1/48 CH-53E Super Sea Stallion USMC

Description

This is an injection-plastic aircraft model kit.

Gentlemen, start your forklifts – you will almost need one to get this onto your bench! We’re talking a big pile of plastic. There are 40 pieces in the main rotor alone, and it can be assembled fully spread (read: massive shelf-space eating mode) or folded (read: compact but still shelf-space eating mode). The tail boom can also be assembled folded, as the aircraft is often seen when on a ship. The kit further features a full interior, visible through the forward boarding hatch behind the cockpit (which can be attached open or closed) and the main loading ramp (again, can be assembled open or closed). The instructions show the upper tail ramp door, part B13, in the closed position when the lower ramp is up. However, based on my admittedly limited exposure to the type in the late ’80s, that hatch was often left in the full up position, even in flight. I think that was done by the flight crew to ensure the “pax” got to enjoy being bathed in exhaust gasses and the attendant CO intoxication on long flights.

But back to the kit: all the modern external add-ons such as RWR antennas and FLIR pod are included, but as one of the marking options is a Tustin bird from the ’80s, I am not sure you need all those parts if you are doing that version. I certainly don’t recall seeing any Super Stallions with the boom for the FLIR pod at that point in time, but the ol’ memory banks might be failing.

Decals are for three aircraft: the lo-vis three-tone gray CJ 08 of HMH-461 “Ironhorse” in OIF, the Field Green YK 07 of HMH-466 from MCAS Tustin in the 1980s and the black, blue-gray and field green EN 04 of HMH-464 from MCAS New River in the ’90s.