Helicopters GB: Mach 2's 1/72 Sikorsky S-51
A little history taken from the internet: First flown in 1946 and produced until 1951, the S-51 was Sikorsky's first commercial helicopter. It distinguished itself in the Korean Conflict in search and rescue missions for the US Air Force. Westland acquired a license to build the S-51 in Britain. While primarily planned for the civilian market, it was the first British-built helicopter to enter RAF service and was given the nickname “Dragonfly.”
I chose the Mach 2's 1/72 Sikorsky S-51 for our iModeler's Helicopter group build. This is a short run kit that required all of the pieces to be cleaned, modified or be a little creative on installation in certain areas like the main rotors.
This was not a fun build, I almost gave up on it but I am happy to have completed it and have my second helicopter built for this year. It does looks pretty happy on the shelf with the other completed kits.
To see my build progress please click on this link and thank you.
https://imodeler.com/groups/helicopters/forum/topic/sikorsky-s-51-h03s-1-mach-2-1-72/?topic_page=1&num=15
And to really see an excellent build of this same kit, please check out Roberto Lucio's S-51:
https://imodeler.com/2019/12/mach-2-sikorsky-ho3s-1-1-72/
A wonderful result out the very difficult Mach2 kit, Bob!
Finishing a Mach2 kit is an achievement by itself, making a great model out of a Mach2 kit is a tour de force!
Thanks for the great build thread, as well.
Congratulations!
Thank you Spiros @fiveten. I am glad it is done and looks good on the shelf. It makes the Wessex look big.
Excellent results with a challenging kit , @v1pro , Looks nice in Air Force silver !
Thank you Jay @ssgt. I like the silver scheme too. The failed original decals led me to the right path.
Welcome to the club of Mach 2 Never Again! - those are the crappiest limited run kits out there, and the guy who does them refuses to learn from anyone else how to create kits.
A triumph of tenacity over plastic.
Tom @tcinla, thank you. In one Facebook group, one modeler welcomed me to the very few who have built this, another said his hit the wall at Mach 2, and now I have joined the Mach 2 Never Again! ?
Congrats on a great job of making a really bad kit look good Bob!
Dale, thank you.
You've tamed a beast, great job!
Thank you Robert.
Good job on kit from a notorious company.
Dan, thank you.
You did really great on this kit, Bob @v1pro
Personally I have no experience on Mach2 kits but it seems better to stay away from them.
Nevertheless, you performed amazingly on this tiny helicopter.
Thanks a lot for guiding us with your building thread, it was a pleasure to follow your progress.
Thank you, John. It was a pleasure to write the buildup thread. I am not happy with my build 100% but very glad to have it completed and displayed.
Great job on this chopper, love the droopy rotor blades.
Thank you, George. I like seeing the rotor blades to show gravity doing its thing.
Mach 2 and at 1/72 scale too! You the man Bob, great job.
Tom, thank you!
Nice . true grit !
I never made a Mach 2 Kit but I hear that is the speed by which these kits end up in the garbage most of the time !
Thank you, Bernard. The Mach 2 name sure gives these kits a very colourful way to describe them...
Nice work Bob, great looking build and nice save with the silver paint.
Was there any joint which didn't need some putty filler?
George, thank you. In regards to the putty filler, I should have done more but gave up on it. I silver paint scheme did save it from the bin.
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
This to me is a very decent and respectable piece of modeling, that
just looking at it ... takes the viewer back to the times of it's military service.
Good and nice job on this model Bob !
Thank you @de4ever.
Well done, Bob (@v1pro). Tom hit the nail on the head. I built this kit and vowed never to build another Mach 2 kit. Your results are amazing. I have built the AMP kit of this helo and like it much better.
Thank you George @gblair. It looks like Amp is the best kit out there for both in 1/72 and 1/48 scale. And yes to the club of Mach 2 Never Again! From reading other Mach 2 builds on-line many have shared pretty similar views on their builds.
Yep - I too have built a Mach2 kit, and can attest that you should be commended that this even looks like a helicopter! And it's a darn good-looking one at that - well done.
Thank you Greg @gkittinger, after a good week now I am happy with it and going with the silver scheme did save it. In regards to a Mach 2 kit, I doubt I’ll go after one to build any time soon LOL….
Wow Bob, it looks really good, sounds like it was plenty hard work but the end result looks like it was worth it.
Anthony @anthonyricco, thank you. The work did paid off, I am happy with it.