1:72 UH-60J Rescue Hawk `Chitose Air Rescue J.A.S.D.F. 70th Anniversary´

The rescuer of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in the small scale

The UH-60J came about as the search and rescue branch of the Black Hawk family, and for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force it is built under license by Mitsubishi. Against the army version it carries a considerably larger fuel load, a search radar in the nose and a hoist above the side door, so it can work far out over the sea and in broken mountain terrain. Crews use it to lift out shipwrecked people and pilots who have had to leave an aircraft.

The box art aims at Chitose air base on the northern island of Hokkaido, whose rescue unit received a commemorative finish for the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the air self-defense force. A celebratory scheme like that is an exception on this kind of equipment, because ordinary machines carry a sober blue-gray camouflage and only modest national insignia.

What you will find in the box

The set is made up of injection-molded polystyrene parts, clear glazing for the pilot cabin and a sheet of decals for the commemorative finish. It is supplied unassembled and without a finish, so all the gluing, filling and spraying stays with the modeler. The rotor head and the tail boom are made up of several parts, which is worth thinking through before you reach for the paint.

• Use cement for polystyrene and the usual modeling equipment.
• Fit the glazing only after the spraying of the fuselage is finished, and you will save yourself masking.
• Paints and glue are not included in the package.

A helicopter with a commemorative finish tends to be a rewarding display item, because a colored tail boom draws attention even among gray combat machines. If you want to take the result further, there is the option of opening the side door and suggesting the inside of the cargo space, where the rescue equipment is stowed on this kind of machine.