AlexN Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Hello all, I am intending to build the Revell 04478-0389 1/32 kit of the venerable Sud-Aviation SE 3130 Alouette II, but on floats, in civillian livery and markings. The aircraft chosen will be Zulu Kilo Hotel November Whisky (KZ-HNW) registered to Helicopters NZ (HNZ) and has an all-orange airframe with white cabin roof and yellow tail skid. The floats appear in the photo that I have to be white or a very light grey, with dark grey strips. Kit box via Scalemates: The photo of the aircaft can be seen here (via the HelicoptersNZ in the 1970s page from 'Top Birds & Everyfing' on Typepad): Photo copyright Top Birds & Everyfing on Typepad This photo also suggests the basis for a very simple but highly-contrasting diorama. The kit has a relatively large number of parts, (at least compared with the as-yet uncompleted and possibly ill-fated Accursèd Seafire 1/72 kit by Pavla that nearly drove me around the twist in very short order: I have a house brick on standby for that one), even without the bits for the Nord 5210 SS-11 missile system. This kit has been impinging on me off and on for some time now, and this Group Build is the perfect opportunity to do something with it . I have very clear memories from when I were quite small of seeing pictures of Alouette-like helicopters with floats on buzzing about, so I went looking on ye internet, and sure enough, quite a few turned up. The one that leapt out at me was the very attractive (well, to me at any rate) orange, white and yellow HNZ machine. I have read through the instructions (I keep all the kit instructions separate from the kits in my collection - coz I'm weird) and will trundle down to the lockup and attempt to retrieve the kit from the slightly-ordered mound of removalist's boxes that the stored part of my collection lives in, in the next day or so. The floats will be made from fine-celled blue Styrofoam building insulation, which I acquired a few sheets of a while ago for making parts for my flying radio-controlled scale models (last used for cowling scoops for my 1:5 Chippie cowling plug). I still have a lot left. If all goes according to plan I might even be able to float it in the bathtub. So, that's the plan. I also have a Plan B, which involves the Airfix 1/72 Crab Sea King HAR3 helicopter - which needs no introduction to anyone. Another brightly-coloured aircraft, all-yellow this time of course. I'll post again with some snaps once I've dug out the kit. Cheers, Alex. <-- likes the look of the nice grass in that photo above. Being in New Zealand, a sheep probably wouldn't be out of place on the mooted diorama... 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Hi Alex, Welcome to the GB and thanks for the overview of your planned entry! I'll be interested to see your scratch building unfolding and wish you the best of luck Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 Thank you very much for the warm welcome, Jaime . The next step is to actually find the thing, and make some preliminary measurements of and calculations for the floats with respect to the rest of the aircraft. Cheers, Alex. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 A very interesting build Alex. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Seconded! I'm in 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 You've got to love a floaty-rotator. Crack-on Alex! Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggles.w Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 This really is going to be a fascinating line-up of machines. Very pleased to read you'll be switching to a civil version. 13 hours ago, AlexN said: If all goes according to plan I might even be able to float it in the bathtub. ... well that really shows commitment to the theme!! My build is weighty resin, so I'm not going to rush to do the same! best of luck with the build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 Thank you everybody - I'm well chuffed that you are all interested :). I trundled down to the lockup this morning, and of course the tea-chest that the Alouette was in was right at the bottom of the stack, against the wall at the back, in the (left hand) corner. Where else would it be? I have decided to simply post runner snaps today, and leave the type information for the next post, probably tomorrow. Note my @Nigel Heath (and also Hyperscale) blue-card impersonation/shameless copying - and my even more shameless attention-seeking device back there <--. Not really cricket, is it? 1. I keep mentioning the lockup on BM - here it is. The tea-chest sized boxes contain most of my model kit collection: aircraft at the back (10 boxes); AFVs, trucks and so forth on the right. There are several tea-chests'-worth at home, too. the mailing tubes on the left hand side contain plans for various large-ish scale radio control scale aircraft - most of them by Brian Taylor, and a number from John Ranson (of the RCScaleBuilder forums and Radio Control Scale International magazine fame). The Ranson plans are large-scale electric-powered: 100"+ wingspans... Boxes in the lockup by Alex1N, on Flickr 2. Alouette kit box in the lockup, after digging it up from the last box that it was possible for it to have been in. Seen here sitting on an AFV tea-chest for convenience whilst having its portrait taken. I know that I have already posted Scalemates' version: but this is mine own, so there Alouette kit box in the lockup by Alex1N, on Flickr 3. Alouette kit box side information panel. The camera was doing its usual thing of focussing where it wanted to, not where I did Alouette kit box side information panel by Alex1N, on Flickr 4. Not one but two fuselage parts frames. For some reason Revell included two seemingly identical frames in the box: one was inside the taped-up plastic bag, the other was 'loose' (actually packed in rather tightly!) in the end-opening box. As far as I could tell on a cursory inspection, they are the same... Two fuselage parts frames by Alex1N, on Flickr 5. Alouette cockpit and engine parts frames. Note the loose piece in these parts snaps Alouette engine and cockpit parts by Alex1N, on Flickr 6. Alouette clear parts frame still in its heat-sealed bag, markings sheet and Nord 5210 SS-11 parts frame. The armaments frame won't be used in this build as I am de-militarising this kit. The 'floating' part turned out to be no. 104 and comes from this frame. It is part of the cockpit controls for the (anti-tank) missile system Alouette clear parts and Nord 5210 SS-11 parts frames by Alex1N, on Flickr 7. Steel rule and Canon lens cap give the scale to the fuselage parts. Clean, crisp and delicate moulding with relatively little flash. Dark green is my least favourite colour polystyrene to work with, but beggars can't be choosers Steel rule and Canon lens cap give the scale to the fuselage parts by Alex1N, on Flickr 8. Closer-up snap of the rear fuselage pieces. Note the moulding process flow-mark in the cabin base part, bottom centre Closer-up snap of the rear fuselage pieces by Alex1N, on Flickr 9. Not an Alouette - a geo-survey helicopter hovering above our house. Snapped while it was doing a survey for forthcoming hazard reduction burns (I think). The crew seemed to be watching me watching them watching me watching them (to paraphrase the Rogue Traders), as it hovered overhead long enough for me to get this snap with reasonable sharpness - given that the lens was wound out to 600 mm (35 mm equivalent). This might be a very heavily modified EC-145 - or a Bell of some description. I have been meaning to put this snap up on Flickr and BM for some time, and this post gives me a convenient opportunity to do so, even though it isn't a float-plane of any sort or description Not an Alouette - a geo-survey helicopter hovering above our house by Alex1N, on Flickr I seem to have got a bit rusty transferring info from Flickr: lots of pasting mistakes and so forth. Still, I've got here in the end. As I said up top, type information in the next post, since it is getting late. I trust that getting the parts out of the box doesn't exceed the 25 % pre-GB building limit . I'll have another look at the very clear instruction booklet (photos of bits of which, anon) in bed. Cheers, Alex. <-- not an Alouette either 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 1 hour ago, AlexN said: I have decided to simply post runner snaps today, and leave the type information for the next post, probably tomorrow. Note my @Nigel Heath (and also Hyperscale) blue-card impersonation/shameless copying - and my even more shameless attention-seeking device back there <--. Not really cricket, is it? Que? An interesting choice which I'll watch with interest. With a Scaleworx 1/48 Alouette III in the offing I've always fancied the Malaysian floaty version. M. Radzi Desa via Wikipedia I shall shamelessly plunder this thread for good ideas. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Alex, Thanks for the detailed assessment of the kit. The sprues look well moulded and there's plenty of detail. Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Well found Alex I wonder if the second sprue is because they had quality control / packing problems with broken bits and got fed up sending out spares? VERY careful removal required I reckon... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Will be watching how you tackle the floats with interest Good luck Martin H 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 On 30/08/2017 at 00:06, SleeperService said: Que? An interesting choice which I'll watch with interest. With a Scaleworx 1/48 Alouette III in the offing I've always fancied the Malaysian floaty version. M. Radzi Desa via Wikipedia I shall shamelessly plunder this thread for good ideas. The 'not cricket' remark was levelled at me cheating and attracting Mr Heath's attention with an '@<insert name here>'. Very lazy. Nice Alouette III there, SS. Same type of floats as on the II that I am attempting. I'm not sure about the good ideas bit - I hope that you're not disappointed! I will do my best, though :). On 30/08/2017 at 02:07, jrlx said: Alex, Thanks for the detailed assessment of the kit. The sprues look well moulded and there's plenty of detail. Cheers Jaime There's quite a lot of stuff there - although there is quite a lot that I won't be using - and quite a lot that I will be scratch-building, the rear row of three seats, for example On 30/08/2017 at 08:52, CedB said: Well found Alex I wonder if the second sprue is because they had quality control / packing problems with broken bits and got fed up sending out spares? VERY careful removal required I reckon... A very likely reason, Ced. Or they got fed up with ham-fisted persons destroying the delicate parts so provided the spare to keep said persons off their backs a little longer. I will have to be Very Careful Indeed, see my remark about ham-fisted persons... On 30/08/2017 at 18:55, Grandboof said: Will be watching how you tackle the floats with interest Good luck Martin H Thank you Martin :). We'll see how it turns out. Speaking of how things turn out, I have a few things to do that aren't in the instructions, apart from adding the floats. Two of these will be: adding rear seats; and removing the metal plates from the rear fuselage structure immediately behind the engine/fuel tank: they are conspicuously missing from KZ-HNW. Here's a few snaps from the instruction booklet, as promised, although the type information keeps getting bumped down, my apologies. 1. Upper half of front page of Alouette instruction booklet. The piece of paper with the scribbles and scrattings at the top of the snap is my measurements and rough drawings for the Skyfarer noseleg, which still continues to elude me. Mostly, it's the lack of a good heavy duty coil spring that eludes me, but that's lurching a wee bit off topin in a thread about wobblychopters on floats... Upper half of front page of Alouette instruction booklet by Alex1N, on Flickr I like the appearance of common household items in revell instructions, and this kit is no exception: 2. Common household objects no. 1: some sticky tape (and a bit of wood or something) Common household objects no. 1: some sticky tape by Alex1N, on Flickr 3. Common household objects no. 2: some clothes pegs Common household objects no. 2: clothes pegs by Alex1N, on Flickr 4. Attack of the clothes pegs! Attack of the clothes pegs by Alex1N, on Flickr 5. Common household objects no. 3: a box of matches. I most likely won't have any need for the box o' matches since I won't be adding the weapons pylons... Common household objects no. 3: box of matches by Alex1N, on Flickr 6. Side view of Alouette in the colours and marking section of the instruction sheet (German Army in all six instances - the rockets were a Cold War anti-tank fit-out) Side view of Alouette in instruction sheet by Alex1N, on Flickr I spent quite a bit of time moving a large number of tabs and passwords over to Chrome from Safari, since I was curious about the PhotoBlaggard extension, and wanted to see @LDSModeller's Short Sunderland pictures. There haven't been any WebQuit crashes yet (Google have their own WebKit fork), and I have turned off a number of Google's more invasive stalking devices. AdBlock might be a good idea if they start trying to feed me 'tailored ads' again. So far so good with the new setup, and I can see images hosted on PhotoBlaggard, although why anyone still uses the bounders is beyond me. Apart from fiddling about with Chrome (and Safari), I also got a bit more done on the little lathe (pretty well operational now after some hole-drilling and tapping into the headstock), and have largely back-converted the mill from its CNC rig to manual handle control (it's a long and tiresome story that I won't repeat here). Only a few more sleeps until I can start on the Alouette in earnest, and in the meantime I can continue to trawl the internet for useful cockpit and float images. Cheers, Alex. 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Picture 4. I think it's all over for the brave little rotor hub. We will remember. The attention thing OK I see. Being a bit thick there. The TDUM machine is Portuguese so they got about a bit. If I find anything solid I'll let you know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Oooh, a floaty wobblychopter. Glad to see one of these in the GB, especially since I advocated for their inclusion. In 32th it'll be a reasonable size, too. Best of luck and I'll follow along. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Great overview of the use of common domestic bits in the instructions With all scratch building you mentioned, this should be an interesting build to follow. Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 On 31/08/2017 at 05:04, SleeperService said: Picture 4. I think it's all over for the brave little rotor hub. We will remember. The attention thing OK I see. Being a bit thick there. The TDUM machine is Portuguese so they got about a bit. If I find anything solid I'll let you know. It was a bit cryptic, even for me ;). Thanks in advance. Yes, the vampire clothes pegs. Note the fourth hungry peg rushing on from the RH side, rushing in to join its mates before they bleed the carcass dry. The poor little rotor head never really had a chance :(. On 31/08/2017 at 05:20, Rob G said: Oooh, a floaty wobblychopter. Glad to see one of these in the GB, especially since I advocated for their inclusion. In 32th it'll be a reasonable size, too. Best of luck and I'll follow along. Thanks Rob, I'm looking forward to 30-tooth after my not-yet-finished 1/72 nightmare! OK, here's the (brief) promised type information, gleaned from Wikipedia here, and the front page of the Revell instruction booklet: The Alouette II was, logically, developed from the Alouette I design which did not in fact enter production, and has the distinction of being the world's first turbine-powered production helicopter. All other helicopters at the time were powered by piston engines. Work on its predecessor(s) began in France in 1945 at the Societé Nationale des Constructions Aéronautique Sud-Est (SNCASE) and continued up until 1947. Continuing work resulted in the Alouette II, but the actual final version of the aircraft didn't make her maiden flight until 12 March 1955 - quite a long gestation period. It was powered by the single-shaft Turbomeca Artouste turboshaft engine rated at 260 hp (190 kW). The Artouste turboshaft's power was increased over time, and the Artouste IIb that powered the Alouette II that was to catch the German Heer's eye was rated at 400 hp (300 kW). The French Army ordered 365 machines, and the German Army, after looking at various Bell examples plus those from a number of other manufacturers, was attracted by the performance of the Alouette II's turbine powerplant, which enabled speeds of up to 170 km/h. The type was extremely versatile, and could be fitted with skids, four wheels and no skids which enabled untrammelled winch work, and floats. Thus, it was able to cary out a variety of roles in both civilian and military use, including montane search and rescue (it was the first helicopter to be used in this role, in the Swiss Alps on 3 January 1957), crop spraying, cargo haulage (500 kg/1,100 lb maximum load), anti-tank attack with Nord 5210 SS-11 rockets (the subject of the Revell kit) and homing-torpedo firing. The rocket-carrying experiment was not a success on account of weight and (wire-controlled) rocket-generated smoke and only five experimental machines were fitted with the necessary gear. The Alouette II also broke a couple of altitude records, the second being a height of 10,984 m (36,027 ft), and was eventually used by a total of 47 armed forces around the world, and in 80 countries A hot-high altitude version, the SA 315B Lama, was developed for the Indian Air Force and the Nepalese Army Air Force in 1969, and included the uprated Artouste III powerplant of the Alouette III. Production of the Alouette II ended in 1975 after over 1300 units were built, the II being replaced by the somewhat larger and heavier SA 613B/619 Alouette III with 570 hp (425 kW) Turboméca Artouste IIIB turboshaft engine. The III lacked the girdered rear boom, which latter was replaced by a stronger monocoque-construction tail unit. More than 2000 units of the III were built. The French Army replaced their Alouette IIs with the Aérospatiale AS350 Écureuil (Squirrel). The subject of this build, KZ-HNW, was operated by Helicopters NZ, usually for carrying personnel to and from oil platforms off the New Zealand coast in the 1970s. The one photo that I have so far found of this particular machine (see preceding link) shows it, rather ironically for the purposes of this Group Build, sitting on grass. But it does have floats, whether it is actually floating on water or not. Some snaps: 1. DOW blue styrofoam sheet remnant, to be used to make the Alouette floats DOW blue styrofoam sheet remnant by Alex1N, on Flickr 2. Close-up of the broken side of the sheet, showing the fine grain Close-up of the broken side of the sheet by Alex1N, on Flickr 3. The New Plastic Modelling Environment needs tidying up! And the Seafire - it's in there somewhere - putting in a safe spot New Plastic Modelling Environment needs tidying up! by Alex1N, on Flickr I'm not going to be able to start on Sunday Oz time since I have an abseiling course, so I will be starting on Monday or thereabouts instead. I will, of course, be looking for more photos and so forth between now and then. Cheers, Alex. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 On 31/08/2017 at 20:54, jrlx said: Great overview of the use of common domestic bits in the instructions With all scratch building you mentioned, this should be an interesting build to follow. Cheers Jaime Thank you Jaime - fingers crossed! Cheers, Alex. says "Thank you :)", too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 Enjoyed that detailed tour of the instructions Alex. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Hello Alex, Great choice of subject ! Will follow from time to time if you don('t mind ? Have a very good modelling time ! Sincerely. Corsaircorp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 Thank you, Tony - I'm glad that you liked my eccentric selection . 22 hours ago, corsaircorp said: Hello Alex, Great choice of subject ! Will follow from time to time if you don('t mind ? Have a very good modelling time ! Sincerely. Corsaircorp Hello CC, welcome to another of my threads - hopefully not as loopy as the last three... I have more or less finished tidying up the bench, and have printed out the Top Birds and Fings photo for measuring up, studying, and general inspiration and encouragement. That's as far as I've got. As expected I couldn't start when the clocked ticked over to 12 am 2/9/17 in the UK - 9 am here in Eastern Orstrilia - since we were busy carting stuff to the tip and shopping, plus my getting ready this evening for a fairly long and arduous day tomorrow. So maybe Monday evening Oz time. Cheers, Alex. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Thank Alex, It's always weird , I readied the lunch and have done a birthday cake for my daughter, it's 3pm here. So 2pm in UK they 've a good 14 hours more than you have down Under, think that some of them are already on their bench. I appreciate such a group build, but I can't, finish a model in a mere 3 months, forget that ! Not for me ! So good ridance to both of you ! Sincerely. Corsaircorp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 9 hours ago, corsaircorp said: I appreciate such a group build, but I can't, finish a model in a mere 3 months, forget that ! Not for me ! Hi corsaircorp, I haven't been able to finish most of my builds in GB time as well, but I've participated all the same. I even managed to finish my last model in a GB (see my X-1 in the signature), so you might surprise yourself by finishing one for the first time if you join Did I manage to convince you? Cheers Jaime 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 9 hours ago, jrlx said: Hi corsaircorp, I haven't been able to finish most of my builds in GB time as well, but I've participated all the same. I even managed to finish my last model in a GB (see my X-1 in the signature), so you might surprise yourself by finishing one for the first time if you join Did I manage to convince you? Cheers Jaime Let's have a try, How can I do, just opening a new topic in the GB thread ? Sincerely. CC 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 3 hours ago, corsaircorp said: Let's have a try, How can I do, just opening a new topic in the GB thread ? Sincerely. CC Yes, CC: just create your own thread in the GB forum. I look forward to seeing your build Cheers Jaime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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