Category Archives: Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Video: Birth Of the Alien Tiger Czech Hind Attack Helicopter

I recently posted a video that shows the amazing paint job the Czechs did to one of their Mi-35 Hind-D attack helicopters. Little did I know that there was a “behind the scenes” short documentary about the decision making that went into that paint job and that they won an award for it.

They had a number of conventional ideas that didn’t really wow anybody until they thought of a guy who specialized in the bio-mechanical look.
They do have some footage of the fellow doing the work. It was he, his brother and a few technicians who spent about 200 hours doing the paint job. I wish they had more footage of it and at a higher resolution.

The Documentary Video

Again, if you haven’t seen it already, check out the other post with a ton of footage of this awesome Hind. I hope you enjoyed these!

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Czechoslovakia, Russia and also USSR

Video: The Alien Tiger – The Mi-35/24V of The Czech Air Force

I’m a huge fan of the Hind family of attack helicopters. This video is of the Czech Air Force’s Mi-35/24V that they painted special for the NATO Tiger Meet exercise. This is one of the most badass paint jobs seen on a Hind. It’s got the H.R. Giger Alien feel for it and the result is just wicked. I had to screen shot a few photos to share but boy, you have to watch the video below.

The Video

Kudos to the team that did the filming as well as the Czech 22nd Helicopter Air Base and the 221st Helicopter Squadron.

What a wicked video! I sure hope you liked it as well.

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.

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Czechoslovakia, Shooting in General

Larry Vickers Tours the Sellier & Bellot Ammunition Factory

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Sellier & Bellot (S&B) is one of the oldest ammunition manufacturers in the world and was founded in 1825. S&B has grown dramatically since then and was acquired by the Brazilian firm of Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos (CBC) in 2009. Americans will know CBC better as “MagTech”. Not to go too far off topic, it’s interesting to note that CBC also owns the German ammunition maker Metallwerk Elisenhütte GmbH (MEN) also.

S&B is located in the town of Vlašim, not far from Prague in the Czech Republic. The factory is on 385 acres, including a game preserve they oversee, and they are the largest employer there.

Larry Vickers, of Vickers Tactical, toured the factory and had a chance to discuss their business model with them. S&B is producing about 3 million rounds per day of pistol and rifle ammunition in 71 calibers and about 70% are exported. The two dominant calibers are 9×19 and 5.56×45 not surprisingly. Larry commented that he sees this dominance everywhere.

Larry touring the factory floor.

Here’s The Video

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Czechoslovakia

There is a surprising ton of vz.58 stuff for sale on eBay if you look for it

The Czech vz.58 is an interesting 7.62×39 rifle.  While at a fast glance it may look like an AK, it is actually a different design and doesn’t share any parts with the AK-47.

Outside of the military, it has a sizable following with civilian shooters.  While folks may be aware of parts from sources like Apex and Czechpoint, they may not be aware there is a ton of parts and accessories on eBay.

Here are real-time search results that you can review and order from if so desired:

There’s even more that you can browse through on eBay if you click here.

Image attributions:
1. vz.58P Rifle Image Source:  By Jan Hrdonka (en:User:Hrd10)
2. vz.58P Rifle Field Stripped:  Ibid

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