Sikorosky H-34

Printscale Decals, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

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The Sikorsky H-34 and its variants is one of my favourite helicopter subjects, not least because of the wide variety of liveries and markings it can be finished in. The opportunity to review this Print Scale set of decals was therefore most welcome.

The decals come in a zip-lock plastic bag with a colour printed and folded A-4 sheet, that is the colours and markings guide. This provide a single colour profile of each subject (actually two for the USCG machine), along with a small colour photo of each. Colour call-outs include FS-numbers. A quarter of the sheet is dedicated to a four-view stencil placement guide.   

The decals look to be very nicely printed, with excellent registration. Opacity is hard to judge without testing, but I have no reason to doubt these, as colour density looks good. There is a main sheet of aircraft markings and insignia, plus a second small sheet of stencils. The small white markings barely show up when scanned, but trust me, they look fine.

The set covers an attractive variety of American machines, the options being:

• CH-34A Choctaw (54465) US ARMY Medivac 1960.

• US Coast Guard HUS-1G (later designation H-34G), serving in the New Orleans area, early 1960.

• UH-34D BUNO.148771 HMM-362 “UGLY ANGELS”, 1966 Vietnam.

• HMM-363 UH-34D 148077 (c/n 58-1191) in Alaska to support VQ-1 and the Army Security Agency.

• Sikorsky UH-34D Seahorse, US Marines, BuAer 148062, HMM-364, MCAS Tustin CA, ca 1965.

• UH-34D Seahorse (150219) YP20 HMM-163 Vietnam 1967.

• Sikorsky HSS-1N Seabat, US Navy, BuAer 147990, HS-7, CVS-15 USS Randolph, ca 1962.

• Sikorsky HSS-1 Seabat, US Navy, BuAer 143930, HS-4, CVS-37 USS Princeton, ca 1959.

Reportedly Variable Performance

I have no personal experience of using Print Scale’s decals, but I have recently read on HyperScale’s Plane Talking comments that suggest their performance varies from acceptable to poor; with the main problem being their fragility. A coat of Future or proprietary decal strengthening product apparently helped with this problem.

To balance this, I have recently had verbal reports from a couple of modellers that their Print Scale decals worked perfectly.

Print Scale prints some attractive subjects, but their reputation is less than stellar; with supporters and detractors about even in my limited experience of the brand. I wonder if it’s case of the product having changed for the better, as the verbal accounts I received were using recent purchases.

(Editor's Note - I have just bought a set of Printscale Blenheim decals, and they performed perfectly. They were robust and laid down over a dark grey, semi-matte surface without any problem)

This is a nicely printed set of decals providing some interesting H-34/HSS colour scheme options.

However, it seems given Print Scale’s variable reputation that to proceed with caution would make sense, and test any Print Scale decals you purchases with a subject you do not plan to use from the sheet, before committing to finish your model in one of schemes offered.

I encourage users to of newly purchased examples of Print Scale’s products to report back HyperScale’s “Plane Talking” with their experience.

Thanks to Printscale Decals for the review sample.

Text and Images Copyright © 2014 by Mark Davies
This Page Created on 24 July, 2014
Last updated 24 July, 2014

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