SH-60B 1/35 Seahawk by Kitty Hawk

[Builder 2010]

One of my readers on the Fine Scale Modeler magazine forum, Svt40, made a valid input and of course I never ignore valid input. The first thing I did today was add the wiring that goes from the pitch hub into the center fitting on the tail rotor. You can clearly see this wire in this image. This wire's hole would have been MUCH easier to drill had I realized I needed it BEFORE building the whole deal, but I persisted and got the holes drilled. I am NOT installing that finer loop wire that goes from the spider. The wire in question is the fatter one.

It's interesting to note that the rotor has no actual hinging for the pitch control. There are two crossed carbon fiber beams that go from the tip of one blade all the way across the center to the tip of the opposite blade. The fiberglass blade sleeves slips over these beams. The beams act as torsion bars and will twist when pitch motion is introduced into the. The blades leading edge are titanium and there is an applied rubber de-ice boot on the leading edge also.

Svt40 also pointed out several other small details that I'm going to add. One is the ehad of the rotor indexer. The indexer positions the blades so they don't get damaged when the boom is folded. I put the motor shaft in, but his drawing also calls out for some head detail. I'd love to get a picture of it. My search today came up empty.

The other details are the removalable struts that secure the tail planes in their folded position and secure the boom itself. I will make these also. And I need to get some "remove before flight" tags.

This image shows the struts in position keeping the tail plane in the folded position. The picture also nicely shows the color line for the white/light gray bottom.

The strut goes from the movable hinge to the fixed hinge.

I put on the static probes, but they're really flimsy and I constantly was bending and unbending them. They needed to be on becasue it would be awful to try and install them on a painted model. In this image you can see the index motor shaft. The boom is almost done.

Here's a fold test to prove that YOU DO NEED TO FOLD THE TAIL PLANES FOR THIS THING TO WORK. The instructions missed this entirely was a big and almost fatal omission.

I kept breaking that rear antenna support. I fixed it at least three times and each time it was getting worse. I bit the bullet and made one out of soldered wire. Not exactly scale due to the round versus airfoil cross-section, but it ain't gonna break.

We're really closing in to the day when I break out the masking tape and airbrush and start painting this model. All in all, it's one of the most challenging and complex plastic aircraft kits I've ever built. I knew it would be a challenge, but the addition of the ResKits really upped the ante. Some of the challenges were my own doing in fixing my mistakes. Others were just in the nature of the beast.

Any ideas for a carrier deck base for this model? I'm sure there are 1:32 bases. Would they work for 1:35.

 

[SaparotRob]

Really enjoying watch this come together.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Builder 2010]

Thanks!

Svt40 on this thread I'm writing on the FSM Forum posted an excellent picture showing the tail rotor without the housing clearly showing the tail rotor index motor head.

I used the tail rotor image to create a index motor head. I didn't go the full route with the roller and pin, but it's shaped so it fits the crown on the tail rotor rear. I was wondering why that part was shaped that way... now I know. (and so do all of you). Looking at this close up, it's still a bit big and I can reduce it.

We're at the stage of the model that's equivalent to the punchlist phase of building a new house. The last little bits and pieces take an iordinately long time. Another thought I have is just how much more complicated the helicopter became when they turned the Blackhawk into the Seahawk. All the folding stuff adds mechanical complexity AND sensors to ensure that the flight crews knows everything is in the right place. Blackhawks don't need a blade indexing motor.

I started cobbling together the tail plane lock bars. They attach to the hinge point on the tail plane and clamp to the edge of the center section. I added doublers to some styrene stock that I'll shape to make the contours more like the real ones. They have to dry overnight since when I tried to shape them before they were fully dry, they didn't like it.

I also had to add back a hinge point so it would have something to hold onto. The kit's part disintegrated when I had to rip off the already-glued tail panels.

I started painting stuff! This is a milestone. I painted the tires rubber black which finished the smaller tail wheels.

remember I made some round masks for the small wheel hubs a while ago when I painted them white.

But for the large main wheels I didn't paint and mask the hubs first. The tie-down ring protrudes from the wheel and I didn't want to break it by masking on top. In this case, using the same dividers with one leg sharpened to a chisel edge, I cut the circles, but used the piece with the holes.

I then sprayed them a base coat of lacquer, in this case some Tamiya silver, and I go back and paint the while. The lacquer acts as a barrier and prevents the black from leaking through. I always put on DullCoat when I'm going to change colors and don't want any blending.

The last things I painted was the exhaust chutes. I first shot the turbine outlet some dark iron and then went back and did the whole area with flat black taking car to not overcoat the previously shot dark iron.

This is flash shot (which I rarely use) that lights up the innards.

And here's a non-flash shot showing the whole area. This will be masked to the proper outlines as needed. The last thing I did was shoot this paint with DullCoat to seal the black and make good base for the body colors. BTW: that chute where you can see a little bare color is the APU's exhaust which would be in that part of the overhead.

I have to write a real punchlist to ensure that I don't miss anything. It's a relief that all the ResKit work is now complete and reasonably successful. I still have to solder together the rear view mirror brackets, which I'm doing tomorrow.

I also glued on the big radome on the bottom since it was time.

I need to build a base and want it to duplicate the surface of a hangar deck. I'm going to 3D print my own tie down cups. They're available from Reedoak, but they're expensive and I want to keep my powder dry to buy their 1/35 Naval Aviation service people.

What is the diameter of the modern USN tie down cup?

 

[SaparotRob]

An amazing build. A pleasure to read.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[Builder 2010]

Thank you!

I found a print for a tie down cup. It's 9.81" in diameter and almost 4" deep. I drew them and will print a gaggle of them. I also am drawing a US Navy wheel chock set and the base itself which will duplicate the surface of a hangar deck. The models is a scale 60 feet long so the base is going to be 30" by almost 14" with 60 tie down pucks. Reedoak wanted $5.50 USD for 14 pucks plus shipping from Europe. It would probably be $50 just for the tie downs. It took me 20 minutes to draw them after I found the drawing on Google and the run of 20 will cost $0.25 worth of resin. I'll print 60 for about $1.00. BTW: with the 3D work that I've sold over the last two years, the printer is paid for more than once, so any work I do is a direct cost savings to me.

These will be the modern 5 spoke design. They should print nicely. This is how they will appear on the machine when done (only upside down).

Here's my hangar floor design. I eyeballed the plate and tie down spacing. I looking at a series of hangar deck images, it looks like the plates are 8' wide and the tie downs look like they're 2' off the seams and about 4' apart. Does anyone know the actual dimensions. I making it on a bias so it's more interesting.

I'm also drawing a set of 1:35 Naval wheel chocks. It looks like the only sizes commercially available are 1:32, 48 and 72. Now they'll be 1:35s also.

In the shop I did some stuff also. Got the tail plane clamps done. One of my fabricated clamps worked okay, but the other fell apart during shaping. I chose a different approach making it out of a solid piece. However, as you can see they're not exactly the same. They're on the underside of the tail and difficult to view. I'm calling them done. I also replaced the missing hinge loops on the tail planes that were wrecked when breaking the joints.

I touched up the wheel paint and the rear landing gear. I then went to work making a set of metal rear-view mirror frames. It took a couple of iterations, but got them built.

These small jobs are made very doable with the resistance soldering unit AND the MicroMark ceramic soldering pad that lets you stick the parts into the surface and hold everything still with T-pins. The metal is more scale in appearance than the plastic and a whole lot stronger.

Here's the right side one being fitted.

And the left side...

And with the mirror housing installed.

There is a slight problem. When looking straight ahead the left side is hanging lower than the right. Fixing that (if I fix it) will have to wait until Monday.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Nice work so far!

 

[Builder 2010]

I Redid the left side mirror frame. It's still not perfect, but it's better. It really doesn't take very long to bend and solder a new one togeher.

Painting has officially begun today with the masking of the exhaust channels. This was a finicky masking job because of curves and concave faces. After masking I coated the edges with clean to better seal them.

I was tired of bending and un-bending the static discharge probes and scrapped them and replaced them with 0.012" guitar string (I think it's a B string since I use very like gauge strings). They're tough as nails... well actually tougher than nails since piano wires is harder than most nails. And they're very sharp and will getcha!

I broke my last micro drill, but 20 more are arriving shortly from Drill Bits Unlimited.

I mixed up a very light gray, almost white for the bottom color and air brushed all the bottom facing things including the undersides of the horizontal stab. This all has to be masked and that will probably happen on Wednesday.

I then I find these on the HF sprue. Looks kinda like the support struts to hold the horizontal stabs in the folded position. Too late. That boat has left the dock. I tried to remove the homemade ones, but they were just too well glued and I didn't want to risk any damage. It's part HE33 and is on the Seahawk-only sprue. There was no mention in the instructions or any information about folding the stab at all. If you're following along with me and plan on building this model, now you know. There are parts to fold the stab, but they just don't tell you. Now you've been told.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[Builder 2010]

Thanks!

Short session today. Paint masking is well underway. I decided, because of the way the side and bottom colors interact, especially around the sponsons and radome, that I would have to mask them carefully. There's a nice seam line running down the fuselage length to demarcate the bottom and side colors.

To mask the dome I measured it's diameter, cut it in half, set the calipers and cut the circle. I've described this before when masking the wheel hubs. This was easier since it's easier to use the dividers as a circle cutter on bigger diameters. I have one point sharpened to a cutting chisel in the direction of the cut.

To mask the lower edge, again, measured its diameter, cut it in half and used that setting. I got a really accurate mask this way.

As seen in this image, the nose has a very specific curve also a circular shape so that too would get the dividers treatment.

And here's how I did it. In the above it also seems to show that the gear legs are bottom color. Is that correct?

And then I got going on the rest using a combination of 3M Blue Tape and three thicknesses of Tamiya. I absolutely love Tamiya tape, but it's more expensive than the 3M so I use them selectively with the 3M covering bigger areas. The curves had to be 3M due to the width I had.

I still have to mask the sponsons on the opposite side and then I'll be ready to shoot some gray base color. I don't think the bottom of the personnel hoist is bottom color. None of my diagrams show that.

 

[Builder 2010]

I'm still trying to figure out what configuration I'm going to use. In some of the wild schemes I have to do more work on the exhaust black areas. And it would require more masking... ugh!

I did paint today! I laid on all the FS36320 Dark Ghost Grey using the Mission Models paint (which I like a lot) thinned a bit with some A-K interactive thinner. They seem to be compatible.

Started with the tail after finishing the masking of the bottom color areas.

I believe that the fold machinery is body color and not zine chromate. If it's zine, I can do that too.

Did the tail rotor. After I took the pic I used some Dullcoat on selected areas that are going to be painted black. The black ares are the elastomer boot at the blade base and the de-ice book that goes partially out on the leading edge from the root.

And then I painted the main part. I had to go back and shoot some minor light spots, but all in all it painted really well. Dries quickly too, but I'm giving it overnight to make it better for further masking. Right now my edges are going to be pretty hard. If I wanted soft edges I would have stood the tape off the surface a bit. Because of all the stuff sticking out, doing a freehand job wouldn't have worked. The overspray would have hit parts that were supposed to remain the other color. The same goes for the darker top color getting all over the tops of the sponsons, hoists, etc.

I like it alredy now that it's monochromatic. I'm really not all that excited about doing all the additional color work and masking required for the flashy decal schemes. I'm almost ready to just make it a ultilitarian bird. Having readers that have actually FLOWN THE REAL THING adds to my challenge.

Stay tuned.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Nice work so far!

 

[N4521U]

Room for so much more detail than onna 1/48th kit.
Doing very nicely!

 

[Builder 2010]

Yes, there most certainly is. And thank you! I bit the bullet and painted the top darker color (Tamiya XF-53) freehand and was satisfied with it. I held the gun at angles that would let the edges drift around the curves without fouling any protrusions getting oversprayed.

While this was drying I drilled (my new supply of 0.0125 arrived) the rotor blades to accept the lead wire from the de-ice heaters. I thought they were from the nitrogen leak sensor, but was showed the error of my ways. The leak detector is the plunger that sticking out from the trailing edge. It doesn't report remotely, but shows a white indicator that's easily seen. The real blades are hollow filled with nitrogen. If there's a crack, the nitrogen leaks out, the sensor notes this and alerts the crew that the blades is no longer flyable. This lead is the last wire to tie into the hub along with all the other wires and pipes. It was easy doing this when they weren't on the model.

I also painted the exterior dark parts of the engine hatch and then, after it was dry, put textured black graphic arts tape to simulate the anti-slip tape on the prototype. This door will be open.

I decided on the paint scheme. It requires the entire tail, top and bottom and boom to be gloss black. It also angles onto the fuselage in front of the hinge. At this time I got a nasty shock. The Mission paint has lousy adhesion compared to Tamiya. I tried to mask the de-ice boots on the tail rotor blades and promptly pulled the gray paint off the resin. I touched it up and then had to paint them by hand...ugh!

I thought the paint lifting was limited to resin parts, but then it did the same thing on the boom which was styrene. In other words, Mission paint pulls off. In the future I will have to spray Tamiya primer first and that's aerosol so I'd have to do it outside, which I can't do in winter temperaturs.

Here's the version I'm going with. I like that it doesn't have the lo-viz insignia. Since you have to overcoat the whole deal with gloss so the decals work, the gloss black tail works. There's more flat black over the exhaust on the roof, but that would mean masking. And masking right now could be a problem. I'm going to leave that bit of black off.

I sprayed the tail boom completely with gloss black and then that little bit of the main fuselage. I freehand painted it. It's not great and I back-painted with body color to get it better, but as you'll notice if you look closely at the color sheet, there's a white line decal that demarcates the black and that will hide any unsteadyness.

And here's that tail bit.

I then took the gun in hand and attempted to fuzzy up the bottom color edges. I was taking a helluva risk doing this, but it didn't ruin anything. I'm not sure I like the result, but it did soften the edges a bit.

Here's the tail rotor with the detail painting, but not totally done. I still have to back paint the de-ice boots to get the line a little cleaner. My freehand painting hands are NOT steady! I wish I could have masked, but it would have made a bigger mess.

That brings us up to date.... happy weekend.

 

[Wurger]