Head in the clouds.

Looking at the damage to the propeller blade, that would surely unbalance the whole craft and cause a considerable amount of vibration resulting in it being hard to control.

And just like Halley's comet we are back, not 76 years to wait but nearly 2 full years to the week....crikey! I have not been able to spend much time at the bench of late but I have committed to clear the bench as much as possible before moving on to new projects. With this in mind XV371 was a front runner, the only thing holding me up was the sourcing of white lower case letters, they are rare creatures indeed but not extinct. After hours on the web I finally found some on a railway model site in the USA, with no hesitation at all I ordered them. Now these letters are small, being only about 1.8mm in size and each one had to be applied separately, this was going to be a painstaking process and the only way to do it was freehand. I did try using masking tape to create a straight edge to work to but upon removing the tape the letters came with it. So freehand it is. The most notable difference on this Sea King are the 3 sensors at the front, one of which is suspended from a flange under the nose, the other two mounted either side of the nose. The one mounted on the port side is an early 'low light camera', the other two I have yet to identify. All three are made from a combination of brass and plastic with a bit of PE skeleton thrown in for good measure. These were made earlier as was the rotor blade assembly. This is basically a quick final summery of the build to bring it to a conclusion having built all three Sea Kings, so here are a few pics taken tonight, again, just to wrap it up so the pics are a bit utilitarian rather than photogenic. Before I wrap up the masking tape on the plastic glazing had been on for over a year and to my surprise came off easily, however, it revealed a lot of dust that had migrated into the cockpit. Rather annoying to be honest, but it just will not shift so there it will have to stay! The glazzing was by far the hardest bit of this build, this early kit is known for it's poor glazing and this was no exception. Hope you like it.

Such a fantastic looking plane and a good build that you have completed. Like many, I prefer the YF23 over the YF22 and in my ' armchair ' opinion, was the better plane.

Still ploughing through 'Adolph Hitler' by John Toland. A fascinating incite into Hitlers life.

Nice to see plumbing running horizontally then vertically, unlike mine which likes traveling at any angle the pipe rested at during install.

A job well done Cliff on what is a very basic kit. Sorry for not getting around to posting the pics you asked for but events have overtaken me somewhat of late.

Hi Ryan. Thank you for your kind words and sorry for the late reply. You raise a good point, mine only just stays on its front wheel. Regarding your questions of weight, there are some small areas around the cockpit where lead may be added but failing that carefully hollowing out areas within the airframe should suffice. As with any cottage industry kit it is about checking for fit over and over as you do any sanding, which you will probably do and remembering small resin parts can be very delicate. One other thing, when you use CA glue to glue two resin items together it sticks almost immediately so take your time with placement of parts. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the build.

This a club fun build using only tools that are mentioned in the instructions and kit supplied paints and brushes, should be fun! This will be my first car build. Next up and purchased at Telford is my 1st motorbike kit; I recently sold my lovely Daytona 600 which I have had from new for 19 years so I think this purchase was my way of holding on.... Looking forward to building both.

On balance it is much better to see the B25 at East Kirby on a real airfield with her engines running, it will really be something. And with all the other aircraft and museums on site it really is becoming something of a mecca.

Yes, sure, I will post some soon.

Nice work Cliff, your intake mods are more pronounced than mine but I think you have it bang on.

Nice build and something a little different, your weathering is superb and adds another level of detail.

Hows about the AW Apollo?

What a beautiful paints job, sharp and crisp and a fine build ta-boot.

Another cracker Russ.