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A Frog in the desert. Sikorsky H-34 "Pirate" Gunship, Arm'ee de L'Air. Italeri 1/48th scale. Finished.


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Madness might be the cause of this build. I already have four other build in the Wessex/HU-34 family. However the kit fell off the shelf in my local craft/hobby shop. I only went for paint but, you know how it goes.

 

I can't remember an H-34 build here  but I could be wrong. The H-34/UH-34D is the latest in a line of Sikorsky S-58 fuselage based kits from Italeri. The first being the Wessex HU(UH sic) Mk5 back in 1982. That to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Falklands war.

Back then, there ere a few/some/many oddities about the kit. Two plugs in the fuselage sides to accommodate the lager cabin windows of the HAS MK3 and the HU Mk5.

When the first H-34 kit was released a couple of years ago, the moulds had been 'cleaned up', the insert panels are all but noticeable. This kit also saw the insertion of parts for the 'wide track' triangular A frame undercarriage, which was introduced on US machines to overcome  ground resonance, which was a problem on rotor engagement.

 

So, why a Frog in the desert? The Arm'ee De L'Air operated the type in Vietnam and latterly in Algeria a French protectorate.

 

To the kit. What extra do we get for the gunship version. Well, an extra sprue with the three .5 machine guns and a 20mm Mauser cannon plus a .762 carbine(?). I'm not a munitions/weapons expert! The earlier H-34 release was moulded in a light grey plastic, the quality of which is softish but good. There is little or no flash but there is some mould misalignment.

Having said that the original moulds are about twenty years old, they have stood up well. However, don't expect the crispness of a modern kit.

So, lets, have a look at the box art and the contents....

The subject of my build  a "Pirate" belonging to 22'eme Escadre d'H'elicopt'eres, Algeria 1959. Colour, is overall Olive Drab with lots of armament and armour plate. I'm not into lots of weathering but I think I may have to indulge on this one along with a suitably sandy base.

 

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And the contents... Sprue A.

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Sprue B.

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Sprues C (clear) and E,  along with the PE fret.

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Sprue D x2.

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The comprehensive decal sheet.

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There are seven options on the decal sheet, five French , one US Marines and one Luftwaffe. They are very crisply printed with good register and colour.

A search on the intergoogle, didn't throw up too many images, maybe I didn't look too deeply, though there were a few sites relating to the types history and service in North Africa. If anyone has anything else, it would be appreciated.

I found two images of the cabin interior, which I couldn't download, so they are on my phone! The cabin floor at the door opening has some local strengthening, which I fashioned form plasti-card. The trunnion/mounting for the 20mm cannon is incorrect (according to the images I captured) It needs to be replaced. Also the cabin has lots of clutter in it. Presumably ammo boxes etc.

 

The cabin seats are poorly moulded, in that they are overly thick. I'll chop and rework one portion to add ahead of the cabin door. As there are thee gun positions in each of the three cabin windows for the .5 machine guns, so I'm presuming the seating in that area would for freedom of movement and weight saving, would have been removed.

 

Whilst on the interior, the two fuselage mouldings have some basic framework is evident but by no means complete. No fishplates or piping or wiring harnesses. This is going to be a quick build, so I shan't be going to town here, however the cabin door is absent so a lot is on view! The remainder of the parts that make up the cabin are more than adequate.

As for the exterior, the port side jetisonable cabin windows need to removed as does the window glazing rubber from the rear starboard side.

There is an article in an old copy from the 1970's in Volume 13 of IPMS France journal, which contains history and some images , which show the rivet pattern to great effect. The kit falls woefully short in this area but I don't know at this stage whether I want to correct it! (images later).

 

Please enjoy this build and as always, comments and input are always welcome.

 

Colin

 

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After some pic snapping, here is the reference I'm using...

 

Squadron Signal  H-34 Choctaw in action, Which contains a few useful images, some of the armed test aircraft.

 

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Probably the definitive work on the type by Lennart Lundh. It covers the history and all the various world wide operators. ISBN No.0-7643-0522-0

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The IPMS France article...

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Here is the work so far, removal of the cabin jetisonable window and rubber detail. The post window openings were cut back the the limit of the airframe structure.

 

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The cabin floor, front and rear bulkheads , the floor bracing plate had been added, as has an unconvincing curtain!

 

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Until later...

 

Colin

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Excellent choice of subject Colin, love the H-34 family and a French one will look great.

I don't think they were used in Indochina (H-19's were) but they most definitely were used in North Africa, here are a couple of links to their use;

 

http://www.frenchwings.net/algeria/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=31

 

http://www.frenchwings.net/algeria/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=63

 

Very interested to see how this one turns out.

 

Craig.

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Hi Craig, I've lived with the Italeri Wessex/H-34 family for twenty years. I've finished three Wessex, with others underway but as yet not an H-34. It won't be as detailed as my Wessex builds but there will be input to help others along the way.

 

The Aeronaval used the HSS-1's in Indochina. I think Model Art produce a couple of decal sheets for that period but in 72nd scale. Maybe Italeri might get around to that option one day? There are still plenty of options they haven't covered and the AM decal producers seem not to be interested! By the way, I haven't looked at the Italian Navy kit version yet.

 

Thanks very much for the two links.

 

Colin

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2 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

I do have an Italeri Wessex (and a H-34) in the stash that I really should get around to building.

I have a soft spot for the Wessex too as I worked on their engines and coupling gearbox for years, including the Queens flight ones, so I really should add one to the collection.

Interesting. I have a hankering to  build a Queens Flight cab for my Wessex family theme builds. Did you see there is a Falklands 40th anniversary GB in a couple of months you might want to build a Wessex for that? 

 

Colin

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4 minutes ago, heloman1 said:

Interesting. I have a hankering to  build a Queens Flight cab for my Wessex family theme builds. Did you see there is a Falklands 40th anniversary GB in a couple of months you might want to build a Wessex for that? 

 

Colin

I did see that Colin but unfortunately I think I am over committed GB wise at the time so don't think I will have the time to join in. When/if I do get around to building her she will be standard RN or RAF bird rather than Queens Flight.

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14 hours ago, modelling minion said:

I did see that Colin but unfortunately I think I am over committed GB wise at the time so don't think I will have the time to join in. When/if I do get around to building her she will be standard RN or RAF bird rather than Queens Flight.

Got it. Just that after I have built all the other versions, that will be the only one missing. The old Revell kit had decals for it., along with the Green Parrot.

 

Thanks to those who have looked in, gym, local artists gathering today, so I may only get back to the build tomorrow afternoon.

Y'all have a great weekend.

 

Colin

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK, time for an update. On Monday, I travelled home after spending Christmas and New Year with my lady. Well a month away from home, some shore needed doing, the lawn to be mowed, the edges to be strimmed and some laundry. I lost a day after trying to re-load the strimmer with cord. I thought I had lost the spring out of the cord head but not! Operator error, again! Then before I could proceed, a hanus(?) crime, before I left home I had used my airbrush and had forgotten to clean it! Luckily or not, the paint hadn't quite dried in it. So a full clean later, I was back in business.

On Sunday last, I spent the day detailing the main rotorblade root. Lots going on here which just isn't represented in the kit. Blade taper pin nut heads, the wrist pin nut, droop stops etc. I used Plasrtuct hex rod for the nut heads. One down, three to go...

 

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I then moved onto the fuselage externals, plenty to add here, plus some misplaced panel lines. These were filled using Typex, a second application was sometime necessary. The excess was removed with a sharp blade followed by a light sand.

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I then turned my attention to the cabin interior. The rib and longeron detail is incorrect, so this was removed and then Evergreen styrene strip was used along with a reference photo to replace this detail. The early H-34's were quite spartan inside, compared with later builds. The starboard inside wasn't re-detailed at all. The gun pintles were added but I'm unsure whether they are accurate or not. I couldn't find any reference. I've altered the gun swivel/elevation brackets, so the guns will point downwards. I've also, ordered replacement gun barrels which will only arrive later this month but can and will be added after painting and decaling.

 

Until later...

 

Colin

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30 minutes ago, hendie said:

nice work on the blade roots Colin, not easy even in that scale.  Did the H34 have BIMs too or was it just the Wessex varieties?

Hi Alan, thanks yes not easy. No the BIM blades as far as I'm aware only came into being in in the late sixties. I still have to remove the tit. These early types were quite spartan.

I'm compiling a very long list of parts that could be made for the Wessex family. Ha!

 

Colin

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  • 1 year later...

Hello again fellow modellers. Unfortunately the build slid onto the back burner. It was the dual build in the challenge that the US Navy cab took president. That build was completed last year.

I'm tackling the Shelf of Doom, one piece or more at a time. So here I am back on the build. 

 

Firstly I stole the main rotorhead for that other build, so I have had to backtrack there. I've finished detailing the cockpit with PE  seatbelts and 3D printed instrument panel, which had to be repositioned to clear the front cowling.

I've remade the cockpit entry doors as the early builds had flat glazing. Also a lot of external detail has been added.

 

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Above, the French H-34's carry the ADF antenna in a streamlined housing, this was fashioned out of plasticard.

I've since added the nose to the fuselage, which necessitated some slight sanding. I 've been trying to attach the armoured plate which protects the engine the upper parts are quite fiddly to get aligned, I found reference where these upper parts are not fitted. This is going to make fitting the side parts easier.

 

Until later...

 

Colin

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Cool project!  Will it be in semi-gloss green?  Will you have a MAG machine gun pointed out the pax door?  The French pioneered this sort of thing, and we (in the U.S.) took note.  We may not have approved of their war effort, but we did see merit in some of their Helo tactics, particularly the use of SS10 and SS11 guided missiles.

 

Just a minor quibble with the political background for Algeria, though.  Algeria was not a "protectorate."  It was an integral, constitutional part of France proper, which made the fighting all the more bitter and the French military effort serious and costly.  They poured resources into the fight like there was no tomorrow, and the H-21, H-34, and Alouette helicopters proved their worth.

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On 6/8/2023 at 11:38 AM, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Cool project!  Will it be in semi-gloss green?  Will you have a MAG machine gun pointed out the pax door?  The French pioneered this sort of thing, and we (in the U.S.) took note.  We may not have approved of their war effort, but we did see merit in some of their Helo tactics, particularly the use of SS10 and SS11 guided missiles.

 

Just a minor quibble with the political background for Algeria, though.  Algeria was not a "protectorate."  It was an integral, constitutional part of France proper, which made the fighting all the more bitter and the French military effort serious and costly.  They poured resources into the fight like there was no tomorrow, and the H-21, H-34, and Alouette helicopters proved their worth.

Hi, thanks for your input and background on the French in Algeria. Always good to know the background.

Re the paint scheme, they were OD overall and given the local conditions of the desert, seriously weathered. Re armament, there isn't too much ref available. The pages from IPMS France mag and a few on the net. I'll be fitting the 20mm cannon in the door and a machine gun in each window. 

 

Thanks for looking

 

Colin

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry, I closed up the cockpit before I took some images! Finished adding detail and remaking the tailwheel yolk. For the Olive Drab I've used Tamiya acrylic OD and Deck Tan to get the faded look a 50/50 mix, along with a less than perfect application.

A couple of coats of gloss acrylic, here I used a locally produced acrylic artists gloss, not what I was expecting but the decals took to it well. The decals took an age to release from the backing sheet but otherwise the register and colour were perfect. I spent two days on the decal application, lots of maintenance stencils need to be added. The cabs were new build out of Sud factory, so in the ref I have they are quite noticeable.

 

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Where I am as of today, a sealing coat of Tamiya acrylic Semi Gloss clear.

 

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I decided to paint the blade tips rather than use the decals, this is a mixture of Tamiya LP and MIG. The leading edges have been giver some distress using  silver grey aqueous art pencil, then a wet finger to blend it in.

Now for some weathering, distressing and general wear and tear. Maybe tomorrow after the clear has hardened.

 

Colin

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First time for me to see the thread...

And it is almost finished...

Great build Colin !!

Unusual subject and a very interesting one !!!

Sincerely.

CC

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On 30/06/2023 at 13:55, heloman1 said:

I decided to paint the blade tips rather than use the decals, this is a mixture of Tamiya LP and MIG. The leading edges have been giver some distress using  silver grey aqueous art pencil, then a wet finger to blend it in.

There is something deeply satisfying but hard to express about your work on those blade tips Colin. Lovely work, as indeed is the whole thing!

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On 7/1/2023 at 11:31 PM, stevehnz said:

Nice to see this push it's way to the top again, I like what you're doing with it, some great ideas for the day I tackle mine. :)

Steve.

Hi Steve, I've enjoyed building this, reference is thin on the ground. Will you be building the 72nd or 48thkit? If in 72nd scale, you will need to extend the fuselage by 6mm. The area is the transition between the back of the cabin and the start f the tail cone. How Italeri got it so wrong but got it right in the 48th kit, beggars belief!

Doing some dusting and a little more weathering today.

 

Colin

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On 7/1/2023 at 10:14 PM, TheBaron said:

There is something deeply satisfying but hard to express about your work on those blade tips Colin. Lovely work, as indeed is the whole thing!

The decals just didn't look right, yes it might have been easier to use them but then again! On the tail rotor, decals wouldn't have worked.

 

Colin

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1 hour ago, heloman1 said:

Will you be building the 72nd or 48thkit?

It'll be 1/72 & Hobby Boss rather than Italeri, I've a couple, one will be Belgian & still trying to decide between Marines or French. Afaik, the HB one is also a bit a short, influenced by.......? :D Not sure whether I'll bother to notice. :shrug:

I have an H-21 kit with French markings so a French UH-34 would go well with it. :) 

Steve.

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