Contents
Here we take a look at Italeri’s 1/48th MH-60G Pave Hawk, kit no.# 2612. The kit is molded in a soft light gray styrene which contains 4 sprues, each sealed in a polythene bag. The instruction sheet has 5 pages with 14 steps and an additional 2 pages for colors and markings. The decal sheet has markings for two USAF machines: 55th SOS Saudi Arabia 1991 and 210th RS Alaska 1990.
Overview
Most of the parts were clean of flash. The fuselage has engraved panel lines and rivet detail, but I noticed that the engraving around the nose and belly was just about non-existent. You’ll have to re-scribe these lines in once you have the fuselage halves together.
The cockpit is weak, with simple decals for the instrument panels. The pilots' seats have a molded shoulder harness only. Detail in the cargo area is minimal; it includes 2 each mini guns and 50 cal. and an internal fuel cell bladder that has molded on straps. What is missing are the gunners' seats, and there is no side wall detail. You also have the option of open or closed main cabin doors and gunners' windows. The main rotor blades are hinged together and can be posed either folded or extended. The blades are molded with a droop which is nice - it saves you from doing this and the risk of breaking them.
The biggest disappointment was with the transparencies. I found that two pieces were undersized, and a few more had some gaps. I suggest that before you start building your kit, dry fit these parts first. Then, if any corrections are needed, you can use some stretched sprue to fill in the openings.
Conclusion
If you're looking to build a decent Pave Hawk in 1/48th, the Italeri kit is the best choice. Though it's an earlier '60, with some minor scratch building you can build it into a late version MH/HH-60 Search and Rescue Pave Hawk by updating the RWR, repositioning the navigation lights, Plume detectors, Flir turret mounted on center of nose, Chaff/Flare dispensers on the sponsors and two each along the tail boom, and the removal of the HF antenna. In addition to that, Eduard has an excellent interior photo etch set, no.#49 330 and a exterior photo etch set, no# 48 471.
Here is a link to my
review of Eduard's interior set. A full build article is in preparation.
