UH-1 HUEY “HOG”— Item no. CS-01008; $296

“Hog” is the nickname given to Hueys that were outfitted as gunships—often to provide fire support to trooptransport helis. A wide variety of armament systems were installed on Hueys throughout their service life, but this model represents one of the heavier firepower configurations—combining twin M134 rotating multibarrel machine guns (commonly referred to as “miniguns”) with a pair of seven 2.75inch rocket pods. The miniguns, capable of extremely high rates of fire (up to 6,000 rounds per minute!), offered excellent fire support, while the rockets could be outfitted with antipersonnel or antivehicle warheads depending on the mission. Most often Huey gunships were the shortcabin UH1B/ UH1C models, but sometimes the weapons pods were installed on longcabin UH1Hs, like this one from the 170th Assault Helicopter Company (AHC). That unit flew 20 Slicks accompanied by eight Hogs; the Armed Helicopter platoon (nicknamed the “Buccaneers”) flew the gunships, and this one—AHC BUC4— carries nose art calling it “The Vigilante.” Like the Air Cav Slick, the colors and textures are beautiful, and the detail on the weapons systems is fascinating. We particularly like the ammo feed mechanism on the miniguns.