Manufacturer: Italeri, distributed by Testor, 620 Buckbee St., Rockford, IL 61104-4891, 815-962-6654.
Kit: No. 007
Scale: 1/72
Price: $19
Comments: Injection molded, 98 parts (1 vinyl), decals.
Pros: Good detail in the cockpit, cabin, engine compartment, and rotor heads, vinyl screen for drive-shaft compartment opening, drooped rotor blades, alternate parts.
Cons: Finicky fit of fuselage halves, panel lines mismatched on fuselage halves, no door guns.
Flying banana? Actually the nickname was carried over from the H-21's ancestor, the Piasecki HRP, of which the U.S. Navy bought only a handful. The H-21 design was larger and more capable and 535 were manufactured. In the USAF, it was known as Workhorse; in the U.S. Army, it was the Shawnee, in keeping with that service's use of native American tribal names. It was used in the transport and combat assault roles during the Vietnam War as well as to develop helicopter gunship configurations.
Italeri continues to fill out its range of 1/72 scale helicopters with this all-new kit of the H-21 Shawnee. Molded in dark olive and clear plastic, the kit looks good in the box. Further examination found no flash, and only one sink hole on the left fuselage half.
A detailed cockpit and cargo compartment including seats and webbing are provided. The rotor heads have good detail, and a Wright R-1820 Cyclone graces the engine bay in the rear fuselage. Realistic droop is molded into the rotor blades, and alternate vertical stabilizers, doors, and rescue equipment are included. I like the fine vinyl screening provided for the drive shaft opening. The clear nose canopy and cabin windows are distortion-free.
Italeri's instructions include a parts map and a paint chart matched to Model Master colors. Decals provide markings for U.S. Army, French Navy, and German Army variants.
I took my time painting and installing the cockpit, cabin, engine and drive shaft subassemblies. Pay close attention to the positioning of the cockpit/cabin compartment. Dry-fit it to the fuselage and then check the fit of the canopy. If the compartment is located too far forward the canopy will not mate to the fuselage properly.
I encountered minor problems while assembling the fuselage. The fit is good but required pressure while gluing to align the parts. Some panels lines did not line up across the halves. A noticeable seam at the joint required filling and sanding.
When assembling and painting the rotors, note that the front rotor rotates counterclockwise (when viewed from above), the rear rotor clockwise. Also, the U.S. Army version had flat white rotor blades. If you are building the Vietnam version you may want to leave off the left front and right rear cabin windows, as it appears this was a standard practice. I was disappointed that no door guns were provided for this version.
I painted my Shawnee with Gunze Sangyo and Polly Scale paints. An extensive decal sheet is provided, with a large selection of stencils. The decals applied without any problems using a small amount of setting solution. I couldn't find photos of this particular helicopter with the white I.D. stripe on the top (decal 2A), so I left it off.
My references were Vietnam: The Helicopter War by Philip D. Chinnery, Airmobile: The Helicopter War in Vietnam by Jim Mesko, and Vietnam: The War In The Air by Rene Francillon. The finished model measures to scale, and took only 18 hours to complete. Helicopter modelers will enjoy Italeri's latest addition.