Skunkmodels Workshop have issued a good model of the HH-60J, and Joe Szczygielski, a.k.a. Mother, created a beautiful build of this beautiful bird for us!

(1:48) HH-60J Jay Hawk United States Coast Guard

Hello fellow modelers, here is one of my latest builds courtesy of AeroScale. Before we get started I’d like to point out that this kit was reviewed by Fred Boucher (JPTRR) and can be seen through the link Review by Fred Boucher (JPTRR) below.

Also this will be built strictly out of the box as I will not add any missing detail or point out any inaccuracies.

Putting it Together

Like most kits you will have some flash that will need to be cleaned up. The plastic is pretty soft and there is some nice soft engraved detail and rivets around the fuselage. It does disappear on the underside and nose area which is no real problem.

Like most aircraft you start off in the cockpit area. There is one critical part though, you must remove a section from the instrument panel to add the photo etch two piece instrument panel. It won’t fit properly without doing so.

The photo-etch instrument panel, center and overhead console are a nice feature and they pretty much match the real J-Hawk. Photos 1a, 1b

Parts D11 are not found on the real HH-60J. They are support poles to hold up the ceiling.

The cargo bay area lacks in detail throughout the whole area. On a real J-Hawk the area is pretty busy with seats, medical bags and rescue equipment.

There are some extra troop seats (parts 15, 16 and 19) in the kit so I added them to the wall for extra detail. Photo 1, 2, 3

The instruction sheet is vague in step 2, photo etch parts 8 and 9. After folding the box you’ll notice a small square hole that needs to be aligned with the hole in the fuselage. Photo 4, 5, 6

Transmission and rotor shaft. I only installed the transmission (part 17B). The rest of the parts were assembled and will be added later in the build. I omitted (part 15a) a lock ring which holds the shaft in place.

Also in step 2 is where they have you install the side windows (parts 19c, 18c). They don’t fit into opening and are installed in the sliding doors in step 7.

Word of advice, I skipped ahead and went and installed all the clear window pieces. It’ll be a lot easier to get at with having nothing in the way, and save you from a headache. They parts fit terribly but managed to get them in place and masked. Photo 7

I went ahead and assembled the tail rotor and again opted to add it later. Before you close up the fuselage be sure to have your holes drilled.

Painting cockpit and cargo area

The cockpit was painted in Tamiya’s NATO Black XF-69 with a few highlights in Tamiya’s Semi-Gloss Black.

The cargo bay floor was painted in Tamiya Sky Grey XF-19.

And for the cargo bay walls and ceiling I mixed a close color match using Tamiya’s Sky Blue X-14 AND Tamiya’s Sky Grey XF-19. If you want a lighter color then mix in a touch of Tamiya Gloss White.

Closing up the Fuselage

I started at the upper nose working the whole top of the fuselage to the rear. Once dried I started on the bottom from front to rear. There was a gap in the bottom section which I filled with super glue followed by a sanding. Photo 8

In step 2 there is an option to change out the pilots doors like the originals on the J-Hawk, I skipped this option.

Ok it’s guess-at-mation time! In step 5 there are 10 pieces (antenna, lights and such) that are placed on the bottom side of the fuselage. There are no indication marks to where they go.

In step 6 you install the exhaust upper half (part3). There is a gap which I filled using a .005mm sheet. Once the liquid cement dried used a sharp knife to remove the piece followed by a light sanding. Photo 9

The extended pylons went together well. Photo 10

The rest of the build went together well. I left of a few more pieces to make painting easier.
1) wheels and struts
2) wiper blades
3) mirrors
4) pilots tubes

These parts were added after painting.

The photo etch basket was built without any problems and glued to cargo floor. Photo 11

Painting

I started out by using Tamiya’s White X-2. After it dried I masked of the orange area and sprayed it Model Masters International Orange. I then masked off for the flat black section and sprayed with Model Masters Flat Black.

It was then given a coat of Future Floor wax and decaled. The decals went on like a charm and ran into no problems. Photos 12 thru 19

Finished!

Photos 19 thru 27 Being that it’s an Italeri Sea Hawk kit with J-Hawk parts and decal mixed in it does build up nicely. I will add this though, if you really like to build this up I say get yourself Eduard’s Sea Hawk exterior Photo Etch set which will enhance if deeply.

Happy Modeling,
Joe!

Please remember to tell model manufacturers and sellers that you saw this model here—on AEROSCALE.