Bell UH-1C/B Huey Hog

This kit is a descendant of the original 1959 Monogram UH-1A Air Ambulance. The real UH-1A morphed into the the UH-1B troop carrier with increased power, but it suffered from a lack of power and payload capacity when it went to Vietnam, which brought on the long cabin UH-1D with increased cabin volume and power. The UH-1B became a MedEvac helicopter and gunship, but as a gunship it suffered from lack of power, which then moved Bell to develop an interim UH-1C, pending the arrival of the AH-1 Hueycobra dedicated gunship. The C model had more power, a larger chord 540 rotor system, larger tail fin and larger chord synchronized elevators. In the model world, Monogram took their original UH-1A kit, reboxed it as the nearly identical UH-1B, then reissued it as a UH-1C gunship by replacing the main rotor, and adding some weapons, but leaving the rest of the kit untouched, resulting in a UH-1 B/C, with a C model rotor but B model tail fin and sync elevators. Minus 1 point for accuracy. Monogram chose an unusual parts breakdown for the fuselage, which consists of two halves and a cabin roof which requires modeling skills to get it to fit right. Once that hurdle is overcome, the remainder of the assembly is straightforward, and a nice looking model can be made. For accuracy, there are aftermarket pieces to correct the B model tail fin and sync elevators to make it a proper C model. The bottom line is that if you want a 1/48 B/C model, despite its shortcomings this is the best kit IF you are an experienced modeler who has the patience to make it work...