Grimmo
Hello all! I want to make a 1/35 CH-47C. Which Trumpeter kit would be ther better to use, and what mods would i have to do to them?
Cheers!
The easiest of the two releases to convert to a C model would be the CH-47D. You will need to check your references for the correct antennae on the lower fuselage and of course only use the center cargo hook if you are going to display the hook.
The cut out on the leading edge of the aft pylon will need to be filled as will the cooling vents on the trailing edge of the pylon above the APU exhaust. Additionally the screen on the top of the forward pylon, aft of the forward rotor head and the cooling vents on the sides of the forward pylon will likewise need to be filled in.
Depending on the time frame you want to depict for your C model, the rotor blades may need to be modified, but some C models had the fiberglass rotor blades installed prior to being sent for conversion to D models
The engine exhaust cones and inlet screens should be fine unless you want to model a C model with T-55-L-7 engines (T-55-L-11s, L-11D, L-11 ASA, and 712s were all longer in length so the exhaust cones protruded more than the smaller engines) The smaller engines used the older inlet screens without the "by-pass" feature found on the inlets of the larger engines installed later (this particular feature was designed to allow the inlet screens to be left in place when flights into icing conditions might occur)
On the left side of the fueslage you will need to install the HF antennna wiring and associated standoffs, again, check your refrences for the appropriate routing of the wiring.
Depending on how detailed you want to get, the engine condition levers in the cockpit should be moved to the center console. D Models had them mounted in the overhead section of the cockpit.
One last note, In the instructions for the smaller Italeri kits, they call for tinting the overhead pilot and co-pilot "eyebrow" windows. None of the CH-47As,Cs, or Ds that I worked on or crewed ever had this tinting. UH-1s...Yes, CH-47s...no
Nothing else comes to mind immediately, except that the interior set for the kit that Cobra Co did, will help a lot, if it is still being offered, it is well worth the money.
HTH
Jonathan Primm