CJP

Thanks Navy Elephant, I am very happy with the Sword AEW3 Gannet too - I thought it would have been a very popular kit, but I have only heard of a couple of builds here on BM including yours.

Hi John - your Wessex really turned out well, very neatly painted too not to mention your victory over the blade fold set! Chris

I have added results of my efforts to my AEW3 WIP Chris

Hi, another quick update - I decided I would make a ladder for the radar operators compartment so soldered one up from Albion Alloys brass tube - I added a pin to the top of the ladder that will be glued into a hole drilled into the fuselage - once in place it should help the arrester hook in holding up the rear of the fuselage. I had a play around in Microsoft Paint & made some shapes to represent the black lines outlining the de-icing areas on the finlets - these were printed onto Testors clear decal sheet & sprayed with a lacquer rattle can to seal the lines in - I have applied some of these homemade decals to the outside of the port finlet & while not perfect, they will do with a bit of manipulation - one thing I noticed is that the outline shapes differ between the inside & outside of the finlet - it would be nice if they were included on a aftermarket AEW3 sheet in 1/48 scale. I also started adding the kit decals on the left side fuselage & under the wings - I had trouble getting the finlet stripes to bed down so I painted the finlets red & might try adding black decal strip stripes - I replaced the fuselage roundel with a roundel from an old Model decal sheet which scaled out at 33 inches & looked a lot better to me than the 36 inch roundel on the kit decal sheet. The rest of the kit decals are quite thin & the ones I have done so far have bedded down nicely. I toned down the black de-icing lines by brushing on a very thin coat of Tamiya Sky I have used the kit serials to model XL471/263 V when on HMS VICTORIOUS with 849's A flight- the V came from an old Modeldecal sheet of serial letters & I had to cut the "V" and spread the top slightly to make it like the photo I was referencing. there are a lot of stencils so it will probably take another couple of days to finish decalling depending on how motivated I get. Unfortunately the kit decals do not include the A flight logo for the fin. That's it for now Chris

Hi John - a job well done getting the main rotor blade fold set together - a challenging task but worth all the angst! Chris

Hi David can you explain what you mean by "carpet bombing with MLT' & what result you get from it? Chris

It is really coming to life with all those fiddly bits you are adding - I think the Wessex will be very satisfying addition to your display case. Chris

Enjoyed your WIP Rob and the finished model looks fabulous Chris

Nice work Shaun, looks good in that scheme Chris

Hi John Looking very neat so far, you are handling a very fiddly job well - I agree with you re using @hendies support frame method assembly for a future build - I suggest a test fit of the blades once clicked into the hub & slotted into the blade holder to check the alignment before adding the CA🤞 Chris

Thanks Navy Elephant - I'm currently playing around with Microsoft Paint & have drawn some shapes up to print on clear decal sheet - I will keep your suggestion in mind if what I'm fiddling with does not work out - it would be nice if a decal sheet maker made a 1/48 sheet for the AEW3 that included these de-icing area markings. Chris

Another nice model from you Russ - good job Chris

Great Phantom & the freehand camo is excellent Chris

Hi John, @hendie posted his technique for the scale Warship blade fold set on my Wessex build - page 8 - bottom of page https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235135314-ran-wessex-has31b/page/8/ Chris

I'm looking at 1/48 Fairey Gannet decals & there does not seem to be any sheets in 1/48 scale that include the decals that delineate the de-icing areas on the tailplane finlets - I'm wondering about how I could make these - anyone have any ideas? Chris