1/35 Academy SH-60B SeaHawk

by Theodore Tan

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This is a 1/35th scale US Navy SH-60B Seahawk converted from the Academy UH-60L kit. This was my first major conversion project in any scale.  I started with the interior modifying the flight deck crew seats to Navy standards as well as adding some small details. Bulkheads were made to separate the flight deck from the fighting compartment and this from the rear compartment. I built a Senso station and then cast it  possibly for a 2nd Seahawk for some future time when my own senses may inexplicably leave me again. The sonobuoy array was made from card plastic and detailed with epoxy and wire. 

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With the interior coming together, I started on the airframe exterior by closing the gunner windows, the left access door and  a portion of the right access door.  I made the flared skirts for the main landing gear as well as all the various sensor lumps and bumps on the chin, fuselage and tail.  The stores stations were also added. A resin part cast from a jar cap made for a lovely belly radome.  The early-style exhausts were made from epoxy and were the singular cause of a brief psychotic reaction. The tail gear was made from styrene and spares box parts. The tail was cut and the transmission gear and bulkheads were made in preparation for posing it in the folded position. The rotors and rotor heads were modified to navy standard and posed folded as well.  The next steps are recommended for professionals only:  Drop the closed fuselage assembly over a relatively hard surface no lower than 4 feet.  Watch all those colorful parts go 10 different directions...in slow motion!  Continue laughing hysterically as men in white coats come to invite you for some free time in a nice padded resort.

After my release from the funny farm a few months later, I "repaired" (translation: "hid") the damage and began to prime and paint the major subassemblies. 

Next came the details with the small cooling fans for the electronics, the rear view mirrors, sensor antennas and various other "stuff".  With the end in sight, decals were made from scratch and from spares.  And Voila!  We have a Seahawk.  Enjoy!

Theodore

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Photos and text © by Theodore Tan