by Lonnie Sweet

The story broke on July 19, 1995: the “Presidents daughter dies from drug overdose”. During the investigation, it was discovered that surplus Soviet equipment was being smuggled into the US by various drug cartels to protect their distribution networks. The President successfully rallied the country to step up the war on drugs, and the DEA was given a new weapon in that war when the Frontline Enforcement Unit was formed. The next step was to resurrect the failed Blue Thunder program and update the equipment. The AH-91 Rattler rolled into production almost 3 years later and immediately had the various criminal elements scared.

The Rattler is a third generation NOTAR helicopter, and its performance is superior to anything in the world. The standard chin turret packs a General Electric 30mm generation 2 Gatling cannon. (When firing its armor piercing rounds, the cannon produces a rattling sound hence the designation). The wing pylons are universal meaning they can be configured to hold missiles, bombs, ECM pods, and various types of surveillance equipment. The craft is completely armored with a form of classified Kevlar variant to keep the weight down and performance up. The helicopter also has two independent microphones supposedly “able to hear a mouse fart” - thought why that would be of interest to the US Government is classified.

The model is a kitbashed AH-64 Apache, with Mig-29 parts and various odds and ends attached, including parts from the Batwing. A custom decal sheet provided by JBOT Decals, complete with shields and markings, is probably the single most important part as it sets the model apart from a simple kitbash; I owe Jim big for this one.

Image: Top view

Image: Front office

Image: Custom decals

Image: Right/rear

Image: Underneath