Introduction:

With the 1/35 scale Pave Hawk/Black Hawk announcements from Kitty Hawk and 1/35 scale Pave Hawk/Black Hawk releases from Academy, Live Resin decided to offer Special Ops crew, weapon systems and accessories for these helicopter kits, many of which are reviewed for Armorama ((link).

This review covers HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crew set - Pilot 1 (LRM-35024).

Review:

With all the 3D produced kits and figures on the market today, many tend to forget it was Live Resin who introduced the 3D technology to military scale modeling. With about 400 sets in different scales, Live Resin is well known among modelers as the company that provides high quality ultra-realistic resin weapon, accessory and figure sets.

HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crew set - Pilot 1 (LRM-35024) is packed in a hard cardboard box featuring CAD box art images. The image on the front displays the figure from different angles and the one on the back shows the figure inside the helicopter cockpit, stating the figure fits Kitty Hawk (KH50006) and Academy (2201 and 2217) kits.

The box contains a zip-lock bag with resin pieces, additionally protected using bubble wrap. As with all Live Resin kits I reviewed so far, this too offers superbly cast grey resin. I noticed no casting imperfections in the pieces whatsoever, with the sharp details wonderfully delivered. Although large, casting blocks are easy to remove using side cutters and a sharp X-acto knife. Minimal sanding is needed to obtain a perfectly smooth surface, reducing resin dust particles on the workbench to least possible.

The kit includes 15 pieces:

- torso,
- legs,
- right arm,
- left arm,
- head w helmet,
- left boot,
- right boot,
- right hand with cyclic stick (2x),
- collective stick,
- equipment pieces (5x).

The pieces fit really well. Intelligent design with protrusions and indentations in corresponding parts help to optimally align the main figure pieces. All the equipment bits are supplied separately and can be attached to the figure per modeler’s own preferences. I used box art as a template and followed that particular equipment setup to complete the figure assembly.

The figure wears Army Aircrew Combat Uniform (A2CU), a two piece flight suit similar to the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) but with some aviator-specific modifications. Over the uniform, the figure wears Air Warrior Primary Survival Gear Carrier (PSGC) system, a modular combat aircrew ensemble, with holster and ammo magazine pouches, as well as couple of other PSGC system elements. On his head the figure sports HGU56/P helmet with Maxillofacial Shield and ANVIS NVG mount. All the details of the uniform and equipment are well defined and accurately delivered.

Once assembled, the two pilots (LRM-35024 & LRM-35025) look very similar, as most of the pieces in the two figure sets are identical. However, the altered left hand, customized gear setup and differently positioned heads provide enough variation so the two pilots can easily be used together.

I can’t comment on fitting the pilot figures to Pave Hawk/Black Hawk models, as I don’t have any of the specified kits in my stash. However, photos from Live Resin website suggest a very good fit to Kitty Hawk’s KH50006 offering. I added these images to the bottom of this review.

Conclusion:

Superbly cast in resin and easy to assemble, Live Resin figure kits are among my favorites. HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crew set - Pilot 1 (LRE-35024) is no exception to the rule as it provides a realistic and accurate representation of modern US Army helo pilot in 1/35 scale. Together with the rest of the helo crew released under Live Resin label, the figure offers a perfect addition to Pave Hawk/Black Hawk 1/35 scale model kits.


Live Resin kits are available from: https://models-hobby.com/.