Bush War Hinds Collection Part 2

and

Mi-24 Hind Airframe Stencil Data

available in 1/35, 1/48 & 1/72 scales

Linden Hill Decals

Reviewed by Ken Bowes

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Linden Hill has followed on from their first Bush War Hind decal pack released earlier this year with another comprehensive collection of unusual Mi-24 operators in a variety of schemes. With a well deserved reputation for their research and access to information that others often only guess at, it is no surprise that this selection will probably have something to wet any Hind fan’s appetite. In the neat ziplock bag is a comprehensive instruction booklet, in the newer Linden Hill format, with plenty of colour profiles of the subjects and plenty of supporting text.  This book covers no less than eight A4 pages, although one is an advertisement for their Hind Airframe Stencil set. The decals themselves are spread over two A5 sheets plus one smaller supplementary sheet. Unlike their previous Hind collection this set does not include airframe stenciling, making the Airframe Stencil set essential for the committed modeler.

With no less than twelve individual airframes from ten Air Forces included, there is ample choice. Some have even been newsworthy in recent weeks, adding to the interest. The subjects covered are:

• Mi-24RKh - Red 41, an unusual chemical warfare reconnaissance variant serving with the Group of Soviet Forces Germany in 1991.

• Mi-24V - 0813 of the Slovak Air Force in 2000.

• Mi-24V - Serbian Security Forces 1998. This aircraft saw extensive use in Kosovo prior to Operation Allied Force.

• Mi-35H  - H357 Angolan Air Force 1991

• Mi-24VP - Red 33 Naval Aviation of the Baltic Fleet of Russia 85^th Anniversary 2001

• Mi24D - CH612 Sri Lankan Air Force 1997, a veteran of operations against the Tamil Tigers

• Mi-35 - Eritrean Air Force in 2000.

• Mi-35 - Ethiopian Air Force in 2000. Both of these aircraft saw action in the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the late 1990s.

• Mi-25 - 4493 of the Iraqi Army Aviation Corps, Basra 1991. This particular aircraft was captured by US forces during Desert Storm and now resides in the US.

• Mi-24D - TU-VHO of the Ivory Coast Government Forces in December 2002. Whilst it is not clear if these aircraft were still being operated in 2004, if it was then it is likely it was destroyed by French forces in November 2004 as part of operations against the Ivory Coast Air Force following attacks on peace-keeping forces.

• Mi-35 – Z3039/Z3131 of the Indian Air Force.

As one can imagine, with this many operators there are numerous variations on colours applied. Linden Hill have helpfully provided FS approximations for all schemes, along with some recommendations from major paint manufacturers for some of the more unusual colours such as those on the Slovak and Serbian aircraft. Furthermore there are detailed descriptions and recommendations for details such as the wheels, rotor blades, hubs etc to ensure an accurate model. Finally colour photographs of some subjects reinforce the observation that these aircraft were generally extremely weathered, be it by the harsh African sun or the weather of Northern Russia

The variety of type designations for the Mi-24 is daunting, but the ones in this set essentially represent the two major sub-types and their export model equivalents. With the exception of the Mi-24RKh (a specialist chemical warfare reconnaissance variant) these subjects can be built largely from the Trumpeter 1/35 scale kit currently on the market, with some of the unique details being taken care of by Eastern European aftermarket specialists.

Having built an Mi-24 with this set, a modeler may then not want to use the kit supplied maintenance stenciling. Linden Hill addresses this with a comprehensive sheet based on aircraft maintenance manuals and information from their contacts in Russia. The single A5 sheet, with accompanying A4 sheet of instructions covers the fuselage, main and tail rotors, cabin and weapons pylons. In addition there are two variations of tail rotor warning and a neat set of faded Russian stars, perfect for those highly weathered subjects in the Bush War Hinds set.

Linden Hill’s sheets are very well printed, being very thin and with minimal carrier film. The complex designs themselves are in perfect register. The decals are easy to use and respond well to the usual solutions without damage. Being thin they conform well to details over which they are laid. Yet again Linden Hill has come up with an excellent product and they should be congratulated for bringing these unusual subjects to the market.

Both Sets Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Linden Hill Imports for the review sample.

Linden Hill Decals are available from Linden Hill Imports' website

Review Copyright © 2004 by Ken Bowes
This Page Created on 17 November, 2004
Last updated 17 November, 2004

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