Helo 53 Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 I've made a start on my New York ANG HH-3E I cut open the side cabin door and then glued some plastic strip around the opening to make up for the saw cut and filing . I have some scans from the internet showing the equipment rack behind the cockpit bulkhead wall , so I thought I would add one to my build Revell don't supply any cyclic or collective sticks for the cockpit , so I scrounged some from the spares box along with a better console panel as well as some better foot pedals Next I started to file out some plastic sheet I cut to size for the equipment rack Here's a test fit of the cockpit floor/bulkhead , equipment rack and cabin floor - cut from a plastic CD case Next I'll airbrush the interior pieces with some dark gull gray and make up some cabin/troop seats Helo 53 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aaronw Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 You are starting to get quite the collection of HH-3's. Is this the first you've done from the Revell kit? I know several of the others were built from the Lindberg kit. Curious how they compare. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Hi Aaron ; I recently bought several of the Revell HH-3E kits and I paid ridiculous prices for them . I guess overall their slightly better than the Lindberg offering but only slightly . here's a scan of Revell's instruction sheet ; In most regards there is not much difference between the Revell and Lindberg kits . It's probably externally with a better shaped nose and more rivet detail is where the main difference is. It's disappointing about the lack of cockpit detail and oddly enough , this is where the 'awefull' Starfix HH-3E kit can offer some help There's a much larger and better cockpit console from the Starfix kit along with some foot pedals and cyclic sticks . The collective sticks came from a Revell Huey kit . I also like the seperate turbine intake pieces Starfix have and I'm thinking of drilling out the molded on ones on the Revell kit . You still have to scrounge up and engine intake shield from a Seaking kit (Airfix) . You also need to find an external rescue hoist . So I guess the only real difference between the Lindberg and Revell kits is the obscene price for the Revell kits . I spent most of the morning trying to figure out what else to add to the rear cabin along with the seats and I found some stretchers and some resin duffle bags and bed rolls/blankets to put in the rear The troop seat bases are from some Revell Huey kits and the seat backs I'll make from masking tape . Helo 53 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spectre711 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I remember building this as a kid. I remember trying out my Badger 200 airbrush that I got for Christmas in the cold garage to paint this kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aaronw Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Thanks, I scored a bunch of Fujimi Seakings pretty cheap a few years back with the idea some would go into sprucing up the Lindberg kit. Sounds like there is no reason for me to look for a Revell kit then, as its few better points would be corrected with parts from the Fujimi anyway. I still can't believe with all the Seaking kits out there nobody has stepped up to offer the HH-3E/F. Thanks, looking forward to seeing another HH-3 from you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Helo- WOW! Nice work with a pretty basic and old kit. I'm a fan of the '80s schemes, so more power to you for choosing Euro One. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Here's some more WIP pic's on the HH-3E build The backs for the cabin seats are quite basic , I just glued four pieces of .75mm plastic rod to make a frame and the I cut 1mm strips from some tamiya masking tape to lay over the frame Once I have covered the frame both vertically and horizontally , I cut another piece to lay over the strips It's a little basic like I said but does the job anyway . Here's how the fuselage insides look just before I glue the halves together ; I decided to go with a flat black cockpit section I added some stretchers and blankets to make things look a little busy I'm happy with the interior , I'll glue the fuselage together next . Helo 53 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 I forgot to add this pic The console , cyclic sticks and foot pedals came from the crappy Starfix HH-3E kit . There's not a great deal of detail on the console but it's much better than the one in the Revell kit . Helo 53 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 The fuselage joined up nicely , much to my relief ; There is a slight issue with the main landing gear and how it sits in the sponson It sits a little skewed . so I'm thinking of filling the small recesses on the main sponson and re-drill new holes so the strut doesn't angle inwards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 Looking at pic's of the NY ANG HH-3E in my reference book shows a shorter external fuel tank than the standard ones seen during the 60's and 70's era HH-3E searching through my stash of kits , all I could find so far are some fuel tanks from a hasegawa F-4E kit Length wise they look okay but I'm not sure if they might appear a little skinny in diameter ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 (edited) Another great HH-3 build there. You certainly have a well stocked spares box. I have a couple of these to tackle one day. Taking notes from your build :D/> :thumbsup:/> Edited March 8, 2013 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spectre711 Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Thats some great progress! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share Posted March 10, 2013 Only a small update today on the HH-3E . The fit of the sponsons to the fuselage was woefull , to say the least I had to add some plastic strip to the bottom edge as the gap was quite big. The sponson nearest my arm has the plastic strip fitted andeverything sits nicely , the other one without the strip angle's down quite noticable Both sponsons fixed and she sits nicely now I also filed flat and drilled out the molded on engine intakes and I'll use the spare ones from the Starfix HH-3E kit . The cockpit canopy fits quite well and I dipped it in some future and it's now drying ready to fit tomorrow . I'm getting close to masking and the painting ; Finally . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 I was curious about a couple of things after reading through Squadron Signal's H-3 Sea King in action book . There's a couple of section devoted to the CH/HH-3 Jolly Green Giant helicopter . They mention about the USAF loaning a CH-3E to the Navy to use for Drone and Missile recovery operating fro NAS Point Mugu , Is this a Naval Reserve squadron/unit ? I snapped up some decals off ebay for the very same CH-3E Another question relates to the first pic I posted regarding the HH-3E being used during Desert Storm ; Squadron suggest that the 71st SOS is a Air Force Reserve unit at Davis-Monthan AFB . Is this correct ? Would both or either of these two Helo's be classified as 'National Reserve' aircraft . Back to my build , just before I glued the canopy on this morning I suddenly remembered about a small light that is housed in the nose section . So I drilled out and used a spare light from a italeri H-34 kit I should be able to start masking later tonight and then start some painting tomorrow .......'ýippee' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spectre711 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I see 71st SOS listed as active duty and unfortunately I don't see anything about Naval Reserve being stationed at Mugu but if someone sees this give a shout out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 A minor issue has come up regarding the main rotors . Revell have the rotors going in the correct direction so tht's not the issue . It's the two center hub pieces which seem to have me a little confused When I compare Revells green rotor hub pieces to the Lindberg white hub parts I can't help that feel perhaps Revell have their two pieces back to front . When I look at Revells instructions , there a 5 small lugs (part 27)which end up pointing downwards when you fit the whole rotor assembly onto the helo Lindberg have their small lugs (part 15) pointing up to fit under the top rotor cap As I say It's only a minor issue but Revell have different size raised sections on the two hub pieces which make the rotor blades fit a certain way I think I'll copy the Lindberg HH-3E way . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spectre711 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I don't see anything there that looks like part 27 on the instructions except for the Lindberg part. Maybe you could cut off those nubs and glue on some stretched sprue? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 Just a quick update ; I sprayed the mid green , Gunze (FS.34102) colour first and once dry I like to use Blu-Tack rolled into strips of spaghetti to make the camouflage patten I then cut small pieces of masking tape to cover the inside area which I want to leave mid green and airbrush the rest of the helicopter with green (FS.34092) First thing tomorrow I'll do the same process and cover the darker green area's and spray some gray FS.36081 Hopfully I'll be looking at finishing this build by Friday . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spectre711 Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 That method works great, I just used it on a F-4G recently. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 WOW , that's a sharp looking F-4G Spectre ... Sadly I'm not overlly excited about my efforts with the euro one scheme . Everything seemed to look okay while masking but now I have removed all the masks , she doesn't quite look like the camo patten specs I was using as a guide Perhaps I should have looked more closer at the photo's in the reference book I had in the begining There appears to be more grey on the real life bird , mine seems to have a lot more light green . I guess it will have to do , I've airbrushed the euro one scheme before on other builds and have been quite happy with the results . I just expected a bit better from myself :( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 (edited) Those paint Tech Orders were subject to interpretation by the paint shop. I believe they are more of a guide so depending on with paint shop did the repaint would depend on how much they followed the order. I used to work on Mirages in the RAAF and in a SQN of 28 jets no 2 were identical in camouflage schemes. So I would not fuss too much about it. Your progress is looking great BTW! Edited August 4, 2018 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Hi Ray ; Thank's for the encouragment . I did notice a few times that the patten didn't line up when going from the side of the fuselage to underneath when I looked closely at the spec diagram. But I did make a couple of small errors here and there myself . However I won't fret too much I suppose , especially hearing from someone like yourself with first hand knowlage of varying camo schemes between similar aircraft . Once all the masks are removed from the canopy and windows later on it may not be so noticable about my slightly alternate camo scheme ..... I hope ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 (edited) I forgot I had this link pasted in my browser ; http://yolo.net/~jeaton/Helicopters/hh3/hh3.htm I fellow modeller over at FSM posted in the helicopter section some time ago and looking at this particular HH-3E , there appears to be a lot more green than grey . So I'm feeling a little more confident mine is not a total screw-up . Great walk around pic's none the less . Edited March 19, 2013 by Helo 53 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tiger331 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 You know what? It is amazing how much you did out of such old Revell... Congratulations! Good job, really... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helo 53 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Thank's tiger331 , After looking at photo's of the CH-3E/HH-3E over at airlinners.net , I've suddenly realised that the colour grey I was using was too dark So I have decided to start again with the painting. I have started over spraying with Gunze H-305 (FS36118) , I mistakenly used H-301 (FS36081) which I believe was unique for F-4 Phantoms . Only a minor set back but I'll endevour to do a better job matching the camouflage patten to what's in my reference book this time around. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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