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The Ka-27PS (NATO designation Helix-D) is a SAR (Search And Rescue) version of the Kamov Ka-27 Anti-Submarine Helicopter.
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In 1969 the Soviet Union began developing the Ka-27 to replace the decade-old Kamov Ka-25 "Hormone" anti-submarine helicopter.
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The new helicopter would have to be able to fit into the same small hangar space as the Ka-25 so many of its features would appear to be similar.
The first prototype flew in 1973. |
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Like it's predecessor, the Ka-27 retained Kamov's well-proven contra-rotating co-axial rotor configuration which omits the need for a tail rotor and shortens the length required for each main rotor blade. |
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The Ka-27 is extremely stable and easy to fly, and automatic height hold, automatic transition to and from the hover and auto-hover are possible in all weather conditions. |
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This Ka-27 PS lower fuselage is sealed for buoyancy, and it also carries external flotation gear, external fuel tanks, and has a 300-kg capacity hydraulic rescue winch. It's primary mission is to rescue survivors from shipwrecks and downed aircraft but is also performs utility operations and ferrying tasks. |
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The Helix D is operated by a crew of 3, including pilot, technical coordinator, and winch operator. |
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This kit became a shelf queen twice in it's life so I'm very happy to be able to call it finished! First there was an unfortunate accident on the workbench where the landing struts and rotors hubs were crushed and broken in a way that I didn't think I could fix so it got sent to the shelf for two years. |
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One day I decided to give it another try so I managed to repair and replace parts until it looked nearly as good as it did before the accident. Things progressed well during painting and decaling until I mistakenly applied lacquer thinner instead of mineral spirits to clean up some panel lines and back to the shelf it went for another 2 years. |
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So it took a global pandemic, a stay-at-home order and being furloughed to get it back on the workbench where I patched up my botched paint job and finished it to the point where I'm calling it "complete". |
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While this is not one of the hightest quality kits on the market, it does a very good job at capturing the look of the Helix. |
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It pays to take your time assebling the rotor hubs and control linkages. Several times I got confused between the upper and lower hubs and was about to attach the wrong part to the wrong hub. |
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Despite my frustrating mishaps during this buildup, I'm very happy to have stuck with it and finished. There is something very lovable about the Helix, it's a design that stands alone, it was a perfect solution for the Soviet Navy's very specific mission requirements and it still serves those tasks today. |
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Kit: Zvezda #7247
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Scale: 1/72 |
Value:
This kit retails for around $20 (US) range which isn't too bad considering it's one of the only choices in this scale (some of the other options are the same kit released from a different company). |
The Kit:
1 black and white instruction sheet with 10-step exploded views.
3 sprues molded in light gray containing approx. 108 parts.
1 transparent sprue containing 7 parts.
1 decal sheet with options to build either "17 Yellow" of the Northern Fleet or "54 blue" of the "Federal Aerospace Search and Rescue Service".
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Assembly:
We begin in the cockpit where things are very toy-like. There is a very basic stick and collective, but no no anti-torque pedals, no details on the seats, no overhead instruments, no instruments on the center-floor console, no back to the main instrument panel, the rear bulkhead just has a recessed rectangle to represent a door. I added masking tape seat harnesses, painted controls on the floor panel, made my own roof instrument panel and tried to add any details I could to help in interior some.
Transparent parts are very thick to the point they are difficult to see through. I replaced the cabin windows with clear 3-minute epoxy, and I made my own heat-smashed replacement window for the right-hand cockpit window. The windscreen wipers are molded into the canopy and are too thick so I sanded them off and replaced with ones made from stretched sprue.
Cleanup is required on most parts, fit is average and filler is needed in many areas.
Exact positioning can be difficult to figure out on some parts. I couldn't figure out how the flotation equipment boxes were supposed to fit and had to make some custom modifications.
The main rotors are fairly tricky to assemble. A lot of test fitting is required and I ended up having to shorten and lengthen some of the control linkages to fit correctly. In order to simplify the kit, Zvezda omitted quite a few parts in the main rotor area, I did the best I could to fabricate the missing linkages with sheet styrene and stretched sprue.
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Paints used:
Tamiya XF-2 White
Tamiya XF-23 Light Blue
Tamiya XF-80 Royal Light Gray
Model Master 4703 Engine Red
Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver
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After-market Parts:
None |
Recommendation:
This kit could be a bit frustrating for a beginning modeler, but to anyone else who is a fan of helicopters it's a great kit to have in your collection. With a bit of TLC it builds into a pretty nice kit. |