Italeri 1/72 HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant Build
By Richard 'RJ' Tucker
| Date of | February 2017 | Manufacturer | Italeri |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant | Scale | 1/72 |
| Kit Number | 1035 | Primary Media | Styrene |
| Pros | Used Airfix HH-53 for detail parts | Cons | See text |
| Skill Level | Moderate | MSRP (USD) | OOP |
Build
This HH-53 was built for a friend who flew HH-53 CSAR missions in Vietnam; he logged a few missions in this helo. He went on to become a Chaplain and serve as Chief of Chaplains of the Air Force. This is the Italeri kit of the USAF Super Jolly Green Giant based in S. Vietnam in 1971-2. I, also, used the ancient MPC kit as a parts donor. Both kits have their strengths and weaknesses. I based this on the Italeri kit since my MPC kit had a short shot on the clear spruce. The Italeri kit has no interior, so I added enough to suggest more detail than is really there. The frames and overhead are Evergreen plastic strips and sheet plastic.
Two stretchers are plastic angle stock and floral wire. The fabric is a paper towel sprayed with wood sealer then painted with MM enamel. The belts are painted foil from a wine bottle.
Crew bench is the same as the stretchers. Back webbing is painted foil cut into strips and glued together.
Jungle canopy penetrator is plastic rod and square stock.
Ammo boxes are thick plastic sheet and strip; filed to shape.
The kit mini-guns are in in a scratch built mounting made from (ancient) parts out of the old Revell USS Constitution kit and plastic stock. Handles are painted wire. The spent-brass collection bags are painted paper towel like the stretchers. The aft mini-gun doesn't have a bag; it has chute to direct the casings over the cargo ramp. The brass chute is wire insulation.
Ammo fed tracks are made out of nylon cable ties painted metallic grey with the teeth painted brass. A black wash over the teeth provides depth.
Testors Model Master paints cover the plastic and the decals are from the kit. The base is a wood plaque with sheet plastic providing the tarmac.
I'm not much of a figure painter as you can see, but he does give a good visual as to how big this beast really is! The emblems came from the local airbase uniform shop. (uniform stuff is available online.) The trophy shop down the street did the placards. The resulting model and display was a hit with the pilot!