Introduction:

The MH-6M Little Bird (nicknamed the Killer Egg) and its gunship attack variant AH-6, are light helicopters used for special operations in the United States Army. This agile, unarmed helicopter is outfitted with outboard "benches" designed to ferry up to three commandos on each side. Painted black for nighttime operations, this small aircraft can conduct rapid insertions and extractions of special operations forces into areas its larger brother, the MH-60 Black Hawk, cannot.

Review:

Live Resin recently released 1/35 scale figures depicting US Special Ops Operatives riding the Killer Egg on its outboard benches, all designed to fit AH-6/MH-6 Little Bird model from Kitty Hawk (KH50004). So far the company produced 5 miniatures (plus two pilot figures) and this review covers the MH-6 SOF Helicopter Assault Team Operator strapped to external personnel pods (EPS) - Figure 1 (LRM-35052).

The figure kit is packed in a hard cardboard box. The box features two CAD images; the one on the front shows the figure from several different angles, perfectly showcasing the figure details, while the one on the back displays the figure sitting on the helicopter outboard bench. Opening the box reveals a zip-lock bag with resin pieces, additionally protected using bubble wrap.

There are 36 pieces in this kit. Yes, you heard well... 36 pieces in a 1/35 scale figure kit. But don’t worry, you are probably not going to use all of those. The pieces are:

- torso,
- legs,
- right arm,
- left arm,
- head,
- right boot,
- left boot,
- helmet,
- weapon with both hands,
- equipment pieces (24x)
- weapon equipment pieces (3x).

The resin looks really good and there are no imperfections in the cast. The pieces are full of details, perfectly delivered. The casting blocks are large but easy to remove using side cutters and a sharp blade. Some parts are very small, very thin and fragile… I suggest handling those with a lot of care.

Assembly:

I decided to add ‘assembly’ as a separate heading to this review, as building the 1/35 scale figure with so many pieces might give some modelers a nightmare. It is definitely not a quick process, but the end result is well worth the extra effort.

After cleaning the pieces, I started the assembly by fixing the torso to the legs. The boots came next. These parts fit really well, the protrusions and indentations in corresponding pieces helping to align the parts optimally. Minor putty work is needed to get a perfect result. As for adding the equipment, due to the fact each piece is supplied separately, the modeler has the option to do whatever he wants. The choice of pouches in this set is extremely big and I would suggest following the reference photos when making an equipment loadout setup. I decided not to go into a complex setup, adding just the things I feel are essential to a Special Ops Operative. When fixing the equipment, I suggest to test fit the arms as well. The arms fit nicely to the torso and it’s important not to impair that fit by the equipment pieces. Minimal putty work is needed between the arms and the torso. Finally, by fixing the head and helmet I finished the assembly. I deliberately omitted some equipment pieces for this build as they are thin and tiny and would be in a way during the painting process, ie. boom microphone or weapon sling.

Altogether, it is not an easy assembly, but check the photos added to this review… the finished figure looks amazing and portrays the Special Ops Operative perfectly.

Conclusion:

MH-6 SOF Helicopter Assault Team Operator strapped to external personnel pods (EPS) - Figure 1 (LRM-35052) from Live Resin is an absolutely amazing figure kit. The resin pieces are perfectly cast with superbly delivered details. Although a pretty complex build, it results in a stunning figure which is designed to fit Kitty Hawk’s Little Bird model, but can also be used in various other scenarios. Highly recommended.


Live Resin kits are available from: https://models-hobby.com/.