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AMODEL 1:72 MIL MI-1MG |
Reviewer:
Gavin Reed (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:
29 December 2002
Mikhail Leontyevich Mil was made head of his own design bureau in 1947, and the first product of this bureau was the GM-1 helicopter. This was authorised for construction with the designation Mi-1, and was the first single-rotor helicopter to enter full scale production in the USSR. The type first flew in September 1948 with a pod-and-boom fuselage of light allow construction (except for a welded steel tube central fuselage structure), fixed tricycle landing gear, and a main rotor with three wooden blades.
The Mi-1 was an effective utility type for its period, and comparatively large-scale production was undertaken in the USSR for civil as well as military use. Several hundred Mi-1s were made in the USSR, and the type was also built in Poland as the WSK-Swidnik SM-1, of which more than 1,700 were produced up to 1965. NATO allocated the reporting name "Hare" to the type.
Typically contained in one of Amodels infamous flimsy boxes the limited run injection moulded parts come on four thick sprues with flash and ejector pin marks prevalent throughout. Kit parts total nearly 70 of which 7 of these are the transparencies, which pass off as thick, crude and cloudy clear parts. The plastic is moulded in an off-white colour with recessed panel lines and surface detail and there are two decal options to choose from. The traits of limited run kits are clearly seen in the box, the plastic is soft and a bit brittle with the smaller parts very easy to break, and the sprue attachment lugs are thick and in some cases mould integrally into the part. Care must be taken when removing all parts from the sprue.
The instructions come on an A4 sheet with both English and Russian text provided throughout, except the brief aircraft overview, which is only in Cyrillic. There are eight assembly steps to follow which are straight forward although some reference photos will still be handy to resolve a couple of placement queries. A sprue diagram is also supplied and painting information provided throughout and for the external schemes via the Humbrol range.
The interior, including cabin and cockpit, is where work begins on this model, with the kit supplying a reasonable amount of parts to affix. The pilot and cabin seats are just representative shapes more than anything else and seat harnesses were added with masking tape. A cyclic pitch and collective levers are also supplied as is rudder pedals, onto a floor which doubles up as the interior cabin floor. A cabin rear bulkhead is affixed to block out some of the interior which also doubles up as the intake head. A main instrument panel is also provided which has a small amount of moulded detail as well as a decal sheet. With dry fitting and some careful adjustments, the parts can be installed into the fuselage half without any real dramas. The interior was painted medium grey as directed in the instruction sheet, although I was fairly sure that the interior should be the Russian Blue colour so you may want to double check your own references.
The fuselage windows are installed from the outside and are covered after the fuselage halves are placed together but I opted to install them beforehand. They need careful removal from the sprue, which should go without saying, but their thickness makes it difficult for any of them to fit. Through a series of test fitting some adjustments need to be made to get them to fit, either trimming the parts carefully, widening the window hole in the fuselage to remove a touch of flash, or a combination of both. The windscreen in particular is a bit of a forced fit but persistence will pay off in the end. Once this obstacle is overcome you can affix the fuselage halves together, which with the aid of clamps (rubber bands) fit rather well.
When the count of parts covering cockpit/cabin interior, tail rotor, boarding steps, float assembly, landing gear/skid assembly and the small boom masts are taken into account there are only a few other major component parts to put together. There is a lack of locating pins on this model, which is common for these types of kits, and providing a combination of test fitting, removing flash and ejector pin mark tasks are undertaken, along with a bit of sanding along the mating surfaces, the fit is actually on the whole quite good.
However, this all changes when it comes to the fiddly landing skid and float assembly. Take some anti-anger pills and stock up on some incense to keep the karma levels low and be prepared for a bit of a task here. Firstly, delicately, and I do mean delicately, remove the parts from the sprue, since they will easily snap if you exert too much pressure. A clean up of the parts, which contain a little bit of flash and are a bit thickly moulded, is also in order before proceeding with assembly. The instructions suggest sub assembly of the landing skids and floats separately and the front and rear floats to be almost joined together. By following these directions, you won’t be able affix the landing gear struts which attach to the fuselage. The only real way around this is attaching the floats on the completed landing skid around the gear struts. I also suggest using some strong bonding glue here so that everything will hold together firmly.
The main and tail rotor assembly is also a bit on the fiddly side, with the parts requiring a bit of cleaning before they can be placed together. There are no connecting rods on the main tail rotor supplied, so you will need to add these (as stated in the instruction sheet) from stretched sprue. They supply all the boarding steps, masts and landing skid struts, I am sure a couple more connecting rod parts wouldn’t have hurt? Anyway, providing enough care and attention is taken, with cross referencing to some photos, the main rotor assembly can look quite convincing as a result.
All that remained were adding in the various small antennae masts and the pilot’s boarding step which all needed care with removing from the sprue, before attaching to the helicopter. Overall, an enjoyable build, but certainly a limited run style of kit in anyone’s language. The aircraft was then masked off for painting in the boxart scheme of Dark Green upper sides and Aircraft Blue undersides for the Russian/Soviet army scheme, with Iron Grey floats. Reference to photos are needed when masking off the windscreen since the frames are [for my eyes anyway] impossible to distinguish.
Two examples can be chosen from, the Soviet scheme as spoken of above, and one from Aeroflot in a mainly Red scheme with yellow upper surface from intake to tail rotor inclusive. The floats are painted in iron grey and the rotors in light grey according to the Humbrol colours quoted. The decal sheet is smallish with only the codes, markings and so forth provided. They have very good colour register, but are very thin, matt and have an excess amount of carrier film. In spite of this, on a gloss coated surface they bedded down quite well, and I did trim off some of the carrier film on a few decals as well.
Finding reference sources on this aircraft is quite difficult, and generally the best are found by searching for PZL, who licensed built this chopper in Poland, although exact searches for this particular MG version did not turn up very much at all, apart from one or two photos. Going by quoted measurements on the Mi-1 basic model this one comes within very acceptable ranges to scale, being only one or two millimetres out at worst. The profile certainly looks the part and compared to the boxart, the chopper seems to match it quite well in model form.
For sheer subject alternative you have to consider a kit like this one to add to your collection. But remember that it is a limited run kit and skills are needed to get a really nice looking model out of this box. It is not one that would be for those wishing to undertake a limited run kit for the first time, because of the many small and thin parts in the kit, but those with a few under their belt may want to attempt this one. There are a few challenges to overcome but in the main the fit of the parts is not that bad. If you are confident in building these sorts of kits, have a bit of reference material to also rely on, then you should find this project an enjoyable one and the end result is worthwhile in my opinion, and adds something a little different to the display cabinet. Recommended.
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