BBI Kiowa question
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- Officer - Brigadier General
- Posts: 2310
- Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:06 pm
- Location: Lafayette, Louisiana. The heart of cajun country.
BBI Kiowa question
I would liike to get a BBI Kiowa helicopter. What do you guys think of the model? It looks well detailed. Any info on the model would be great. Thanks.
Paul Hebert
It's been a long road, but I am still in the game.
It's been a long road, but I am still in the game.

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- Officer - 2nd Lieutenant
- Posts: 360
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 10:13 am
- Location: NE Chicagoland, Illinois
A solid buy
I would recommend the Kiowa if you like helos.
It comes with a nice assortment of interchangeable armaments for the two hardpoints: two double stinger launchers, two rocket pods, and a .50 cal machine gun. The pilot is the same as the Littlebird one - a good figure with NVGs on his helmet. The fig is easily placeable in the cockpit (vs. the Littlebird which is crazy difficult). The engine compartments open, which is a real plus. The mast mounted sight pivots up and down (but doesn't rotate with the blades which is a great thing!). The back doors don't open, but I've heard that on the Kiowa that area would have just been filled with electronic gear anyhow.
And for $20 (if you have TRU stocking them nearby), it is a good value as well.
It comes with a nice assortment of interchangeable armaments for the two hardpoints: two double stinger launchers, two rocket pods, and a .50 cal machine gun. The pilot is the same as the Littlebird one - a good figure with NVGs on his helmet. The fig is easily placeable in the cockpit (vs. the Littlebird which is crazy difficult). The engine compartments open, which is a real plus. The mast mounted sight pivots up and down (but doesn't rotate with the blades which is a great thing!). The back doors don't open, but I've heard that on the Kiowa that area would have just been filled with electronic gear anyhow.
And for $20 (if you have TRU stocking them nearby), it is a good value as well.
I'm not a chopper expert so I can't comment on accuracy, but I do have one and I like it a lot. Fully assembled out of the box it's pretty impressive (this is the biggest chopper I have, I imagine next to the Apache or Blackhawk it would look puny), the top mounted sensor pod adds a lot of hieght to it and I like the varrious weapon choices it comes with. A few gripes that I have are that the rear doors don't open and I had a VERY hard time getting the pilot inside.
kiowa
No question it is some of the best bang for the buck. Engine access, both paint schemes are accurate, great detail in the cockpit, and only $20 at Amazon or TRU. It is really a no brainer imo - go for it.
Problem
Ahhh....I hate to be the fly in the ointment. I have one and like it too, but I hate the fact that they didn't research it very well. Flew in a "D" Vanilla a couple of times so I've had up close and personal with the 1:1 version. The biggest oversight....the main rotor rotates in the wrong direction.
US Army MP Corps combat veteran Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm
yup
That and the armament could be better, but still no reason at all to pass. Just like the Cobra - rotors are reversed, still one of the best deals going. 

I think it's the most accurate of the BBI & C21 helos I've got - and so far I've got the Kiowa (green one), Little Bird, Apache, Cobra Snake and the Black Hawk (green'un again) - the only one I know I'm "missing" is the C21 Huey...
I'd like to get at least one more Kiowa, and possibly another couple of snakes to play with (as in customize, not sit in the garden making whuppity-whuppity noises!
) but since the only UK source I know of has snakes at 50GBp and the Kiowa isn't even listed, and I probably won't be going on holiday to the good ole US of A 'til next year, it ain't gonna happen soon...
On the gripping appendage, it does give me a chance to save up a bit (okay, a LOT!) to cover all the birds I want to buy and the shipping back to Dear Ole Blighty... always assuming I can find 'em when I'm over there!
TTFN,
Me.
PERL Programmers Reference Manual, 3rd Edition.
"Of course, if you are writing the control software for a cruise missile, you do not need to include an explicit exit loop. The program will terminate itself at the appropriate time."
I'd like to get at least one more Kiowa, and possibly another couple of snakes to play with (as in customize, not sit in the garden making whuppity-whuppity noises!


On the gripping appendage, it does give me a chance to save up a bit (okay, a LOT!) to cover all the birds I want to buy and the shipping back to Dear Ole Blighty... always assuming I can find 'em when I'm over there!
TTFN,
Me.
PERL Programmers Reference Manual, 3rd Edition.
"Of course, if you are writing the control software for a cruise missile, you do not need to include an explicit exit loop. The program will terminate itself at the appropriate time."