1/48 Academy MH-60G Pave Hawk

Gallery Article by David Mielke - "VMFA314Knights" on Sept 14 2016

 

      

U.S.A.F. MH-60G Pave Hawk 
Another recent addition to my personal air force is this 1/48th MH-60G "Pave Hawk".  I was inspired to build this kit after seeing photos of a few Pave Hawks done up in desert camouflage.  Figuring I will eventually build my UH-60A "Blackhawk" (yes I do have a few too many still sitting in the stash...) in standard helo green I figured this would be a nice contrast (and it compliments my AH-1S "Cobra" Desert War helicopter nicely).

Click on images below to see larger images

The MH-60G Pave Hawk is a twin-engine medium-lift helicopter operated by the Air Force Special Operations Command. The primary missions of the MH-60Gs are infiltration and supply of SOF in day / night or marginal weather conditions as well as combat SAR (Search & Rescue). 

As I was aiming to build a few kits over the year, this kit was built OOB (definitely my preferred method). ...Although I can appreciate the absolutely amazing builds that I have seen other modeller's complete ...and it almost inspires me to go the distance to improve the kit...but then that would cut into production of my next intended build. :)  So, onto my straight-forward build without too many issues, except cleaning up sink marks in the pit area of this kit.  Lots could be done to improve the kit detail, especially in the interior, however considering the low cost of the Academy kit I am pleased with the results OOB.  I decided to heavily arm my version to distinguish it a bit and give it that "don't mess with me" look that tends to be a crowd pleaser.

Light paint weathering on this one, as the repaint was fairly new in operation, a bit of a panel wash was added to bring out the detail and it was ready for display. In any case, it looks to me like it means business sitting on the shelf next to my other modern desert warriors...not bad entertainment for under $20 of plastic. 

Try one out yourself - Happy Modelling, 

David Mielke

Photos and text © by David Mielke