Approach Engineering takes a new position on manufacturing helicopter fuselages using model airplane materials and construction techniques that are bundled into a kit to assemble and finish. Comprised of balsa and laser-cut plywood the scale fuselage is constructed over a plan and building board using a detailed photo instruction manual in a step by step assembly method.

AP100 Apache 50	AP101 Cobra 60-90	AP102 eCobra
AP103 eApache

The first reaction from most helicopter modelers is that it will take too long to build and that the end result cannot be compared to a fiberglass fuselage. Well, it just really depends on the modeler's craftsmanship and modeling skills. Anyone who has built a model airplane kit will immediately see how simple the contruction is and it can be finished in a couple of weeks, but like all projects, the more time you have the faster it can be completed. Finishing the model is a simple as using Monokote which has several flat colors or use your favorite plastic covering. Spot paint any left over areas and you have a great looking fuselage. If you are good with an airbrush then you can easily achieve impressive camouflage or intricate color schemes on your model.

Updates, January 2010:

The new AH-64D Apache 50 Longbow conversion kits have arrived. This simple kit swaps out the original AH-64A parts to convert the fuselage's avionics bays to the D-Variant. If you have been considering an AH-64D Apache, this kit makes it very easy to accurately model the Longbow variant.