HeavyArty Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 I have started on another project I have wanted to do for a while. I am building an early UH-60A Black Hawk from Operation Urgent Fury, the US invasion of Grenada in Oct 1983. This was the first combat action the Black Hawk helicopter had seen, its baptism by fire. These early UH-60As had no wire strike kits, open exhaust, no ESSS wing attachments, no chaff buckets, M60D doorguns, etc. Here is one in Grenada. So far, I have started a test to see if the open exhausts from one of Kitty Hawk’s Naval H-60s would fit onto an Academy fuselage. I want to use the Academy fuselage since it is a cleaner one and earlier than the Kitty Hawk H-60 fuselage. Kitty Hawk’s has a later transmission access panel on the starboard side and reinforcing strips on the tailboom and other areas. Academy’s fuselage is pretty clean with no extra (later) features. I have the Kitty Hawk Naval HH-60H kit, which has the open exhausts as extra parts since it uses HIRSS exhausts like an Army H-60. I also had bought an extra KH MH-60L C sprue which contains all the other parts for the engine cowlings. Here it is so far to show that the KH open exhausts and engine cowlings fit on the Academy fuselage. I did have to do some cutting and remove most of the Academy engine cowl parts. It will require a bit of filling and sanding to blend it all together, but a good start. IMG_20240325_222055385_HDR1920×1440 383 KB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Academy kit...I see you are ready for a challenge. Good start Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Loach Driver Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 The use of the UH-60A in Greneda is very interesting, given that there isn't a huge amount of info out there on its use there (as far as I know). I have the Academy kit in the attic too and was just thinking, if I ever do build it, I'd like to do a Greneda UH-60, either regular markings or as a medevac version with the red cross markings. I'll be watching this build with interest. LD. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Thanks gents. There is actually quite a bit of info on them being used in Grenada. More to come soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hooker169 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 I like it! Following Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 82nd CAB? I'll dig my photos up if you'd like. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 9 hours ago, Da SWO said: 82nd CAB? Yes, it will be. Any pics you have would be great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 (edited) Work continues on the early UH-60A. I amusing the Kitty Hawk MH-60L interior on it. A nice thing about the Kitty Hawk H-60 kits, like many other manufacturers, they add new sprues into the box of previous versions to get newer version. Often, this leaves you with extra, unused parts. The KH MH-60S is a navalized version of the Army UH-60. KH gives you all the MH-60L parts and then a few more sprues for the MH-60S-specific parts. You end up with a big box and lots of parts left over. The extra parts include most of the UH-60 interior, including the floor plate, ceiling, and seats. This fixes the weakest part of the Academy kit, the poorly detailed interior parts. Here it is so far. I made the yaw pedals from left over PE as I couldn't find all the Academy ones. I also used the Academy collectives and cyclic sticks. I added some button and knob details to the collectives. I also used the instrument panel and center console from the Werner's Wings UH-60A/L backdate set. The crew chief's consoles/stowage bins on the back of the pilots' seats from an old Cobra Company UH-60 Update set.  Close up of the excellent Werner's Wings analog UH-60A/L instrument panel. It looks really great.  I am using a pair of gunner's side panels/A and B pillar interior parts left over from a Warner's Wings UH-60 MedEvac conversion. I added some left over PE side panel details and vent boxes onto them. I also closed in the KH ceiling with thin styrene to represent the the cloth coverings on the ceiling and rear panel.   The KH interior also fits into the Academy fuselage almost perfectly. It actually fits better than into the KH fuselage, which is very tight and almost impossible to close up without gaps. You have to sand down the sides of the floor and ceiling to get them to fit cleanly into the KH fuselage.   Work continues. Painting and detailing the interior items is next. Edited March 29 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Floyd S. Werner, Jr. Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Links aren't working Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 (edited) Loading pics today is a bear. I think some are showing. You can see the whole build here: https://forums.kitmaker.net/t/1-35-uh-60a-grenada-op-urgent-fury-build/39002 Edited March 29 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 (edited) Check your tail rotor pedals. It appears to me the PE mesh should behind and not upfront. Edited March 30 by Rotorman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 (edited) Easy fix, but they won't really be seen anyways as there will be pilots in it. Edited March 30 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 1 hour ago, HeavyArty said: Easy fix, but they won't really be seen anyways as there will be pilots in it. Copy on having pilots in the cockpit and pedals not really seen. I know you always strive on building accurate helicopters so I thought would share my knowledge and help. Can't wait to see your cockpit with the pilots. What brand of pilots are you using? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 Not sure yet on the pilot figures. I will probably go with the ones from the Academy/ICM OH-58D. They are pretty good for early 80's pilots and already the have harnesses molded on. We'll see. I am almost done painting/detailing the interior and should have some more pics soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 We didn't have seats installed, just sat on the floor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 (edited) Over the weekend I was able to get the interior painted. I added drain lines to the transmission drip pan on the ceiling. I also detailed the fabric panels with fasteners and added the H-bar and center bar for the crew chief and troop seats. IMG_20240401_2051299191920×1440 166 KB On the floor I added the anti-slip strips in black and first aid kits to the backs of the pilots’ seats. I also added individual instrument decals from a 1/32 jet IP decal sheet to dress up the IP. IMG_20240401_2051414321920×1440 178 KB IMG_20240401_205156306_HDR1920×1440 183 KB I also fixed the yaw pedals by flipping them around so that the center bar is in front of the PE backplate. IMG_20240401_2114409951920×1440 138 KB I also added the Academy door interior decals to KH doors. IMG_20240401_205229768_HDR1920×1440 235 KB Here are the gunners side panels / A & B pillar interiors. I added fire extinguishers to them. I also added fabric panels to the rear side walls using sheet styrene. IMG_20240401_2052517361920×1440 172 KB ! IMG_20240401_2053206551920×1440 180 KB ! Next up I will assemble the crew chief and troop seats and add them to the interior, along with the pilots, crew chiefs, and a few troopers in the back. Edited April 2 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 Are you trying a new way and brush painting the cockpit? I hear brush painting is growing lately in the modeling world. Are the black strips on the cockpit floor wavy to accommodate seatings? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted April 3 Author Share Posted April 3 (edited) The IP is hand painted w/individual decals for the instrument faces. Not sure why the lines on the floor look wavy. They look pretty straight on the actual piece. They are just sticky tape, usually hand-applied by the crew on the actual aircraft. Edited April 3 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 34 minutes ago, HeavyArty said: The IP is hand painted w/individual decals for the instrument faces. Not sure why the lines on the floor look wavy. They look pretty straight on the actual piece. They are just sticky tape, usually hand-applied by the crew on the actual aircraft. The photos look compressed on my side, maybe that why it looks wavy. Hand painting is the new crave. looks good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 My apologies, I went into my album and most of my URGENT FURY pics are missing. Sorry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 No problem. Thanks for checking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 (edited) On 3/31/2024 at 5:55 PM, Da SWO said: We didn't have seats installed, just sat on the floor. As Da SWO states above, it appears both UH-60As w/seats and w/out seats were seen in Grenada. I have seen pics of both ways, like below. The question is how to do the troops in the back. I am leaning toward no seats and guys hanging out the doors. Opinions?? As posted above w/seats. And w/out seats. Edited April 4 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rotorman Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 1 hour ago, HeavyArty said: As Da SWO states above, it appears both UH-60As w/seats and w/out seats were seen in Grenada. I have seen pics of both ways, like below. The question is how to do the troops in the back. I am leaning toward no seats and guys hanging out the doors. Opinions?? As posted above w/seats. And w/out seats. No seats. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sarathi S. Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Seconded no seats. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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