Was doing a little housekeeping today and while dusting this piece off I was reminded of all it had been through. This was my first helicopter model done several years ago so the standard of construction is not quite up to what I do today but still I wanted to share it with you.
This is the FM 1/48 multi media kit of the Sikorsky H-5 or S-51 depending on the branch of service. It had several resin pieces inside such as the dash along with a fret of PE. I think one of the most interesting features of the model was that the entire fuselage and canopy was cast as a pair of clear pieces.
The instructions were somewhat vauge and with no real previous knowledge of helicopters I glued the main rotors on backwards (with super-glue) so had to come back a few years later, break them off and reglue in the correct position. Then there was the time one of my cats kind of slid into it during a tussle with another one of my cats - busted all the interior stuff loose so I had to cut the front glazing off, rebuild the interior and reattach the glazing. There’s still a chip on the front step support from that piece of combat.
That rotor head certainly was a piece of work. This was probably the first model I worked on with white metal pieces (yup that main head is white metal) combined with PE details and attaching the plastic blades to everything - gave me a real run for my money it did. In the end it all came together pretty nice and gives me something a little different on the model shelves so full of propellers.
Ah well, she sure has taken a beating but still looks pretty good for her age. Thanks for letting me ramble on here folks - happy modeling.