Thursday, January 1, 2009

AH-6 Little Bird by 21st Century, 2000

Every soldier needs his ride and when it involves flying over land or sea, the Little Bird would come in nicely. The MH-6 Little Bird, and its attack variant, the AH-6, are single-engine light helicopters used for special operations aviation in the United States Army. They were part of the initial assault on the Olympic Hotel in the Bakara Market of Mogadishu, Somalia on October 3, 1993 (Battle of Mogadishu, made into a movie "Black Hawk Down" released in 2001, from the book by Mark Bowden). The MH-6s conducted rooftop insertions of Delta Force soldiers.

During the night of October 3, AH-6 gunships provided fire support to Rangers and Delta Force operators who were in defensive positions around the crash site of "Super 61" (the MH-60A Black Hawk that had been shot down by an RPG) and under constant fire from Warlord Mohammad Farrah Aidid's militia members.

I got this 1/6 scale AH-6 Little Bird in the year 2000 and I'm really glad I did because it's a nice piece. This AH-6 Little Bird was released by 21st Century Toys (they don't make 1/6 scale items anymore) and the cockpit/canopy is quite a tight fit for the pilot.




AH-6 pilot with NVGs (Night Vision Goggles) - AN/AVS-6

The AH-6 is armed with two 7.62 mm M134 Miniguns and two 2.75 in (70 mm) Hydra 70 rocket pods

The ammunition belt feed for the 7.62 mm M134 Miniguns plus the power source, which is why I mentioned earlier that there was no way any normal human would be able to lift the minigun, aim or fire it without being blown backwards by the massive recoil nor carry enough ammunition to fire it for more than a couple of seconds. But from a movie perspective, seeing Jesse Venture do it as Blain Cooper in "Predator (1987)" was just super-uber-cool.

Need to find me a co-pilot for the cockpit

AH-6 Little Bird Instrument panel

Close-up of AH-6 pilot

Riding shotgun would be the Delta Force operator (kitbashed of course)


The Delta Force operator has his AN/PVS-14 mounted on his helmet

His radio comms plus Helicopter Aircrew Breathing Device (HABD) in pouch

He is armed with the M4 CQBR, courtesy of Hot Toys Modern Firearm Set series 1

What do you spy with your little eye?

Related post: Playhouse 1:6 scale 12-inch D-Boy Battle Of Mogadishu (Somalia) 1993 Operation Spy in Bakara Market military action figure REVIEW

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like this little bird chopper. I can still get this piece and will buy it for my SWAT figures in the near future.

alex teo said...

Hi desmond, the copter is NICE but doesn't come with pilot. You have to get your own pilot PLUS you cannot use the existing bodies in the market as they are too BIG for the cockpit. I'm using 21st Century Toys body and even that's quite a squeeze.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I heard my friend said that as well. Come to the worst, I just buy it for collection. Haha!!

Anonymous said...

please, if anyone knows where i can purchase this please email me at expraley@email.com thanks!

Unknown said...

Hi, how much did you get this for? The new HT Slim True Type seems to be smaller than the previous ones. Would they fit here?

alex teo said...

hey raul, i think i paid SGD135 for this. the new HT slim is smaller but not sure if they are shorter. problem is, the cockpit is very crammed & u need a short guy (21st century soldier) to squeeze into the tight space

Unknown said...

Did this come with the figures shown in the pictures?

alex teo said...

hi jeff, nope. the little bird came without any figure because at about the same time it was released, 21st Century also released 1/6 scale Helicopter pilots. thanks for looking :) CHEERS

The Sixth Element said...

The C.I.A. version came with a pilot,dressed in an all black flight suit.Still a tight fit though.The Hasbro Joes are a little shorter and fit better.
I'm repainting mine in A Team yellow with Patches of pride decals.

alex teo said...

hi 6thElement, hope you post pictures when you are done with yours :) sounds most interesting

D7ana said...

Alex, thanks for sharing this link. Your photos are always topnotch. Now I am thinking about keeping my AH-6. I think I'm in love with the vehicle, lol.

I won't blame you though. Nope. THANKS!

alex teo said...

hey D7ana, I'm glad to share and to know that I had no part in changing your mind about selling the AH-6 haha. CHEERS

D7ana said...

My 21st Century Toys 12" Vinnie is disappointed that he might not fit. But I've got some Momokos and a few articulated Barbies who might try their hands at "manning" the vehicle ;-D

alex teo said...

that's GREAT, Dana :) that would certainly give a new spin on flying haha can't wait to see pictures on your blog CHEERS

rednek6889 said...

Pilot sits in the right seat dude

alex teo said...

thanks for the heads up rednek6889 :) goes to show how ignorant a non-pilot is about these things. glad you took the time to share this; will correct it right away CHEERS

Anonymous said...

Hello, I've been wanting a 1:6 scale helicopter for my guys, but after reading your post I worry my guys might not fit in it. It would be really bad to spend all that money and not be able to fit them inside. I was wondering what you would say the maximum height in centimeters would be for a 1:6 figure to fit inside?

alex teo said...

I'm gonna have to disappoint you and tell you straight away that this helicopter appears to be more 1:7 scale than 1:6. I don't know if you have had any 21st Century figures but they were smaller in height than the later released Dragon and Soldier Story figures. The height is only about 7 to 7.5 inches to fit the figure in a seated position. There's also not much leg room in the cockpit :( I was also to squeeze the 21st Century Ultimate Soldier figure into the cockpit but other figures will have to hand on outside the chopper.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, I don't have any 21st Century figures to compare, but the guys I want to fit inside are 12inches/30cm tall. (They're Obitsu and Volks.) Exactly how tall are your figures you put in the helicopter? If you could measure them for me, it would be great. Keeping my fingers crossed.

alex teo said...

The pilot sitting inside the helicopter is 11 inches tall and already he's quite a tight fit. I couldn't get a 12-inch figure to fit inside. This vehicle was made for 21st Century figures and they were a little bit shorter during their time.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the info. I was also wondering, do these fly? I've seen videos of Little Birds flying with figures sitting inside and outside. Do they come able to fly?

alex teo said...

I'm afraid not but I'm sure some clever guy with D-I-Y skills can make it fly.

Unknown said...

Just picked mine up from my parents house. Didn't know they still had it in the attic. Might sell it.

Dave said...

I recently purchased the same model chopper however I am missing a few propeller blades - I want to purchase them - but I cannot seem to find them. Anybody have any ideas.
contact me at dkarl@wgu.edu

Anonymous said...

Any idea what they are worth now?

alex teo said...

I'm afraid not

Anonymous said...

Ok thanks. We have one with the pilot and thinking abou selling it but hoping to know what it would be worth before we decided to let it go.

Unknown said...

I loved 21st C collectibles, it was unfortunate to see them close down.

I have this Helo and the Fire Rescue one as well. They are awesome! HUGE ~ 4ft long, very detailed.

My pilot for the blackhawk version is the GI Jane pilot, she fits great.

My pilot for the fire version is the 21st C fire pilot "Red Dog 21".

Also have the humvee's for both, fire and that one says swat.

Was recently laid off after my boss messed up our company and going through my collections that haven't been opened for over a decade after I moved into my current house. Been a while, and I have hundreds of 12" figures... very fun to o through though ;-)