Irwin Helicopter #35 - Sikorsky H-5 (S-48, S-51)

I haven't posted a helicopter in quite a while because, well, because I haven't bought any! Some months back this Irwin helicopter became available for a price quite below the king's ransom these usually go for so I picked it up. Every so often I see vintage ads for these and I simply don't recall seeing one where this particular version was listed - maybe I did see it and just forgot. The outline definitely suggests the Sikorsky H-5 (also referred to as S-48 or S-51) and was used by the Army Air Force, then the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. It appears as if the Air Force versions were generally left with their natural metal fuselage while Navy's and Marines were blue and dark blue, and Army OD. That's a very broad statement though and from what I've seen on-line there were a bunch of different schemes. It appears these were in use by the UK's Royal Navy as well as in a number of other countries. Again, generally speaking, the toy world likes to use blue as Air Force - just cuz. Navy works too. But for my purposes, if I ever get to set up my Little Green Army Men again I'll probably draft it for Air Force use. We shall see, we shall see.

Courtesy: Flugzeug.info.net

(https://www.flugzeuginfo.net/galleryphoto_en.php?photoid=5580)

Okay, so after getting this in I was actually quite surprised at how big it was having always thought it a bit smaller than it is. That was a good surprise - I like! The fuselage measures 15" (38.1cm) L x 2" (5.08cm) W. The wheelbase is 4 3/4" (12.06cm) wide and the rotor span is 16 1/2" (41.91cm) with an overall height of 6 1/8" (15.55cm). The rotor is connected to the wheels via gearing and is supposed to move when you push the helo forward, however my sample is jacked-up and doesn't work as it should. There's a pilot inside as well as a 'searchlight' over the cockpit. Still, it's a very nice displayable/playable piece. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

I've posed it here with a vintage Lido 60mm figure for size comparison

Lido figure with Eldon tank