CH-53E Progress Pics.

ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

CH-53E Progress Pics.

Posted by ridleusmc on Sunday, January 23, 2005 7:56 AM

A CH-53E, by nature, is a very large, dirty, difficult, flying goo-ball. These pictures illustrate my attemps to capture a 53's personality in 1/72 scale. It's part Italeri and part Revell/Germany (same molds). I chose this particular aircraft for two reasons:

1. During the opening of Operation Iraqi Freedom it was the most reliable aircraft in the squadron. Like the Energizer Bunny, it just kept going... and going... and going.

2. It's the last CH-53E in the Marine Corps to have all black markings. Which does make decaling much easier.

The first pic is after initial painting. The second shows it after non-skid application. And the last two are after decals. Soon I will begin extinsive weathering to make it a true flying goo-ball.

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LemonJello

Member since
February 2004
From: Green Lantern Corps HQ on Oa

Posted by LemonJello on Sunday, January 23, 2005 9:32 AM

Looking real good so far. Can't wait to see it weathered. Keep the photos coming.

A day in the Corps is like a day on the farm; every meal is a banquet, every paycheck a fortune, every formation a parade... The Marine Corps is a department of the Navy? Yeah...The Men's Department.

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grandadjohn

Member since
February 2003
From: phoenix

Posted by grandadjohn on Sunday, January 23, 2005 10:40 AM

Looks good, will wait for final photo's

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rjkplasticmod

Member since
February 2003
From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State

Posted by rjkplasticmod on Sunday, January 23, 2005 11:46 AM

Good work so far. Keep om grinden.

Regards, Rick

RICK

At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...

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Cobrahistorian

Member since
December 2002
From: Aaaaah.... Alpha Apaches... A beautiful thing!

Posted by Cobrahistorian on Sunday, January 23, 2005 11:55 AM

Looks gooey... I mean good!

"1-6 is in hot"

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 23, 2005 2:46 PM

Sweet.... My cousin is an instructor in air-frame mechs on the shitter over at new river. This bird is going to rock, keep up the pics rolling. Whered you find the kit at, Ive been looking for the kit since I got out of the Corps 6 months ago.
Mem
Cpl IRR
3rdbn 2dMar

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ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted by ridleusmc on Sunday, January 23, 2005 5:38 PM

I found the kit on Ebay. Who's your cousin? I probably know him.

Jacksonville has a pretty cool little modeling club. We meet every other Saturday. The next meeting will be at the Hobby Chest at 2 on Feb 5. You're welcome to come join us.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 23, 2005 5:51 PM

Very nice, Chris! I'll be sure to hit up Evil-bay soon for an example. Fell out of one of those suckers, once. Good thing I had a monkey belt on!! - Calvin

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 23, 2005 6:19 PM

Looks like the ol' girl is coming along nicely. Smile [:)]

Can't wait to see her finished. I remember seeing the AMRR reports between 464 and 462...there was quite a difference.

Semper Fi!

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AH1Wsnake

Member since
December 2002
From: Modeling anything with "MARINES" on the side.

Posted by AH1Wsnake on Sunday, January 23, 2005 7:48 PM

Looks great so far, Chris. Keep on rollin!

"There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and those who have met them in battle. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion."

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, January 24, 2005 5:38 AM

How are you going to do the oil stains? Im working on a A-1J Skyraider Tamiya 1/48 scale kit and trying to figure out the weathering for oil stains and exhaust. Oh and the cousins name is Wayron "Rawl" Kersey
Mem

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ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted by ridleusmc on Monday, January 24, 2005 1:42 PM

I think I met him once or twice at the "100 Proof." There are 5 guys over there that have left the 464 airframes shop within the last 2 years, so I often run into the school house instructors.

I'm not sure how I'm going to do the oil stains. I was thinking about mixing some transparent orange (with a little brown) with Future for the oil stains, and maybe some transparent red with future for hydraulic fluid. I'll have to do some experimenting though.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, January 24, 2005 2:12 PM

She looks great Chris. Last time I saw he rshe was all black and you were sanding the seams on her. Looks like you got alot done in the duty hut over the weekend.

By the way. How did you mask her off to apply that nonskid. the sponses look outstanding.

Paul

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, January 24, 2005 2:55 PM

Where did you get the no-skid at?? Im thinking about using it on the skyraider instead of the cheesy black decal that looks like some sort of mistake with black paint. Looking good dude, I want to see this thing when you get done
Mem

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, January 24, 2005 2:58 PM

One thing I cant tell from the pics, on the back vert. stab. is the lower section grated like it is in real like, or did they do a cheesy style? I think I remember the 53e's having the lower section on the rear boom with a grate on it, but Im not sure
mem

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ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted by ridleusmc on Monday, January 24, 2005 11:56 PM

Paul, yeah, I applied all the decals in the duty hut.

The non-skid is Tamiya Black Acrylic (XF-1) mixed with baking soda. Enough baking soda to make it into a thick, gritty paste. I then masked it off with Tamiya Masking Tape. Then I dabbed (not brushed) the paste onto the airframe. I'd take off the tape and let it dry. The stuff turns out looking a little too large and out of scale, but all it takes is a light scrape with an x-acto to make it look right. If you overdo it with the x-acto it looks chipped, worn and weathered. I'm happy with the way it turned out. I got my inspiration from months of putting non-skid (glorified paint with sand) on the real chopper. I used some stickers I picked up at staples to mask off the "circular man-hole-covers" on the sponsons. I think the stickers were meant to be used with 3 ring binders or something.

Oh yeah, the grates are molded in there. It looks kinda cheesy, but a little black wash/panel line treatment should do the trick.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 25, 2005 2:12 PM

Sweet bro,
sounds like this might be the next model I pick up after I finish my skyraider.
Semper Fi

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DDG_79

Member since
October 2004

Posted by DDG_79 on Tuesday, January 25, 2005 2:39 PM

Where did you get the black decals for this? I am currently building the Pave Low III conversion but I need Amercian decals. Looks nice so far. Hope to see your final as well.

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Duke Maddog

Member since
June 2003
From: Rowland Heights, California

Posted by Duke Maddog on Tuesday, January 25, 2005 2:58 PM

Awesome work Chris! Puts mine to shame! Thanks for the tip on the non-skid. I have an A-1 Skyraider in the stash pile in 1/72 scale to try that on. Your tip should be sent to Finescale for publication.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 25, 2005 7:10 PM

hey ridleusmc, nice work. how is the fit and detail of the kit? i was planning on building one.

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ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted by ridleusmc on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 3:42 AM

DDG 79, Most of the decals either came with the Italeri boxing of the kit, or the Revell kit. I made the Buraeu number, aircraft Model and "Condors" decals with Testors decal paper.

Duke, I'll send it in.

Jay, the fit's OK, but the detail is a little lacking. I've added a few things to my kit, but a few things are pretty far off. The rotor head is my biggest complaint. The real thing is a mess of wires and lines. The model companies could have done a little bit more to mimic the aircraft. Here's a pic

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ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted by ridleusmc on Thursday, January 27, 2005 3:30 AM

Progress has been a little slow since I posted my last pics, but I have made some headway. I tried using Tempra paints for panel lines (From the February edition of FSM). It works pretty well. In this pic the underside of the fuselage has been given the tempra paint. The underside of the sponson has had the excess whiped off. I'm happy with the results. I'm looking forward to doing more, but build time seems a little rare.

While I'm showing you this pic I'd like to point our some problems with the underside of this kit. The "Hell Hole" (big recessed panel in the middle ) is too wide on the kit. The single point external pendant hangs through that door. The dual point hook door (the smaller recessed panels) aren't offset like they are in the kit. They are right on the centerline of the aircraft.

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oldhooker

Member since
July 2003
From: Piedmont Triad, NC (USA)

Posted by oldhooker on Thursday, January 27, 2005 12:19 PM

Beautiful work Chris, thank you for sharing! Smile [:)]

Take care,
Frank

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LemonJello

Member since
February 2004
From: Green Lantern Corps HQ on Oa

Posted by LemonJello on Thursday, January 27, 2005 4:02 PM

No rush, that'll just lead to mistakes, but it is looking good there. I've got to get busy and finish up my Cobra, but like you said, build time is rare lately. Oh, well, I'm the non-fire for a range detail next week; early mornings, but my afternoons should be free.

A day in the Corps is like a day on the farm; every meal is a banquet, every paycheck a fortune, every formation a parade... The Marine Corps is a department of the Navy? Yeah...The Men's Department.

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vflight

Member since
January 2003

Pics of actual aircraft?

Posted by vflight on Friday, January 28, 2005 1:48 AM

Would it be possible for you to please post some pictures of the actual aircraft? As you said, black markings are now rare or extinct and much easier to reproduce in decal form. As it seems that no-one is going to produce aftermarket decals for this, or any other USMC helicopter, in 1/72nd scale then it will have to be a home job.

TIA if you can help

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ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted by ridleusmc on Friday, January 28, 2005 3:21 PM

Hey all,

I'm happy. I was able to finish up my panel line treatments, and I even put some exhaust stains on my echo.

flyvertical,

Here's a good one. I'll post another soon, but I need to find it.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 28, 2005 6:40 PM

Ridle,

What did you use to mask your windscreens and side ports?

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ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted by ridleusmc on Friday, January 28, 2005 9:27 PM

It's just Tamiya Masking tape

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 28, 2005 9:40 PM

Cool. Thanks!

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ridleusmc

Member since
July 2003
From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted by ridleusmc on Sunday, January 30, 2005 2:18 AM

I got a little more done, and I'm almost there. I want to weather it up a little more, especially the blades and the rotor head. Most of Saturday was spent putting on those white stripes. They are called lifting points, and they represent the center of gravity for each blade, which make removing/replacing blades much easier.

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"There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and those who have met them in battle. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion."