Historical Background
By the 1970s, the Soviet Defence Ministry decided that the Mil Mi-24 was not going to meet future Red Army requirements. On the Ministry's advice, a new resolution was passed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council of Soviet Ministers to develop a new combat helicopter which could be fielded by the Soviet Army in the 1980s and beyond. The main task of this helicopter is to destroy enemy armoured forces close to the edge of the forward battle area (FEBA). Two design bureaus with extensive experience between them, Kamov and Mil was chosen to compete. Kamov's designers, led by Sergei Mikheyev, believed that the task of flying, navigating, target detection and tracking can be automated to a degree that a single crew member can perform all the functions. The designers also have survivability in mind, incorporating armour around the cockpit and other vital areas and also redundant systems. Crew survivability is enhanced by installing an ejector seat, the Zvezda K-37-800. The prototype, designated V-80 was rolled out in June 1982 and first flew on 23 July of the same year.
The V-80 was further developed into V-80Sh-1. The latter model was chosen for production by the Council Of Ministers on 14 December 1987, after competitive trials against the rival Mi-28 design. The actual order for production was however only given in 1990. In March 1992, during a symposium in the United Kingdom, the V-80Sh-1 was publicly described as 'Ka-50'. The Ka-50 was revealed to the public at Mosaeroshow '92 held at Zhukovskiy / Ramenskoye Airport in August 1992. The second prototype was displayed at the Farnborough Airshow in September of the same year, painted with an image of a werewolf on its rudder, earning it the 'Werewolf' nickname. The fifth prototype was used in a movie titled 'Chernaya Akula' (Black Shark), after which the Ka-50 earned its lasting nickname (NATO codenamed the helicopter as 'Hokum'). Although proposed to be the replacement for the Mi-24, the collapse of the Soviet Union curtailed defence spending and only 65 were operational by 2011. At the same time the Mi-28 was also ordered into production and the Hakum was selected to be the special forces' support aircraft while the Havoc (Mi-28) was chosen to be the main helicopter gunship of the Russian army.
The Ka-50 featured Kamov helicopters' distinctive feature: the contra-rotating, co-axial main rotors with no tail rotor. This allow aerobatics usually not possible with conventional helicopters and also allowing a higher speed. The lack of tail rotor also allows 100% engine power be used for the main rotors and reduce vulnerability to ground fire. The ejection seat is novel in a helicopter. Before the seat is deployed, explosive charges in the rotor hub jettisoned the blades first. The Hokum is also fitted with electronic radio and sighting-piloting-navigating systems that allow day and night operations in all weather conditions. For self protection, the helicopter is fitted with radar warning receiver, electronic warfare system and chaff and flare dispenser. The cockpit is protected by armour plates against armour-piercing 12.7 mm bullets and 23 mm fragmentation cannon rounds. The Ka-50 is armed with a 2A42 30 mm cannon mounted semi-rigidly on the right side of the fuselage and provided with 460 armour-piercing, fragmentation and/or explosive incendiary rounds. Six external hardpoints on the stub wings can carry up to 2,000 kg of ordnance including up to 12 9K121 Vikhr (AT-16 Scallion) anti-tank missiles.
In December 2000, a pair of Ka-50s were sent to the Chechnya to join the Russian Army operations against the Chechen separatists. Along with the pair was a Ka-29 to provide reconnaissance and target designation. On 6 January 2001, the Ka-50 fired its first shots 'in anger'. On 9 January, one of the Ka-50s, escorted by a Mi-24, used unguided 80 mm S-8 rockets to destroy an ammunition dump near the settlement of Komsomolskoye. On 6 February, the two Ka-50s, escorted by the Ka-29 destroyed a fortified insurgent camp in a mountainous, forested area near the village of Tsentoroj using two Vikhr missiles. Finally on 14 February, eight targets were destroyed in the Oak-Yurt and Hatun areas. For the time being, the Ka-50 was only operated by the Russian Air Force. The Ka-50 was developed into the Ka-50N and Ka-50Sh night-capable helicopter, but no orders were forthcoming. A twin-seat version was also developed - the Ka-52 'Alligator' which so far enjoyed a better export success, with 50 being ordered by Egypt.
Italeri released their kit of the Hokum in 1993 with Tamiya re-releasing it under their label in the next year. Unlike their Mi-28 kit (named simply 'Soviet Attack Helicopter', which was based on speculative DoD drawings), the Ka-50 kit was more accurate, at least in general shape and outline (I'm not a rivet counter anyway). The Tamiya version was moulded in their usual tan/light sand-coloured styrene (the original was moulded in a dark, brownish-black plastic). The parts are spread among two solid and one clear sprue and featured finely raised panel lines (even though the trend was moving towards engraved panel lines at that time). Exterior stores include a pair of S-8 rocket tubes and 12 Vikhr missiles plus the 2A42 cannon. Holes for the weapons pylons have been pre-drilled into the stub wings. Decals provide markings for two aircraft, and since the kit came in the early 1990s, they did not represent operational machines. One was '018', a test machine at Akthoubinsk in 1991 (camouflaged) and the other is the Farnborough '92 participant in overall black.
Construction
As always, construction of an aircraft model started at the cockpit. For this build however, I substituted the kit cockpit with the excellent resin replacement from Neomega. It was painted according to the kit instructions and set aside for a while. next, the instructions have you partially assemble the rotor assembly (the drive shaft and rotor heads). I think that this might lead to breakage so I just glued the together the base (Parts B7, B8, B9 and B11) and inserted them in the starboard fuselage half. The cockpit was then superglued and the fuselage was closed up, with the cockpit nicely fitting in. The same however cannot be said with the fuselage halves which have a bad fit, resulting in a seam along the fuselage (although I think, with proper attention and due dilligence, it can be overcome, or at least minimised). While admiring the details of the Neomega set, I can't help but worry whether they would be visible when the canopy is in place.
And yes, when the canopy was in place, it nearly obscures most of the interior. I coud have the entry door in the open position but I decided to have it closed. Hmmmmphh. The canopy itself is problematic with rather major alignment problem - glue it to fuselage and there will be a step between the canopy top and the upper fuselage; aligning it with the top will create a gap at the bottom.The engine fairings and the air intakes were assembled and cemented to the fuselage with no fit problems. The exhausts were left off at this time. The stub wings were assembled and attached to the fuselage but like the exhausts, the weapons pylons were also left off. The tails, while falling at existing panel lines, the gap looked a bit deeper than usual because of the less than perfect fit. As they would also interfere with painting, the landing gears, air data probe and the cannon were also left off.
Painting and Decalling
As mentioned before, the painting options are for two non line birds (one airshow demonstrator, the other for evaluation purposes). I wasn't keen on any of them so I looked for other options. While browsing the internet, I came across Begemot Decals website showcasing their products. They also kindly allow users to download their instruction sheets. The decal sheets for the Ka-50 still consist of test birds but I spotted one, just one, colour scheme of an operational combat test Black Shark in Chechnya. It has the same camo pattern as '018' in the kit's decal sheet but that's where the similarity ends. The kit has the camouflage in sand/dark green (using XF-59 Desert Yellow and XF-26 Deep Green) while Begemot has it in light green (FS 34227) and Khaki Drab (Tamiya XF-51(?)). I went for Begemot's suggestion and painted the model Gunze H312 and Tamiya XF-51. The black portion was painted Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black. The lower fuselage was painted Tamiya XF-23 Light Blue.
The decals were not used as the Ka-50s sent to Chechnya have all markings, except technical stencils, removed.
Finishing
To start the finishing process I worked from the bottom. I started at the landing gears, allowing the model to stand on its wheels. The weapons then received my attention. The S-8 rocket pods were painted silver; the Vikhr missile tubes were painted XF-64 Red Brown and XF-1 Flat Black. The missile racks were glued to the pylons first before cementing the weapons themselves to ensure proper alignment. Once that was done, the exhausts were assembled. Unfortunately they are moulded 'short', leaving a gap in the plates inside the exhausts. It can be rectified but lacking the proper tools, I decided to leave it as it is. I concentrated on the rotors. Italeri had the rotor blades molded 'straight', with no droop, which is almost always seen on idle choppers. To have the droop, I immerse the rotor blades in hot water, and then gently bending them. Weathering was done just to highlight some of the panel lines and rivets. As the paint on the real aircraft was flat, the model received a layer of Gunze Super Clear Flat spray.
Conclusion
Italeri's (and Tamiya by association) 1/72 Kamov Ka-50 helicopter can be described as a curate's egg. Although I don't bother measuring the kit and compared it to official drawings, it does look like a Ka-50. The details, although mainly of the raised variety is quite acceptable. The major letdown is the fit with almost everything having gaps and steps, plus that 'short-shot' exhausts. I also have to add that the cannon is also a bit disappointing as it lacked detail, being externally mounted and all.
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