This is a 1/35th
scale US Navy SH-60B Seahawk converted from the Academy UH-60L kit. This was my
first major conversion project in any scale. I started with the interior
modifying the flight deck crew seats to Navy standards as well as adding some
small details. Bulkheads were made to separate the flight deck from the fighting
compartment and this from the rear compartment. I built a Senso station and then
cast it possibly for a 2nd Seahawk for some future time when my own
senses may inexplicably leave me again. The sonobuoy array was made from card
plastic and detailed with epoxy and wire.
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images below to see larger images
With the interior
coming together, I started on the airframe exterior by closing the gunner
windows, the left access door and a portion of the right access door.
I
made the flared skirts for the main landing gear as well as all the various
sensor lumps and bumps on the chin, fuselage and tail. The stores stations were
also added. A resin part cast from a jar cap made for a lovely belly radome.
The
early-style exhausts were made from epoxy and were the singular cause of a brief
psychotic reaction. The tail gear was made from styrene and spares box parts.
The tail was cut and the transmission gear and bulkheads were made in
preparation for posing it in the folded position. The rotors and rotor heads
were modified to navy standard and posed folded as well. The next steps are
recommended for professionals only: Drop the closed fuselage assembly over
a relatively hard surface no lower than 4 feet. Watch all those colorful parts
go 10 different directions...in slow motion! Continue laughing hysterically as
men in white coats come to invite you for some free time in a nice padded
resort.
After my release
from the funny farm a few months later, I "repaired" (translation:
"hid") the damage and began to prime and paint the major
subassemblies.
Next came the
details with the small cooling fans for the electronics, the rear view mirrors,
sensor antennas and various other "stuff". With the end in sight,
decals were made from scratch and from spares. And Voila! We have a Seahawk.
Enjoy!
Theodore
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images below to see larger images
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