I built my model with the right cabin door open, because of problems with the door fit, even though that exposed  the big empty cabin.    (Insert cabin picture here.) 

 Small bits like the landing gear, gear doors, and engine exhausts were left off the model until after painting and decaling.

 I painted my model with Testors Acrylic International Orange, which is a close match.  A couple of months after I finished the model,  I  noticed that my local hobby shop is now carrying Testor’s new line of  Model Master Marine Acrylics, and a Coast Guard Orange is one of the colors.  Comparing the two, the new CG orange is a little bit redder.  (If I knew then what I know now, I would have added a drop or two of red to the international orange paint.)

 One of the biggest challenges in painting the HH-65 is getting the tail rotor area correct.  The inside of the tail rotor area is white, so I had to come up with a way to paint the red plastic “hole” white, and then mask it and paint the rest of the fuselage orange.   I airbrushed the tail area with light gray, to cover the red plastic.  I then put a coat of white over the gray.

 Masking the “hole” so it stays white is a challenge.  You have to cut a circular mask just the right size, and center it perfectly—any misalignment will stand out like a sore thumb.  Adding to the problem is that the tail rotor drive unit extends out of the “hole”, so the mask can’t lie flat.  After several failed attempts to make a decent mask, I gave up and brush painted the orange around the edge.   I then masked the hole with an oversize mask and airbrushed the rest of the airframe with the orange.  After it dried, I removed the mask, and touched up the area where the airbrushed and brush painted areas met.

 I painted the doors off of the airframe.  I dipped each piece in Future, and let it dry for a day.  I then  masked the doors, and sealed the edges of the tape with a little brushed-on Future, and let that dry for a day.  I then airbrushed the doors with the orange.  The overhead windows in the cockpit were painted with Future that was tinted with a little black acrylic paint.

 The windshield is an integral part of the cabin assembly, so it was painted after assembly.  I used the same future, mask, future technique, to make sure the black paint didn’t get in the glass areas.  The main rotor was assembled and painted off of the model. I painted the rotors a light gray, but recent posts on rec.models.scale report that  the color should be a little bit more of a greenish gray than the one I used. 

 The kit provides decal for two versions:  A USCG HH-65A assigned to the US Naval Test Pilot School, and a French version assigned to the French test pilot school.    The decals are simply terrific.  I found them to be of very high quality, on par with quality after market ones.  

 The gloss orange paint provided a nice base for the decals.  I did not need a gloss coat.  I used Future as a setting agent for the decals—I just brushed a little on the spot the decal was going, and then applied the decal.  The decals looked terrific once everything was dry.  I then gave the entire airframe a brush coat of Future, to even out the glossiness of the finish.

 With the decals in place and everything dry,  I attached the landing gear and other little bits.   I then used white glue to attach the doors and windows.   I used a fine brush to touch up the places where the white glue was filling gaps.  I then attached the main rotor, and the model was finished.

 This is the only USCG HH-65 in 1/72 scale, and the only option in any scale until the recent release of the 1/48 scale Trumpeter kit.   This is the old Matchbox kit, with an attempt to update it to the USCG version of the helicopter.  All of the faults of the old Matchbox kit are still there, with the typical thick clear parts and some fit problems.  On the plus side, the decals are terrific, and the kit is a good starting point if you want an HH-65 in 1/72.   I built mine OOB, the only change I made was to putty over the extra window, and it sure looks like an HH-65 to the casual observer.