Academy

1/48 MH-53E Sea Dragon

Kit Number: 12703

Reviewed by  Chad Richmond, IPMS# 10346

MSRP: $99.99 Website: Academy Models Available from: Model Rectifier Corporation Two years after Academy released their excellent 1/48th scale kit of the CH-53E, they finally came out with the MH-53E. There’s still a lot of stuff in a very large box, but the only difference is one sprue and the two Cartograf decal sheets. This monster has over 280 parts! The different sprue contains the larger sponsons found on the MH-53 and the mine retrieval equipment used in the Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM) mission. In this kit, you can build the transport version from HC-4 “Black Stallions”, or the Mine Countermeasure versions from HM-14 “Vanguard” or HM-15 “Blackhawks”. I chose Vanguard. The only color callouts in the 24 page instruction book is for Gunze aqueous paints, but there are FS listings for each. There is also a misprint which interchanges FS 36495 and FS35237. Disappointingly, there were no changes to the cockpit layout in this kit. The sprue common to both kits is not really close for either the CH-53 or MH-53. It’s somewhere in the middle, but there’s a lot of detail that can give you a really great box stock cockpit. In looking at over 100 cockpit photos of Ch-53’s and MH-53’s, I became convinced that just about any arrangement of instruments and switch panels was possible. There are decals, as well, but I opted for painting and dry brushing, and was very pleased with the outcome. I scanned an Eduard color detail set and cut out the seatbelts and shoulder harnesses, which looked good and kept with the “out of the box” theme of the build. Ed Kinney’s in-depth review of the CH-53E gives great coverage of the kit’s assembly, so I’m not going to duplicate that, but rather point out some of the things that gave me problems or were pleasant surprises. And one giant pitfall to avoid. This is one kit where following the instruction sheet is a very wise decision, because it will free you from unneeded grief several steps later. I didn’t do that throughout, so I can attest to some of the problems that can arise. Plus, I installed a few things upside down by not paying attention. This is also a model that requires painting in stages, because if you wait until it’s all together, unless you can airbrush around corners, some items will not get painted or decaled. I figured out the painting a bit early on, but the decals snuck up on me later. More to follow. There are more than 40 parts in the main rotor system, and you have to pay attention to the part numbers, especially if you are folding the rotor blades. Unless you have a gigantic display case, that is the only option. When folding the blades, special care needs to be taken in not getting parts mixed up, because each blade grip is set at a different angle. I completed the main and tail rotor assemblies and set them aside to complete the rest of the build. Each rotor blade has four decals, three of which wrap around to the other side of the blade. Out of literally hundreds of decals on this kit, these were the only ones which gave me problems with silvering. I had at least one of the stripes on each of the seven rotor blades silver. I would have thought that a big kit like this, with so many parts would have some major fit problems, but I was pleasantly surprised throughout the build. I especially expected it in the cabin interior, as this is a large box that gets captured inside the cabin halves. Due to the larger fuel sponsons of the MH-53, the front windows on each side of the cabin get filled, and Academy gives you inserts. They do not do that for the cabin interior, however, so I cut some plastic card, inserted it and recreated the waffle pattern of the interior silencing material. And, if you are building one of the mine retrieval selections, don’t try to install all six passenger seats down. They conflict with the winch assembly which mounts in the floor. The forward seat can be down, but not the other two. I learned by having to reposition them in the up position. And speaking of the interior, each of the two interior walls that make up the cabin interior box has more than 60 ejector pin marks each! Only the ones at the aft end where the cabin bulkheads are portrayed are a factor, because it is hard to see them once everything is buttoned up. But, I know they’re there, and I hate ejector pin marks!

I finished the interior assembly, and had no faith whatsoever that it would fit properly inside the fuselage halves. But, when I pushed the halves together and lined up the left and right interior assemblies, everything closed up and fit like a champ. I clamped the whole thing and set it aside to dry. The belly pan went on next, and this was the only place on the whole build that I had any gaps. And, it may have been due to me gluing the sponsons to the fuselage halves before joining them, instead of after. Some small strips of styrene filled the gap, and it was done. Once I got to this point, I did all of the painting. I used Tamiya’s XF-24, Dark Gray for the FS 34081, and was very happy with it. I also sprayed everything with Future at this time. But, this is where I began my series of errors. After having everything painted, I glued the engines in place, per the instruction sheet. I had already glued the antennas in place, as well. Next came the decals. I was enjoying myself and was quite proud of my creation, until I got to the walkway decals. All together there are 52 walkway decals, and at least 20 of them are under an engine, have an antenna in the middle, or some other conflict which makes it darn near impossible to get the decal in place, much less lined up where it is supposed to go. It can, however, be done. I just don’t recommend the process. But, I do have to say that all of the walkway decals were very forgiving of my abuse and ended up looking quite nice. Of course, being printed by Cartograf was a help. The last part of the assembly was adding the folded blades, which was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. The only criticism I had was that there were only two blade supports in the kit. But, it didn’t seem to be all that much of a factor. As long as you don’t pick the model up repeatedly, or try to turn it upside down, the rotor assembly sits nicely where it’s supposed to. This model is definitely imposing and looks great dwarfing all the other models next to it in my display case. And that interior I spent so much time on? A tiny high beam flashlight, a contorted body and some squinting will allow you to see about 25% of it. But I know it’s there. My thanks to Academy for the review sample and to IPMS/USA for letting me do the review.