REVELL EC-135 HELICOPTER (MiniKit 06587)

I have always wanted to incorporate a mountain heliport into my Swiss layout. Not only are helicopters a fairly common sight in alpine regions but their landing and takeoff facilities are minimal which is a great advantage when modelling space is at a premium. Unfortunately there has always been one great obstacle preventing me from fulfilling my plans and that was the lack of a suitable N-scale helicopter !!!

On numerous occasions I have browsed through the shelves of model shops hunting for a suitable machine and although there were a number of larger military helicopters in 1:144 scale no small commercial ones were evident. That was until quite recently when I came across the Revell range of MiniKits and the EC-135 "Polizei" helicopter. Although I couldn't find any mention of the scale on the packaging it looked suitable and as a price of 99 U.K.pence was hardly likely to break the bank I decided to take one home for closer examination.

The prototype is in service Worldwide (including Switzerland) and a little Internet research soon revealed some suitable prototype drawings that included measurements with which I could make my comparisons. Although I was pretty sure that the model would be suitable for N-scale I was amazed at just how close it actually was. Generally speaking the model scales between 1:150 and 1:160 which I think is more than adequate for most N-scale modellers requirements.

The kit comes ready painted in German Polizei colours and assembly couldn't be simpler. No adhesive is required, you simply cut the five pieces from the sprue frame and snap them together.

The photo above shows the completed kit with a Preiser 1:160 N-scale figure for comparison. I intend to repaint my EC-135's into Swiss colours and at the same time will be toning down the silver paint that Revell have used to represent the cockpit glazing. I admit that the model is a little basic but I still think that it is the best and most affordable N-scale helicopter to date.

Product supplied by:

Modelzone, Deansgate, MANCHESTER, England.
U.K. price £0.99

Since reviewing the EC-135 I have obtained another helicopter in the same Revell Minikits series. It is a German BK-117 registration no. D-HBKS and painted in the so called "Space Ship" demonstrator colours. Although I haven't compared it against prototype drawings it would appear to be equally suitable for an N-scale layout. Ease of assembly and price is the same as for the EC-135.

The newly obtained BK-117 helicopter with the EC-135 in the background.

RETURN TO REVIEW MENU