Finally! An accurate, up-to-date H-34, and the only one since the Revell Germany version of 30 years ago.
I’ve liked this helicopter since I first saw it during war games in Milwaukee in 1959. It’s actually what got me started modeling.
The kit is molded in medium gray plastic with finely engraved panel lines. You get two frets of photoetched metal with all the screening on the forward fuselage and the U-joint housing at the top of the tail for the tail rotor. You also get seat belts for the pilot and copilot, and seats in the cargo bay. Photoetched-metal steps and antennas and a lot of exterior parts hint at future versions.
The only real discrepancy is the color scheme and the mission depicted on the box art. This very helicopter is shown on Page 13 of H-34 Choctaw in Action (Lundh, Sewell, and Basham; Squadron/Signal No. 1146; ISBN 978-0-89747-319-4). The Navy didn’t do in-country rescues; that was left to the Air Force’s Jolly Greens and Huskies. Navy H-34s were used for personnel and supply transport and plane guard duties during deck ops.
The scheme for Navy H-34s assigned to anti-submarine warfare (ASW) like this was engine gray, not sea blue, and that’s how I painted mine. Unfortunately, the kit lacks the proper beacons for ASW choppers.
An external fuel tank is provided with mounting brackets that look like French-style tanks (not used). You also get two rocket canisters (also not used) and a lot of other mysterious, unused parts. I didn’t use the flotation collars, either, but they are an option.
Cockpit detail is pretty accurate, but there are no collectives. The instrument panel is molded in clear with relief; a nice decal is supplied, but you’ll have to paint the instrument panel dark gull gray. You get a full complement of troop seats, including photoetched-metal seat belts.
The engine is a real jewel, but shrouds and housings hide most of it. All it needs is some wiring and plumbing to be an impressive showpiece.
The cockpit, engine, and cargo assemblies come together in Step 4. I’d suggest setting the whole assembly into a fuselage half before the glue sets so everything lines up properly with the fuselage’s molded locators.
The photoetched-metal grillwork follows a compound curve, so you will have to curl parts PE37 and 38 to match. I rubbed the rounded backside of a sculpting tool over the mesh until it started to curl. It doesn’t take much, but it helps the parts conform.
In Step 8, instructions are to glue the cowlings over that nice engine you spent so much time on; designers should have figured out a way to make it removable. Again, photoetched-metal parts PE48 and PE47 should be curled a little.
I’d leave off the parts in steps 11, 12, and 13 (landing gear, antennas, cargo door, and step) until after painting.
A nicely detailed tail rotor is provided, but the glue joint between the blades and the hub is very delicate. Photoetched-metal grilles PE41 and PE42 don’t fit very well into their molded recesses. They’re too long and narrow — just not the right shape.
You can choose a folded or unfolded tail assembly. If you choose the folded version, all the associated bulkheads and internal hinge components are provided. If not, all you will need is the plug from Step 7 (Part J27).
The main-rotor assembly looks great, and the rotor blades are molded with the proper droop. I didn’t use Part K40, the rotor-shaft retainer, so I could remove the rotor for transport.
I glued Part J25 to the fuselage top, at which point the transmission assembly from Step 4 won’t be needed or seen. However, the deck, Part K9, still has to be used because it’s also the ceiling of the cargo bay.
The box art depicts an M60 machine gun in the port cargo window of the helicopter. The machine gun is provided but not used. It seems odd that they got so confused about U.S. Navy colors and armament for such a well-known helicopter.
The model builds up nicely, but the confusing or wrong colors and the configuration aren’t really dedicated to any one helicopter. The closest you will get is the one depicted on the box art — except in engine gray, and with no machine gun.
The decals went on perfectly. But lettering on the stencils was just squiggles, not legible characters.
I spent 38 hours on my model. If you don’t mind a generic Navy version, it’s a great kit.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the July 2013 FineScale Modeler.