I’ve been working on a Revell Bell AH-1S Super Cobra kit lately. I am drawn to the AH-1W because of my love of helicopters and all things USMC. Manufactured by Bell Helicopter, the AH-1W was originally from a concept demonstrator for the U.S. Army in 1962, based off the UH-1 Huey. The AH-1W Super Cobra is the world’s FIRST attack helicopter. The Marine Corps began flying them back in 1986 and continued until 1998. As for the kit I’ve rolled poster tack for the soft edged camo scheme, and painted the kit with Vallejo Air and Tamiya Acrylics. I mainly used Tamiya thin cement with some areas needing CA for some extra hold. As far as finishing I will be using some Tamiya pastels and some regular ground chalk pastels. Future and or Tamiya clear coat before decals with Micro Set and Micro Sol finished by dull coat and did all kinds of cool stuff because I am a cool dude.
AH-1W SUPER COBRA HELICOPTER
Primary function: Attack helicopter Manufacturer: Bell Helicopter Textron
Power plant: Two General Electric T700-GE-401 engines
Thrust
Full: 2082 shaft horsepower for 30 minutes (transmission limited),
Continuous: 1775 shaft horsepower
Length: 58 feet (17.67 meters)
Height: 13.7 feet (4.17 meters)
Rotor Diameter: 48 feet (14.62 meters)
Speed: 147 knots (169.05 miles per hour) in basic combat attack configuration
Maximum takeoff weight: 14,750 pounds (6,696.50 kilograms)
Range: 256 nautical miles (294.4 miles) in basic combat attack configuration
Ceiling: 18,700 feet (5703.5 meters) in basic combat attack configuration (limited to 10,000 feet (3050 kilometers) by oxygen requirements)
Crew: 2 officers
Armament: One 20MM turreted cannon with 750 rounds; four external wing stations that can fire 2.75"/5.0" rockets and a wide variety of precision guided missiles, to include TOW/Hellfire (point target/anti-armor), Sidewinder (anti-air) Sidearm (anti-radar).
Introduction date: 1986
Unit Replacement Cost: $10,700,000
The following information about the Super Cobra was gathered from the New River Marines website: