Hobbyboss 1/72 Blue Hawks HSM-78 HH-60R Seahawk Honor Build

After a few conversations with Mr. Rogers, I find him more attached to his Seahawk squadron than to the USS Carl Vinson.

A change of plan has occurred. Yes, based on Frank's advice, I bought a Communist model kit. I was prepared to be disappointed and I am!
The Hobbyboss kit includes no interior painting guide and NO instrument or cockpit console detail/decals. The Squadron commander's airplane has a really cool scheme on its tail, but, NO HSM-78 decals are available in 1/72 scale.
On the plus side, the Hobbyboss plastic glues up nicely, the engraved detail isn't terrible and the transparencies aren't over thick and are quite clear.
Archer decal rivets will serve as switches and buttons. P/E windows will make fine LCD screens.
Since all this detail will have to be improvised, my Romeo Seahawk will have a cigarette lighter!

Switches from archers? This should be interesting.

Cockpit floor and overhead console. This will be more interesting when the buttons, levers and switches have colors on them.
Archer decal rivets, 1/700 life rings and sections of ship railing went into the cockpit project. I probably will make collective levers as well. Again, not in the kit.
Thanks for egg-beatering along!

Rhino said:

The Squadron commander's airplane has a really cool scheme on its tail, but, NO HSM-78 decals are available in 1/72 scale.

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Which of the two schemes?






Note lack of flag paint on horizontal tail surfaces here:

This bad boy, in the full scheme, can be armed! RescueHawk with claws!



Or this one?





Helmet markings anyone?

I actually like the one with the flag on the tail.

Either one would be impressive, but my model would depict the Carrier Air Wing 2 scheme in 2023. Cmdr Brian T. Connor's aircraft. if such markings were available in 1/72 scale. XO Cmdr. Rick Murray's Helo, Blue Hawk 701 may have to do.

Cockpit progress. I drilled the transmission for a brass rotor shaft tube and installed it. Drilling out the rotor head will involve some finesse.

Rhino said:

Either one would be impressive, but my model would depict the Carrier Air Wing 2 scheme in 2023. Cmdr Brian T. Connor's aircraft. if such markings were available in 1/72 scale. XO Cmdr. Rick Murray's Helo, Blue Hawk 701 may have to do.

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Will she be armed?

Looks great!! That's one badass looking chopper. Helo for you Navy guys. Gary S.

Sharkmouth said:

Will she be armed?

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There is an XM-134 minigun in the forward port-side cabin window. The grossly inaccurate Hobbyboss kit comes with an AGM-119 Penguin Missile that the Blue Hawks didn't carry (Thank the Lord! Ugly thang!) and 2 nice Mk. 54 torpedoes for the ASW mission. There is a dearth of starboard side external sponsons. Hobbyboss has you mount almost every weapon on the port side, giving the impression that this helicopter often flew in large, lazy circles to the left.

I might have a rack of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles lying about here somewhere. HSM-78 carried 2 Hellfires on either side. The AN/APS-153 V radar will have to be scratch-built or molded and cast.
The kit transmission is too tall. Even after grinding off my main rotor shaft boss, the main rotor swash plate is exposed above the fuselage on the kit, rather than accurately fitting inside.
"Oh Frank! Here, finish this ugly sumbitch!"

Rhino said:

There is a dearth of starboard side external sponsons. Hobbyboss has you mount almost every weapon on the port side, giving the impression that this helicopter often flew in large, lazy circles to the left.

I might have a rack of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles lying about here somewhere. HSM-78 carried 2 Hellfires on either side.

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Those stub wings don't seem too difficult for you after seeing what you do in microscope scale!

Finishing the interior and closing up the fuselage comes first. Then we'll see how much "Dickwithit" I still feel like doing.
An AGR-20 APKWS maybe. A couple of HARM missiles? Pop-up, shoot and blow the "eyeballs" off of a Jiangkai II frigate?

Saul, you're quite correct. Shapes and shaping are not strangers to me. The smaller starboard stub wing only has to carry missiles and a navigation light. It will mount between the cabin door and the RH forward Hoosie sensor. The Hoosie system has quite a few antennas and sensors on this model.

Paddy and I have similar work stands.
Test fit of main rotor and cockpit/interior. This kit has a cabin door and 2 cabin windows that can be posed open. You can see all the stuff inside the Romeo Seahawk. It vexes me that this kit includes such scanty detail. I did add a big loomium ammo can for the minigun.
I looked to see if a 1/700 Hula Girl would fit on top of the dashboard.
She won't. There isn't enough clearance between the inside of the kit canopy and the top of the instrument panel.

Monkey Muffins! No more test fitting! I'm always after you guys to "Put something together!" It's time I took my own advice.
I will confess these airplanes with the big fan on top are most unfamiliar to me. I have no idea what color to paint much of anything.
Thank you GOOGLE!!

The vague instructions say to install the tail rotor before assembling the fuselage halves.
Sure, so I can bust the dogsnot out of it! Another brass shaft/boss seems likely for the tail rotor.
With the fuselage assembled, it time to "ugly her up" and find the flaws in the joints.
Thanks again for looking in!

I'm trying to click into those images but getting an error. How about deleting them and adding them back. I think they may be hosed up because I deleted what you asked to have deleted. If that makes sense.

moon puppy said:

I'm trying to click into those images but getting an error. How about deleting them and adding them back. I think they may be hosed up because I deleted what you asked to have deleted. If that makes sense.

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Howzatt?!

Mucha better! Looks great.

So, I was hanging out at the hospital yesterday, sending text updates to our family and petting the therapy doggies, and a solution for making the belly-mounted AN/APS-153 radar antenna occurred to me:

Would a modified Dickhead coin work? As you can see, the simpler solution is much too big.

A water bottle cap is close in diameter. Cutting 2 circles of .040 plastic sheet and shaping them brings us here. BETTER!
I'ma thinkin' the forward facing transmitter boxes will be fashioned from 1/700 Skywave Destroyer turrets, or some such plastic oddity.

These will not be molded and cast. I'm only making one of these weirdo airplanes with the big fan on top and that's IT!

Well, until Italeri re-issues their 1/72 CH-53E Super Stallion for Mike Cash and THAT'S IT!!!

Then, two there's the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant that rescued Streetcar 304 and THAT'S IT!!

And the Pave Low II MH-53J From Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger and .......................... Yeah, Nevermind.

Helicopters is Frank's Job. What on God's good green earth am I doing building them?