Sikorsky (S-58 / HSS.1) H-34 G.III "Choktaw"
80+81 (ex SC+253 / ex WE+553 / US Serial 58-1569)
MFG 5 - Marinefliegergeschwader 5 / Deutsche Marine
based at Kiel, Germany (ca. June 1968)

During this time, the H-34 was mostly used in the SAR-role (search and rescue).

The fit is awesome, and the details are wrong, overdone or just omitted. To get a decent model, you will need to use some filler - but this will destroy the raised rivets and lines.

Caution! The rotor blades are very fragile and crisp. I destroyed one set while I tried to remove the bad warp - just hot water was enough to damage them beyond repair. Lucky, my friend Thomas Bacher had one set to spare ... good guy, thank you.

I have built my kit "out of the box" without use of aftermarket sets (Cutting Edge did a conversion and detailing set, though) and without any scratch building. In the beginning of this project, I intended to use all these sets (in the meantime I've sold them again), but after I started the kit, I lost my spirit.

Although I've detailed the interior (cockpit and compartment), I let the main door only half open - it's a better look, than close shut or full open - in my humble opinion. Sure.

The decals came also out of the box. Even they were some 20 years old and "somewhat" yellow on the sheet, they went clear on the kit. However, the edges of the decals had to be solved and "pressed" onto the kit (see the yellow edge of the German flag).

After airbrushing, I weathered the panel lines with a dark brown / gray wash. Finally, the whole kit was airbrushed with a flat coat. Finally, I used some pastel dust to simulate the weary climate (saltwater, hailstorms, icing, and the like) on Germany's northern and eastern Seas.