H-34 Choctaw
Comments
1 7 July 2018, 22:33
Donald Dickson IIGot started on this one. The cockpit is done though still in two units. I wont put it all the way together until I get to the point of bringing everything together. I am going to attempt to detail the engne a little further, though it has good detail all on its own.
7 July 2018, 22:36
Martin OostromIt does look like it got a punch on the nose 😄
Will follow this till the end!
7 July 2018, 23:44
Donald Dickson III did a little detailing on the engine. Added the black gasket and some wiring. First time I have tried this. i am sure its not in scale, but it added a nice touch I think.
15 July 2018, 01:26
Clifford KeeslerLivened it up real nice. I wonder why none of these H-34 models have collective levers. I will have and try to scratch some.
16 July 2018, 19:31
Donald Dickson IIOK, so a bulkier update. Let me start with this. If you build this kit, the instructions are NOT good. Placement of parts is vague as to exactly how they should go (I had to break the exhausts off and reattach them. Not fun with the extra stuff on there) and their suggested order of assembly is REALLY a suggestion. A bad one IMO. The worst culprit is pictured.
So, the red arrows are the way the instructions would have you do it. The blue is the way that makes sense. You cant get the cockpit on there right without the walls being on. Just not gonna happen. Not sure what they were thinking there. Again I say, this one is for experienced builders for this reason alone. Also, if you look, you will see the directions would have you place the supports on the rotor trans first, then attach it. Well, you are NOT going to get the angle right on the legs if you do that. Unless you are lucky. I put some blue tack on the bottom, stuck it to the flooring part and used good old Testors glue to attach them. That way I had plenty of time to adjust them and still get a good join when the glue set.
Once set, I pulled it, painted it and super glued it in. Heres hoping I got it straight enough.
Got everything set, then put the windows in and joined the main fuselage halves. Had to go back and sand a lot as the gaps were unacceptable. Another case of not sure if that was my bad or the kit. Either way, its together.
22 July 2018, 21:12
Gareth WindsorAnother good build coming on. You have the skills my good man despite the frustrating instructions. Deep breath, you got this.
23 July 2018, 02:33
Gordon SørensenLooks great so far, Donald! The engine looks really good, can the front cowling be left open so you can see it? Or is it one of those "I know its there" situations...
23 July 2018, 12:55
Donald Dickson IIOh, I am going to have it open. I would not have done that stuff otherwise. LOL I am just going to have to make the open/close arms as there are none. Another quirk of this kit. They make it so you can display it open, but do not give that choice in the instructions, nor all the parts to do it properly.
23 July 2018, 17:40
Donald Dickson IIAnd thank you all for the kind words. 🙂
Cliff, its a good kit detail wise. Well worth the extra effort.
23 July 2018, 17:42
Donald Dickson IIOK, so got a lot done since last update. All the PE on (and it makes a huge difference IMO), navy blue on then red/orange. That turned out to be spot on directly out of the bottle, though it took several applications to cover the dark paint under it. Did some weathering and port side decals done. Will do a little more weathering over the decals, then hit the rotors and small assorted stuff. Hopefully be done soon.
8 August 2018, 23:25
Donald Dickson IIThank you Choppa and Clifford. 🙂
OK, its done but for the rotors and bit more weathering. While I was finishing up the decals I noticed the top of the tail was shown as blue. So out with the French Blue and some masking and there we go. A bit more color. Next post should be me saying all done. 🙂
11 August 2018, 03:14
Clifford KeeslerAgree with Choppa well done sir. @Choppa nice to see you are still around sir.
11 August 2018, 16:22
Choppa NuttaCheers Clifford, nearly wasn't for a while there after a recent accident but I'm recovering ok it seems but life has it's funny turns 🙂
11 August 2018, 18:19
Donald Dickson III was wondering as well. I am glad you are relatively OK Choppa!
11 August 2018, 21:53
Donald Dickson IIWell, she is done!
This is a quirky kit. Its a new tool from 2012, so the detail is pretty good. The thing is, in a lot of cases the fit is just a hair off. Even with dry fitting, its not hard to get something wonky. This is totally a be very careful with what you do kit. As I noted earlier, the instructions are not always the best. If you have some experience, you can figure out the right way to do it.
But here is my biggest gripe. They give you the clam shell doors for the engine compartment in two pieces. And a decently detailed engine. Yet, the instructions only give you the choice of closing it up. And if you should decide to pose it open, as I did, you are on your own. There are no parts for the closing arms. You have to make them yourself. Mine are kind of crude, but better than nothing. Otherwise, the doors will look as if they were opened by magic. Also, they give you the option of folding the tail, but absolutely no way to fold the main rotor. And that makes ZERO sense to me.
Those things aside, it IS a very good kit. I do recommend it, but with the caveat of pay attention!!!!
13 August 2018, 06:40
Gareth WindsorShe ended up looking sweet. It does seem silly to have all that detail and not the option in the instructions to display it. And I hear what you are saying about fold options. Being a helo man I would love kits to have this option for the main rotor head, but none do. Ensign Models offer after market detail for the Wessex and Lynx though.
13 August 2018, 12:20
Donald Dickson IIGareth, I have seen plenty of H-3 and H-53 builds with the rotors folded. Are they relying on after market as well? I have never done one with the rotors folded. Likely never will.
13 August 2018, 17:15
Choppa Nutta.......... er.... it's not my model Konrad, it's all Don's work !! 😄 😄 😄
b'dum tish ... haha 😄
13 August 2018, 19:05
David ThorBeautiful! Great results. And thanks for the info on the quirks of this kit, i still have the polar version in my stash.
13 August 2018, 19:25
Clifford KeeslerAwesome result Donald, well done.@Gareth,, I am getting ready to start the Academy Sea Dragon and it has the option to build the rotors and tail boom folded.
13 August 2018, 19:41
Gareth WindsorNice Clifford, look forward to that. Generally speaking, most of the kits I've seen of Sea King don't have blade fold as an option (I've built the Fujimi kit and have the Airfix RN Search & Rescue and the Revell RN Tiger Meet Sea kings) which is why they don't look right sometimes when people do it. #1 blade down the spine and blades 2 & 5 either side of #1 straight back. It's #3 & #4 that are tricky as they rotate around 45° as they fold. The hinge would be quite flimsy too in a small scale. The Wessex (and I'm guessing the Choctaw as same airframes) needed extra support equipment fitted when they folded.
13 August 2018, 21:19
Donald Dickson IIWow, Choppa is so popular he gets credit for other peoples builds.😉 LMAO But thank you Konrad! 🙂 And David and Clifford as well. 🙂
Gareth, I have seen builds where they included the braces for the folded rotors. Evidently it was either good after market, or incredible scratch building.
13 August 2018, 22:28
