Mike Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Pardon my latecoming Mods, but I was just about to post up this WIP when it occurred to me that it'd probably be better off in here... Hope that's ok A good friend of mine is currently undergoing treatment for cancer for the 2nd time in a couple of years, and he's a lapsed helicopter pilot (can't fly while he's poorly ), so we were talking choppers (ooer) the other day. The conversation turned to the Wessex somehow and he told me how much he loves them, so I've decided to build him one as a present. I've not decided how I'm going to get it to NZ yet, but one thing at a time, eh? I'll skip the box shot, as I think everyone knows what they look like I initially planned to do it OOB, but well... some of you know what I'm like... I was soon hacking chunks out of it I already had a Pavla cockpit, which other than replacing the spindly rudder pedals with brass wire, I'm going to build OOB (Out of Blister), but I'm going to add some extra detail to the interior, which lacks a roof, and has a rather simplistic floor and wall detail. First job was to scrape out all the pre-existing raised detail, fill the numerous sink marks with CA, and sand the lot back smooth. After that I took an educated guess at the spacing of the ribs on the real things from pictures, and laid the first rib down using 0.25x0.5mm styrene sheet on edge. I made a template to space the rest of the ribs out and set off ribbing up the rest of the cabin. 1m of styrene strip later, the basic work was done, and it looked something like this: You can see the basics of the pit inbetween the two halves. There's no roof supplied with the kit, so flipping the floor upside down revealed that the walls are pretty much square top to bottom, so I cut a piece of sheet to size and tried it for fit. The ceilings are usually covered with sound insulating material, as are the conduits running down either side of the cabin, so I added some supports for these shapes from strip styrene, and mixed up a batch of Magic Sculp. Once I'd rolled it out wafer thin, using loads of talc to stop it sticking to everything and anything, I scored quilting into the sheets with a razor blade and applied each piece individually. Typically, it didn't really want to stick now, but I squished it on where it wouldn't be seen, and moulded some seams, fasteners and tried to leave it looking a little "organic" in places, like it'd seen some action. I wasn't happy with one piece of the main roof (the front), as I'd managed to make the quilting pattern quite a bit larger, so when it was cured, I gently pulled it off and replaced it with a new bit, taking the opportunity to increase the size of the bulge in the roof, as I thought the original looked a bit small. The floor detail was fictional for the HU.5 judging by the pics I received from Oz and Ursa Major (thanks guys), so I removed it all and rescribed it to suit. There's also a row of prominent bolts behind the seat legs, so I added those from Archer 3D rivet decals. A quick polish and squirt of Mr Surfacer, and I took some in-situ pics: I need to wait for the Magic Sculp to cure fully before I can put any primer on the ceiling, but meantime, there are more details to be added to the walls, including some more diamond shaped strengthing pieces, loads of wires and crew kit. The front bulkhead needs stripping and detailing with access panels and crew steps, and the rear bulkhead needs some more detail adding too before I glue the door cover (also made of Magic Sculp) in place to hide the empty tail section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich F Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Nice work already Mike. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Cheers Rich. Anyone know whether I need to dispatch those annoying lumps on the floorline? I suspect so, but they'll leave holes in the outside of the fuselage if I do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalguru Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 That's a very gggaaaccckk- ni- ggaaacccckk-ce- job... uuuueeerrrrrgggg cggaccck The floor looks interesting- but I can't see it as you haven't taken proper piccies of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gajman Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Wow, that really is impressive. Really neat work and in 1/72 as well! I'll be watching this one with interest. As a matter of interest what did the template look like (the one you used to space the ribs out) and what did you make it from? I ask because I've never thought of making a template before, I tend to use a pair of dividers to press holes where the next rib should go but it never works out as neatly as what I'm seeing in your photos. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousER99 Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 hhhmmmmmm I saw this build earlier today somewhere!! Looks great man and I am sure Andi will be proud to own it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 As a matter of interest what did the template look like (the one you used to space the ribs out) and what did you make it from? I ask because I've never thought of making a template before, I tend to use a pair of dividers to press holes where the next rib should go but it never works out as neatly as what I'm seeing in your photos. Just a strip of styrene sheet that I cut to width, then bent so that the bent bit would act as a handle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Nice work Mike, the quilting looks great. Another new line for Two Mikes Resin perchance? I'm sure Airfix's Puma could benefit in the same way (not so subtle hint-hint ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Cheers Dave... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 It is a great honnor to the CO himself . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 It is a great honnor to the CO himself . Silly Erwin... and I seem to have grown an asterisk in my thread title Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzH Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Great work so far, nice details... Cheers Rich. Anyone know whether I need to dispatch those annoying lumps on the floorline? I suspect so, but they'll leave holes in the outside of the fuselage if I do The lumps should come off, I believe they are a legacy from the H-34, not continued onto the Westland versions. Might be of use, Eduard do a couple of photo etch sets for the H-34, some bits will be useful for the Wessex Instructions page 1 and page 2 If nothing more these instruction sheets give you some good clue's for detailing. Keep up the good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Agree about lumps, remember the fwd left cabin was a box instead off seats to sit on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 Agree about lumps, remember the fwd left cabin was a box instead off seats to sit on Right you are. Think I've seen pics of that somewhere, but I wasn't sure if it was something just dumped in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The 5 had a sonar capability under the floor so bits and bobs that would be housed under floor in the sonar bay on the HC2 etc I think went there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 (edited) Silly Erwin... Like this ? Edited December 22, 2009 by Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 looks good. Thread has been bookmarked, now you can't escape Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 After and during the festivities, I've done some more work on the cab of this beastie, deciding to put the rib detail onto a skin that will be bonded to the inside of the fuselage once it's done. I've also started work adapting the rear bulkhead, started to scratch the front bulkhead (WIP), and done some additional work on extra ribs that I'd not yet added to the original version. I ran out of strip on New Year's Eve, so had to dart to Hobbycrap to get a packet... £4.49!!!!! Finally, I managed to spray a little primer on the headliner, which seems to have unified it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gajman Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 deciding to put the rib detail onto a skin that will be bonded to the inside of the fuselage once it's done. Looking good Mike. As a matter of interest why did you decide to do the rib detail over again and onto a skin this time? Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MODeller Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Liking this build a lot! I hope these pics will be of some use. MODeller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 MODeller, I think I love you! I was just pottering round my photos trying to get an idea of the shape of the forward seating box, and although I'd got the height & seat width, I was struggling with the legth. Your photos have just solved my problem, so thanks! If you've got anymore, I'd be grateful of a looksee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahut Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 I really like your work, so far. Real sweet. I'd like to add that I served in SH-3's in the Navy and we rarely saw the insulation used on the interior. Oh, here and there it was in place. But after time in service, it wasn't replaced, once removed for maintenance. It may have been different for the H-34's, I dont know (although I rather doubt it). One thing is sure - that excellent job you've done hides the need for all the wiring and rigging seen beneath the padding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 I've added a bit more detail to the front bulkhead now, and created the box-seat at the port forward position, with some strip ribbing detail, and pewter sheet seatbelts & fiddly mixed medium buckles. I've got a few more access panels to add to the bulkhead yet, then I can continue with the detailing of the rear bulkhead. I've also made the frames for the seats, which you can see in the pic covered with some tin sheet. I'm not happy with those, so I'm going to replace them with rolled out Magic Sculp once I've finished the backs for both sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 Much Magic Sculp was wasted today - why do I always decant more than I need? Anyway... the workshop smells of ladies' talc now, after kneading & rolling out the material for the canvas seating. There are a few touch-ups needed to the front of the horizontal surfaces, but I'll do that when it's cured. If I try now, I'll cause more trouble than I fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousER99 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 The cabin looks suhweet! Seats look like a lot fo fun to make too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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