ZE419, a Sea King HAS5 that (temporarily) forgot how to fly

[Brandy]

On 6/30/2017 at 8:43 PM, Martian Hale said:

Can't argue with that, I'm the only remotely sane one here!

 

Martian

Remote, yes, sane......hmmmmm

 

Ian

[moaning dolphin]

I'm back, didn't want you to think I had just thrown a hand grenade in and left! Been Canada day weekend over here so been a bit busy!

 

Yes we used to lash down the exhaust blanks, especially if they were left on deck. I shall have a trawl to see if I can find any pictures (although with PB holding out for extortion I don't know how I am going to post them) In short we would take a standard white nylon lashing (the kind Bill used on his wasp) and take the small fixed hook and  thread it through the handles on the exhaust blank. it would then be threaded under the two hand holds on top of the engine and then through the hand holds of the other blank. the non adjustable end was attached to the hand hold below the exhaust, the other adjustable end was fitted to the hand under the other exhaust and then graunched so that it would hold them in place. This method worked very well and held the blanks in tight. I even saw a Mk4 crew start up (Aircrewman was marshaling which is why they missed the blanks!) with the blanks lashed in and it wasn't pretty at all!

 

She is coming together very nicely, I do like those blanks!

 

Bob

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Bob - thanks; that's perfect.  Pics would be a bonus, but don't waste too much time (& def no money to the PB shysters), because your description is enough to go on.  

 

I still need to work out how to do the lashings - I am actually toying with the idea of custom PE for the metal bits.  Still, since I have barely even started on the weapons stations / wiring, the Forth Road Bridge gear or (gulp) the rotor head, there's still time for that!

 

Cheers, Shippers

 

C

 

 

[moaning dolphin]

A lot of the pictures just have a bungee hooked to the top and bottom hand hold through the handles. Its amazing how few pictures there are of Seakings in fly 2 in a fully wrapped up configuration!

 

Bob

[perdu]

Bob mentioned my lashings and as you're a full 'grown up' scale bigger why not just use a couple of Evergreen 10 x 20 thous strips to do the job

 

I have to say the blanks 'as is' are blimmin marvellous

 

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

OK, new topic.  See if you can guess what I am up to now...

 

 

Not difficult, is it?  These are tracings to give me a reasonably accurate layout of the attachment points for the prominent red weapon wiring, with associated strong point for the lanyard, rectangular plug, position of the weapon carrier, etc.  Since the wires are complicated in places, with joins and different coloured sections - and because they will be made from relatively thick wire - my cunning plan is to fettle them into shape well away from the aircraft, so that only minor adjustments need to be made when gluing them in place.  That will, I hope, minimise the chances of needing to use lots of glue to hold things in tension, the risk of red bleeding on the RAF BG, etc.

 

Only time will tell whether it works!

 

More later

 

Crisp

[Gingercoastie]

I am new to this forum and find it hard to believe the standard of work. I am feeling inspired to try and make one of my old cabs but I think I would be disappointed if it didn't come anywhere near this standard. 

 

I have also also learn lots about seakings (I probably should be ashamed of my lack of knowledge) and model making so thank you very much 

[bzn20]

5 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Not difficult, is it?

 

We used to do that on skin changes,  Huge Hi tech brass rubbing. Either send/fax them off in several strips to the factory for repair info or/and use it as a template. Works like a charm !

[bzn20]

46 minutes ago, Gingercoastie said:

I am new to this forum and find it hard to believe the standard of work. I am feeling inspired to try and make one of my old cabs but I think I would be disappointed if it didn't come anywhere near this standard. 

 

I have also also learn lots about seakings (I probably should be ashamed of my lack of knowledge) and model making so thank you very much 

 

Welcome to BM ! You landed on one of THE builds of all builds!

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

1 hour ago, Gingercoastie said:

I am new to this forum and find it hard to believe the standard of work. I am feeling inspired to try and make one of my old cabs but I think I would be disappointed if it didn't come anywhere near this standard. 

 

I have also also learn lots about seakings (I probably should be ashamed of my lack of knowledge) and model making so thank you very much 

 

Thank you - but you'll be surprised how much you can do (and how will you know until you have tried it?).  As you will see if you read through this build, it took me several attempts to get to this point; for a start, I have effectively riveted much of the fuselage twice.  This was purely because I knew in my head exactly what I wanted it to look like, and my first effort wasn't really hitting the mark.  Judging by your avatar, you kniw exactly what you want it to look like - so go for it!

 

It's your model; you will get huge amounts of friendly advice on here, but in the end the only person you have to please is yourself.  It's also not a race; this build alone has already taken me almost a year.... and I have barely started the rotor head yet.

 

Above all.... have fun!

[heloman1]

Lookin' good Crisp, I do like the layout sketch, well done...

 

Colin

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

It feels as though almost everything I have posted recently has been preceded with the caveat "this is quite hard to photograph"... Well, this is quite hard to photograph.

 

I have started the process of weathering / toning down / varying the paint job.  I generally use the oil dot technique - much beloved of our AFV cousins - for this.  The good news is that you can revisit things as often as you like, overlaying oil coat on oil coat to obtain different effects, some of them pretty subtle.  The bad news is that all this takes a long time, because oils take so long to dry.

 

This first go is an experiment; I wanted to see whether I could tone down the rivets enough just using oils, or whether I was going to need to airbrush another misted coat of Mr Color before using the oils to add variations and patina.

 

Anyway, for what it's worth, here is part one.

 

It's best photographed from a reasonable distance away - this was shot with my iPhone from approximately 3 feet away.

 

The section I have worked on runs from the exhaust down and back at a roughly 45 degree angle towards the tail wheel, and stops roughly below the Sea Searcher radome.  You can pick it out in the photo mostly because there is a noticeable difference in reflectivity - but I hope you can also see that the rivets are less In Yer Face.  

 

You can also see the effect quite well here:

 

Port side walkway has had a bit of oil paint, and starboard hasn't.  Again, I think / hope you can see that the rivets are less obviously SILVER, especially at the end nearest the radar.

 

It is important not to do too much at one time with this technique - cos if you do, the danger is 1. that all the oils blend into a single greyish mush, thus ensuring there are no any subtle variations in colour (which is half the point of this) and 2. that you overdo it.  It's easy to add more - and there is no limit to how many times you can do this.  But overdo it early and it's pretty hard to get rid.

 

For those who are interested, the oils used are as follows:

 

Titanium White

Ivory Black

Burnt Umber  (all three Daler Rowney "Georgian" tubes available pretty much anywhere, including WHSmith, which is where these came from)

 

Payne's Grey

Prussian Blue (both Winsor & Newton, available from any art shop)

 

Neutral Grey

Intense Blue

Magenta (all 502 Abteilung oils which are specially designed for modelling - these obtained from the interwebs). 

 

There is a lot more of this to come, but you have to make a start somewhere.  

 

More soon

 

Crisp

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[Martian]

Coming on nicely Crisp, I am looking forward to seeing this at Old Sarum which looms like a giant looming thing.

 

Martian

[Bigdave22014]

1 hour ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Prussian Blue (both Winsor & Newton, available from any art shop)

 

Shame you can't get Pusser's Blue....

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Or Pusser's Red Lead...

[TheBaron]

2 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Port side walkway has had a bit of oil paint, and starboard hasn't.  Again, I think / hope you can see that the rivets are less obviously SILVER, especially at the end nearest the radar.

The variation on the port side is clear to see in a very subtle way (if that makes sense?).

 

Given the dynamic range and gamut limitations of smartphone cameras, they're always going to yield less 'life' to such details when compared to the eye - which is why seeing such beauties as this in the flesh is always so rewarding!

 

I'll be following this stage of proceedings with especial interest Crisp never having tried such a technique before. 

 

Tony

[keefr22]

3 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

but I hope you can also see that the rivets are less In Yer Face.  

 

Sounds like a bit of a fine balancing act here Crisp, after all that effort rivetting I'd say the last thing you'd want is for them to be not at all in yer face!

 

My old eyes aren't focussing too well on the screen tonight, but from what I can see the toning down looks good so far!

 

Keith

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

You're right, Keith, it is a balancing act (but isn't all weathering?).  My plan all along was to tone the rivets down.  They need to be less obviously silver; you see the real ones clearly (though only sometimes) because they catch the light, not because they're a different colour.  In some places - notably the black anti-glare panel on the nose and where the gearbox access doors get sooty immediately behind the exhaust - they'll pretty much disappear unless you really look for them, but in others they will be pretty clear.

 

That's why I'm using oils to do the weathering & fading.  It takes much longer, but in this case that is a good thing, because the drying time means you have to pause quite often.  Misting fine, thin coats with an airbrush can be really effective if you're a better airbrusher than me - but in my hands it's much more likely that I'll squeeze the trigger for half a second too long and overdo it.  I also find it much easier to get variations with oils than with a sprayed coat.

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

For what my input is worth,as never in a million years would I ever be that good, you have got the balance spot on.

Helicopters are notoriously difficult to get looking right as they are never smooth and your tutorial will hopefully encourage others to try.

Unfortunately I work in 1/72!

[perdu]

That's OK Scimitar, he's going to do us a Sea King in the gentleman's scale next, just as a fine-detail tutorial you know. 

😇

 

 

 

 

 

 

😈😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, joking apart the finish on this is getting to be awesome-er 

 

The darned thing looks like a helicopter

 

Not a model, it's just fantastic

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

27 minutes ago, perdu said:

...he's going to do us a Sea King in the gentleman's scale next, just as a fine-detail tutorial you know. 

 

He will, but only if he lives to be about 150...

 

There IS a mega-scratch-build in my modelling future plans dreams, but it's definitely not a 1/32 Sea King!  In fact it's not an aircraft at all.  

 

I would like to build a model of every ship in which I served.  I have one of Peter Hall's exquisite 1/350 Leanders (to be built as Dido, the Ikara Leander I joined as a Mid in 1979); I also have one of his County Class DLGs (to be Norfolk, which I joined in 1981 straight out of university).  You have already seen my Ark Royal (1987-1989), which will be resumed as soon as I finish this Sea King.  

 

That leaves Boxer (1983-1984), Broadsword (1989-91) and Blackwater (CO 1991-1994)...  Oh, and the ship in which I went to war, which is the mega-scratch-build.

 

HMS Fearless, 1982, in 1/350.  Definitely not until I have retired, so don't hold your breath.  [I might build Blackwater as a trial run to learn lessons about building ships from nothing but plans, because Fearless' hull shape was pretty complex, what with the dock and all]

 

When you add in the Lynxes wot I have flown (XZ722 & ZD260 in particular), plus an 819 NAS SAR Sea King... and take account of the glacial speed with which my builds tend to proceed... and the other things in my stash (see signature block for some of them)...

 

Sorry, Bill; there's just not going to be enough time for a Gentleman's Scale Queen of the Skies!  

 

[Of course, if someone were to be crazy enough to release a kit, I would undoubtedly not be able to resist.  Breath not held.]

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, all joking aside, I am seriously considering undertaking a major stash reduction exercise.  

[perdu]

Joking aside...

Yes, I did that many years ago ending up with mostly stuff too decrepit for eBay left in two boxes

 

Sold some stuff far too cheaply but if you play the eBay game you need to take a hit on the chin sometimes

 

Sold a first edition Frog Gannet in the original pale turquoise plastic in its opening worktray box

 

99p

 

Only a game innit!

 

I'll be alongside for your ship builds as long as I last that long. ☺

 

The 1/72 Sea King?

 

OK I'll do it after Christmas

 

☺

[Martian]

Stash reduction? Never a good idea in my experience, you only end up trying to buy again much of the stuff you have sold.

 

Martian

[perdu]

Ain't that the truth

 

😟

[andyf117]

Content withdrawn - I will NOT be threatened by a moderator, simply because I queried the actions of another...

Edited June 27, 2020 by andyf117