1:35 CH-54 Tarhe Canopy, Wheels & Windows Paint Masks Set

A helicopter that is all skeleton and hook

The Sikorsky CH-54 came about with a single intention: to lift the heaviest possible load under the fuselage. So the designers took everything off it that did not have to fly, and what was left was a tall boom with landing gear, two engines and a cabin stuck on the front. Into it they added a third seat facing backward, so that the operator could look straight down at the load beneath him. In the war in Southeast Asia these machines pulled out shot-down helicopters and whole artillery pieces.

The glazing as the main task

The cabin of a flying crane is glazed exceptionally generously, including windows in the floor. That is exactly what makes building such a model a job in which the cleanness of the frames decides. A hand-painted frame will never have a straight edge along its whole length, whereas a cut stencil holds it as a matter of course.

Why scale matters less with this item

The frames of the glazing are in reality several centimeters wide, so even after reduction to 1:35 one to two millimeters are left. That is a dimension that gives film no trouble, and the same set would make sense somewhat smaller too. Something else matters: the stencil has to match the shape of the transparent part in the box exactly, otherwise it is useless regardless of size.

On the build

The transparent parts must not be cleaned with alcohol before masking. After spraying, the film is removed before the finish has cured completely. Any adhesive residue on the frame has to be taken off before the film is laid on, because even a thin layer lifts the film off the surface. Neither the helicopter nor the paints are part of the delivery.