hey guys.
as of yet, i have only really made ground vehicles such as this willys jeep:


as you can see, i'm not the best at making models.

i bought the academy 1/35 pave hawk a few months ago, but i don't want to start only to waste my money.

Can you guys show me some of your pave hawk and blackhawk models, especially the interior shots ?

When i get round to buying a crew (pilot and copilot, door gunners and gib's etc) a pair of m134 miniguns to replace the m60's which are as standard on all of the academt h60's by the looks of things.

first, i will "scratch build" a diorama, where a group of soldiers are fast roping from the helicopter. the ropes will be very sturdy, and will act as supports to hold the helo in the air.

they will either be on a grassy hilltop, or above a middle eastern street. I feel the latter would make an interesting diorama/scenario, but the first would be far easier.

Has anybody got any critisism already ?

thanks, Tom

P.S i'm 15 (16 tomorrow) be ncie

Firstly, welcome to Aeroscale. The Academy MH-60G is a pretty good kit. It already includes pretty good M134 Miniguns in it though, so no need to buy replacements.

Your idea for guys fastroping out of it is good, but not very accurate for a US Air Force MH-60G. The USAF uses these helos as rescue birds to rescue downed pilots and such. The US Army uses similar MH-60L Blackhawks to insert Special Operations (Spec Ops) troops by fastrope.

The helo itself can use some updating and detailing if you like, using Cobra Company and Eduard sets.

Here are a few builds I have done with it.

UH-60L Blackhawk and MH-60L DAP Blackhawk

UH-60A Blackhawk MedEvac

USCG MH-60J Jayhawk

USAF HH-60G Pave Hawk

Here is some more info on Army Spec Ops MH-60Ls from Somalia (Blackhawk Down) too. It will give you some general info on MH-60Ls.

There are lots of posts here about USAF MH/HH-60Gs too.

The only other issue I see with your dio plan is balancing the helo on 2 fastropes. To balance the helo would be pretty hard. I have seen it done, but it was a real pain in the arse.


Here is a dio done at ARC by Adam Kijak that is similar to what you describe. He used bicycle wheel spokes to support the helo. You can read more about it here.

If you do a search for MH-60G, MH-60L, UH-60L or UH-60A here at Aeroscale, you will come up with a bunch of great and helpful threads.

Let me know if you need any more help on it.

Good luck.

Hi, Gino. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Also, thank you for pointing out that the pave hawks would not be used for getting people in to the battle, but instead they would be used for Csar.

Going by this, i've had another idea. The bird is just about to land, like really not far off the ground and soldiers are rushing to the helicopter. I think that'd make for something a bit more interesting and the risk of the helo falling and breaking would be greatly reduced.

I'd have it landing on tall grass so i could hide whatever struts i use to support the pave hawk. Much like this photo, but the angle would be more shallow and it would be closer to the ground.

Do you know roughly how much the aftermarket sets , especially the eduard kit, would set me back since i can only really find reviews.

Again, thanks so much for the help, info and links !!
tom

I don't see a photo, but I think I follow what you have in mind. It sounds pretty good.

The Eduard sets run about $20 USD each for an interior and an exterior set.

Cobra Company's sets can be found at their website. I highly recommend the MH/HH-60G Update and detail set. It dresses the Academy kit up nicely. With it, the Eduard sets are really not needed in my opinion.

You can follow my HH-60G build for pointers too.

Beginning

Update 1

Update 2

Done

nice, so they're not amazingly expensive. and the cobra kit is all resin, so i wouldn't worry about me breaking pe stuff

this is the photo i was meaning. i forgot to copy it-
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/affacts/blmh-60gpavehawk.htm

tom, if i rember correctly pararescue jumpers are regulary deployed via pavehawk
cmk make these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CMK-1-35-US-Special-Forces-Medics-UH-60-F35197-2-Figs-/180704321174?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a12d11e96
i also belive nemrod make a set with a a p.j in
alternativly cmk make these marines that would fit what your intending perfectly

http://www.modelimex.com/1-35-us-marines-in-iraq-wounded-soldier-2-medics
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CMK-1-35-US-Marines-Iraq-Transporting-Soldier-into-UH-60-5-Figures-F35196-/170777286725?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c31e9845

The CMK sets are so-so. The Spec Forces medics are junk and don't look like anything other than standard crewmen on a helo.

The two USMC wounded sets are ok. I have both about half built. I replaced all the standing/kneeling figures with others that I had. About the only good parts are the wounded, but the stretchers suck. I cut them off the stretchers and used plastic stretchers from the Academy M997 Ambulance kit.

The biggest problem with the CMK figures is that their clothing folds are really sharp and not realistic looking. All of them have the exact same gear as well. Lastly, the figures for the standing guys all have on JSLIST chemical suits so they are only appropriate for early in the initial invasion of Iraq, up until about mid-ARP '03.

Look here for some good crewmen. I highly recommend the Nemrod sets, but they are hard to find now.

dan, thanks for that idea. I think i've stuck with that second idea now lol. i'm like that, if i think of something.. it gets done if it's right.

gino, thanks. i think the uh60 crew set of 4 would be best since i need to get pilots before i finish the kit !

The next question is when do you want the aircraft to represent? Out of the box, the Academy kit (minus the .50 cals in the doors, they were only tested in this position and not used operationally) represents an early '90s MH-60G under AFSOC. The Cobra Company set will allow you to build anything from a '90s MH-60G to pretty much a current HH-60G (minus the external gun and ammo can mounts -- for now anyways. ).

That brings up the next question...is it going to be an MH-60G or an HH-60G? MH-60G and an HH-60G are the same aircraft. The name changed depending on who in the USAF they fell under. When they were under AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command), they were called MH for Multi-Mission Helicopter. When under ACC (Air Combat Command), they were labeled HH, the designation for a Rescue Helicopter.

Here are a few options.

You could do one of the few desert camo (brown and sand) MH-60Gs from the 55th Spec Ops Wing during ODS ('90-'91).


You could also go with an early to mid '90s Euro 1 camo (dark green, medium green, and medium gray) scheme as you posted earlier in your pic.


To make a later version, you have to add some things. A good start, as I have said, is to get the Cobra Company MH/HH-60G update set.

This pic shows most of the latest upgrades for more current HH-60Gs, including the external weapons and ammo can mounts.


My HH-60G is based on this helo from Iraq in 2003 stationed out of Davis-Monthan AFB, NM. It has a camo scheme very similar to the older 3-color (sand, brown, and khaki green) DCU uniforms worn at the time. Only a few were painted in this camo scheme as well.



Most current ones are painted in AFSOC Grey (Gunship grey, FS 36118 is really close).


To muddy the waters even more, the color schemes are not a definitive indicator of time and type of aircraft. There are still Euro 1 camo HH-60Gs with most, if not all of the block 152 upgrades flying. The AFSOC Grey repaint usually occurs when it goes in for depot level rebuild. Some units and/or contractors are able to add the different upgrade parts w/out a depot level rebuild. So repaints are slow to come.

Also, some have the newer, center nose mounted (a.k.a snoopy nose) weather radar and others still have the lower left offset weather radar in both Euro 1 camo and AFSOC Grey. The same is the case for the newer, external weapons and ammo can mounts as well.

The best bet is to find a picture of one you want to build and copy it. The features have changed quite a bit and still change often as technology and tactics change.

Good luck on it and let me know if you have any more questions.

Hi Gino.
The very bottom one, has that got the newer nose thing in the centre or the older one on the left of the nose ?

i think that would be something i would be interested in.. is that a hh60g ??

i think the gunship grey single colour scheme would be the best for me since i'm not really wanting to try camo yet seeing as i don't want to ruin the helo

thanks mate

The bottom one is an HH-60G with the offset to the lower left weather radar on the nose. It also has the external gun and ammo can mounts, but you could build it with internal mounts.

Here is a similar one in AFSOC Grey with internal gun mounts and offset weather radar.