Academy's Defender is a simple little kit, the boxing which I had coming with markings for a South Korean machine. Parts are included to add to the basic Defender 500 the TOW missile launchers and sight. The cockpit is basic with flat instrument panels and decals. I jazzed it up a bit by using bezels from a Reheat etch set and some seatbelts. The kit goes together fine, but the recessed detail is quite shallow and disappeared easily under a coat of paint. I obtained Isradecals sheet for Israeli attack helicopters which comes with drawings to make your own masks for the 'V' shaped yellow marking. I made a couple of crude additions to the tail boom that are present on Israeli machines as well as the antennae from stretched sprue. I used Humbrol enamel paints and applied the decals over a coat of Klear. The decals were extremely nice and didn't silver at all. Overall, a basic but pleasing kit. I finished it in Summer 2002.
