Print Scale 1/72 OH-58 Kiowa Decals
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
The Italeri 1/72 OH-58 kit has been out for quite a while now, and it remains the only real choice in 1/72 for this helicopter. It has been released in Japan by Tamiya, and between the two boxings, it's not too hard to find one of these. The box markings, though, are limited, and Print Scale has decided to address that issue with this decal release that features over 20 interesting color schemes.
The Decals
This decal sheet looks small, but it packs quite a few options on the sheet. This is due to the fact that the helicopter itself is small. There are OH-58As from Vietnam, OH-58Ds from Iraq and Bosnia, and foreign operators including Australia, Canada, Austria, Sweden, and Israel. The complete list is here:
- OH-58A 68-16779 (16779) 120th AHC Bien Hoa, Vietnam 1970.
- OH-58A 68-16761 (16761) 173rd ABN Bong Song, Vietnam 1970.
- OH-58A 68-16935 (16935) 17th Cavalry Regiment Quan Loi, Vietnam 1970.
- OH-58A 68-16697 (16697) 1st Cavalry Regiment Vinh Long, Vietnam 1971.
- OH-58A 69-16962 (16962) 17th Cavalry Regiment Quang Tri, Vietnam 1971
- OH-58C 70-15170 (15170) New Mexico, USA 2000.
- ОН-58А 71-15266 (15266) Вell Helicopter Textron, USA 1989.
- OH-58A 68-16934 (16934) 17th Cavalry Regiment Di An, Vietnam 1970.
- OH-58D 727 H-Company, 4th Brigade, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Operation "Desert Storm" Iraq 1991
- This OH-58D was assigned to 2nd Squadron 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division Its nickname, "Arsenal", was painted on both sides of the upper cowling
- OH-58D "Monsta" 95-00004 (50004) C-Troop, 3/17th Cavalry Regiment, Iraq 2004.
- This OH-58D (R) was assigned to E Troop, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment 1st Cavalry Division, in Bosnia in 1998 as part of SFOR. A 1st Cavalry emblem is on the nose of the Warrior. The "Bounty Hunter" emblem of E Troop is on the right side of the ALQ-144 pedestal, and the "Garryowen" crest is on the left
- OH-58A 70-15236 (15236) Australian Army, 161 Recce Flight Assoc, Nui Dat, Vietnam 1971.
- Bell 206B A17-003 Australian Army, Brisbane, Australia 1971
- Bell 206B A17-043 Australian Army, Australia 2002
- CH-136 136213 early training scheme, Canada 1971.
- CH-136 136207 3CFFTS (training squadron), Canada 1980.
- CH-136 136238 10 TAG, Canada 1980.
- OH-58A 3C-OH Austria 2010.
- Hkp-6B 06047 Sweden Navy, Berga, Sweden 1980.
- Bell 206 131 Light Helicopter Squadron, Israel 1998
All of the options are interesting in their own way, and for those who really want something challenging, it would be interesting to build all 21. If you go that route, remember that these are helicopters, so you could build quite a few in the footprint of a standard WW2 bomber.
Conclusion
This is a nice collection of OH-58/Bell 206 helicopter options, and it makes for a great addition to an existing helicopter collection. My thanks to Print Scale for the review sample.