Hallo rotorheads! I'm looking to pick your brains on the subject of a Medevac Blackhawk.

I've been trying to research a little over the course of the past few days but i'm starting to find all the variant designations a bit overwhelming when i'm trying to consider which kit i need to buy and which conversions need to be made.
I'm also looking to push my skill set and introduce some PE and resin.

The specifications i'm looking at are :
1/48 scale
US Army Medevac

I've noticed that Werner's Wings has a nice interior set for the stretcher carousel so I'll probably go for that I think as well as their matching decal set.

There are also many nice PE sets from Eduard and the like for blackhawks but again confusion reigns where designation letters come into play.

Please help a newly interested chopper modeler!

Oh and in my failed researchings i came upon this image which raised a smile
(c) US ARMY

As you probably have seen, there are a few different MedEvac versions out there. Basically there are two in the US Army. The most common is a standard Black Hawk out fitted as a MedEvac, usually a UH-60A or UH-60L. These have a litter stacker added to the cargo compartment that can hold 6 litter patients and four seats along the back wall for 4 ambulatory patients, along with the two medic/crew chief seats forward in the gunner/CC windows.

UH-60L MedEvac



The other, less common version, is the HH-60L or HH-60M. This is a specifically built air ambulance with advanced life-saving equipment and a special interior designed for medical evac and transport. It has a redesigned interior with six fixed litter racks, vital sign monitors, oxygen systems, etc. The interior layout is different with the litters forward and crew/medic seats to the rear. It also has no gunners' windows and a nose-mounted "Platypus" FLIR. The "Platypus" FLIR is available from Werner's Wings in 1/35.

HH-60M MedEvac



I built a UH-60A MedEvac in 1/35 a few years ago, using the excellent Werner's Wings products and Academy's 1/35 Black Hawk. I also used some of the Cobra Company detail sets and and Eduard PE to dress mine up. You can see it here.

For 1/48, I recommend the Academy/Minicraft UH-60Aor L kit, along with the Werner's Wings products. WWs stuff are really nice and easy to work with. I know the modeller (our own Mother - Joseph Szczygielski - at Aeroscale) who mastered the MedEvac parts and he did a great job on them. I reviewed the 1/48 MedEvac Interior set here.

With a little work, you can come up with a stunning model. Good luck with it and be sure to post your progress here.

Many thanks Gino, that's exactly the kind of info I needed to clear things up. I had noticed that there were HH designated Blackhawks which added to the confusion but I hadn't realised that they were specifically designed as air ambulances as opposed to the converted UH's.
Considering the Werner's kit is for the UH type i'll likely go down that route. Whilst an intriguing option, the HH60 looks like a minefield of scratchbuilding which I'm not quite ready for yet!

Paul,

The second setup that Gino is describing is the "Interim MEDEVAC Mission Support System (IMMSS)." Found Here It is installed on existing UH-60 A/L. However every unit that I have heard that deployed to Afghanistan with it removed it due to weight. Thats what happens when you let non-flyers design an aircraft.
Most missions after the invasion were flown with no carousel, a rescue hoist on the right side, sponson mounted FLIR on the left step, two litters on the floor with med gear all along the backwall and in the jump seat between the medic and the crew chief.
On a side note Cobra Company did a step mounted FLIR. So there are options as far as which MedEvac you want to fly.

Dan

Not really, the IMMSS is a drop in system to give a standard UH-60A/L similar capabilities to an HH-60M.

From the linked website:
"The final product shall have the same medical capabilities as the HH-60M Black Hawk MEDEVAC helicopter that is currently being fielded for rapid evacuation of the wounded warfighter."

I was describing the HH-60L/M itself, which is what I have pictured above.

Externally, an aircraft w/IMMSS looks the same as a standard UH-60A/L with a different rear cargo door window. It still has the gunners'/crew chiefs windows too.

Gino, it's only now that the Lifesavers campaign is over that I've remembered about this thread. Apologies for the overdue progress pics! If you're bothered you can look back at the process in the campaign from page 5.
Lifesavers campaign





Once again, thanks for helping get this build off the ground.

Paul - It came out looking great. The Werner's Wings set is really nice. There is only one issue I see with it. Above the divider between the cargo doors and the gunners' windows, there should be a bulged cover over the attachment points for the External Stores Support System (ESSS) wings and two smaller covers a little more than half-way down (above the wheel, just below the gunner's window) on the divider piece. These have been on all Black Hawks since the late '80s to early '90s. Since yours has the HIRSS exhausts (installed about the same time), it should also have the covers. Only the earliest UH-60As did not have these.

You can see the areas I am talking about in the below pic.

Thanks Gino. I'll take that as a big compliment if you thought the interior was Werner's! I looked into getting the Werner's resin set but had to scratch the interior myself after I realised the shipping costs to the UK were just too much to justify. Pity though as the extra details like the rolled up stretchers etc are really nice.




Ah yes I see now, I was too focused on the interior stuff to catch that detail.

Really great job on the scratch interior. Excellent work.

That is great looking. Did you use Werner's Wings decals? Would you mind if I posted these on the Werner's Wings webpage?

Again looks great.
Floyd

Hi Floyd, many thanks for looking! I'd be honoured to have my model on your website but unfortunately it would be false advertising!

I emailed you a while back fully intending to get the resin but I found the shipping costs prohibitive so had to bite the bullet and do all the work myself.
It has to be said that if I lived in the US I would have used your medevac resin and decals for sure as they are top notch.

No worries. It looks great regardless.
Floyd