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Finished: Luftwaffe CH-53G 1/144


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Hi all, 

I'll join this GB with a nice Revell kit I recently picked up:

 

IMG_20200625_220357504.jpg

 

Not sure how I will paint it up. It offers two German versions, the one pictured and a three-tone camo version. From the little research I've done, apparently the kit has older (or otherwise inaccurate) rotor blades so the box art version is ok from the kit but not the other one. I'm not that fussed about accuracy to that extent.

 

It's a nice kit though:

 

IMG_20200625_220520805.jpg

 

IMG_20200625_220432403.jpg

 

One thing I noticed is that this chopper is not quite as enormous as I always envisage it to be. I've seen some in real life though not close up, so it's never been easy to judge.

 

But here it is next to my almost-finished Sea King (the sweet little Sweet 1/144 kit) and while it's obviously bigger, it's not massively so like I thought it would be. I was kind of surprised the box wasn't bigger when it arrived - now I know better!

 

IMG_20200625_220613968.jpg

Edited by bianfuxia
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33 minutes ago, Jinxman said:

I know when I walk past the MH-53 at RAF Cosford Museum it always impresses with its bulk - not sure if it is that much bigger than the CH-53?

Can you still walk inside that one at Cosford?

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11 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

Can you still walk inside that one at Cosford?

Not normally no - I haven't seen it open for access. I don't know if it is included in their open-cockpit evenings programme either. 

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18 hours ago, Jinxman said:

I know when I walk past the MH-53 at RAF Cosford Museum it always impresses with its bulk - not sure if it is that much bigger than the CH-53?

It's the same aircraft with some extra bumps.

 

The Sea King is a much bigger aircraft than it often appears to be. Practically a third of its length is in the tailboom alone.

 

Look forward to watching this one.

 

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That looks to be a nice kit and if you do go with with the boxart scheme it'll make for a colourful model :) 

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18 hours ago, Col. said:

That looks to be a nice kit and if you do go with with the boxart scheme it'll make for a colourful model :) 

I've decided to run with that version. I like the dayglo orange and for my other helo builds I bought the paint so I might as well use it! Let's face it, there's not that much call for such a colour really.

 

OK so in preparation for the orange I put down some vallejo matt white:

IMG_20200628_222849276.jpg

 

And I've now progressed the build this far:

IMG_20200628_234053297.jpg

 

It fit together very nicely. I elected to seal up the rear door so I didn't have to do too much work on the cargo bay interior. A great feature of this kit is that you can instal all the cabin windows at the very end, so there's no masking required on tiny parts.

 

The cockpit is pretty nice for 1/144 - separate seats, sticks and instrument panel, with the collective control stick moulded to the side of the seat. That bulkhead technically should go on the other way, but the other side has no detail at all so I figured I'd switch it around just to give the impression of something going on in the cockpit. It would otherwise not be seen.

 

I tested this and it will be a tail-sitter without nose weight.

 

So here just for fun is the strapped-in cargo this chopper has to move. It's a highly classified piece of equipment used in a highly classified program as part of a highly classified initiative so I could tell you, but then I'd have to, you know...

 

IMG_20200628_222805777.jpg

 

(Actually it is an IKEA component from my kid's old baby cot which we gave away - couldn't sell it because at the time I couldn't find this piece and the bolt that went with it. Of course, it has now shown up 18 months later. The people who took the cot were pretty handy and were able to use it with some other bolts they had so all was fine.

 

Now it serves as a [redacted] from the [redacted].

 

🤣

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4 hours ago, bianfuxia said:

I've decided to run with that version. I like the dayglo orange and for my other helo builds I bought the paint so I might as well use it! Let's face it, there's not that much call for such a colour really.

 

OK so in preparation for the orange I put down some vallejo matt white:

IMG_20200628_222849276.jpg

 

And I've now progressed the build this far:

IMG_20200628_234053297.jpg

 

It fit together very nicely. I elected to seal up the rear door so I didn't have to do too much work on the cargo bay interior. A great feature of this kit is that you can instal all the cabin windows at the very end, so there's no masking required on tiny parts.

 

The cockpit is pretty nice for 1/144 - separate seats, sticks and instrument panel, with the collective control stick moulded to the side of the seat. That bulkhead technically should go on the other way, but the other side has no detail at all so I figured I'd switch it around just to give the impression of something going on in the cockpit. It would otherwise not be seen.

 

I tested this and it will be a tail-sitter without nose weight.

 

So here just for fun is the strapped-in cargo this chopper has to move. It's a highly classified piece of equipment used in a highly classified program as part of a highly classified initiative so I could tell you, but then I'd have to, you know...

 

IMG_20200628_222805777.jpg

 

(Actually it is an IKEA component from my kid's old baby cot which we gave away - couldn't sell it because at the time I couldn't find this piece and the bolt that went with it. Of course, it has now shown up 18 months later. The people who took the cot were pretty handy and were able to use it with some other bolts they had so all was fine.

 

Now it serves as a [redacted] from the [redacted].

 

🤣

With it being  a German helicopter, your high classified load will probably be a giant stein of beer for October Fest. 

 

Ps pink primer is much better for orange. 

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9 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

With it being  a German helicopter, your high classified load will probably be a giant stein of beer for October Fest. 

 

Ps pink primer is much better for orange. 

Hey, you're not supposed to reveal state secrets on the internet! 

 

Also thanks for the tip re pink. I haven't got any but I'll keep it in mind for the future.

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22 hours ago, desert falcon said:

You could have gone to IKEA and they would have given you a new “missing” piece for free I think 😉

 

Good progress by the way 👍 

thanks!

 

Yeah I only really realized it right at the end of moving away from China. I think the people came for the cot literally the day I was handing back the keys. I'm sure they figured it out.

 

Besides then I would have nothing to prevent this thing tail-sitting!

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2 hours ago, bianfuxia said:

thanks!

 

Yeah I only really realized it right at the end of moving away from China. I think the people came for the cot literally the day I was handing back the keys. I'm sure they figured it out.

 

Besides then I would have nothing to prevent this thing tail-sitting!

 

As long as it worked for you and I'm sure they were happy too.

 

Thanks to a tip here on BM I'm using these guys here, they are wheel balancing weights. You can by them new on ebay and the like and they come with an adhesive strip at the back. I just went by the local tire shop on the way back from home one day and got a back full of used one for free. A bit of cleaning and some superglue on the back and they are perfect tail tipping counter weights. 

 

acf5edc0e6a47672410b964790187486.jpg

 

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On 6/29/2020 at 5:14 AM, bianfuxia said:

...the strapped-in cargo this chopper has to move. It's a highly classified piece of equipment used in a highly classified program as part of a highly classified initiative so I could tell you, but then I'd have to, you know...

...let me guess, do something highly classified? :ninja:

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  • 2 weeks later...

IMG_20200710_092738136.jpg

 

Here's where I am up to now. I painted it a while back but assembled the sponsons last night.

 

Fit is pretty good. I don't bother with underside seams, as you can see:

 

 

IMG_20200709_230802470.jpg

 

But I did make an effort on top:

IMG_20200709_230813378.jpg

 

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That's coming along very nicely. Interesting to note you've had to add some weight. Revell don't mention in their 1/48 kit instructions. Was it mentioned in your instructions or did you just think to test it anyway?

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Well, I think this one probably would have made it without weight, but I'm always inclined to put a little in just to be sure because I've been burned before, even with subjects that looked like they'd be fine.

 

It certainly doesn't need anywhere near as much as I put in - I just did that because I was low on blu-tack and that silver thing was handy.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've made some progress, in the sense of movement. It's just that some of it has been backwards.

 

The way the main   gear work on this kit is that you install the gear legs and then the side of the sponson goes over that. I then painted that orange but the join line was too prominent. The orange paint is quite thin so I couldn't fudge it by layering on paint so in the end I cut my losses and did what I should have done in the first place - sanding it down.

 

So that's where it's at now.

IMG_20200719_224612578.jpg

 

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Great stuff - brings back memories, I carried out 5 jumps from a West German CH-53G with Fallschirmjäger 272 (German Parachute Regiment) in Wildeshausen in 1987, to earn West German Parachute Wings.

 

no1934-german-bundeswehr-paratrooper_360

 

 

FschJgBtl_272_(B).png

 

Great bunch of lads and a really good exchange trip. Bizarre, they still wore grey uniforms (were not allowed camouflage as part of post war treaties) and it was just before reunification with the East.

 

It was amazing to jump from the CH-53G, lots of space and no slipstream as such so falling straightish down was a thrill!

 

Looking forward to seeing the end product.

 

 

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39 minutes ago, Tim Moff said:

Great stuff - brings back memories, I carried out 5 jumps from a West German CH-53G with Fallschirmjäger 272 (German Parachute Regiment) in Wildeshausen in 1987, to earn West German Parachute Wings.

 

no1934-german-bundeswehr-paratrooper_360

 

 

FschJgBtl_272_(B).png

 

Great bunch of lads and a really good exchange trip. Bizarre, they still wore grey uniforms (were not allowed camouflage as part of post war treaties) and it was just before reunification with the East.

 

It was amazing to jump from the CH-53G, lots of space and no slipstream as such so falling straightish down was a thrill!

 

Looking forward to seeing the end product.

 

 

Cool - that must have been quite an experience!

IMG_20200723_235055545.jpg

 

I fixed up that mess and now it's time to try the orange again. Once that's done, this is mostly finished. There are not many decals.

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Very interesting little project... ( not so little, just small scale actually!)

 

Nuce progress!

 

I have this kit somewhere to do it as 1 of  the 2  Austrian maschines. They ended up in Israel by the way!

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Getting closer to the end for this little guy. I think one more coat, maybe two, of the orange will do the job. Then I really just need to add the wheels and rotors (mostly already painted) and the windows will take some care. The decals will need maybe an hour tops, as there aren't many. I do need to touch up the paint on those engines (I nearly forgot to instal them until I found them sitting around on the bench under some other stuff.

 

Such a great little kit this one - I recommend it to you even if you're not that into helicopters (which totally explains why you're in this GB, hahaha). I got mine new for only 8 bucks too.

 

Anyway:

 

IMG_20200728_235056774.jpg

the door yes i know. I can still pop it out and fix.

 

IMG_20200729_000401522.jpg

 

 

 

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