Italeri 1/72 scale MH-47E "SOA" Chinook

Manufacturer: Italeri, distributed by Testor, 620 Buckbee St., Rockford, IL, 61104, 815-962-6654,
www.testors.com
Kit: No. 1218 Scale: 1/72
Price: $20
Comments: Injection-molded, 213 parts, decals
Pros: Good detail, excellent clear parts, poseable hatches
Cons: Surgery necessary to complete this version, new parts don't fit well

The MH-47E SOA (Special Operations Aircraft) Chinook is specially equipped for the covert insertion and extraction of special operations forces. Special gear bolted inside and outside of the familiar cargo helicopter equip it for night flying, terrain following, and defense against antiaircraft missiles and enemy ground forces. The MH-47E is also the first in the Chinook production series to be equipped with an in-flight refueling probe and enlarged conformal fuel tanks for extended range.


Italeri's MH-47E is a modification of its standard Chinook kit, and thus some of the parts included on the sprues for the earlier version go unused. The parts have good recessed panel lines, but a little flash. The clear parts are excellent.

You can pose the rear cargo ramp, main cargo hook access door, and the crew entry door windows opened or closed.

The 10-page, 12-step instruction sheet is well-illustrated and easy to follow, but parts placement is vague in spots.


Lately, some model manufacturers have extended their range of kits by issuing alternate versions that require some "plastic surgery" by the builder. This chopper is one of those kits. The original Chinook sponsons on the sides of the fuselage have to be cut away (along interior guidelines) and replaced by the enlarged sponsons provided. The new sponsons require filling and sanding around the joining lines.

The cockpit is well-detailed with a control panel, seats, collective controls, "rudder" pedals, and cyclic controls. The rear cabin lacks detail except for raised pad eyes on the floor. This is no big problem if you keep the doors shut.

The overall parts fit was OK, but the separate bottom pan fit poorly to the fuselage. Once the fuselage and engine assemblies were completed, most of my time was consumed by placing the small detail parts on the exterior of the aircraft. Radar warning receivers, a cargo sling hook, satellite communication antennas, UHF and VHF antennas, forward- looking infrared (FLIR) sensors, a terrain-avoidance-radar pod, air-refueling probe, door guns, and a rescue hoist all had to be attached on the model's underside, top and sides ... whew!


I suggest adding the landing gear in step 7 instead of step 9 to protect the small parts on the bottom of the helicopter. I assembled the rotor blades, but didn't attach them until the fuselage was finished.

I painted my special ops Chinook with Testor Model Master U.S. Army helo drab and a black wash. The decals went on without problems and reacted well to Solvaset. I used the Aerofax/Minigraph 27 Boeing CH-47 Chinook by David Anderton and Jay Miller for scale references and the World Air Power Journal Volume 38 for detail references on the MH-47E.
Despite the surgery and the fill problems, I really liked this kit and will probably build another. It's not for the beginner, due to the surgery and small parts. Once finished, though, it has a great, rugged, serious look to it - one that we may see more of on the nightly news.