Bengalensis Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 So here I am, way out of my comfort zone... This will be my contribution to the GB, Hasegawa's 1:48 Sea King SH-3D, built as the well known # 66, during the Apollo 11 rescue. I haven't built a helicopter model since I was a kid (with the exception of Leonardo DaVinci's apparatus a few years back) and that's quite some time ago, and they were probably not any good. Also I'm not usually building any military style aircrafts. Well, the building itself should not be much of a problem, but I really have no clue at all how to best paint the thing. It's not made easier by the fact that I'm currently doing my best to change over to Lifecolor paints for this kind of work. All new territories. Oh well, we'll see how it goes. I plan a more or less OOB build. I think I may get one of those canopy masking sets. The kit decals are somewhat of an issue, they are not correct for Apollo 11, and the box art is a somewhat later version. There was a correct decal sheet available a few years back, but I can't find it today, or I'm not looking at the right places. I think I will get around it reasonably well by cutting some of the kit decals and drawing and printing my own 66 decals. So that's the sprues, full of interesting not too familiar parts. I hope I will work through them all in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Hi Jorgen, I've got one of these kits in the stash and it looks like a good kit to build. I'm going to watch your build thread with interest. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 http://www.old66decals.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1fuN0 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Jooooorgen... good on you mate. Now i dont feel so quite alone Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger331 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Hei Hei Jorgen, Not a bad choice if you haven't done a helo for a while.....watch the fitting of the lower hull piece to the fuselage....IIRC, I needed to trim this down a little and used some filler. The sponsons are a little tricky too....their fit is not 100% and you could lose some of the engraved detail when you fill and sand the joints. Other than that, it goes together pretty well. The cockpit is a bit sparse under all the glazing so you may want to consider a Eduard zoon set for the instrument panels, seat straps etc. If I find the info on the Apollo 11 'pick up' decals I'll forward them to you. Good Luck Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share Posted June 8, 2013 Cheers guys, sometimes you just have to leave your well known corner and try something else... http://www.old66decals.com Great! These are the decals I mean. I actually visited that page when I bought the kit in feb/march but nothing looked available then, it's been updated since. I've already placed an order. Problem 1 sorted. Hei Hei Jorgen, Not a bad choice if you haven't done a helo for a while.....watch the fitting of the lower hull piece to the fuselage....IIRC, I needed to trim this down a little and used some filler. The sponsons are a little tricky too....their fit is not 100% and you could lose some of the engraved detail when you fill and sand the joints. Other than that, it goes together pretty well. The cockpit is a bit sparse under all the glazing so you may want to consider a Eduard zoon set for the instrument panels, seat straps etc. If I find the info on the Apollo 11 'pick up' decals I'll forward them to you. Good Luck Mark Thanks, notes taken. I have been thinking along the same lines regarding the cockpit. Lot's of glass and it looks large inside and the scale is similar to my 1:43 resin race car models that I just about always detail up the interior on. Will check the Eduard sets, and the truth is that I rarely manage an OOB build if there are good detail sets available... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 You're welcome.I've got those decals myself for my future '66 project.They come with lots of great detail info as well. Cheers Jeffrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta7 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 (edited) Nice choice, I look forward to this, I have a second seaking and fancy doing this scheme, brings back memories of grainy black and white TV pictures of the astraunauts splash down and recovery Edited June 8, 2013 by delta7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share Posted June 8, 2013 You're welcome.I've got those decals myself for my future '66 project.They come with lots of great detail info as well. Cheers Jeffrey Sounds great, not least the extra info. Would you say it is a good idea to wait with any major work until the sheet with instructions arrives? I mean I don't want to open holes or remove details on the fuselage/hull according to Hasegawas instructions in case they are nor correct... I had a good look at the interior parts today, and when I came to the seats with their moulded in seat belts I went off and ordered the Eduard zoom interior set. Nice choice, I look forward to this, I have a second seaking and fancy doing this scheme, brings back memories of grainy black and white TV pictures of the astraunauts splash down and recovery That's very much the mode I've been into the last months or more, reading and watching the old Apollo stuff. It was great times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike N Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Great choice, will watch with interest! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gajman Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Welcome to the GB Jorgen. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Sounds great, not least the extra info. Would you say it is a good idea to wait with any major work until the sheet with instructions arrives? I mean I don't want to open holes or remove details on the fuselage/hull according to Hasegawas instructions in case they are nor correct... I had a good look at the interior parts today, and when I came to the seats with their moulded in seat belts I went off and ordered the Eduard zoom interior set. That's very much the mode I've been into the last months or more, reading and watching the old Apollo stuff. It was great times. I think you can go ahead and do the mods according to the instructions (but perhaps double check with other reference sources - the mods are intended to transform the original generic SH-3H moulds to generic SH-3D standard. The info that comes with the decal sheet is more for additional exteriour details that was specific to the recovery operations such as cameras and antennae. You can build '66 as it was at four different points in time for the various recovery operations of Apollo 8, 10, 11 and 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Nice subject for this GB! Good luck with this one. Lex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 I thought I would sit down and take it easy until the decals and cockpit parts arrived, to avoid doing any dumb mistakes that will need a second correction. And today the decals arrived, with a some sheets of added information. They look great and I'm glad I could get hold of the sheet after seeing what I would have applied otherwise. Looks indeed like I'll be scratching a few cameras and antennas as well. Now I can start the modifications of the fuselage and hull parts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 The last(?) things arrived yesterday, the Eduard cockpit detail set and also a masking set. Will be interesting to see how the cockpit set turns out, but it looks really good. Now, what this really means is that I have totally run out of excuses for not having started to actually build it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1fuN0 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Yup Jorgen, time to get your finger out and start building hehe Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hehe, waiting for parts = good delaying tactic. The decals look really good, it's a very smart scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 Now that the excuses are out I have actually got some real work done. All cockpit parts are modified for the PE-parts, prepared and assembled for painting. I'm surprised that Eduard did not supply a PE-part for the small left side "roof console". But never mind, it will do. I now need to prepare the inside of the fuselage halves for paint as well. I have a question for those of you who know more about the technical details of these things. The instructions from the decals says to not install the dipping sonar, as it was removed to make additional room in the cabin during the Apollo missions, but the recess in the hull shall remain. Question is, how much should I remove? That sonar is, as far as understand, moulded in one piece with the hull recess. Do I remove only the long smaller diameter thing, or do I remove everything inside to create a completely flat "roof"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I am trying to work out what that part is meant to be. Assuming it's the sonar well seen from beneath the aircraft, then the "spike" in the centre is the bottom of the sonar body itself, so should certainly go. I have no idea what the round thing that surrounds it (i.e. inside the outer round thing!) is meant to be, but I am only familiar with the Westlands version. They would have taken out the whole installation - pit head gear, etc. - to make room and save weight, and that would have left just a hole in the bottom of the boat-hull... and the might even have faired over that (I know the RN SAR mark 5s did when they removed the sonar for similar reasons). The hole is simply a hole; nothing more sophisticated than that... though I suppose the USN version might be different. Sorry if that just muddies the waters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 Thanks a lot, I think that provides me with the information I need. The part is indeed the sonar well (with moulded in sonar) as seen from beneath. It is fitted from the inside of the bottom of the fuselage/hull part. I will cut out everything inside and make a new plain roof. As I understand the Apollo decals instructions the "wall" of the sonar hole remained and the hole was not covered down at "hull level", but rather inside the top of the recess. Painted dark (Hasegawa instructions say black) it should do the job for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 (edited) Well, with progress at the current rate I won't be more than half done when the GB ends... so I better try to change that. Decided to get everything prepared and painted that I need to join the fuselage halves. This is how the cockpit ended up. The exhaust part required quite some work before the two glued upper and lower halves looked like one smooth piece that also fitted well in the fuselage and its openings. The glued windows will now dry thoroughly before masking them, and then joining the fuselage for real. Photo deleted because of content. Edited July 3, 2013 by Greg B Photo deleted, inappropriate content 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1fuN0 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Jorgen... WOW!, that cockpit looks fantastic... well done. Now about whats in the background... steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 The pit looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 That looks really nice - this is the kit plus Eduard etch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts