Italeri 1/72 Aerospatiale AS 532 Cougar

ITALERI 1:72 AEROSPATIALE AS.532 COUGAR

Reviewer: Paul Wherran (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 25 October 2006

Kit Details:

Italeri 096 - 1/72 Aerospatiale AS-532 Cougar

Aircraft History:

The AS 532 Cougar is an upgraded version of the Puma and is virtually identical to the Super Puma and basically the militarised version of same. It is classed as a medium to large multi purpose or utility type helicopter with twin engines and now comes under the manufacturer banner of Eurocopter.

The Kit:

This kit is packaged in a colourful Italeri box with just over 100 grey injection molded parts on two sprues and 22 clear parts on a separate sprue. As usual the sprues float loosely in the box which means some of the clear parts have small blemishes on them. The quality of the moldings appear really good with engraved lines and clearly new tooling technology. Unfortunately there is still a small amount of flash and mould lines on some parts which need attention but overall the parts look very nice.

Instructions:

This is a large ten page fold out with the usual Italeri fanfare of history, assembly, interpretative symbols, paint labels from the modelmaster range with FS references and four view diagrams.

Construction:

Beginning inside the cockpit the parts supplied cater pretty much for everything you would expect in this scale without going overboard. The usual sticks, seats, panels and bulkheads to cabin all are molded reasonably well and fit together inside the cockpit in a straightforward manner. The roof of the cabin and cockpit doubles up to mount the engine components later. Unfortunately though there is no other detail for the cabin, and since the glazing of the nose and cabin is reasonably clear, you can see its devoid of detail when it is completed. Cabin interior buffs will therefore need to scratchbuild their own and I am not sure if there are any aftermarket resin sets or otherwise which could be used.

The cabin windows along with the cockpit glazing are all relatively straightforward to put into place but as usual you just need to take care, test fit and be patient in placing them into their cavities in a flawless manner. Another point to mention is that there are several optional parts in this kit so you have to be wary when following the instructions that you are using the right parts for the version you want to reproduce. The cabin roof, engine intakes and the undercarriage sponsons have different parts, for example.

The engine bay is dealt with and the fuselage halves are placed together in an almost flawless fashion, which is a real bonus for a kit like this. The main rotor shaft and propellers along with the tail rotor are also easily put together as is the sponson and undercarriage section, it was all pretty straightforward with nothing much to report on. There are a multitude of smaller parts which accounts for the high parts number in a kit this size, which are placed in and around the underbelly of the chopper. This makes for a pretty fiddly section of assembly and easy enough to break off some parts.

Overall I was pleased with how the chopper went together and it was much more straightforward than I initially envisaged, especially the fairly easy fit of the cabin windows and cockpit glazing.

Colour Schemes:

There are four different country representations you can make from this kit which makes it important earlier in the construction to apply the right parts for the version you are building, because all differ just slightly to each other. You have the choice of a French, Swiss, Dutch and [West] German example to represent. By far the most colourful examples are the French, Dutch and Swiss examples, the former which features the colourful body camouflage scheme as shown on the boxart of a dark green, red tan and a light green, and a similar three colour scheme for the Swiss and Dutch machines. The German example is an overall Dark Green colour to fit the role of the Border Police for which is representing. FS numbers are provided for all but one colour of the French scheme.

Decals:

You have to enjoy applying decals to tackle this subject for two reasons.

Firstly the decal sheet has more than a 100 individual decals, albeit some are specific to one of the examples so they won't be used, but there is a plethora of insigina, roundels, badges, labels and stencils. The decal sheet has sharp colour register so looks excellent on paper.

Secondly applying the decals is a bit of a challenge. These were not as easy to apply as many Italeri kits I have built over the years which was a bit of a disappointment. They needed plenty of decal setting solution and drying time before they bedded down to an acceptable level, so applying the decals had to occur over several days in the end and was a lengthy and at times slightly frustrating project. It wasn't hard, it just needed a bit of time and patience to apply. Still it looked great when it was finally finished.

Accuracy:

I'm not a big chopper buff so I am not overly keen to comment finitely on the accuracy of this chopper. I do know (and have read elsewhere) that the cabin door is wrong for the German version because it is a sliding door not replicated in the kit. The dimensions from reference material matches down to scale almost perfectly with the only question mark over the height, being slightly underscale. In all other respects it looks like a Cougar when compared to photos and the like, to me.

Overall Recommendation:

A surprisingly straightforward build considering the nature of building helicopters with the amount of glazing and small parts to add. It builds into a stunning looking finished product and I would have no hesitation recommending it to all others.

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