Cobras are pretty... And that one is gorgeous!

They are quite attractive considering they are helicopters

Wurgerman · July 13, 2022, 06:43:40 AM

Cool Cobra !🐍

DogfighterZen · July 13, 2022, 12:40:59 PM

Quote from: NARSES2 on July 13, 2022, 05:52:33 AM
Quote from: DogfighterZen on July 13, 2022, 05:19:18 AM
Cobras are pretty... And that one is gorgeous!

They are quite attractive considering they are helicopters