The UH-1D Huey is among the best known aircraft in the world with over 16000 built, but for some reason it has not been a popular modeling subject in 1/48, with only ESCI and Italeri producing kits in that scale. Esci ceased production of their Huey when the Italeri kit was first released in 1998. The kit is accurate in outline and the molding is what we can expect from its original release date. Missing are the M60 door guns and armored pilot seats which are obvious by their omission on a 1st Cav Huey. Molding was clean and flash free, but assembly is a challenge, especially when assembling the interior and fuselage, but with some patience it can be built into a nice, if slightly inaccurate model out of the box. There are a number of aftermarket photoetched and resin parts that can correct the missing parts and add more to the finished product. Out of the box it looks like a Huey, and with some aftermarket parts it can be a beauty, and if you want a 1/48 long cabin Huey, this is the only game in town.

This is a very good kit of the Huey UH-1D. The instructions are laid out well. The fit is pretty good except for the fuselage halves. The locating pins are slightly off. I actually cut off the pins and realigned the fuselage. Once this was done there was very little putty required at the seams. The interior jump seats are too narrow and thick. I ended up scratch building them. The kit offers a couple of variations of the D version. The decals were nice. They went on easily and conformed to the surface well. With a little work and some aftermarket details it makes a good looking representation. I would recommend this kit for those looking for a long bodied Huey.

Easy assembly, appears fairly accurate. Great addition to your Vietnam collection