The CH-54 Tarhe helicopter was developed by Sikorsky Aircraft, a company founded by the prominent Ukrainian aircraft designer Igor Sikorski. The first flight of the helicopter, originally named S-64, took place on May 9^th, 1962. Specialized Universal Military Pods were created to expand the carrying capabilities of the Tarhe. A total of 22 of these pods were built.

Dave Morrissette of the IPMS Review Corp had already built and reviewed the initial version of this kit with just the helicopter. He offered me some excellent advice on getting the best possible result. He was not wrong when he said this model was huge and the box it arrived in was no different. It needed to be big to hold all the parts needed to build the kit!

Removing the multiple sprues in each plastic bag, I did notice that quite a few larger parts were warped, But, throughout the build and largely by how the structures were assembled, this was mostly a nonevent. Also, the plastic was typical of what I had come to expect from ICM and was quite soft and pliable. This had its advantages and disadvantages.

The amount of sprue and parts were quite overwhelming initially, until I saw that sprue “H” was repeated four times and lots of parts were used once or twice, while others were used four times. The great thing was that I had spares of certain parts if I needed them…and I did! There were also three of sprue “C1”, which were parts for the pod.

The surface detail on the parts was exceptional and some of the best I have seen from ICM. Like the real helicopter, the model was festooned with raised rivets and plating, as well as petite, recessed panel lines. Well done ICM!! The clear sprue was protected within its own plastic bag, but I noticed some minor scuffing over some of the windows. This was taken care of with a dip in Future Floor Wax.

Reading through the instruction manual showed a logical build sequence and easy to follow construction steps. In a lot of areas, sub-assemblies such as the engines, Universal Pod, rotor, gear box and transmission could be built at any time, painted and put aside to be used later. Interestingly, there were no canopy masking templates included.

I started with the cockpit and found the detail adequate for the scale. Decals were provided for the instrument panel and all control panels. Apart from their mostly monotone black and white colors, the decals would have looked good after they conformed to the raised detail on each panel. However, I used Quinta Studio 3D printed decal set, QD35100, for the cockpit that included seat belts. Much more detail could be added, like wiring and storage areas if the builder was so inclined. Everything fit together very well and looked great when finished and painted. Care was needed removing some of the parts from the sprues and then subsequent handling due to the finesse of the parts and delicate nature of the soft plastic. This followed throughout the build.

The cockpit was then cocooned by assembling five outer skin panels to form the cockpit “cab” – nose, two cockpit sides, the rear wall and belly. Dealing with the seam lines left from joining each panel together left me with a conundrum! Even though I was being careful, there was no way to eliminate the seams without destroying some of the lovely, raised rivet detail.

Seeing that I would likely run into the same situation while eliminating seams from the rear fuselage, tail boom and the cockpit roof, I ordered a Babibi Model 1/32 scale 3D printed decal rivet set. The scale was close enough to the kit’s 1/35 scale, and they were perfect replacements!

Following the instructions, the main winch and cable spool were built and painted with no issues. Three underside fuselage skin panels were placed on a flat surface and glued together, making sure each panel lined up exactly. This laid the foundation to build the internal framework that provided strength and rigidity to the entire fuselage assembly. Pay close attention to the orientation of each cross member as the outside edges were angled and it was easy to assemble them the wrong way. Take note of the recesses these fit into as they showed the correct orientation. Work slowly and glue bit by bit to ensure this frame remains straight.

I was perplexed with the instruction manual as the parts sprue “D” layout on page three showed part “11”, which was a structural support leading from the rear of the main fuselage box back to the tail, was overcolored with orange to indicate (I assumed) it was not used, however in construction step “34” it showed this piece in place. In other steps it was not there. I did a “dry run” and taped this assembly together and found it was needed for maximum support.

With the framework/lower fuselage structure together, the side fuselage panels could be slid into place and glued to the lower fuselage. Again, I worked slowly to ensure that a nice panel line joint was achieved. It was imperative to remove all remnants of sprue gate or excess plastic mold lines from the mating surface to achieve a good fit. Work continued with attaching the rest of the panels until the main fuselage and tail were completed. All panels fit very nicely, but I did need to sand the seam along the rounded edges of the rear fuselage and tail boom. I invariably sanded off some of the raised rivets in the immediate vicinity. 3D rivet decals were used extensively in this area.

The cockpit “cab” was then mated to the fuselage and the fit was tight. The cockpit roof panel followed and I found it helped to achieve a better fit by sanding down the top and sides of the rear cockpit bulkhead a little just behind the pilots’ seats. I think this might have been the result of me not getting the rear cockpit floor seated quite right! After the glue dried, the seams were cleaned up and more 3D rivet decals were employed. It was here that the sheer size of this model could be appreciated!

Each main landing gear sponson “box” was glued together with no issues. Just make sure the edges that butt against the fuselage sides are square to avoid any gaps. The completed assemblies were then slid onto a support spar that was part of the fuselage frame and glued to the fuselage sides. This part of the main landing gear was very strong. The main landing gear legs were seated within their housing and mold and glue seams were removed. These were then attached to the ends of the sponsons. With the soft plastic, I would recommend using metal replacement landing gear, however, I did not replace the plastic gear.

All three wheels were supplied in two halves. They fitted nicely together. Rudimentary radial tread patterns were included. Curiously, the nose wheel hubs did not have any added bolt detail but the main wheel hubs had excellent detail. There are resin replacement wheels, but I used the kit plastic wheels.

I turned my attention to the two engines. Each stage of the engines was separate and joined where the next section was bolted to the previous part. This made it easier to paint and remove glue seams. The engines assembled easily and after all the accessories were added it gave a good representation of the real thing. The finished engines were left off until the fuselage was painted. I did the same with the intake air filters, building each one and storing them to be painted and mounted on the fuselage later.

The Universal Cargo Pod was built next and this was a large model in itself. It was very well detailed inside and out and included three full rows of seats. The only thing missing were seat belts. Be careful cutting the seat frames from the sprue as the soft plastic makes them quite fragile. Also take note of the orientation of the framework and how they attach to the floor. Once the seat squab and backs were attached the assemblies were quite strong. While the instructions show building all the seats provided, it is up to the builder’s discretion as to what he/she wants to load inside, whether all seats, partial rows, or cargo.

The belly, floor and roof of the pod were quite warped and twisted, however, they seated into the slots of the side panels and straightened out. It was possible to pose the rear ramp up or down, although the instructions only show it closed. Five windows were included and fit well after I removed a large portion of plastic sprue attachment that extended right up to the windowpane. This was the same issue I ran into with the windows in the rear and sides of the cockpit “cab”. These sprue stubs were not difficult to remove, but care was needed to not damage or scratch the windowpanes. Basically, I ran my razor saw along the edge of the window and then chipped away the plastic sprue.

Each pod grab handle was removed from the sprue and mold seams scraped away. This took quite some time and care, but they fit into place perfectly. There were 13 handles on each side.

The pod’s four wheel/leg assemblies could be built down or retracted. I chose to display them down. The axel pin for each wheel was tiny presenting a very small gluing surface. I waited until later in the build and after painting to mate these to the pod as well as four hard points at each upper side corner. These hard points encased four yellow winch hooks.

Returning to the helicopter I tackled one of the most delicate and time-consuming tasks of the build, adding all the pipes and control rods mounted on the outside of the fuselage, landing gear sponsons and legs. I cut each of these parts from their sprues using my razor saw and removed mold seams and sprue attachment points in stages to minimize snapping or damaging the parts. Most of them were extremely delicate but fit perfectly and looked fantastic once installed on the model. What was very thoughtful was how most of these pipes were presented on the sprue tree. The whole sprue surrounding each part could easily be detached from the main sprue tree (Sprue “G”) making it much easier to work with. Bravo ICM!!!!

Using Eduard T Face masking set JX308, I masked and sprayed the inside frames of the cockpit windows and doors Tire Black. After they dried and I removed the masks, I ran into my next problem. I could not get the front of the windscreen, “K9” to fit. The bottom, inside edges of the windscreen frame were rounded and the top, outside edges of the cockpit nose panel were square! I sanded the nose edges down to match the rounded windscreen frame profile which helped butt the base of the windscreen against the top of the nose. Then, I found the whole windscreen piece was formed too “flat” to conform to the curvature and profile of the nose. Each lower side window had to be squeezed in carefully to make the whole piece fit properly. The windscreen was quite thin, so careful handling was needed, but it was fortunate that the plastic was flexible enough to allow me to “work” it into place. The end result, however, with careful manipulation and some sanding, was that it fit quite nicely. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the work I did here until it was completed!

I continued with attaching the rest of the “glass” to the rear of the cockpit “cab”. As I mentioned earlier the sprue gates extended up to the edge of the windowpane on the pod and the same occurred with the smaller cockpit side and rear windows. All remnants of the sprue plastic needed removing so these windows sat flush in their recesses, as they mounted from the outside.

The large, curved window, “K3”, for the winch operator/pilot was even thinner than the windscreen and was quite warped. Very careful handling and gluing was needed to get it to fit into the correct position with all edges sitting flush against the cockpit walls and roof. I started by gluing both top edges and then squeezed the bottom, curved corner up and glued it flush. This then luckily resulted in straightening the bowed in right hand side to sit flush. Between the warp in this window and the flat front windscreen, I wonder if the clear parts sprue was removed from the production mold a little early and warped while the plastic was still cooling?

On the top of the fuselage, sat the rotor transmission gearbox and associated assemblies to drive the main and tail rotors. I chose to use the ResKit 3D Printed Unfolded Main Rotor set, RSA35-0046, that was designed for this ICM kit. It was incredibly detailed and included all the fine piping and wiring around and between the main rotor housing and gear box, APU and oil/hydraulics, plus a complete rotor head assembly. Please note that there was absolutely nothing wrong at all with the ICM kit parts, however, the added detail took this highly visible area of the chopper to the next level…and WOW factor!

The kit main rotor blades were used and the ResKit set included wire rods with instructions to drill a hole into each blade for added strength and support. The kit tail rotor was a simple affair with separate blades fitting between two hub assemblies and looked great when done. I attached the main and tail rotor blades at the end of the build. The main rotor blades were now detachable and made the completed model easier to transport and display.

I built and attached the tail rotor transmission and drive shaft assemblies last. I just knew I’d knock something off while handling the long model!! The same went for the tail plane and nose wheel leg. All these parts went together with no problems.

There were three painting and decal options, and I chose the second one that was located at Key Field Air National Guard Base in August, 1982. The colors called for the CH-54 to be painted camouflage green and the Universal Pod in US dark green. I used Mr. Hobby Colors acrylic paint.

To make it easier to paint the huge number of smaller parts, I detached them from their sprues, cleaned up mold seam lines, attached them to cocktail sticks and wrote their part number on tape I wrapped around the stick.

I started applying the decals after an allover gloss coating. On the sheet they were ICM’s high quality but with slightly wide carrier film. My initial concerns about the decals not conforming over the raised rivets came to very little. After a few brushes of Micro-Sol, they snuggled down over the rivets nicely. There were far more decals to apply to the cargo pod, and really brought this to life. The Army National Guard decals on the chopper and pod were very nicely done and added some color to an otherwise very green subject. Each of the six main blades needed decals applied with thin yellow stripes and the four tail rotor blades had red and white stripes applied.

Like Dave and others had experienced, I did have some decals fold over onto themselves, but this seemed to happen mainly when the water they were soaking in was very hot and softened the decal more. I had no problems unfolding them. After removing some silvering under the decals, I sealed them with another gloss coat, followed by several flat coats.

The model build continued with mounting everything that sat on the top of the fuselage. The tail rotor drive shaft was seated into its belt driven mount and fed back into a tunnel where it met the rear drive shaft. This then ran through the base of the tail and into a universal joint and up to the tail rotor housing.

I should have followed the instructions and added the control rod assemblies that mount around the main transmission gearbox before attaching the “V” shaped air deflector. Although it was easier to paint the air deflector already mounted to the fuselage roof, it was difficult to position and glue the control rods in their slots and align them in the correct position on the rotor disk. In the end, they all fit very nicely into their recesses on the fuselage roof.

Both Pratt & Whitney engines were secured to the fuselage roof using an intricate “M” shaped brace as well as two outer, forward supports, and four rear circle braces held each engine in place. Drive shafts ran back through the exhaust pipes and connected to the gearbox housing.

I found it much easier to mount the air filters in their correct position on the front fuselage supports by joining both together with the “Z” shaped support braces first. Note that the front of the left filter sits lower than the right hand one. The rear of the filters simply slotted against the engine intakes and fit very well.

Getting closer (or so I thought) to completing the model, I glued the main and nose wheels onto their axels which included tabs and pins to ensure they seated into the correct position.

Four winches and their cross braces that I had previously assembled and painted were attached to the fuselage sides. These were used to hold the Universal Military Pod in place.

At the base of the tail, the tail skid was glued in its place and fit fine. Then at the top of the tail, I attached the horizontal stabilizer and its support arms. A clear red painted rotating beacon was also glued in its slot at the top of the tail.

Moving forward I turned the helicopter over to attach another clear red painted rotating beacon and several landing lights into their recesses underneath the cockpit. The kit cockpit doors were designed to be closed. I sanded the hinges a little to create a better gluing surface to pose them open and show the detail inside.

The Universal Military Pod was completed by adding the landing gear legs and wheels. Their fit was good. Two forward, side doors were glued open, but I closed the rear ramp door.

The pod’s “hard points” were attached to each corner of the pod encasing four yellow hooks. The hook bases were then fed into the side fuselage winch receptacles. Four stabilizing braces were glued to the roof of the pod and sides of the CH- 54 fuselage.

The main rotor head was glued to its drive shaft and the remaining control rods attached. The main rotor blades, complete with wire supports, were seated into their housings, but not glued, to complete the helicopter.

WOW, this was an EPIC model kit!!! I really enjoyed it! I was challenged in many aspects, but despite its size and complexity, it was also not overly difficult to build for the most part. There was just a lot to it – size and parts count!

I would be hesitant to recommend it to less experienced builders, simply due to the complexities, hundreds of delicate, soft plastic parts and the size of it.

My sincere thanks to ICM for producing this fabulous model kit. Will we see a civilian water bomber in the near future? I’d love to see that. Thank you also to the great folks at IPMS USA for entrusting me with reviewing this model.