Area 88 1/144: The Olive Grove (F-5A + CH-54 Tarhe)

[strobez]

So, I suspect I may be straying into the "any excuse will do" zone for my Area 88 builds.  It's not like there isn't some prime-time ones left to do... I haven't actually built any of Shin's rides yet, for example.  However, I'm stretching the Area 88 repertoire to the max... I'm not into planning a project with a B-707 that appears in the background of one panel.

This one isn't QUITE like that, but it's close.  The story behind the build is as follows.  During a patrol at the Training Base in Greece, Shin - flying a loaner F-5A since he's all out of planes at the moment - experiences an issue with a fuel pump and needs to make an emergency landing.  Instead of ditching in the sparkling waters of the Agean Sea, he sets it down masterfully in an olive grove... without breaking a single branch.  He calls the base to report his location and then enjoys a nice spot of iced tea with the olive farmers daughter while they discuss the ugliness of war.  Later that afternoon Mickey shows up wth the base CH-54 Tarhe to provide the pick up and a ride home (since even if they fix the engine, there's no room for a takeoff).

It's a nice little sidebar chapter in the manga.  Nothing exciting (beyond the emergency landing) happens, but it's somewhat poignant turning point in the overall story because, after the olive farmer's daughter finds out Shin is not just a soldier, but a mercenary, she accuses him to profiting off death and destruction.  Shin begins to realize he's not just a dumb kid who was tricked into drunkenly signing enlistment papers... he actually IS a mercenary.

Poingnent or not... it gives me a chance to build a 1/144 Tarhe... so who's complaining?

Of course, this all started because I came across this little box... I like the white box, it really catches the eye.



The sprues are... less appealing.  So let?s try to work some magic.



Wait... magic is called off. Something just wasn't sitting right with me, so I compared it to my half-started Revell F-5E. Look at the size of this behemoth. 1/144 indeed!  More like 1/120!



I was going to just cancel the project until I realized I had a half-started F-5E in my hands.  How hard could it really be to back-date it to a passable F-5A?  Well, first the wings need a trim... as does the hour-glass shaped fuselage. I'm not going to bother to try and shave a few mm off from the fuselage length though... we'll just say it's the stretch version.



A bit of cutting, then a bit of trimming, then a bit of filling and a bit of putty.



Actually, I'd say that does look a bit like and F-5A, don't it?



Top and bottom both painted. Now for some camouflage.



Hmmm... that?s a bit too lime for my taste... might need a second go.



Yeah. That?s the ticket!



Final details coming together.



Wheels on... now, about that canopy...



Canopy masked and painted, and the hinge scratched up and painted.



Whew! It fits! The canopy is open.



A panel wash, and this one is going in the books... now to start on the other half of this build...

[strobez]

Ok... so about that Tarhe... well it comes in a nice small, compact, little box.



And I think all the parts are there... but who knows, because there are no instructions!



This one is going to take some decision-making to figure out.  First off, do I want to use the resin cabin or the vacu-formed clear part?  Also, do I date add a motor to the rotors?  Hmmm... probably.

[PR19_Kit]

But where will you put the motor Greg? The Tarhe 'fuselage' has almost no depth at all under the rotor. 

Or do you have a 'pancake' style motor small enough to fit in there?

[strobez]

Well... it would have to sit inside the cargo pod... so it wouldn't be perfect. How imperfect would depend on the size of the motor. I have really small ones (less that 8mm) that might do the trick, but I'm not sure if they're strong enough.  I'll have to run some tests.

[PR19_Kit]

But if the Tarhe is carrying the pod it couldn't lift the F-5A, the pod sits right underneath the winch.

[NARSES2]

Great camo on the F5 

[Spey_Phantom]

great job, i also converted an F-5E into an F-5A about a year ago.
didnt bother to cut the fuselage either, the difference is minimal.

[strobez]

Thanks guys!

But if the Tarhe is carrying the pod it couldn't lift the F-5A, the pod sits right underneath the winch.

Y'know, until you mentioned it.... I never really thought about it, but that makes a lot more sense.  For some reason, in the manga, they disassemble the F-5A and load it into the pod.  But, why wouldn't they just...?

Oh well. I ordered the kit with the pod, so it would be a shame not to use it. Especially since that's the way it is in the story.

Anyway, I got brave, so step by step. I thought it was safe enough to glue on the legs and the tail... now what?



I thought this was a choice of pieces, but the vast difference in size leads me to believe they're supposed to be cut up and merged, rather than chosen.



Easier things first... the slot drilled out for the motor.



Fits... like a glove!



CAREFULLY cut out the windows... very carefully.



Dry fit... for safety purposes.



Ok... so... where do the rest of the pieces go?



There's a little box with wings, and a pipe (that goes up near the rotor, but attached to what?). There's also a few mysteries on the parts held together by flash. I can figure out the three wheels easily enough, but the wire "V" shaped bits i'm guessing are the four anchor points that go on either side of the legs along the fuselage. But the two hammers and the four little squarish bits are a complete blank.

[PR19_Kit]

Wow, that's one TINY motor there Greg! 

[Rick Lowe]

The 'V' bits are probably something to do with securing the Pod, but other'n that, I'm lost.

Try something in here:

https://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1924&bih=940&ei=YLvfXKfZBYbc9QO16KrYCA&q=ch-54+tarhe&oq=ch-54&gs_l=img.1.1.0l4j0i30j0i5i30j0i24l4.793.2444..4576...0.0..1.175.867.0j5......1....1..gws-wiz-img.....0..35i39.XX7etlrilRo

Maybe this might help?

http://www.lesmaquettistes.com/t3780-ouvre-boite-sikorsky-ch-54-skycrane-revell-1-72

and here

http://modelismoinstructivos.blogspot.com/2014/

And you've probably already got there, but would it help if you attached the pod first, then the cabin, so there's something to rest the thing on, and the cabin isn't sticking down on it's own and liable to get knocked off?
As I say, the thought of Grandma and Eggs is probably in there somewhere, but FWIW.

[PR19_Kit]

I can't recall any similar V bits in the 1/72 scale Revell kit, except maybe for the anti-twist linkages on the main landing gear legs. I'll have a look at my unbuilt one when I get home tomorrow.

[strobez]

Ok. So, after some careful looking and studying, I've come to the conclusion that the 4 little bits I couldn't figure out are, in fact, un-used extras. They don't appear on the website/eBay parts photos (although apparently I didn't get a full complement of brass wires either... but I can work around that easily enough). The only one of the three kit versions to list the parts is the Daisy Cutter, but their location in the mould leads me to believe that there was no real point in trying to remove them.

With that settled, everything else now makes sense. So I glued a few more of the bits on, lest they become wayward snacks for the carpet monster, and I kept doing surgery on the cabin windows. So far (SO FAR) I've only snapped one bit of framing, but it was easily replaced with a bit of styrene and some CA glue. Still some more windows to drill out, so... fingers crossed!

[Rick Lowe]

Coming along well. 

[Old Wombat]

 

[strobez]

So... continuing on Operation: Shelf of Doom Rescue - I'm back at this project...

It stalled out because... well, I got tired of doing surgery on bits of vacu-formed clear plastic to get it to fit into the tiny cut-out resin windows...

All it took as inhuman patience, a steady hand and some unholy curse words... but I got it done.  I painted up the interior of the cockpit and added a couple of figures... including a pilot and F-14A ace pilot Mickey Simon who came along for the ride.

The no instructions resin bits were a bit of a challenge as well, but I think I've got everything sorted out now.  Now we're into painting... and what colour do you paint a CH-54 that only appears in a B&W manga? Why... Olive Grove Drab of course!~