Academy da Vinci Helicopter Kit First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of First Look | February 2016 | Manufacturer | Academy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | da Vinci Helicopter | Scale | N/A |
| Kit Number | 18159 | Primary Media | Styrene |
| Pros | Fun project | Cons | Nothing noted |
| Skill Level | Basic | MSRP (USD) | $21.98 |
First Look
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Leonardo Da Vinci developed a number of designs that were well before their time. His vision of vertical flight with his spiral helicopter, paddle wheel-powered vessels, and the early armored car may have been laughable in his day, but were the stepping stones for today's MV-22 Osprey, turbine-powered Ticonderoga-class cruisers, and M1 Abrams tank (and their analogs from other nations of course).
Here is the latest release from Academy in the da Vinci series, this time showing off his aerial screw, the precursor for modern vertical lift aircraft. The kit is molded in black and wood-colored styrene and presented on two parts trees plus a base and three-part aerial screw molded in tan. This kit is very well-engineered and goes together quickly as you can see below.
In fact, I took the parts straight off the photo booth and over to the bench and within a few minutes, I had a working model. The quick YouTube video below shows the model in operation and it uses the same spring-loaded wind-up module found in other da Vinci kits.
This is a fun project and you can do a quick-build-up since everything is snap together, or you can take a little more time and add some paint details to bring out the nice work done by Academy.
My sincere thanks to MRC for this review sample!