Wessex HAS3 XP150 - 406 HMS Antrim Flight 78/80

[perdu]

I am in officially

 

after building two RAF Walters one from Matchbox's  HU5 and one from Frog's venerable HAS1/31

Matchbox as HC2 now in RAF Cosford, finished as the museum's machine XR525

and

RAF HAR2 XT601 from a fuselage I'd had lying around

A guy who saw this at Telford on Saturday was amazed "Even got the SACRU cabling!"  Well why wouldn't you?

 

The reason I'm showing these is because of the kit I'm using

 

A friend gave me his old, painted and decorated Matchbox HU5 in Rescue markings which was past its best by a country mile, "Can you make this into something nicer please?"

 

I used some of its bits to help make the HAR2 above, now it's pay back time for this old beastie

 

Stripped down and opened back up here we go

 

The nose section I didn't use on the HC2 has been pressganged into service to make the earlier machine possible

 

I intend giving this a go, concurrently with the Wasp I'm converting from the Airfix Scout

 

Shall we see how we go huh?

 

I have the 4+ Wessex Bible

 

Lots of paint and glue and a fair old bit of plasticard left

 

And time to rock'n'roll 'til Febrooery 

Edited December 15, 2016 by perdu

[TonyTiger66]

I got a seat at the front  !

 

I love seeing old kits recycled and renovated. Really looking forward to this  .

 

 

 

Best regards

TonyT

[heloman1]

Looking good Perdu. Nice to see you recycling your older kits.

 

Colin

[moaning dolphin]

A very interesting choice, not really paid much attention to the Frog Wessex, doesn't look so bad? (I am gauging my opinion on having had Frog Gannets and Attackers!). Looking forward to seeing this one being reborn!

 

Bob

[Colin W]

Wow taking the path less travelled.

Should be a good challenge, good luck

[perdu]

I've been gifted lots of detail data, ta M

 

Hence this may be taking up valuable Wasp time

 

Shame huh.

 

Checking though one of my hideaway kit cupboards I find I've Italeri's HU5, a boxed Froggie and an Italeri H19 as well as this Matchbox one

 

No shortage of usable spare bits if this one's bits didn't make it into my possession

 

Also invaluable Modeldecals Naval Wessex set, dim memory whispers no99

Wonder if that is it, no matter. I've got it and this is how I'll be using much of it

 

I will be making the parrot nose and no doubt the fairing in front of the radome

 

Not to be Humphrey though, I'll leave him to others

 

Golden Yellow over RAF Blue- Grey..

 

 

Mmm

[Colin W]

Yeah we need a yellow and blue one in the GB. Go  for it . 

[perdu]

Wilco Colin

 

Just stopped myself BUYING extra stuff for this, there's this tasty looking hump and radome and exhausts in Hannants

 

Then I thinks no, idiot you already have more stuff than Big H in helicopter storage, build with what you have got

What I've got is loads of info from Mike, loads of Milliput from Dolgellau, stacks of plasticard from Mike's Models

 

A sacrificial if it seems necessary HU5 from my least favourite manuf.turer

 

And time while the Wasp seats rethink glue sets

 

Ill pop a picture or two in tonight to inaugurate this one tonight

[heloman1]

Sounds good Bill, let us see waht you are up to, please...

 

Colin

[perdu]

OK Colin, since you are chief grubber round this build I suppose I need to keep you up to speed slowness

 

Here's the state of play up to an hour ago

 

The bits laid out with Modeldecal no 99 in sight

 

to give some kind of evidence that I've only just begun (Oh that silky, sexy voiced Karen C, mmm) I have laid it out alongside the Wasp build I'm into at the mo'

 

Various bits of Wasperie visible there including the undercart that is giving me the willies just at present

Swamped by the flash a bit but you can see the changes to the foreward firewall and a new tail cone access door panel which will be getting its soundproof quilting later

 

The totally unrepresentative cockpit floor now has the underfloor draught inducer holes cut out

a better one of the firewall and a cabin roof I made which turns out to be unneeded as the kit has a half decent ceiling already

 

The half cut rotor head parts werescratch built a while ago I admit but as it isnt getting used I dont count it as a cheat

 

Ill show it after the end of build, maybe as scale item if I'm short of dosh on pictures day instead of the obligatory quid coin

 

So two builds going as on I want the Wasp ready to take on the trail next February, I hear there's models at Huddy again next year and we need fresh stuff on the club tables

 

February looks like an important month

 

ps, I mentioned an hour ago, now the floor is in and there's a rectangular 'ole in it over the round Sonar 'ole and now I'm about to experiment with wino foil for the firewall access panels  Yummy

 

Pics maybe tomorrow or Wednesday

 

[moaning dolphin]

Looking very nice, one eye on the wessie and one eye on the wapse, I'm starting to go a bit cross eyed! Keep it coming!

Bob

[heloman1]

Looking very good Bill.

 

Colin

[perdu]

Rightoh

 

I hope the rivet counters are looking at Crisp's Sea King and not considering joining the rib counters

 

I have put in most of the internal ribbing (no fishplate spreaders yet where they will be vaguely visible on the rib - stringer crossovers...)

but sadly not all of them, nor the odd additional rib joiners where things got bunged onto the airframe

When the Sonar winch and arrays are in place (as mock ups) I may add the odd extras, or maybe not... 

some of the stuff in the front port corner will be hidden behind racking, not about to try to make this one fly unless exasperation sets in  

 

I mentioned that lovely dogkennel hump in Hannants, forgot to mention I still have lots of garish plasticene lying about doing nowt

 

So a small amount has been pressed into service for casting my own  (pressed into service, I slay me some days, ... next week probably

 

Here's my hump and the basic casting mould for the sonar fairing too

 

 

Soon tidy this up after it gets cast in resin

 

slightly oversize hump easily reduced to size and shape later when it's hard enough to file

 

Also been fitting the fuselage stringers and making the sonar winch base fittings and made a start on some of the racking

 

That is all for a day or so, I need to crack on with the Wasp undercarriage and finish the seats

Edited November 24, 2016 by perdu

[abat]

Great scratch-building. 

[MickE]

That's coming along nicely.

[moaning dolphin]

Great scratch building in there, I take it you will have the door open to display all that effort! In response to your question about the blueness of the bulged window, I don't think it was blued out. Looking at Humphrey in the walk around section that one doesn't but not too sure about regular ones. I however have opted to blue out mine out because my cabin is blanker than a Naval Chefs Course success rate ! So artistic license is enforced!

Loving the sculpting as well!

Bob

[hendie]

nice work there Bill -  and glad to see you've chosen the easy route once again

[perdu]

I think I detect a tad of irony there

 

But with my irony filter in dock for repairs and no reserves I just amn't sure  he he

 

Anyway I am working on my two builds in strict rotation, fair enough as they both have rotors

 

Wopsey was yesterday so Walter is today

 

I have been working the innards and will be for a while yet it seems

 

(All the time my rubber mould for the dogkennel and sonar bulge is curing down in the annexe/garage. first resin pour is tomorrow if I remember )

Today it is time for the sonar hole to get its walls

And to begin making the Sonar machinery and framework

the floor is a separate entity for now and all the gubbinses are going to be fitted to it before glueing them into the fuselage

 

Some of my very precious red Slater's rodding is making the first upright, which the other framework will be getting stuck to or held away from

The winch mounting frame is in situ and so is the frame mount across the floor

the upper sonar duct cavity is installed too now

and can be seen through the door

 

Not much else can, maybe I should stop here 

 

Kidding, I'd miss it if I didn't get it all together

 

I have begun making the screens and other frames too but they aren't IN so they don't get shown

 

 

I'm trying to find pictures of a complete Wessex HAS3 Sonar rig, can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

Even the 4+ book only has details of a cannibalised Humphrey with most of his/her bits missing inside and the fabulous details Bootneck got me don't quite go 'all the way' with whats there

 

If I have to I'll fake it but I'd rather be rightish

 

Night all

Edited November 26, 2016 by perdu

[hendie]

I only ever worked on one Sqn so can't help you there Bill.

 

 

1 hour ago, perdu said:

which the other framework will be getting stuck to or held away from

 

no shades of grey there. I like it.

[heloman1]

Lookin' good Bill, crack on...

 

Colin

[perdu]

Found a lot of great pictures in the XM328 restoration at the Helicopter Museum which have been a great help

 

This is a wonderful thing about the interthingy, always something else to astound you

 

Anyway I got the boys at my garage casting facility (me!) in yesterday on timeannahalf and that resulted in me getting this to inspect

 

Investigation got me to this

 

A blob for the sonar ducting panel  and a bigger whatever for the hump (technical name the hump) which is the famed horsecollar fairing behind the rotor head transmission gearbox

 

For details of the innards of that don't look here, follow Hendie's wonderful Walter thread

So what did we get for eighty pence worth of resin?

 

This

the oversized (deliberately) pair of resin bits to be fettled into shape

 

Hence

 

which eventually gets here

Obviously much fettling to do, should I have bought a resin set instead? Well maybe but if I had I would have missed out on the part of modelling I love, the creative bounce

 

So after mucho fettling with mostly a Swann-Morton Number two craft knife blade (I do not believe that their scalpel blades are inherently strong enough to carve resin as brutally as I have tonight) I get this exquisite form, from that lumpen mass

I like it so after a little more fettling and filling with cyano paste it will be ready to install

Next (Probably Tuesday because Waspie gets tomorrow in the shared time sessions schedule) will be sonar ducting cover to fettle

 

Night all

 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2016 by perdu

[hendie]

there is so much more satisfaction in creating something entirely from scratch isn't there?  I think it was a similar part - the engine housing on my Dauphin build that got me meandering down the scratchy path.  Of course at that point I still hadn't discovered silicone molding and resin, but styrene and epoxy putty were just as good for a one-off.

 

Nice fettling (but you knew that already !)

[heloman1]

That hump has turned out nicely Bill, congrats.

 

Colin

[MickE]

Agreed, the resin parts have come out well.

 

[moaning dolphin]

Very nicely produced lump of resin, looks just as good as the lump I got that cost me a lot more than 80p!

 

Bob