The recent release by Hobby Boss of 1/72 Bell AH-1 kits has many helicopter modelers excited. Building on that excitement, Pavla has released two resin cockpit sets designed for the AH-1S/F kits. These are, for the most part, identical sets, with one providing a bit more detail in the form of an open ammo bay.
C 72082 AH-1S/F with ammo bay
C 72083 AH-1S/F
Starting with the common parts, these include a one-piece tub that includes sidewall and bulkhead detailing. The quality of casting is excellent, and Pavla is now using a gray resin so that detail is more visible in the photos. The instrument panels are separate and have detail to match the sidewalls. Other cockpit details include the control columns, air hoses, and seats. The latter are quite nice, and will be a huge improvement over the kit pieces.
For the set with the open ammo bay, there are six additional resin pieces. These make up the interior of the ammo bay, as well as an ammo container. For those more ambitious modelers who want to build a slightly different Cobra, the firefighter AH-1s use this compartment to store the water bucket.
All of the castings are nicely done and after some minor cleanup will result in a beautiful interior for your AH-1 kit. My thanks to Pavla Models for the review samples.