This week’s update on the Black Hawk covers the assembly and detailing of the fuselage. The rotor transfer case was assembled and detailed with photo etch then painted. The cabin/cockpit roof was then detailed with photo etch and some styrene rods. The tail rotor and main wheels were detailed. The fuselage was then assembled. The fit was average. It required some putty around the nose and the top just behind the main rotor. I dry fit the kit windshield and top section above the cockpit. This fit was very poor. The windows above the cockpit were too small to fit into the section and the windshield did not line up very well to the nose and doors. I instead used the canopy section from the1/48 Minicraft UH-60 kit. This is a one piece clear section. Remarkably it lined up very well. I polished it, taped off the window sections with kapton tape, and installed it.
Next came the numerous photo etch detail parts for the fuselage. The vents and screens molded on the kit were cut out and the photo etch parts were formed and placed. The photo etch adds the correct formation lights, landing light, various cable cutters, antenna’s, and panels. There is even photo etch details that go in the main wheels. Last night I made the specific decals to match the reference photos of the actual Black Hawk. I am currently working on the fuselage getting it ready for base coat of paint.