FOV 1/48 AH-64D Longbow--Enthusiast and Bravo?

[dragon53]

Can anyone compare/review the Enthusiast and Bravo versions of the FOV 1/48 AH-64D Longbow?

[tmanthegreat]

Both look very similar, but are significantly different. I have both and I've listed out what I can from memory below:

FOV Enthusiast Apache Longbow Features:
Diecast construction
Fine, crisp detailing
Paint with some weathering
Display stand
Cockpit with figures
Rotating main and tail rotors
Opening engines
Opening cockpit doors (pilot and gunner's) on the correct right side
Rotating & elevating sensor array
Rotating & elevating 30mm gun
Removable/swappable Hellfire missiles and rocket pods
Rotating main wheels

Bravo Team Apache Longbow Features:
Sturdy plastic construction
Cockpit with figures
Rotating main and tail rotors
Rotating sensor arrays
30mm gun elevates, but doesn't rotate
Rotating main wheels
Ordinance attaches to hard points, but isn't swappable & not finely detailed as on FOV

Bravo Team version does not have opening cockpit canopy or opening engines. The overall detailing is a little less crisp than on the diecast version, but the Bravo Team helicopter always seemed sturdier and less-likely to break. I had problems with those antennas over the engines breaking off on my Enthusiast grade helicopter, but not on the Bravo Team one, for example.

[dragon53]

TMANTHEGREAT:

Thanks for the reviews.
I was looking at the Longbow, and it appears the Enthusiast version is being rereleased in September for around $75 msrp vs the original at $65 msrp.
The Bravo version is around $21, so I was wondering if it was worth it vs the Enthusiast.

I've never seen the Bravo helicopters, but I own the Enthusiast 1/32 M1 Abrams and have seen the Bravo version at Target. I thought the Enthusiast Abrams was definitely better in terms of the crisp styling alone.

[Rowsdower]

I have the enthusiast FOV Longbow and it is worth every cent.

[dragon53]

ROWSDOWER:

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully, I can find the diecast version on sale one of these days.

[tmanthegreat]

I have the enthusiast FOV Longbow and it is worth every cent.

I agree with that assessment

I got mine at TRU of all places (I want to say around 2006-07). I believe it was one of those cases where Unimax released an Enthusiast grade item to mass retail, which they often did. It was the only one the store had and that I ever saw. Box & trading card gave it away as an Enthusiast release. Mine unfortunantly has taken a beating over the years. Its a difficult model to store as you have to watch the radome and antenna things over the engines which can break off easily. The Bravo Team version was sturdier in this respect. $75 is far too high for this, especially as it won't have the weathering effects of the original. Still, its a fantastic model

[ketelone]

If they'd only make one in 1/32. That goes for the Blackhawk too.

[tmanthegreat]

There is that New Ray 1:32 scale AH-64A. Its a bit simplistic and has exposed screw holes on one side, but with some work, could be made to look decent.

However, I agree that FOV should have made the Apache, Blackhawk and even the Huey in 1:32 to go along with the rest of the modern line. Guess they went with the smaller size given the costs that would have resulted from a large diecast aircraft and so it could fit in a more manageable box...

[ketelone]

I have a few of the Apaches as well as several of the Hueys that Motorworks offered. I would love a Cobra and a Blackhawk in 1/32. I have been tempted to purchase an RC Blackhawk shell and customize it. It's approximately 1/32...

[Heer]

I have a desert storm black hawk and I would say that it is very good for the price. A lot of diecast and good detail. I purchased that online for the enthusiast version.

[dragon53]

I noticed FOV's first 1/48 AH-64D Longbow (84208) has a green-tinted paint scheme and their new Longbow (84003) has a brown-tinted paint scheme.

Most photos of the real Longbow I've seen have the brown-tint, so is the green-tinted paint scheme accurate and, if so, still being used by the Army?

[tmanthegreat]

If it helps, dragon, all the real AH-64s I've ever seen displayed at various air shows (going back as far as 20 years or so in memory) had the brown-tint green paint or an even darker shade of green. I always thought the green-tinted paint on the S1 FOV Apache was inaccurate...

[sbd]

TMANTHEGREAT:

FOV's first Longbow is dark green and their second is olive drab.
Orginally, most of the photos I saw of Longbows were olive drab which indicated maybe FOV's second Longbow was a more accurate paint scheme.

I then Googled more Longbow photos and began to find a relatively large number of photos (but not as many as the olive drab photos) of Longbows in a dark green paint scheme which was closer to FOV's first Longbow (assuming the color in the photos is accurate). However, you've seen Longbows in person and they appear to be olive drab like FOV's second release---which is more credible than looking at a photo.

I just bought the first Longbow, and the longer I've had it, the more I like the dark green----hopefully it's accurate, more or less.


This is one of the dark green Longbows which resembles FOV's first Longbow (note the photos are recent and were taken on June 28, 2013).

Link: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... 63-420.jpg

Link: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... 63-113.jpg

[tmanthegreat]

Sorry Dragon, I was thinking of the FOV S1 AH-64A (regular, not-longbow) and comparing it to the S1 Longbow version. Between those two different toolings, there is a significant color difference, with the S1 AH-64A having too light of a green color...