Forces of Valor UH-60L Black Hawk Helicopter

I mentioned in my last editorial that I had ordered a Forces of Valor 1/48th scale U.S. UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter from Amazon.co.uk. Well, it arrived soon afterwards and I'm mightily impressed with it. Now this is  not a blog-site for modern military hardware but I bought this model for a very specific need and that is to use it in my ATZ campaign. So because of that connection, I figure it warrants a review here.

Here we see it on its clear plastic flight stand in all of its glory. This is a die-cast metal model with hard plastic fittings. The four main rotor blades and tail rotor were separate plastic components. As were the stub wings (called the External Stores Support System)  and the ordnance you can fit on them. The model comes with optional external fuel pods, which I haven't used. You also have the option of omitting the E.S.S.S. altogether for an unarmed version. That's something I'll probably do when I get my second model.

This photo shows it from above and behind. Note that the passenger door slides open and shut. I've shown it open here to give you a look at the seats inside. The interior detail is just as impressive as the exterior detail. In the previous photo you can clearly see one of the two machine gunners operating a 7.62mm M240H machine gun from just behind the cockpit.

This photo above shows the right side of the helicopter with the passenger door fully closed. The markings on the helicopter are for the Baghdad 2003 campaign. I like the way it tilts forward on its stand. The stand is detachable, by the way.

This is a view of the Black Hawk that very few enemies would want to see. Eight Hellfire missiles and eight Hydra rockets pointing at you is something to give you good cause to raise the white flag. 

This photo shows the left side of the Sikorsky Black Hawk. The rotor blades and tail rotor move, as does the two front wheels but oddly, the back wheel does not move. According to Wikipedia, each UH60L Black Hawk costs $5.9 million dollars. My model that I have here cost me £42.99.

Here I show the rear of the helicopter. As I mentioned in my intro, I bought my model from good old Amazon because they offered the cheapest version of this model that I could find on the Internet. There are much cheaper versions if you fancy a plastic kit model. I thought about that option but rejected it because of the time it would have taken me to make and paint it. Plus, a die-cast model is far more durable and because I want this model for gaming purposes rather than a display model, paying the extra for the die-cast model seemed like a sensible decision. I'll admit it is pricey but I could afford it and I really wanted one. I'm very glad I did buy it and now I can't wait to use it in action.

I'd normally end my review here but I figured I'd give you a bonus picture of the Black Hawk in action. It has just landed on my only WWG building with a helipad - my unfinished police station. This is the first time I have ever shown a work in progress card model, so I hope you appreciate it. So many of you made requests to see the police station that I had to show you it. I need to fit a ladder up to the helipad, along with a radar dish and a couple of searchlights to complete the exterior. Inside, I need to make a lot more furniture. You'll be pleased to know that I am currently working on it and this time I will finish it! The figures shown above are from my range of Black Scorpion 28mm scale U.S. Army soldiers to show how well the Black Hawk lines up against them. I think that the Black Hawk is a perfect fit for my 28mm scale figures.