The Sikorsky CH-37 was the first heavy-lift helicopter in U.S. military service. The CH-37C (earlier designated HR2S-1) was known as the "Deuce" in the U.S. Marine Corps. Before jet engines were adapted to helicopters, the solution for providing more power was more engines - in this case, two R-2800 radials housed in separate "power eggs" suspended outside the craft's fuselage. Driveshafts from each led to a central transmission housing that drove the huge (for its time) five-bladed main rotor.
Special Hobby's Deuce is the second release of this kit, following the U.S. Army CH-37B Mojave. The only differences are the decals and choice of parts.
The plastic parts feature fine exterior detail. Resin parts make up much of the cockpit, landing-gear bays, and rotor heads. The tiny photoetched-metal parts include details for the rotor heads, gear struts, and grab handles. Markings for three Marine machines are provided on the excellent decal sheet.
Assembly is complicated by vague instructions that point parts toward their locations, but without locator holes or tabs; fit is by trial and error. The large, flat pour stubs on the cockpit floor and landing-gear bay ceilings are nearly impossible to remove, but don't bother; they fit fine and the stubs are not visible on the finished model.
The most difficult assemblies were the power eggs, each with 11 parts. The representation of the mostly see-through screens around the engines is poor. The screen parts are thick plastic with shallow, coarse depressions to represent the mesh. In case you think aftermarket screens might be coming, they would have to be accompanied by engines and mounts, too, as the basic kit provides none. I tried a dark wash, but the screen is too shallow to hold it.
It is unclear how the landing-gear strut system is mounted. I also was initially confused by the winglets that hold the power eggs; they fit into open holes in each fuselage half, but it's unclear how far they should be inserted. Apparently they are molded to reach each other inside the fuselage.
The Marines version of this helicopter has stabilizers on each side of the rear fuselage. (The Army version has a single large stabilizer precariously mounted at the top of the tail-rotor fin.) Strangely, the stabilizers have mounting pins but no holes or locations molded into the fuselage.
Though they are much longer than those I found in photos, I mounted the auxiliary fuel tanks. I painted the model Testors Model Master field green FS34095, not "gloss olive drab" as indicated in the instructions. On this particular chopper, the instructions point out the dorsal fin, stabilizers, and "eyeballs" on the fronts of the power eggs as international orange (FS12197). The decals were beautifully printed, opaque, and went on easily.
After 42 hours, the model joined my 1/72 scale chopper collection. It was a bit of a struggle, but it's a welcome addition. It sure is ugly, though.
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