CJP

Really great scratch building Steve - love the way you can turn bits of copper/brass into U/C legs, the various gear bays & the ejection seat Chris

Seats look great & console is a must to redo! Chris

Hi HartDeco, you have set a very high standard with your Wessex - looks fabulous!

Thanks Chris -I edited my last post & added a couple more photos of work I did today. Chris

Hi, Simon, it is all looking very neat - you must be nearly there! Chris

Hi -this is my MRGB from @hendies Transmission Bay set that I am installing in my RAN Wessex HAS31B - added what looks like a filter on the port side & hoses/pipes from lead wire. Chris

Thanks I have been scrutinising Hendies 28 SQDN WIP closely the last few days for hints on the transmission deck area - some lovely fine detailing on his Wessex. Chris

Hi all - a small update to the transmission bay after a challenging modelling session - after much head scratching & looking at photos, I managed to work out the starboard reservoir's position and pinned it to the MRGB with some copper wire so that the whole assembly can be moved in one piece, hopefully helping to get everything into position during the build. I managed to dry fit the MRGB/rotor brake & Cooling Fan into position - the fan can be moved forwards & back to help this & I won't glue them into place until I am happy with the set up - it could be difficult getting everything in place if the fan is fixed - also helps lining up the fan pully & rotor brake drive pully. I sprayed the gearbox with Mr Hobby H422 Light green, the interior of the bay is Xtracrylic Aircraft Grey/Green. Next I thought I would try & fit the prominent hydraulic hoses that I read control the direction of the swash plate - these were made from solder wire fixed in place with CA - the first two were fitted as in photo below & should look ok when painted Nato or Rubber Black. If I can work out where the other hoses go that run under the MRGB, I may add those too - there is some very fine piping that runs down the support struts, but they may be too much of a challenge. I will add some detail on the starboard side of the MRGB/bay but not much of it will be easily visible unless I leave off the mesh cover under the rotor head - I don't currently plan to do that & I'm not intending to open up the starboard side of the bay. I think the level of detail in the transmission bay is approaching the "good enough" stage EDIT Added more hydraulic hoses/pipework from lead wire & solder wire referring to the few photos I could find of the MRGB installed - some of the hose placement is pure speculation on my part. Finally popped it all together to see how it all fits. thanks Chris

Your panel line wash looks very nice & neat

Thanks Chris - I'm hoping that it will look a nice jumble of busy bits under a coat of paint! Thanks @perdu - I hope this motivates others to buy some of @hendies goodies - they are beaut fine replicas - almost not game to touch them some days @HartDeco has two photos of a nice Wessex build showing @hendies parts on page 4 of Hendies Wessex parts various on 3D printer Makers Space Chris.

Hi all - I've had a couple of weeks away from the modelling desk but have started to get my Wessex moving along again today. At the moment my focus is on the transmission bay, MRGB & all of the fiddly little bits therein - this has involved many hours looking at walkaround sites & whatever else I can discover online plus my 4plus book & Haynes Wessex manual. I still had trouble finding good clear photos of the bay other than what's in the two books - when I looked at the Wessex walkarounds on BM it appears that the MRGB & attachments must vary between versions to some degree. I have been trying to work out where various hydraulic hose run to & from around the MRGB & bay - I have sort of worked out where the main ones run from the photos on BM. Hendie's MRGB was eased into position & the position of those two support stays worked out & made from Albion Alloys brass tube (set SFT1) I made up some of the detail around the gearbox from plastic strip, rod & lead wire trying to capture the look of the jumble of bits & pieces in the bay basically working from the photos @hendie posted on the previous pages. I ran the lead wire hydraulic lines under the MRGB - as I'm not really sure what they connect to on the real thing I ran them into the back of the bay for now. thanks for looking. Chris

Great model of a great kit. Chris

Your Gannet looks great Alistair, you deserved to be really pleased with it - you & @spookytooth have provided good "how to build the Airfix Gannet" posts. Chris

Just had a look at your Beaufighter Chris - super impressed! Chris

Looking good - the rudder is just a minor glitch which seems to be part of the modelling process (mine anyway)- looking forward to the RFI. Chris

Some info & links have been posted in @oldgitians post AIRFIX GANNET 1/48 in Aircraft Cold War section that may be what you need Colin. Chris

Hi Alan - just caught up with this update, we are away visiting one of our daughters so no work on my Wessex for a week or two - I'm quite happy to go along with your judgement & compromise to get the best look on the seats. The photo of the seat with cyclic next to it looks pretty good to me but I must admit I haven't had a good study of the cabin area & seats on the real thing yet. I recently got hold of the Haynes Wessex workshop manual to supplement my 4plus book. I was quite happy with the postage on the sets I recently got from you. HartDeco's Wessex is looking great. Chris

Very nice Sea King - looks really interesting all folded up.

Thats great Colin thanks Chris

Ok thanks Alan I'll wait for your update. Chris

I decided to try out my limited weathering skills & dirty up the interior - the XF14 was given a wash with Vallejo umber & then black washes The transmission bay was airbrushed with XF81 which looked too dark so I sprayed over it with Mr HobbyH50 Lime Green & then some very old Xtracrylic Aircraft grey green - all a bit hit & miss. Finally the bay was given a wash of the Vallejo Umber & black washes. I think visibility of much of the cabin interior will be limited once the fuselage halves are glued together except through the cabin doorway - I haven't sealed these colours in yet so I reduced some of the grime on the port fuselage wall as seen through the cabin door. The colour in the photos varies according to what lighting they are taken under Chris

Nice job - it is sure an impressive kit.

Thanks Colin I'm interested to see this mod. Chris

I did exactly the same builds years ago & still have them in my display case. Chris

Hi 224Peter, this is going to be an interesting build & I was unaware of the full-size Whirlwind Fighter project so thanks for posting that here. Chris