1/72 Anigrand Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk

Gallery Article by Santiago Duarte on Nov 26 2013

 

 

This is my Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk, in 1/72 scale from Anigrand. It´s a resin model but mainly well done, a nice difference with other resin models that causes a headache trying to assembling their tiny and easily breakable parts. 

It has no more than 20 pieces with one clear (canopy) and no photo etched parts, and once they get sanding off any rifts or imperfections, with a little effort they are glued fine.

Honoring the real aircraft, which it has as the more visible ads, its “speed-breakers” (flaps), I modeled it with them wide open, and in the black color scheme used in the first prototypes. Oh! I have to say that I tried several ways to find out a true reference about the cockpit color, because I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t any ANA 611 or 613 (the green interior color, very common in aircraft of late 40’s and 50’s) I even ask a veteran pilot of this machine, who’s once fly one of this helicopter as a copilot, but without satisfactory results, so I tried to replicate the color of the photographs of the real aircraft that I found in the web, where it seems that its interior was provided with a dark grey, even I noticed on this photo the color of the seats and cushions that was in a dark tan, instead of any “reddish” color that I also found in a scale model published by the way.

Another great thing that I added, and by the first time on my projects, was a tiny magnet that I put in the gun turret and a small piece of metal in the main body for the magnetic counterpart to doing the joint job required, I’m really ready to use a more real gun machine than the provided by Anigrand, but I find a not so satisfactory results on this, and I keep the small freely rotate turret, even that I could change it at any time.

 

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Besides the fact that the entire body of the helicopter is totally black (matt), with small parts in silver and gun metal, with its main rotor in gloss black (as directed by the manufacturer) I prefer to add some tarnish metal in the gloss black to have a clear and noticed difference between the body and this part.

On decals, the model comes only with two long yellow bands of Sikorsky manufacturer, that’s because this helicopter was a private financial project, whose never use any air force decals, remember that Sikorsky wants to offer it for the overseas market, time before the aircraft crashed in the Farnborough Airshow, in September of 1974, which claimed the lives of the crew and the US. Army lost interest on it.

This is an impressive aircraft and it really was, until its tragic end, not only because Sikorsky try to fill all the US. Army requirements (Advanced Aerial Fire Support System –AAFSS-) when the post production of the Lockheed CH-56 fails, but because it seems to be a parallel combat machine against the newly and recently Mi-Mil24 Hind heavy attack helicopter, produced by the URSS; the S-67 would seems to be its equal counterpart as a heavy attack and troop/ equipment transport helicopter too, marketing for the West European theater and furthermore, for other conflictive theaters; there are people who claims that Sikorsky viewed Israel as an important scenario and a major customer to buy helicopter, and that’s why their finally prototype are constantly provided with a desert camouflage color schemes on many video promotions. (The last and the only functionally prototype, which crashed at Farnborough Airshow has this desert color scheme).

The S-67 really is “a helicopter of the future, for the present time”, like it be claimed in one of this video’s, It was provided with advanced electronics, was capable to deploy full transverse roll ups and full loops, with the SAS/FAS systems which helps to full recovery on these maneuvers, and have a very advanced main rotor which helps on a speed NOA flights and extended its time of hovering, and also, a late aircraft provided with a ducted fan (Fenestron) on its tail rotor, was capable to reach a new speed record of 370km/h. 

The real machine was incredible, despite the fact that it was supposed to carry out on its interior a special & isolated compartment to carry out at least eight full armed troops; an automatic 30mm gun turret below the nose, in its wing tips it will be provided with its famous speed-breakers, a pairs of pylons on each wings, which could give it more than eight types configurations (guns and bombs); capable to carry on a pair of extra fuel tanks, 16 air to earth Hellfire missiles, or 14 air to earth TOW’s guided rockets, and even two air to air Sidewinder missiles, one at each wing sides.

Maybe this magnificent helicopter could be one exemplification of a "what if?"; what would happen if the tragedy not turn down its expectations on 1974, and if Sikorsky had continued its development for a full pre-production order? Nobody knows.

Santiago Duarte

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Photos and text © by Santiago Duarte