Tag: helicopter
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Soviet Hound – Part One – A Working Dog

The Mil Mi-4a Hound seems to have been a general-purpose worker for the old Soviet Union from 1960 until the late 70’s. It is boxed by Trumpeter in a larger scale but Hobby Boss offer it for 1:72 in a very precise moulding. Four sprue trees, a colour call out sheet for the USSR and…
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Mi-2T Helicopter – Part Three – Andrusiak Air Field

It turned out nice again, eh? I was very pleased with the result of my Hobby Boss Mi-2t Hoplite helicopter kit. I couldn’t have asked for a better fit on the parts and I’m pleased to say that the masking experiment has resulted in some of the best windows and frame lines so far. The…
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Sikorski Sea Dragon – Part One – A Matter Of Numbers

I think there is trouble in the Italeri printing works where they make the boxes for their kits. The top of the box has superb artwork depicting a Sikorski MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter in US Navy colours. One end of the box repeats this. But one end and one side are marked as MH-47E –…
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Sikorsky H-19 – Part One – So Many Choices

The Sikorsky S-55, or H-19 Chickasaw was a helicopter of many armies and air forces. The decal sheet of this Italeri kit provides for France, USMC, USCG, and Royal Navy. Other issues in the past supplied RCN and the USAF. Just a little googling suggests Indian Air Force, Turkey, Israel, and Chile are possible with…
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Israeli Bell 47 – Part Three – A Bubble In The Desert Sun

It cannot have been much fun to climb into a Bell 47 bubble in the desert sun of the Negev. Even on a cold day, it would have been hot in there and the overhead fan would not have helped if you had the doors shut… The Italeri kit has proved as good as it…
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H-34 Choctaw – Part Two – The SMCWA Club Build

Tuesday mornings are sacred round here – that is the morning I get to go to the SMCWA clubrooms and build a scale model. Ignore the fact that I have two other modelling stations – here inside and out in my shed. Ignore the airbrush booth and the assembly bench and the rack of 157…
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H-34 Choctaw – Part One – Third Little Indian

The naming convention for US Army helicopters uses the Indian tribes of the nation – a delightful thing. This is the third helicopter in the collection with a tribal connection. There are more helos in the display cabinet, but they are either civilian or international versions that adopt their own names. So far I only…
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Westland Whirlwind – Part Three – The Admiral’s Barge

Part of my research material about this green -and-white helicopter suggests that it wore these colour so that it could function as an ornate flying Admiral’s barge for part of the Royal Navy. Other sources assign it a training role at a Naval Air Station. Whichever is correct – and they both may be –…
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Westland Whirlwind – Part Two – Building Someone Else’s Memories

This Westland helicopter model of the late 50’s from Airfix seems to figure largely in the memories of other people. Everyone I have shown the box to seems to have built it back in the day and are scathing about it. I am fresh to the neighbourhood and am starting to feel somewhat wary –…
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Westland Whirlwind – Part One – A Green Stranger

The Vintage Classic shelf again – this time something I have never built before – the Airfix Westland Whirlwind HAS.22. In reality, it was a Sikorsky S-55 sold to the Royal Navy. The original kit is apparently of late 50’s vintage though I never saw one in shops in Canada. Basic, as you would expect,…
