The HH-60H Rescue Hawk was developed from the SH-60B Sea Hawk. While the Sea Hawk`s mission is ASW work, the primary mission of the HH-60H is Combat SAR, Special Warfare support, Anti-surface strike and VERTREP and MEDEVAC. To fit into it`s new role the helicopter was modified and has a new cabin layout to allow a crew of four and up to eight passangers and can carry external fuel tanks and weapon racks for the Hellfire missiles.

The kit is the Italeri HH-60H that builds into a basic HH-60H but is missing some detail to do an actual version with the extended pylon and FLIR-pod in front of the nose.
As I wanted to build a chopper parked on a carrier deck while being prepared for action as part of a diorama I had to modify the main rotor system and the tail boom into the folded position as well.
So I developed my own conversion kit by building masters and making resin copies out of silicon forms. For the pylons there are resin parts in the Hasegawa “SH-60B Sea Hawk w. Penguin Missile” kit, so I had masters therefore, the Flir turret and mounting are scratched, as are the folding mechanism for tail boom and main rotor.
A lot of details on the fuselage where made from styrene sheet and various photoetched parts, mostly for the capble cutters, antennas and lights.

I also extensively modified the interior of the cabin, as the kit is lacking some details here. The seats where modified and etched belts added, some wiring was added as was the “electronic rack” behind the pilot seat. The equipment bags where molded with magic sculp, which I used for the first time and was really easy to handle. The weapons are from the Dragon HMMWV and an Airwaves set and I added photoetched ammo belts and scratched the weapon mounts.

Painting was done with Gunze color via airbrush and weathering with pastel chalk and artist oil paint, the decals are from various sheets, as I wanted to do a helo from HS-14, USS Kitty Hawk.

The diorama will show the HH-60H along an E-2C Hawkeye on a carrier deck section. The E-2C with foldet wings and the personel and deck equipment are still under construction.
Hope, you like it,

Thomas
Any comments – just mail to: thomas.neuss@t-online.de
 

Photos and text © 2005 by Thomass Neuss

September 21, 2005

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