Italeri 1/72 OH-13s Sioux

[Thumboy]

Hi everybody,

well I thought that the six wheel SIG would be my last ISM build for the year but I was wrong. I have decided to revisit an old enemy... the Italeri OH-13. I don't know what it is about helicopters, I have only had two. this one and the 1/72 Hind from Tamiya and they have been the hardest kits to finish. I can normally finish a 1/72 aircraft in 2-3 week but the choppers take months. As this is the only unfinished kit I have at the moment I thought I would share my frustration with you guys. its a bit like therapy.

the kit came second hand from an auction website and promised all the parts were there unfortunately this proved to be incorrect but it did have the bonus of the Eduard P.E set which wasn't mentioned in the auction. the P.E set would replace one of the missing parts but not the main body of the little chopper which was no where to be found... the kit was useless . the guy who sold it to me and gave me my money back and I was going to call it a day and keep it for spars. but then I had a thought I wonder if italeri could replase the part??? a very very long shot I know. but a parts request and a couple of emails in broken English later (and $4) I had a shiny new part for my chopper. quite amazing but kudos to italeri for coming through.

when I orignaly got this kit I was going to save it for the Vietnam GB but I was so excited I started it early. it was my first time with P.E and having seen some of the amazing models made on this forum using P.E I couldn't wait.

The kit as it stands





The indecipherable instructions from Eduard




I hope now you understand why I need therapy after working on this kit. talk about jumping in at the deep end with the P.E!!! the Tamiya paint is in the photos to give you an idea of scale so you can see what I am up against. As I pick this build up again the engine is just about finished except for needing a scratch built exhaust (thanks for that eduard - there idea not mine) and the tail is nearly there but I have still to tackle the rotors and the interior and deal with a very scratched bubble canopy.

cheers guys, wish me luck

[Nev]

Good luck mate

[Yevgeny]

That look fiddly
The frame looks impressive mind

[UKguyInUSA]

That's going to look awesome with all that PE work going into it, looking forward to seeing your end result

[Thumboy]

thanks guys I wish I had your confidence. i guess this GB was always destined to have a low finish rate, all the models have ended up on the shelf covered in dust and unloved for a reason. it can be very hard to find the energy to get them down from the shelf make a go of it. I have opened the tub of doom about 10 times since this build stalled and closed it up again very quickly. but now i have started this build thread i am determined to finish ( and try to do a good job along the way )

A Bit of History

The Bell H-13 (model 47) 'Sioux' light observation helicopter was first flown in 1946 and owed it's credentials to it's predecessor, the Bell Model 30. The Bell Sioux, with a crew of three, was one of the most popular light utility helicopters ever built. The Bell model 47 was produced continuously from 1946 to 1973, and by Agusta, in Italy, through 1976. Produced in 20 different configurations, with model numbers ranging from A to T, the Bell model 47 was used in 40 countries.

The H-13 and its military variants were often equipped with medical evacuation panniers, one to each skid, with an acrylic glass shield to protect the patient from wind.
A single 260 hp Lycoming VO-435 piston engine was fitted to the 47G variant. Fuel was fed from two high-mounted external tanks. A single two-bladed rotor with short inertial stabilising minor blades was used on the Sioux.

The H-13 earned the nickname "Angel of Mercy" for evacuating some 18,000 United Nation's casualties during the war. The Sioux also saw service during the early days of the Vietnam war before the fielding of the OH-6A Cayuse in early 1968.

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 3
Length: 31 ft 7 in (9.63 m)
Main rotor diameter: 2× 37 ft 0 in (11.3 m)
Height: 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
Gross weight: 2952 lb (1339 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming TVO-435-A1A, 260 hp (194 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)
Cruise speed: 84 mph (135 km/h)
Range: 273 miles (439 km)
Service ceiling: 16100 ft (4907 m)

Armament
The OH-1 was capable of carrying twin M37C.30 calibre machine guns, or twin M60 machine guns. They rarely did so however, because the guns' recoil was too great a strain on the engines.

Photographs







thanks for looking. see you soon for the first build update

[Thumboy]

Update #1


normally in update #1 i would have a nice shiny new kit and would be cutting out parts for the cockpit and priming. but in this update... i am cutting out parts for the cockpit and priming. i decided that i couldn't face the P.E for the rotor just seemed a bit overkill for very little extra effect from just using the kit parts. but i did use some P.E for the cockpit. floor plates and the first time using P.E seatbelts. normally i would make my own but after this i will try to get P.E seat belts for all my builds they just make the cockpit look so much better. and as the cockpit is in a goldfish bowl i am very happy to have them.

here are some photos of the progress







a nice shiny canopy, it looked like it had had a rough time of it when i got it but some metal polish has made it look like new.



i make a little base for all my builds. this one is just fine and course sand glued to a thin plastic base with a white MDF base under that. i will try to find some Vietnam looking foliage to give it a bit of context.





i am feeling a bit happier about the build now i have some progress and some paint on. next i will add some more details to the model that i really should have done before the paint. the cockpit needs attention as it is all seen and i will scratch build the exhausts and fuel lines which didn't come with the P.E.

this is one crazy model, normally when building a plane or tank you have lots of panels with lines to pick-out with a wash and a bit of detail in the cockpit and landing gear. this whole model is detail!!!

[UKguyInUSA]

That's looking pretty awesome to me so far mate, and you made a previous comment..."I wish I had your confidence"....it looks like you have plenty of it, to me

[Thumboy]

Thanks Martin, great to have you back on the forum mate.

Update #2

time for some scratch building not too much but at this scale it can get very fiddly.

this is what eduard would like me to make. the kit exhaust wont fit now because of all the P.E on the engine so I don't have much choice.



but where to get some styrene the right size?? I checked my spairs box and found the tail from the kit that I replaced with the P.E. - stoke of luck



some time later



next was the fuel lines on top of the fuel tanks, quite a prominent feature I was surprised it was not included it the kit or P.E. I also added some more detail in the cockpit - wires on the console made from ez line and paint the dials also a gloss coat ready for decals.







I think I am starting to enjoy this build... but I still have the italeri decals coming up next.

thanks for looking, see you in update #3 for decals

[Thumboy]

Update #3

as expected the italeri decals gave me a few problems, fortunately there are not too many of them. first problem was the stars on the fuel tanks they really didn't want to conform lots of micro set and sol and they are ok but not great. the next problem was the large star that is supposed to go on the underside of the cockpit, it is too big. but I think this might have been a problem of my own making. the little detail parts (areal and light) are in the way, they should have been further forward for the decal to fit. I followed the instructions to the letter so I am going to blame italeri for this one as well I ended up using a smaller star supposed to be for the tail fin.

but on top of those problems the decals are very glossy and out of register







after the decals were dry I touched out the white edges with some thin paint and added a homemade oil wash to the cockpit and fuel tanks then sprayed the matt coat. then the finishing touches a bit of chipping done with a silver pencil and the canopy glued on.

so I can now call this shelf of doom kit finished. I still need to finish the base but it is a big weight off my shoulders to have this tiny kit finished. I wont lie it was tuff doing all the p.e but it adds so much more detail and scale to the kit it is worth the extra effort. I doudt I will ever do another kit that has such high proportion of p.e.

thanks for looking and following my build, I will do one more update for the base.

the finished chopper

[Thumboy]

Update #4

over the past couple of days I have finished the small base for my OH-13

first of all I work out my layout. the plants are made from some very cheap palm tree models stolen from my daughters toy box. I cut off the branches and glued them together to make a fern type plant.


I made some small trunks for the plants from milliput




the finished base ready for the chopper. I added some highlights and low lights with humbrol weathering powder. I also added some static grass




and here she is all finished


thanks for looking, I will post more photos in the reveals section