Oktober Guard Assault Helicopter (GI Joe)

thingiverse

I wanted another faction/army for the real-time strategy wargame I'm developing, hence the Oktober Guard vehicles. The Warsaw Pact equivalent of the Joes needed a helicopter and I didn't like the semi-official toy I saw online. Besides, Russian helicopters don't get more iconic than the Hind, so I modeled this after that helicopter. I learned about them beyond what's seen in Rambo movies and found out it's an enormous machine - basically a fast-flying tank. This model is 1:100 scale but I had to shrink the rotors by 1/4 inch in diameter to fit on my print bed in one piece. The chassis is printed with supports that are difficult to clean off, so be careful when removing them from around the weapon pylons as they will break off easily. I used needle-nose pliers to remove mine. The gun pod is printed upside down with supports and glued to the underside. The main rotor can be put on or taken off for storage. The tail rotor and weapons print without supports and are glued in place, while the weapons just press onto the pylons. This is an experiment I'm trying out - I glued a magnet to the underside of the helicopter and another one to the stand. Much respect goes out to our Armed Forces (past and present) for their sacrifice that allows people like me to live in peace, freedom, and create silly little toys like this. You're actually "the real American heroes."