This is my
first ever offering here on ARC, and I certainly hope that I don't
disappoint. I am far from being the perfect model builder... FAR FAR FAR
from it. This is one effort of mine which is full of tiny mistakes
(though no large mistakes!!!!!!!).
This is
Academy's rendition of the mighty CH-53E Super Stallion. As far as all the
individual parts go, it is quite crisp in it's moulding with no flash
whatsoever. The surface detail is reasonably good with plenty of recessed
panel lines, however there is not a rivet in sight, and the real beast is
covered in them! It would have been nice too if the skin of the fuselage
had some buckles in it... but you can't have everything! I have read
quite a few reviews where the kit is praised as being nearly perfect, well
I can dispell that myth right now! This kit is NOT anywhere near
perfect, it is better though than the Airfix, Revell,
Monogram and the Hasegawa AV-8B, but there is still quite a bit
of putty and elbow grease to be used in construction of this model.
This kit
ends up being HUGE! That's why I chose to have the rotor blades folded
and not extended. Make sure that you have plenty of spare space to display
this monster. I didn't check my spare space, so when I finished the Super
Stallion I had nowhere to put it. After an argument with a 1/350 scale USS
Hornet, the Super Stallion won and the Hornet lost and has
been relegated to the nearest closet. The Super Stallion is now enjoying
it's room in the display cabinet. It is nearly as big as the
1/32 Tomcat currently residing in my cabinet.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The build on this
kit is quite complex, and certainly not for the faint-hearted. It is very
important to follow the instructions in regard to the angles on the rotor blade
roots when choosing the folded rotor blade option as I did. I made an
error and thought I knew better than the instructions and paid for it later in
the build. The rotor head kind of looks a bit nude with the rotors folded so I
got in there with some stretched sprue, a bit of wire and plastic card to give a
bit more of a "real" look. I used the CH-53E photos in the ARC
aircraft walkaround section as reference, and I have to say they were
extremely helpful indeed!
I chose the
ugly grey scheme as I know the real helicopter gets filthy dirty, and I wanted
to do some dirtying up myself, plus I have a soft spot in my heart for low-vis
grey markings. I love to take a nice clean paint job and weather it... weather
it a lot! Mind you, I tried not to get too carried away in my love for
"dirty".
In Australia
we can't get Future, but I found a product (PASST, Poly Acrylic Surface Sealing
Topcoat) which is just as good and it is made just for modellers.
I
honestly don't know how PASST rates against Future. The canopy was
treated to a PASST bath and came out quite good. Eduard canopy masks
ensured that no paint would make it's way where it wasn't wanted. The cockpit
got a treat with Eduard PE seatbelts from the ACH-47, which can be made to
fit well enough to look good. I wasted a lot of effort on the interior of
this bird, and you can't see any of it!!!
Overall, the
model was first airbrushed with the required three different shades of
Gunze acrylic grey for the camoflage on the fuselage, and the various
sub-assemblies (tail rotor, engine pods, sponsons and drop tanks. All built separately).
Then a coat of Tamiya X-22 clear was airbrushed over the lot. The thick
decals were then applied and settled into place with a judicious amount of Micro
Sol. Another coat of X-22 was then applied and allowed to dry over about a week.
Then a wash made of Acrylic paint, water and dishwashing liquid was
liberally spread over panel lines and into any ducts, vents, engine air filter inlets.
The raised part of the air filters was drawn over with a black permanent marker,
and the result was impressive.
Once the wash
had been allowed to dry for a couple of days, I then airbrushed the fuselage and
sub-assemblies with Gunze acrylic flat clear. I then attached all of the
sub-assemblies to the fuselage. Care must be taken with attaching the engine
pods as the air filter supports can become misaligned. Tamiya X-19 smoke was
then airbrushed along the panel lines, and a touch added here and there to
simulate dirt. Then I gave the side of the fuselage behind the 3rd engine a
squirt of Gunze soot to simulate the exhaust staining which is quite common.
Once
everything was attached and the glue allowed to dry, another shot of Gunze flat
clear went over the lot to hide any shine from the glue which may have
"leaked" out and the shine from the Tamiya smoke. Now the masking was
removed and the nice shiny windows and canopy shone brightly compared with the
dull fuslage. The FLIR pod was then attached and a couple of wires had to be
added to ensure a bit more realism. Black painted Tamiya masking tape strips
were added as clamps around the wires.
Then
came the rotor blades, and my earlier mistake came back to haunt me. The rotor
blades only have supports for 2 blades. My suggestion to anyone is to go through
and scatchbuild supports for the other 5 blades. My model is going to suffer
from sag as the rotor blades ever-so-slowly move. I let the glue completely
cure before removing any support I had for the large blades as I
attached them.
Overall this was not
an easy build. The kit was good yet it tested my patience on many occasions.
It
very nearly learnt how to fly from my 4th floor balcony. Finally after a 7 month
long build I finally finished this beast, and it is a very impressive
helicopter. I have loved the CH-53E for a long time and was glad to be able to
finally have a model that represented this 3 engined monster of the skies.
Phillip
Click on
images below to see larger images
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