Sikorsky HSS-1 1-72 Hobby Boss

[lunarhighway]

Hi all,

 

Having some time over the weekend I was looking for another quick and cheerfull kit to build.

Since i build mostely models in a Belgian livery finding kits that come with Belgian decals is always a treat. I've build a few hobby boss kits before and they usually go together very well, and are nicely detailed however not always as accurate as i'd like.

the Sikorsky is no exception. I'm no expert on this helicopter, and i don't want to get caught on trying to replicate every last rivet, or try to superdetail it but some things need some attention to better replicate the original.

 

The first thing i noticed was the Belgian chopper had a different door with the window to one side rather than central as per kit unit. It makes sense to have it to the side as this way it will line up with the fixed window when the door is open.

I laminated some styrene on a clear sheet so that i could get the resessed handles and the window in one go.

 

at this point i realised some other thind didn't look quite right

 

 

the surrounds on the other windows needed a more rounded edge and there was a flappy-thingy below the window.

 

the fuel-vents (?) where nicely represented but not present on the Belgian example so they where cut away. as they where hollow i enlarged the hole until it could accept a length or sprue to act as a plug.

 

 

worse still the side of the real thing was treated my a mad plumber to look like a prop from an alien movie. fortunately marking it all out and running metal wires between predrilled holes made this a fairly easy detail to add

 

 

next i turned my attention to the interior

since the holes for the plumbing along with the ejector pins didn't do the sidewalls any vavours i made and insert to cover what could be seen trough the open door

 

 

 

A little test fit to boost moral (and see if the legs and the plumbing would get along later)

 

 

next i masked all the windows inside and out, Painted the interior black and than misted on some grey to create some depth and added some colour to the seats and switches

 

 

i also added some dials to the blank instrument panel by drilling some shallow holes.

The glazing is rather thick and destorts the view so i cut away one of the sliding portions so it can be posed open later

 

 

And that brings us to the end of this episode

 

 

[Jackson Duvalier]

Strong work so far.  I didn't know HB had released a Choctaw.

 

I've always been a bit disappointed with plastic representations of those nylon webbing seats they put in helicopters.  When moulded in plastic they look like rigid uncomfortable metal gratings rather than floppy uncomfortable nylon net.

[lunarhighway]

18 minutes ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

Strong work so far.  I didn't know HB had released a Choctaw.

 

I've always been a bit disappointed with plastic representations of those nylon webbing seats they put in helicopters.  When moulded in plastic they look like rigid uncomfortable metal gratings rather than floppy uncomfortable nylon net.

True, although I'm not sure in this scale they are really doable in injection plastic. They are quite thick but at least the holes are represented. I resisted attemping scratchbuilding them as they can hardly be seen. That said something like precut masks could make a very convincing fabric seat.

[Jackson Duvalier]

11 hours ago, lunarhighway said:

something like precut masks could make a very convincing fabric seat.

 

Yes indeed, seems the logical route.  Wonder if a Cricut would do the trick?

[lunarhighway]

Hi all,

 

i've making some more progress on the heli. Because there where many small differences between the real thing and what came in the box, i've been going over all the photo's i could find and make small modifications.

these mostely consist of antennae and grab handles that where added, and some holes for original items that needed filling.

 

 

 

the most difficult modifications was a dome on top of the cockpit (radio compass?) and a large navigation light behind the rotor

i looked for a suitable piece of sprue and found this nice tree trunk

 

some strategic sanding ,filing and a strip styrene at the base, turned in into this:

 

The navigation light was similarly carved from some crear sprue and painted with translucent red, and than masked with liquid mask

Because the pannels lines on the large nose doors where quite poorely molded i've finally opted to cover them with aluminium tape and emboss the prominent rivets.

 

 

Although more conventional than previous hobby boss kits i've build , most things still fit together snugly without glue, witch will make paining easier

 

There are a few more bits and bobs to tweak, but i think she's almost ready for paint

 

 

[heloman1]

An interesting build, sadly the HB kit along with the Italeri kits suffer from many inaccuracies. The fuselage length being one, the unloaded main oleo legs another. I wish you luck with it and nice to see the Belgian markings making an appearance.

 

Colin

[lunarhighway]

3 hours ago, heloman1 said:

An interesting build, sadly the HB kit along with the Italeri kits suffer from many inaccuracies. The fuselage length being one, the unloaded main oleo legs another. I wish you luck with it and nice to see the Belgian markings making an appearance.

 

Colin

 

I don't have the Italeri version but i do have a couple of their S55 heli's and i half suspect Hobby boss took some inspiration from the Italeri kit, they al least look fairly similar especially the seat design etc... than again, it's the same subject so, there's only so much you can do.

 

I'm no expect on this heli so it's mainly a fun build. There's always a risk in getting caught up in details and failing to produce an attractive kit. At least for me... Ironically my best models are those where i had fun just putting it together and putting on some paint rather than doing to much research.

 

i'm mainly looking forward to seeing how the blue and orange will come out... should add a bit more colour to the shelve

Edited April 12, 2021 by lunarhighway

[Martian]

A most interesting build and you are making a good fist of sorting the kit out.

 

Martian 

[lunarhighway]

i tried to unify the fuselage with some white ammo mig one shot primer. never really used the stuff before and i kind of regret it

 

It didn't seem to be all that "one shot" but rather multiple layers, and from a distance it looks ok, but it actually turned the surface of the kit into sandpaper

 

 

 

 

fortunately it's sand able so i think i've made a start at a rescue attempt with some careful sanding. i'd rather not strip it with all the details on this one.

 

I'm not sure what i did wrong, i suspect i might have to sprayed from to far away or got the air pressure wrong. getting to close made the paint rather runny so i dusted it on as you would mr surfacer or something...

 

if anyone knows how to make this stuff work i'd love some advice, but so far i'm not impressed... that said as nice as their paints are, Valejo's primer isn't sandable so while it goes on nice it's not that great either.

 

[lunarhighway]

A small bright update.

 

i was able to sand away most of the grainy texture... not very keen on using the stuff again.

The organge/red section was put down, it will be oly the nose and upper section but i had some more paint, most will be asked.

 

 

[RidgeRunner]

4 hours ago, lunarhighway said:

A small bright update.

 

i was able to sand away most of the grainy texture... not very keen on using the stuff again.

The organge/red section was put down, it will be oly the nose and upper section but i had some more paint, most will be asked.

 

 

She is starting to come come together very nicely :). It was a pain with the primer but you seem to have recovered nicely.

 

Martin