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Paula & Dan · Last edited by Paula & Dan on Fri 08 Feb 2008 09:45 am; edited 1 time in total

Progress of gerry's build will be reported here,

Paula
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Airbusians.

gerry · Posted: Mon 12 Nov 2007 18:10 pm Post subject:

Gosh - my first ever group build! How exciting. I bought an Airfix Sikorski 'Jolly Green Giant' yesterday in Gloucester for the princely sum of £6. I have already built the Airfix Puma, Sea King, Lynx, Gazelle, Whirlwind and others, but this one is new to me.

Whatever else I end up doing with it, I know in advance that I will be folding the rotors back. I just don't have the space to do anything else. Now the challenge is to keep my hands off it until January. Normally, I build and buy. Now I have to stash for a whole two months. It's completely alien to me to do this so perhaps I will have to buy something else so that I keep my hands off.

Paula & Dan · Posted: Mon 12 Nov 2007 20:26 pm Post subject:

Don't worry, I'm a virgin at leading a Group Build too!! Just try to be patient until January, and we'll all be interested to see how your build goes,

I know the H-53 is one of Dan's very favourite whirly birds, so I'm sure he, like I, will be really interested in how it turns out,

Paula
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Airbusians.

gerry · Posted: Fri 04 Jan 2008 21:45 pm Post subject:

A completely dud start to the Jolly Green Giant - I almost snapped one of the tail rotors (all four are one piece) while removing it from the sprue, in spite of using a new razor sharp knife. I have now put some superglue at the weakest points to avoid it happening again. As for the rotating rear rotors, I gave up as it proved difficult to the point of impossible to attach it so that it could freely rotate. Then there is part 13 - I have scoured the sprue for part 13 and simply can not find it anywhere. None of these are major problems that will make any difference to the end result, but if it is sign of things to come, it looks like I could be in for a bumpy ride. That mallet on U-tube could come in handy!

farmroad38 · Posted: Sat 05 Jan 2008 13:37 pm Post subject:

Whoa there gerry! The build doesn't start for another couple of weeks yet!
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Cheers,

Adrian

gerry · Posted: Sat 05 Jan 2008 15:04 pm Post subject:

Oops! I had in mind that it started in January. No idea why.

Paula & Dan · Posted: Sat 05 Jan 2008 17:32 pm Post subject:

January 17th is the kick-off date!

P
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Airbusians.

gerry · Posted: Sat 05 Jan 2008 22:50 pm Post subject:

I think I need a head start. The JGG looks like a bit of a pig to build in lots of ways. Getting any of the small pars from the sprue has been almost impossible without breaking them. The plastic seems to be unusually brittle. I did buy the kit in an antique shop, but I don't think that's the problem. I have also discovered amazingly that liquid poly has limited effect on it! It will get there in the end, once I have officially started, but it's certainly one that for a variety of reasons, could do with a a big patience warning on the box. A spare mallet in the box wuld also be useful.

Brews · Posted: Mon 21 Jan 2008 05:31 am Post subject:

You may be interested in this, which I found tonight:

http://www.airvictorymuseum.org/rh-53d.html

gerry · Posted: Mon 21 Jan 2008 08:03 am Post subject:

I am indeed interested, especially in the interior shot. I have several good photo references of the outside, but that is the first interior one I have seen. I am building it with rear door and side door open and although there are limits to what I am prepared to do, I was last night, starting to make a vague attempt to scratch build some seats using nothing other than guesswork. Nobody will ever look inside it so I don't know why I am bothering, but I just felt compelled to make the effort.

The colour of the floor is also helpful as the kit painting instructions leave a lot to be desired. The kit does show the 'ribs' at the rear end, but not deeper inside. I may pass on that one. I will probably swing the tail section back and will certainly swing back the rotors. Shelf space is at a premium.

I have not done any photos of what I have done so far. I am not, however, finding it easy going. The small pieces simply snap, no matter what I have done to get them off the sprue. Fitting parts around the engine area was a nightmare. The plastic is proving to be almost imperviour to liquid poly.

The dark green plastic will come in handy when painting over it with greens, but working with tiny very dark pieces is giving my eyesight considerable grief. A light grey has a lot to commend it. It really is a bit of a beastie. However, it will work out in the end. I am, incidentally, surprised at the size of the Merlin compared to it - the Merlin is an equally big machine. Of course, compared to a Scout or Gazelle, we are talking tiddlers to throw back.

gerry · Posted: Tue 05 Feb 2008 06:41 am Post subject:

Talk about slow progress! The day job has been impinging too much on my recreation. I keep looking at the greys of the Sea Stallions rather than the greens/tan, wondering if there are any external differences. Can anyone help? Like most helicopters that have bits sticking out everywhere, I am finding it hard to identify them, either small or large. It has caused so much bother as it is, what with folding the rotors back and messing about with seats inside that nobody will ever see, that major or even minor surgery is not appealing. And that is before attempting to paint light grey over dark green plastic. On the other hand, I might have to accept that this is a long haul one.

gerry · Posted: Sat 09 Feb 2008 08:12 am Post subject:

And before you ask, yes, it is coming along, though trailing woefully in the slipstream of BAC's splendid build. The day job has been a weekend job as well in recent weeks, so the build has been rather disrupted.

Unlike BAC's report of things fitting together nicely, it is hardly a 'snap-it' kit. The fuselage is now together, but with a nasty crack along the underneath to fill. There is also a gaping crack on the inside of one of the engines that I did not notice until now that can only be botched up with filler.

I have even given it an overcoat of light grey both to fill join marks and in preparation for it emerging as a Marines version, though there may need to be some creative interpretation involved. I have not taken any photos of it along the way, partly due to poor light conditions but also due to the fact that it is not going well. But, it is getting there and will be fine as long as I don't rush it.

At least the rotors have been successfully swept back and seem to be firmly glued. That is difficult when one can't use the kit's join points. I need to buid a swing hinge for the tail section. The canopy is about to be fitted and some other parts need to be fittted. If I were a builder, I might give an estimate of 'quite a long job' and 'who was the cowboy who built this before' with 'there's nothing a bit of filler can't hide'. 'I'll see you again on Monday'. Must go now for a cup of tea.

gerry · Posted: Thu 14 Feb 2008 18:08 pm Post subject: Airfix 1/72 Jolly Green Giant

This has been a spectacular failure of a model for me. To make it worse, I have sat and looked at BAC's splendid effort while mine has progressively gone into a rotor-churning freefall.

The folded rotors almost worked, but one is just drooping at a hopeless angle. The engine mountings went dreadfully wrong. The plastic just did not respond to liquid poly - it seemed impervious to it.

The paint scheme draws heavily on the imagination, as close to a 'what if' as I ever get! It represents a Marine version, but at best, let's call it 'representative'. Yes, the lettering should probably be white and who knows what colour the tail rotors should be on this one.

I fear I bit off just a bit more than I could chew, so it will be destined for a darkened corner. I will take some sunlight photos of it if the sun ever shines again, then put it in the military aircraft section or in my portfolio, perhaps as a warning to all those who venture too close to this monstrosity. It's one of those that probably looks reasonable to the casual observer, but all I see are the problems. No, I am not being hard on myself. While the camera may lie, I know what I know.

Paula & Dan · Posted: Fri 15 Feb 2008 13:05 pm Post subject:

Hey gerry - I'm sorry to hear that you aren't satisfied with your build but, as you say, the photos do make it look good (at least where I'm sitting

).

In any case it's an interesting scheme and, although it looks like you have had trouble with the quality of the plastic if not the whole kit, it's good to see a bit of variety! The HH-53 is a fairly complex kit, I know, and it takes quite a bit of time to get it together (I've taken a month just to get this far with my tiddly Scout!). I know that both Dan and I have learned a lot through this (and other) Group Build(s) - so keep up the good work and don't let it get you down!

Paula
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Airbusians.

gerry · Posted: Sat 16 Feb 2008 14:04 pm Post subject:

I have put this in the Airfix military section. Looks marginally better in sunlight. The main thing is, it's done.

BAC · Posted: Sat 16 Feb 2008 19:28 pm Post subject:

Looks fine to me.

I like the 'folded upness'.

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If you can't Dodge it, Ram it!!!!!!!!

bunny · Posted: Sat 16 Feb 2008 20:31 pm Post subject:

looks like a good build to me nice one gerry
bunny