Academy 1/48 CH-53E By

Overview

This literally came in at the last minute, so I was unable to research much on this large helo. What I do know is that it is the largest operational helicopter in US military inventory, and that to increase power they added a third engine and an extra rotor blade over the earlier CH-53 variants. A quick Google search reveals that there is quite a bit of information out there on the Internet on the CH-53, so I highly recommend delving into those resources if you are interested in the background on this helicopter. By the way, after reading the instructions and learning that this helicopter is the largest and heaviest operated in the West, I had to compare it to the Russian helos. Now I am not entirely certain here, but it looks like if you removed the engines and rotors from a CH-53, a Mi-26 could carry it. I have seen CH-53s in person, and was always impressed by them, but the Russians really knew how to do big!

The kit

Simply put, this kit is stunning. When Academy came out with their 1/48 CH-46, modelers thought they had seen the pinnacle of 1/48 helicopter models. This kit goes one step further, with creative engineering to produce a very detailed model with few problems. The kit is molded in the typical Academy light gray plastic, with a single sprue of clear parts. The large decal sheets provide stenciling and markings for three different camouflage schemes spanning the three decades the CH-53E has been in service.

The instructions begin with the main rotor, and right off we see one big improvement over their CH-46 kit. With this kit, you can have the rotor blades folded, which will cut down on the amount of shelf space this kit will take up. The rotor assembly, whether folded or extended, is a complex affair and the kit parts capture it nicely. Once you have determined which way you want to display your rotors, you then have to open up the appropriate holes in the fuselage halves. Here is where we see the second innovation over the CH-46 kit. This kit has the interior walls as separate pieces, so there are no ejector pin markings marring the surfaces. These will also hide the holes you open up in the fuselage side, so it is doubly beneficial.

The interior is well detailed, with separate bench seats, bulkheads, and ceiling. The cockpit gets quite a bit of treatment too, with detailed seats, instrument panel, overhead console, and control columns. There are even decals to fit inside the cabin, adding that extra level of realism. Other details include machine gun mounts and optional open or closed doors. Assembling the fuselage is a bit different, too, as the entire underside is a separate piece. I would recommend using slow-setting cement here to make sure that everything is lined up just right.

Moving on to the exterior, this kit has separate side sponsons. This hints at a future release of the MH-53E Sea Dragon, with its giant sponsons. This kit provides the smaller sponsons in three main pieces, with additional accessories for the external fuel tanks. The engines are well detailed too, with separate pieces for the intake screens and exhausts. These might be better to paint up before attaching to the fuselage, as they will block a fair amount of space on the upper sections. Stick the front clear section on, and this fuselage is mostly done.

The remaining major assembly for this kit is the tail rotor section. To aid in shipboard storage, this piece swings to starboard, and Academy has presented this as an option. Aside from the tail rotor, this tail piece consists of no less than eleven pieces, all of which combine to make a nicely detailed piece, whether fitted for flight or for stowage. Final assembly (highly recommended for after painting) has the addition of the main rotors and tail piece, either in the stowed or flight positions. The stowed position includes pieces for bracing the rotor blades and tail, which is a nice touch.

For painting up your CH-53E, this kit provides three options. Going chronologically, the first is from the 1980s and is overall green. This helicopter is from HMH-466 out of MCAS Tustin, California, and has the tail code YK. Next up is a CH-53E from the 1990s, this one finished in the three-color camouflage of black, green and gray. This one is from HMH-464 from MCAS New River, North Carolina, and has the tail code of EN. The final option is a CH-53E from this decade, from HMH-461 in Iraq. Camouflaged in the low-viz gray scheme, this one has the tail code of CJ. The aircraft specific decals are somewhat limited, as these really did not carry much in the way of unit markings. However, there are quite a few stencils provided, so be ready for a good week of decal application here. Sure, you could probably do it in a day, but I know my eyes would go buggy on me after applying a couple dozen small stencils. Best to spread it out over time.

Conclusion

This is the bar to which all future 1/48 helicopter kits will be measured. Once past the impressive size of this helicopter, the attention turns towards the detail, and this kit is definitely not lacking. As a diehard 1/72 modeler, about the only way this could be improved is to scale it down to that scale. Seriously, though, be ready for some fun building this one, and have fun hunting for that one spectacular CH-53E scheme that you just have to do! My thanks to MRC for the review sample.