SpiritZeroThree

Another reason we don’t AAR - time spent trying to plug a tanker is time not spent on scene searching or hoisting. Worst case we can HIFR from a cutter to increase sortie time.

Looking at the sprues, you’ve still got a looooong way to go for an accurate USCG Dolphin (hoist, doors, cabin, antennae, etc)

Looks great for 1/72 Hajo, only minor gripe from a former 65 guy is that the LH lower windscreen isn't quite right. the forward edge of the window should be about even with the ram air scoop on top of the nose, in the real helo thats where the battery resides.

CG Bob is PARTIALLY correct. The correct color for most modern aviation assets (HH/MH-60, C-130H/J, C-27J, HU-25 and MH-68 when we had them) is 12197, and the correct red for the stripe (on boats, not aircraft) is 12199. The 65's are a little trickier. It's FS12250, and not something that has been bottled in a hobby paint. 12197 with a couple drops of insignia red looks pretty good to me, but i haven't had a chance to compare it to the real thing under equal lighting conditions yet. If its any consolation, a lot of the quick touch up jobs on 65's are done with 12197 rattle cans if

Sadly no, had a few big life events take precedence. Wife got pregnant, Then I was TDY to AIRSTA Traverse City for the summer of 2017 to help out with the MH-65 to MH-60 swap, then back to Puerto Rico just in time for Hurricane Maria, recovered form Maria just as it was time to transfer, and do a bunch of schools for a new airframe. I'm up in DC now working on our C-37A and C-37B. I knocked out an OOB F-86 build a couple months back to clear out the cobwebs, have an F-4C on the bench now, then it's back to the 65.

That little guy was the OADS (Omnidirectional Air Data System) probe. Deleted as part of the D-model upgrade (so present on every A, B, and C) when a dual EGI (embedded GPS/INS) nav suite was installed.

Ironically enough, your solution for the TGB support tube is pretty much exactly how the real one is attached. Glad to see you’re still trucking on this one Todd. Baby, hurricanes, and moving got in the way of mine, probably won’t be on the bench again until summer

Well, I'm dumb. Saw the AIR, didn't realize it was an 83 instead of an 82. Good catch GW

If there is one thing i learned in this hobby, it's NEVER say never.

The correct color for 60's is 12197, the 65's are a little trickier. It's FS12250, and not something that has been bottled in a hobby paint. 12197 with a couple drops of insignia red looks pretty good to me, but i haven't had a chance to compare it to the real thing under equal lighting conditions yet. If its any consolation, a lot of the quick touch up jobs on 65's are done with 12197 rattle cans if we dont feel like mixing paint.

Progressing slowly on the interior still Panel starting to come to life with the addition of some Airscale cockpit instruments. Pilots NR gauge was a bit undersized, so that got drilled out and still has to be back filled a bit before a decal is applied Center console surgery is complete. Added in the nose wheel lock, parking brake, and cargo hook emergency release handles. A little bit of work to the crew seats And finally, decided to start on the cowlings while glue, paint, decals, and putty were drying on other sub-a

Finally decided to start tackling this beast of a kit. I was ecstatic that trumpeter brought a large scale kit of my Eurotrash helo to the market, but truth be told the razor saw will be getting a workout on this one. In the future i think I'll avoid subjects that I'm this familiar with, lots of little stuff that is driving me crazy. Expect slow progress on this build as I'm transferring this summer, but the planned end game will be depicting 6573 out of AIRSTA Borinquen with blades folded as she would deployed to the back of a cutter. Yeah, theres going to be a bit of scratch building going o

On it, I'll be there Saturday.....and maybe helping set up the CG static display Dolphin friday afternoon

The tower itself is the same thats been installed since the HH-65C model came online in '05-'06, a couple panels have changed since then - FLIR control panel is at the top of the tower (controls FLIR anti-ice and has the illuminator master arm switch) was an MH addition that we got with FLIR installs in 2012ish, and the bottom panel is now hoist camera control that we got with the new digital hoist cams in 2014.

Not the best picture, but its all ive got on the phone right now. Comms tower is oriented with displays aft.