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 released a number of figures designed for AH-6/MH-6 Little Bird from Kitty Hawk (KH50004). This review deals with MH-6 SOF Helicopter Assault Team Operator strapped to external personnel pods (EPS) - Figure 3 (LRM-35054), while the reviews of the other figures in this series can be found here: link.

The figure kit comes in a typical Live Resin cardboard box, featuring CAD box art images which show the figure from several different angles and display it on the helicopter external pod. The box contains a zip-lock bag with resin pieces, additionally secured with a layer of bubble wrap.

All of the MH-6 SOF series figure kits include well over 30 pieces and this one is not an exception. The pieces included are:

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

Live Resin produces their figures in a "modular" fashion, supplying main figure parts and all the equipment pieces in the kit separately. This way modelers are able to customize the figure, using various different equipment pieces to build their own optimal gear setup. Also, by combining this figure kit with other accessories from Live Resin range modelers can build a completely new and original figure.

Inspecting the pieces, I found a really good cast. Besides a thin seam line on the left hand fingers, there are no imperfections in the resin. The pieces feature a ton of wonderfully delivered details, with even the tiniest ones superbly defined. The casting blocks are easy to remove, but I suggest care when cleaning the smallest pieces, as they are very thin and fragile.

Assembly:

With over 30 pieces, the assembly of this figure is not a quick and straightforward process. However, with some extra patience, the build is enjoyable and results in a truly amazing figure.

After removing the pieces off their carrier blocks and cleaning them, I started the build by fixing torso to the legs. The boots came next. All the main figure pieces are easy to align due to the protrusions and indentations in corresponding parts. Minor putty work is needed to get a perfect result. I dry fitted the arms and played a bit with positioning them optimally on the torso, to ensure the hands with weapon fit to the arms. The equipment pieces are supplied separately and the modeler has the option to make a specific loadout setup. I opted for a rather simple loadout for this figure, adding just the things I feel are essential to a Special Ops Operative. I used Magic Sculp in the process, reducing and filling any gaps that might have occurred when fixing the pieces to get the most realistic look to the equipment. Finally, by fixing the head and the helmet, I finished the assembly. Some of the thin pieces (ie. boom microphone or weapon sling) are going to be added once the figure is painted.

Altogether, the figure assembly does take some time and is not for the faint hearted. Manhandling the figure is bound to result in breaking some of the delicate pieces. However, the finished figure is wonderfully posed, looking down the weapon sight for signs of enemy activity. Check out the photos added to this review… fantastic! The figure portrays the Special Ops Operative perfectly and is definitely worth the extra time and effort.

Conclusion:

All the Live Resin figures from the “Little Bird series” are outstanding miniature kits, and MH-6 SOF Helicopter Assault Team Operator strapped to external personnel pods (EPS) - Figure 3 (LRM-35054) is no exception to the rule. Nicely cast with perfect details all around, the figure takes time to assemble, but the end result is… wow! Together with the other SOF Assault Team figures, the miniature is bound to make a show stopper of Kitty Hawk’s Little Bird.


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