1:48 Mi-8 Hip weapon mounting frame with BD3-57KrV for Trumpeter kit (UKRAINE Late) (2 pcs)

The late Ukrainian standard of mounting

Ukrainian Mi-8s went through a number of small alterations over decades of service, and those told most of all on the mounting of the armament. Whereas earlier machines carried brackets in the shape inherited from Soviet workshops, the later alteration changes the geometry of the frame and the way it is anchored to the fuselage. The difference is unobtrusive at first glance, but on a model it decides whether the build matches one particular machine from a photograph or a general notion.

The scope of the delivery and the scale

The set brings a pair of frames for both sides of the fuselage and with them the BD3-57KrV rack. It is cast in resin, which will bear thin sections and fine riveting; in 1:48 that is the difference between an angular plastic blank and a part on which the structure can be seen. The set does not carry paint, so count on spraying it yourself.

What to watch out for when gluing

Thin lattice sections will not bear thin super glue, which runs into the gaps and dulls the surface. Reach for the gel variant, apply it with the tip of a toothpick and hold the joint for several tens of seconds. Check the axes of the two frames against each other before the glue dries, because a bracket seated out of true shows on a finished model even from a few steps away. Hang the stores only once the coat has dried. Anyone building a machine from newer photographs will appreciate that the geometry of the bracket matches the state after modernization, so there is no need to hunt down what all had to be altered. Suggest the scuffs on the edges with a graphite pencil.