Italeri's new 1/48 Chinook

Howdy Frank!!

Gonna have to get me one of these.   Looks like they finally got the message on there not being a better 1/48 Hook other than that old Auroura kit.    Wonder if someone at Italeri saw your pix of that GoGo hook you did some time back that inspired them to do there kit  The detales look pretty good so for and sence there are key areas on the aft rotor pylon that are seperite parts,looks like there will be other versions to come in the future.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a CH-47D/F  and a MH-47E/G.

Thanks for sharing.

Mark

Thanks Frank!

Looks like it will be pretty nice!  Hope it's better than the "trumped up" Trumpeter kit!  Heh, heh!  Couldn't resist the pun!  I'll definitely get one of these as soon as they come out! 

Hi Frank,

Thanks for posting those pics. It looks prety good. Do you know what decals it will be coming with?I hope it comes with a set of all those ground units East Money saved.

An ideal christmas pressie me thinks.

How's that book of your coming along? Any more old videos you can post?

Take care,  Rich

Frank,

What was your opinion of the interior that was visible in the pictures.  Is that some sort of  ballistic blankets on the floor?  Surely not sand bags!?

Thanks for the info.  I'm going to have to get me one of these.  This Chinook would look great next to the new Academy CH-53E.  It'll make a good heavy lift collection. 

Come to think of it; some great 1/48 helos have just come out.  Academy and Italeri have alot to do with it.  Plus, there have been hueys, cobras, apaches, hinds, etc etc in 1/48 for years. 

I love the fact that Trump put out a hook in 1/35, but it seems that 1/48 is the way to go for helos.  I could be wrong. 

Semper Fi,

Chris

Melgyver wrote:

Frank, What was your opinion of the interior that was visible in the pictures.  Is that some sort of  ballistic blankets on the floor?  Surely not sand bags!?

Goodmorning Mel, and all...

      There wasn't any type of ballistic blankets or sand bags on the cabin floors.     The picture on the flyer appears to show a very heavy weathering application on the floor, which is pretty much accurate, as can be seen in this photo of the interior of "Easy Money", taken between missions.    

      Sometimes the Gunners would tie Flack Vest to the stringers below their gun mounts, and it became pretty much standard procedure to lay Flack Vest in the Chin Bubbles.      Also, in the interior shot above, you can see the armor plates on the back of the Control Closet (they were also on the side of it).

Mark,

     I'm sure the *availability* of real pictures of these aircraft on the website had more to do with the interior/exterior detailing than the Aurora model I did.      The Cobra Company inspected the Aurora project after most of the interior was in place, but I have no idea if any of that contributed to the cause.   Chris was kind enough to assist me with some of the detailing features of the build, which made it's construction go MUCH better!  Thanks again, Chris!       And once this kit is out on the market, don't overlook some of the accessories that Chris provides, as they are invaluable!

Take care,

Frank

Frank,

Thanks for the pictures and great info!  I'm sure to build this one and will do some business with Chris.  I've been "dormant" way too long!  Spent 3 days last hitch home cleaning out the little workshop, Hanger No. 3, and even have a clean spot on the work bench to start scratching on some plastic during my upcoming 3 week vacation. When I get home I'll send you a few pictures of my work shop and the real Hanger No. 3 in Brisbane Australia that I named it after.  Also a sign a Vietnam buddy of mine had made for it. 

Melgyver wrote:

Frank, Thanks for the pictures and great info!  I'm sure to build this one and will do some business with Chris.  I've been "dormant" way too long!  Spent 3 days last hitch home cleaning out the little workshop, Hanger No. 3, and even have a clean spot on the work bench to start scratching on some plastic during my upcoming 3 week vacation. When I get home I'll send you a few pictures of my work shop and the real Hanger No. 3 in Brisbane Australia that I named it after.  Also a sign a Vietnam buddy of mine had made for it.

Hey Mel;

Do you have A/C installed in your workshop....errr. I mean Hangar #3? 

 I've tried a couple of times these last couple of weeks to make progress on some of my projects, but after about a half hour I give up because the paint starts to congeal in the bottles without keeping them stirred every fifteen minutes or so and when I try later in the evening  all the little flying critters like to congregate over my bench instead of going to the bug zapper like they are supposed to.

oldhooker wrote:

Hey fellows... I found this flyer of the upcoming 1/48 ACH-47A release and thought you all might like to have a closer look.... At first glance, the fuselage appears to be a scaled-up version of their 1/72 release, ie: deep engraved panel lines, but with an opening CE door, and lots of interior detailing!       The photo shows a Cabin Heater, which the ACH-47's didn't have, but all the better for those who'd like to have the option of building a Slick version!    It may have optional round-window insert panels for the lateral gun ports, and space for an optional aft pylon leading/trailing edge... which would also be a great plus for aftermarket later version modifications! We'll see... Take care, Frank

Thanks Frank.

It looks like this is going to have more structural detail at the ramp, at least on the fuselage halves, than the Trumpeter kits which will make things easier to detail. I sure hope they do something about the aft transmission/APU area, but I guess that is too much to hope for.

Jonathan Primm

richgb wrote:

Hi Frank, Thanks for posting those pics. It looks prety good. Do you know what decals it will be coming with?I hope it comes with a set of all those ground units East Money saved. An ideal christmas pressie me thinks. How's that book of your coming along? Any more old videos you can post? Take care,  Rich

Hi Rich,

  I don't know about the decal sheet in the kit, but by the box-art, it appears to be an early version of "Easy Money", because the "name" is all white and the lack of FOD covers, but the *original* box art, the FOD covers were present.. who knows?      Troy (PapaEcho) on here, has some insight on an aftermarket decal sheet, that supposedly contains markings for each of the four aircraft.... hey Troy?

The manuscript was in the process of it's 2nd proof-reading, when we found out that A/4/160th SOAR wanted to adopt the Flaming Skull patch and "Guns A Go-Go" namesake.     Which adds an entirely different dimension to the story, so now it's on to documenting their re-birth! http://gunsagogo.org/soarsagain.htm     It kind of fell in place at the right time... makes a great story!

Take care,

Frank

Jonathan,

Yea, the 20 year old Federicks AC is still putting out enough cold air for now.  The case is almost rusted away but until it "crashes and burns" I'll let it hum away!  I haven't tried opening a bottle of paint yet, they are all probably dried up and congealed!  At least I'm making some progress towards "scratching on plastic" again soon.  You will have to come by for a visit some time.  E-mail me or call the week of Aug 1st.  Should have some "spare" time then.  You need to meet Tracy Judice.  He lives on Carmelite Circle, off Fortune Rd. outside of Younsville.  He has about 1000 kits!  He has a large metal shop but no AC!   

Looking forword to getting one these kits.  I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Mark

Photo's of the kit over on the ARC Forum

http://s102164210.onlinehome.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=92749&st=15

grandadjohn wrote:

Photo's of the kit over on the ARC Forum http://s102164210.onlinehome.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=92749&st=15

That's a GREAT post over on ARC, John, thanks!!     

I couldn't locate the 40mm ammo box, but that wouldn't be a big deal to make.     It looks like this kit would be easy to convert to a Slick, with the addition of aftermarket troop seats, gun port (window)  inserts, hoist, and standard pilot seats.

I would love to see the decal sheet that's included with this kit.... maybe you could ask the poster to see it?

Take care,

Frank

See what I can do, Frank

EDIT: photo of the decals is now on that website, looks like markings for "Easy Money" and "Stump Jumper". Will let Frank vouch for accuracy of them though

Thanks John!  Looks like a real good kit from looking at the parts sprues!  I guess I better get my money ready for "Easy Money"!  Heh, heh!  Now I know where some of this hitch's overtime is going!  I guess my old Aurora Kit will never get built now!  Move over Academy!  Looks like there is some competition in the 1/48 Helicopter market!   

Melgyver wrote:

Thanks John!  Looks like a real good kit from looking at the parts sprues!  I guess I better get my money ready for "Easy Money"!  Heh, heh!  Now I know where some of this hitch's overtime is going!  I guess my old Aurora Kit will never get built now!  Move over Academy!  Looks like there is some competition in the 1/48 Helicopter market!

Wake me up when they do a "C" model.

Jonathan Primm

grandadjohn wrote:

See what I can do, Frank   EDIT: photo of the decals is now on that website, looks like markings for "Easy Money" and "Stump Jumper". Will let Frank vouch for accuracy of them though

You get a cold one on me when we get back to base for that one John! Thanks!!

Here's a couple reference pictures of the original "Easy Money", with the little white "heart" above the quotes on the "E"...      The decals look to be copies of the slanted letters of the 1/72nd kit... #149's lettering was vertically inclined.     Maybe there will be an aftermarket corrected version....

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/earlyNam/0027.jpg

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/earlyNam/0030.jpg

*****

And here are a couple of "Stump Jumper"..... the decals look to be right on the money... well... except the row of "stars" may be a little oversized in relation to the letter size....

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/earlyNam/0049.jpg

http://gunsagogo.org/sjfinescale.jpg

*****

And here's one of #145 in her stateside colors...

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/stateside/0008.jpg

**The red thing on the fuselage at the back of the forward pylon, is an attachment point for a "Crane" for changing the forward transmission in the field... it wasn't on them after they painted them OD**

*****

... and the walkway on top "Easy Money"... note the "Stars & Bars" bleeding through the OD paint.....

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/midNam/MajorDamage.jpg

Hope this helps..

Take care,

Frank

I'll take that cold one Frank and thanks for the photo's, quess I need to put a little OT at work for that kit and I quess my old Aurora kit will go un-built also.

Question, was the grenade launcher ammo box anything like the one's used in Huey's and do you have any photo's of it?

grandadjohn wrote:

I'll take that cold one Frank and thanks for the photo's, quess I need to put a little OT at work for that kit and I quess my old Aurora kit will go un-built also. Question, was the grenade launcher ammo box anything like the one's used in Huey's and do you have any photo's of it?

Well, we could wait until after they hit the shelves and Hobby Lobby has one of their half-off sales...

Here's some pictures of the 40mm ammo box, and it's relative location in the forward cabin floor...

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/earlyNam/0153.jpg

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/earlyNam/0163.jpg

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/midNam/0117.jpg

http://gunsagogo.org/inside1.jpg

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/midNam/WashingOutTheBlood.jpg

http://modeling.gunsagogo.org/40mm.jpg

***Here you can see the 40mm ammo chute feed through the tunnel step***

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/restore/0209.jpg

*** also, here's a picture of the 20mm ammo chute feed & reinforced stringer section***

http://gunsagogo.org/inside2.jpg

***and where the chute feeds into the Stub-Wing between reinforced Stringers***

http://gunsagogo.org/0002/0002/restore/0210.jpg

Take care,

Frank

Frank,

Great detail pictures!  Thanks for sharing them with us!  I can't wait to get my hands on one of the new kits!  I'm getting Hanger #3 cleaned out just in time.

Frank!  again....great pics!  Thanks....lets see....that makes it about 8 floppies filled with HOOK pics alone.....I'm kinda behind on PC things....oh lets say ....like a CD burner!

This 1/48 kit iz looking good...... hey Frank.....do the ID numbers match up so far?

Been busy guys....Saw a Hook fly over my place just the other day...ramp was down and had the air re-fuel stub.....that was cool! and there ain't no sound like a HOOK!!!!!

Troy :-)

Papa-Echo-64 wrote:

I'm kinda behind on PC things....oh lets say ....like a CD burner! This 1/48 kit iz looking good...... hey Frank.....do the ID numbers match up so far? Troy :-)

Yo Troy,

   Yes, it sounds like a CD burner should be in your future!

  ... and yes, the serial numbers are accurate:

#64-13145  -  build # B-117  -  ("B-117" chosen as 1st ACH-47A because it mimics the B-17 Flying Fortress)

#64-13149  -  "Easy Money"

#64-13151  -  "Stump Jumper"

The "Skull" on the decal sheet looks a little distorted, like the ones in the 1/72 kit...   compare the one on the decal sheet to the original:

Take care,

Frank

Thanks Frank!

Too bad I will not be able to jump into this long awaited kit till next spring or so....working a 1/35 scale Flying Sub from Voyage to the bottom of the sea with full interior, lights the works.

The sucka is 14-1/2 inches wide! twice the size of the old Aurora/Monogram kit.