Fujimi Westland Wasp

[Johnny Red]

Hi all just a quick one, yesterday I went on the Fujimi site and saw a 1/48th Westland Wasp MK. 1 the one with the wheels , I've never built one in that scale? so I phoned the Models for sale site and he said he hopes to get some in but Fujimi don't make a lot of them, so here's hoping he can get some.

[OzH]

You see them come up once in a while on ebay, not to espensive compared with some kits.

I have 4 or so in the stash, got some plans for various schemes and even a Scout, have to see what comes up..

Just a pointer, Fujimi do sell one with a Scout, the Army version with skids, not wheels, on the box top, I bought it thinking that I would save on convesion hassle, opened the box and its a Wasp!

[Pete in Lincs]

I built one donkeys years ago. Quite simple, as I recall.

You could go mad detailing the cockpit (belts etc) But the engine deck

definately needs a lot of detail adding. Rotor head too.

Don't forget to paint the upper windows clear green (oe am I thinking of something else?)

Pete

[Silver Fox]

I've been after one of those for years, never found one, lets hope he gets some in. Searched Telford for the last three years for one and I mean searched.

[corporate]

Hi all just a quick one, yesterday I went on the Fujimi site and saw a 1/48th Westland Wasp MK. 1 the one with the wheels , I've never built one in that scale? so I phoned the Models for sale site and he said he hopes to get some in but Fujimi don't make a lot of them, so here's hoping he can get some.

As someone else has said, they do come up on Ebay. I disposed of mine acquired that way, though: I have a suspicion that like Fujimi's Gazelle, the Wasp is more like 1/50 than 1/48, so alongside other 1/48 models it just looks a bit silly. I went to the trouble of acquiring some 1/48 AS-12/AS-11 missiles too, thinking to mount these... I might be wrong about the scale problem.

Regards, Malcolm

[thx6667]

As someone else has said, they do come up on Ebay. I disposed of mine acquired that way, though: I have a suspicion that like Fujimi's Gazelle, the Wasp is more like 1/50 than 1/48, so alongside other 1/48 models it just looks a bit silly.

At 1/48 a Wasp would measure around 10.08 inches, in 1/50 9.68 inches, so that's just under a 1/2 inch (ish) difference - me personally its not anything I'd lose sleep over and I certainly don't think it would look out of place next to genuine 1/48 helo. The only arbitor for comparison would be a genuine 1/48 Wasp, but as there are none, the Fujimi kit is the only game in town.

I've seen some made up into very nice models, so if anyone wants a Wasp, go for it.

Edited April 6, 2008 by Jonathan Mock

[corporate]

At 1/48 a Wasp would measure around 10.08 inches, in 1/50 9.68 inches, so that's just under a 1/2 inch (ish) difference - me personally its not anything I'd lose sleep over and I certainly don't think it would look out of place next to genuine 1/48 helo. The only arbitor for comparison would be a genuine 1/48 Wasp, but as there are none, the Fujimi kit is the only game in town.

Perfectly true, and a good point. In practice though, I find the difference noticeable and irritating! Fujimi's Gazelle really does look tiny, to my eyes, alongside a 1/48 ESCI UH-1 for example, even given the difference between these machines in real life; and the 1/48 Nord missiles I mentioned seemed distinctly oversized when placed against the (unbuilt) fuselage of that Fujimi Wasp. Yes, it looks like a perfectly respectable kit, and there's no competition, but I find out-of-scale differences irritating and wonder why on earth any manufacturer does this sort of thing. Heller has been an occasional offender in this regard, too.

Regards, Malcolm

[thx6667]

Perfectly true, and a good point. In practice though, I find the difference noticeable and irritating! Fujimi's Gazelle really does look tiny, to my eyes, alongside a 1/48 ESCI UH-1 for example, even given the difference between these machines in real life; and the 1/48 Nord missiles I mentioned seemed distinctly oversized when placed against the (unbuilt) fuselage of that Fujimi Wasp. Yes, it looks like a perfectly respectable kit, and there's no competition, but I find out-of-scale differences irritating and wonder why on earth any manufacturer does this sort of thing. Heller has been an occasional offender in this regard, too.

Regards, Malcolm

1/50 was for a time vying with 1/48 as the "intermediate" scale between 1/72 and 1/32 and it made for easier calculations, but 1/48 won out. Heller carried on with 1/50 but then that's Heller for you - rather than go for existing scales like 1/144 or 1/350th, they had to create their own "almost but not quite" scales.

[Dave Fleming]

1/50 was for a time vying with 1/48 as the "intermediate" scale between 1/72 and 1/32 and it made for easier calculations, but 1/48 won out. Heller carried on with 1/50 but then that's Heller for you - rather than go for existing scales like 1/144 or 1/350th, they had to create their own "almost but not quite" scales.

You mean like the ever popular 1/125th?

Metrication rules OK!

[corporate]

1/50 was for a time vying with 1/48 as the "intermediate" scale between 1/72 and 1/32 and it made for easier calculations, but 1/48 won out. Heller carried on with 1/50 but then that's Heller for you - rather than go for existing scales like 1/144 or 1/350th, they had to create their own "almost but not quite" scales.

Thanks, interesting - this helps to explain things that seem otherwise whimsical or bloody minded. Re Heller, I was thinking in particular of their ventures in the other direction scale-wise: the Fujimi Gazelle I mentioned looked especially ridiculous alongside Heller's Alouette III, since the latter is to a bigger scale (most suggest around 1/40) than 1/48! And again, for helicopter fans, that Alouette is the only game in town AFAIK in a nominal 1/48...

Regards, Malcolm