Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior by Testors
1/72 scale
Kit No. 637
Retail: $30.00 (Aftermarket, Out of Production)
Decals: One version – U.S. Army
Comments: Raised panel lines and rivet detail; detailed cockpit; includes mast mounted sight facilitating thermal imaging and laser range finding, pair of Stinger missile launchers and one 70mm rocket pod
History
The Bell OH-58 D Kiowa Warrior is a single-engine, single-rotor, four-bladed observation and reconnaissance helicopter with advanced visionics, navigation, communication, and weapons and cockpit integration systems. The mast-mounted sight (MMS) houses a thermal imaging system, low-light television, laser rangefinder/designator, and an optical boresight system. These systems enable the Kiowa to operate by day and night and allow target acquisition and engagement at stand-off ranges and in adverse weather conditions.
The OH58D conducts armed reconnaissance, security, target acquisition and designation, command and control, light attack and defensive air combat missions in support of combat and contingency operations. Entering service with the U.S. Army in October 1983, it replaced the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters functioning as scouts in air cavalry troops and light attack companies, as well as OH-58A and C Kiowas in air cavalry troops. Originally designed as an observation and scout aircraft for the U.S. Army, it saw extensive use in Iraq as a gunship. It is armed with two side-mounted machine guns and can carry rockets or missiles on external side-mounted pylons.
The Kiowa (“Kiowa” means “spiteful” or “malicious animal”) was designed to be fast enough to keep up with the armored tanks of an invasion force or the general advance of a battle line. The OH-58D is so lightweight that it can carry two soldiers while providing them with armor protection from small arms fire, artillery fragments, and nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. The aircraft’s light weight also allows it to fly at higher altitudes than most helicopters, which made its speed even more valuable in scouting missions when high winds might have grounded other aircraft.
The Kiowa Warrior’s highly accurate navigation system provides precise target location data that can be digitally transmitted to other aircraft or artillery units via its advanced digital communications system. Battlefield imagery can be transmitted to provide near-real-time situational awareness to command and control elements. The Laser Designator can provide autonomous designation for the laser Hellfire, remote designation, for other laser-guided precision weapons. (Note: The AGM-114 missile was originally developed under the name Heliborne laser, fire-and-forget missile, which led to the colloquial name “Hellfire” ultimately becoming the missile’s formal name).
The Kiowa is equipped with two universal quick-change weapons pylons. Each pylon can be armed with two Hellfire missiles, seven HYDRA 70 rockets, two air-to-air Stinger missiles, or one .50 caliber fixed forward firing machine gun. The armament systems combine to provide anti-armor, anti-personnel, and anti-aircraft capabilities at standoff ranges. The Kiowa is rapidly deployable by air and can be fully operational within minutes of arrival. Two Kiowa aircraft can be transported in a C-130 aircraft. For air transportation the vertical tail fin pivots, the main rotor blades and the horizontal stabilizer are folded, and the mast mounted site, the IFF antenna and the lower wire cutter are removed. The landing gear can kneel to decrease the height.
The U.S. Army is currently installing a series of safety and performance modifications to upgrade the aircraft, keeping it safe and mission effective until it is retired. The mast-mounted sight enables the Kiowa to fight both day and night, at the maximum range of its weapons systems — and with minimum exposure. The aircraft remains concealed during all but a few seconds of an autonomous engagement, making it considerably more survivable than gunships with nose-mounted sensors.
The U.S. Army reportedly retired all OH-58Ds in 2016 because they were allegedly too expensive to maintain compared to “odern helicopters. The OH-58D holds the distinction of being one of few helicopters ever used against tanks head on during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq.
The Kit
Originally released by Italeri in 1990, Testors re-issued the same mold a year later with no substantive changes. The Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior is injection molded in olive drab plastic and consists of 53 parts, including seven clear parts for the windscreen and cabin windows. The cockpit is above average with side-by-side seats bearing upholstery detail and molded on seat straps, a main instrument panel bearing raised detail, and a pair of individually mounted control yokes. Parts are included for a rear bulkhead and an internal cabin roof.
The airframe is crisply molded, bearing raised panel lines and rivet detail, and there are individually mounted doors with separate windows for both sides of the cockpit, which can be depicted open or closed. For armament, two Stinger missile launchers are provided and are to be cemented to an adapter arm on the port side of the helicopter. The starboard side directly opposite has and adapter arm for a 70mm Hydra rocket pod, which consists of four parts. The mast-mounted sight, which makes this kit special, is included, consisting of two halves, and is positioned dead-center atop the rotor assembly.
A series of separately mounted antennae are to be cemented to the front of the helicopter, including two large, prominent blade antennae. The rotor assembly is fairly simple and is comprised of four parts, not including the four individually mounted rotor blades. A paint guide is provided calling out Testors enamel colors only, but for some colors (Olive Drab, Dark Gull Grey) Federal Standard numbers are also provided.
Markings
Typical of helicopters, the kit decals are not terribly extensive, consisting of “United States Army,” danger signs, serial numbers and various stencils. Markings are provided for just one version, for a machine of the 1.227th Avn, U.S. Army, Fort Rucker, circa 1990. The decals are above average in quality.
Conclusion
The kit should not offer modelers any surprises and appears to be quite well engineered. Highly recommended.
References
- https://aerocorner.com/aircraft/oh-58d/
- https://www.military.com/equipment/oh-58d-kiowa-warrior
- “World Missile Yearbook,” Flight International, March 14, 1974.