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As
an avid helicopter modeler, I was ecstatic when Italeri announced that they
would release a model of the Sikorsky H-19/S-55. Up until the release of this
kit, the only other viable alternative was the Airfix kit, which is over thirty
years old, under-scale, and possessed of suspect detailing. Having previously
built Italeri’s H-34 and RAH-66 models, I had high hopes for this kit, and I
was not disappointed.
The kit is moulded in crisp
grey plastic, and has very good surface detailing. A good cockpit interior is
provided, along with bench seats for the troop compartment. The clear parts are
also good, and the decals are of very high quality. Marking options are for two
USAF machines in the Italeri kit; one in natural metal with yellow banding, or
one in light gray with an orange nose and tail band. The Revell-Germany kit is
essentially the same model, but with the early-version “straight” tail-boom.
It provides options for one US Coast Guard or one KLU (Dutch Navy) aircraft.
I built the model almost
straight from the box, construction-wise, although I deviated significantly in
the finishing department. My model is built as a replica of a Westland Whirlwind
Mk.2, the British license-built equivalent of the H-19B.
Significant changes I made
to the model are as follows:
-
Cockpit side windows were
vacu-formed using kit parts as masters and the cabin windows were made with
Krystal Kleer.
-
Portside 3-person troop
seat was replaced with a 4-person seat from the Italeri Wessex.
-
Etched steel treadplate
used to simulate soundproofing mat on troop cabin roof.
-
Turning the front landing
gear to starboard to give a more active look to the model.
-
Masking tape seatbelts with
etched buckles and wire loops on all seats.
-
A curved piece of styrene
tubing was added under the nose to simulate the engine exhaust collector
pipe.
-
Antenna wires from black
Lycra thread.
-
Rotorhead components sanded
down to reduce thickness, and the rotor mast shortened.
The kit was
finished with Model Master enamels; pre-shading was done with flat black, then
the yellow was applied. This was clear coated with Acryl gloss, then the decals
and umber oil paint wash were applied. Final sealing was done with Acryl satin.
The decals were
made or scrounged from various sources. The fuselage roundels and rescue titles
came from the Italeri Wessex. Due to the curvature of the tail-boom stiffening
ribs, each roundel on the model had to be made from two Wessex roundels cut
across at 60% of their diameter, then overlapped.
The serial
codes were printed onto plain paper from my PC then put onto blank decal paper
using a Xerox-type copy machine. The T-shaped nose marking was copied onto blank
decal paper from an old and yellowed ESCI decal sheet by the same method. The
tail-rotor warning markings were sourced from an Airfix Whirlwind kit.
Overall, this
kit is a joy to build, and I heartily recommend it. The S-55/H-19 saw service
with all branches of the US military, and dozens of other countries, so the
marking possibilities are wide open. Even a beginning modeler can produce a
unique model just by changing the paint scheme and coming up with appropriate
decals.
Keith Goodman
took the attached photos at the 2001 Squadron Scalefest in Dallas, TX.
Keith maintains
his own website www.kgwings.com.
My own
helicopter-specific website can be found at <http://lonestar.texas.net/~zakutwo>
Tony
Morgan
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