I decided to build a plastic helicopter model for the first time in quite a while. What I chose this time was the Seaking of Hasegawa. I haven’t decided yet, but I think it will be made by the JMSDF helicopter. Is this kit a special version for replacing decals? It also includes the decals of the helicopters that carried out the return mission of the Apollo spacecraft. A different kit of the same scale has been released from Hasegawa to make a JMSDF plane. That model number is PT2 so it may be pretty old.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a helicopter plastic model, and it’s been a while since I’ve had the JGSDF Apache, so I don’t know what to do. This kit has a lot of work other than sticking the parts together, such as shaving various parts, filling holes, and cleaning the surface. It isn’t easy. The number of parts may be larger than the other 1/48 scales.
Blue screen.
These are a pilot seat and a seat belt. I don’t know how the parts are assembled at this stage, so I’m very worried if the parts fitting correctly.
There are also many switches on the cockpit panel and the upper and side of the cockpit seat. I’m glad that decals are prepared for them.
(2020/11/17)
This kit has a big cockpit window so we can see inside well. But I can’t make it detailed extra parts.
The fuselage is now glued together.
I felt like I knew the shape of the seaking body, but I didn’t know the details until I picked up the parts. After I built these parts, I could see the shape of the fuselage more.
For me, not only masking but also fitting the helicopter window is a difficult task. I usually don’t mind the dirt on the parts because it’s an AFV modeling, so I care about these parts, polishing them with a compound.
(2020/11/19)
At the end of the assembly, there were more protrusions than I expected, which was hard to handle. I should make it as strong as possible.
The rotor can be folded. My personal preference is here.
The painting process has begun.
Masking tapes are consumed in large quantities.
(2020/11/21)
Wow, it’s hard to paint so much. It’s big, so it’s pleasant to blow airbrush.
This kit was released in 2010. I think it’s a decal replacement kit. It is good that there is no yellowing or deterioration. There were no particular decal problems with Hasegawa kits.
I pasted almost the decal first because I wanted a change. As an image, before making it, I thought the painting would be completed if I painted it in white, but there are pretty fine details with different colors. To be honest, it is quite hard. I have rarely made a Helicopters kit so it might be a little awkward.
(2020/11/25)
Hasegawa’s Seaking is completed. It is a kit of Sikorsky HSS-2A. It is a type with enhanced antisubmarine detection capability. Other HSS-2B helicopters of this type have been deployed since then.
I wonder how many years have passed since I made a white-body plastic model. I feel pretty good.
Because it was designed as a carrier-based aircraft, the main rotor and tail can be folded. This time, all blades were unfolded.
It was initially called “HSS-2A” and came to be called “SH-3D” when the US Navy revised its naming. At the time of its adoption, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force continued to use the term “HSS-2A”.
In Hasegawa, the HSS-2B was released earlier and later released as a kit for the HSS-2A, including new parts for a minor sponsor and a short horizontal stabilizer in the kit. No wonder a lot of parts were no longer needed.
It was mainly used for anti-submarine operations and various other purposes, such as an anti-ship attack, search and rescue, and troop transport. In the United States, it started operation in 1961, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has been operating it since 1964. In Japan, it retired its antisubmarine patrol aircraft in 2003, and the aircraft used for other purposes also retired in 2008. In Japan, the body of the Antarctic observation mission and the rescue plane have different coloring, which is interesting.
When I applied the color, it gave me a somewhat flat impression, but I think the high-quality decal enhanced the precision.
There are some windows so you can see inside. There is nothing special inside, so I painted the windows with smoke. But it’s almost dark, and I can’t see anything.
The marking indicates the number “71” of the aircraft belonging to the JMSDF 121 Flying Squadron Tateyama Base in Chiba.
The tail blade was one part of this kit. It was easy because I didn’t have to assemble it.
The lower part is painted roughly for tank models, but for airplanes and helicopters, it is painted seriously like this.
If there is no rotor, it is long, thin, and a little round, so it looks like a blowfish.
Decorating this helicopter, the central rotor expansion takes up space. If you want to put it in a box, it needs to be quite a large box. If it’s a small helicopter with two blades, there might be a way to fit it compactly in the lateral direction, but this HSS-2A Seaking has five blades and consumes space.
There is a detailed painting that I can’t notice just by looking at the instruction. It was hard because the plane was big and there were many processes.
It is more realistic to bend the main rotor blade when parked. I’m not sure what angle is good. I made it cool somehow, but it might be too low. Let’s be a little more careful next time.
I wanted to finish it a little more neatly. This kit needs a high level; I had to make it carefully. I lightly washed it to reveal details that are hard to see in pure white or gray. A little dirt is called a weathering effect. Let’s assume that it is a natural condition of the body.
(2020/11/29)
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