like my references on the AH-64D.
However, one part that doesn’t
look right to me are the rotor blades.
From the photos, I looked at during
my research, when the helicopter
is on the ground the rotors droop.
Italeri does not account for the
droop and they are dead flat, which
I assume is ok for building a model
in flight mode. I chose to keep the
rotors as is. For a more “accurate”
modeller, I am sure there are
techniques out there with which
you could easily droop the blades
to give a more realistic look.
The canopy is moulded so
that the side entry doors can
be posed in the open position.
I personally prefer canopies
on my models to be closed, but
after a dry fit of the doors to the
canopy, it was clear that the fit was
terrible. Open doors it is then!
The clear plastic was also a lot
softer than any I have ever worked
with. This was actually a bonus
as it took some manoeuvering
to get a decent enough fit when
attaching it to the fuselage.
For the ordinance, I decided
to use both rocket pods and the
eight Hellfire missiles which
are provided with the kit. I
would normally model a typical
operational loadout, but in this
case, the Apache looks fearsome
with a full loadout under the wings.PAINTING AND DECALS
As mentioned above, there are
five schemes provided in the box.
Four are painted in the standard
helo green, but the Japanese
version is painted in a three-tone
camouflage. For this build, I went
with the US Army markings.
I pre-shaded the model with
flat black, then sprayed the base
coat of helo green across the entire
fuselage. The nearest match to
helo green that I could find at
my local hobby store was in theModelmaster Acrylic range.
My intention was to represent an
Apache that had seen some action,
as some examples were indeed
quite patchy (no pun intended!) To
produce this effect I post-shaded
the base coat with a number of
different greens, both darker
and lighter in shade. However,
for this build, I kept it closer
to factory-finish than in some
examples I had photographs of.
After completing the painting
I ran an oil wash over the model to
pop out the recessed panel lines
and to accentuate the raised rivets.CONCLUSION
I really enjoyed the change of pace
of building a helicopter rather thana fast jet. The Italeri kit is very good
and was a pleasure to build. I have
been told by some of my fellow
modelers that the most accurate
kit on the market is the Hasegawa
offering, but I have not had the
opportunity to build that kit so I can’t
compare it with the Italeri model.
The Italeri kit does have its
shortcomings, as do most injection
moulded kits, but if you are after a
reasonably hassle-free model that
will still test your patience and skill
level, I would recommend this kit.
Out of the box, there are
plenty of schemes and versions
of the AH-64D to choose. There
is also the scope to dress up the
kit with aftermarket parts, but my
intention was to build this strictly
OOB. My thanks to Italeri‘s UK
Importer the Hobby Company for
supplying the kit for me to review.KIT REVIEWS
WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • JUNE 2018 • 63
056-65-Reviews-0618.indd 63 11/05/2018 16:01