1/72 Hobby Boss Mil Mi-17

Gallery Article by Ratish Nair on Aug 15 2014

India Independence Day

 

Mil Mi-17 Indian Air Force in Congo

This is a model of an Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 that was part of the Indian Aviation contingent in Congo as a UN-MONUC component. The kit used is the superlative 1/72 Hobby Boss Mi-8MT/Mi-17. The build is mostly OOB and minor changes had to be made to make it look like an IAF aircraft. The only major part I remember changing is the winch which is a slight mashup of the part supplied in the kit. 

 

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The kit went together without any major hassles but needed putty at places. Overall, I have nothing but nice things to say about the kit and it is noteworthy how Hobby Boss got the distinctive Mi-8/17 nose right unlike any other in this scale. What posed a bigger challenge was to get reference pics of the actual aircraft with the correct serials. The decals are completely home-made. I also went ahead and built an ICM ZiL-131 to go with it. 

This is a somewhat rarely modelled subject, though the IAF was involved for a good 7 years (2003-10) with MONUC with mixed results. The Hip and Hind regiments played an integral role in keeping the rebel forces in check and provided Indian and armed forces of several other nations including rival Pakistan with exemplary service. India now operates newer more advanced Mi-17s along with older examples. Hope you like the pics. 

Ratish Nair

      

Photos and text © by Ratish Nair