Colin W

The interior looks great. Don't bother with any more details for the transmission as I have put the PE mesh on and you can't see anything through it at all. Colin w

Not much progress on Humphry this week as I managed to get a copy of 'Down South ' on my ipad and have been reading about the account of Humphry in South Georgia. At the time of the attack on the sub, the sonar and radar were fitted and 2 depth charges were carried. Spot on then. Secretly I have been trying to use the superb mk 45 torpedo from Belcher Bits Lynx but I'll have to go with the scratch built depth charges. Good book anyway for all the Wessex afficionado so. Colin w

You deliberately stuck it to your fluffy jumper! Wow! what did your wife say about that? Sounds extremely dangerous to me. I've been in real trouble accidentally sticking things to my clothes. Colin w

Certainly good to see some progress on this. Don't worry about the nose. It looks near enough for government work and it's on the bottom. Colin w

You do make hard work out of things. :-) 🔨 Colin w

Hi Chaps, I agee Wessex is looking bit more aggresive with all the stores on the sides.. I have cracked on and added the winch. I decided the kit winch didn really look like the re thing so I made a new one from the bits box. I thought the hydraulic piping was quite distinctive so I used some solder in 0.4mm holes to start it off above the door and then attached to the new winch in the right type of format. Looking at the pictures in 10x real size I think they can be tidied up a bit more but they'll do for now. Colin

Hi Everybody and hope you had a good Christmas. No updates from me for a while as Christmas was busy to the end but a chance to post some pictures of what was happing in the spare moments of last week. I decided that with Humphry's history and current state of preservation I would have to go with the stores. Having the excellent plans in the 4+ book as well helper a lot with the motivation. Work started with the reinforcing plates being made from 20 thou sheet and glued in place. Holes were drilled in to take the brass rod which was cut according to the drawings and assembled in place with superglue. Having the base coat on helped the pictures to show the work. Humpry has a Mk2 on Stbd and a Mk1 on the Port so with the frames made from 0.75mm rod the pylons came from the spares bin. The Mk1 was a 1/24th truck fuel tank as it was chromed. The Mk2 was a bomb. Also you will notice I made the gearbox cover drain channels and added these into a hole drilled in the corner of the vent. Heres how she looks. Starboard Side Mk2 with pylon. This is actually held in place but the latteral support and the main member sits in a saw cut made in the plastic. The winch mans light is added behind the winch frame. Port Side Mk2 frame work before adding the pylon. Pylon now added complete with sway braces. I sandwiched a brass plate (PE Sprue) inside the pylon during assembly and this is rolled round the main member to provide strength. From the top. Note the relocated aerial hole. There are some blobs on top of the main members port and stbd. I have to do these next but have no idea what they are. Does anyone know? I have also added the aerials below the rear fuselage, some more hand holds and tie down points. Some more work tidying up the winch next. Colin W

It's quite interesting to see the different assembly sequence of this compared to the Italeri version. Fixing the overhead console to the rear bulkhead and being able to see into the top of the cabin would be easier than the Italeri route but let's wait and see how the gearbox fits before deciding which is best. Colin

Yes I look at the details in the 4+ book and it's hard to know where to start or finish in 1/48 so I think 1/144 must be a bigger challenge. Colin w

Interesting that 4+ have chosen to partner with the smallest kit! I wish my eyesight was good enough to appreciate some of the 144 models never mind actually building one Colin w

It doesn't look like the legs are too long but maybe that's because its the prototype. A Mk5 might look odd though. Colin w

Hi I did have a bit of an issue with the rear of the glazing joining the fuselage on the stbd side only. I cut it down and installed a strip of 40 card along the back and this solved the problem. It was not really twisted though. Colin

I thought I'd better post the above before Photobucket crashed. Anyway here is the rest of the work. The completed PE set. Here are the 4 blade supports ready for installation on the frame, all sitting on one blade. The instructions say to roll the PE around a blade but this makes the fit too tight. I used a 2mm brass rod for the lower bend and the pliers for the top. Gaps will be filled with paint and CA glue. The fuselage support collar being test fitted before I added the rods in the pic above. The airframe is ready for a coat of primer now and I'll come back to the PE once the basic colours are done. Colin

Well I have spent today on the PE 3D parts from Scale Warship. What you get in the packet. For me it was the 3D parts which were a new concept in modelling. The PE parts required a proper bender, I have one from the Small Shop, there is no way I could have doine these with a pair of pliers................. a pair of chain pincers.... and the 'Helping Hand'. The instructions were OK assuming you had already had a go. In fairness they give you 5 blade supports but I would sill have preferred better instructions. They tell you to use a 0.04mm drill. Now I have a 0.4 but a 0.04! Thats a bit too fine for me. Fortunately its a typo and the 0.4mm is enough.

I'm glad someone is going to have a go at the weapons set up . keep the pictures coming as I'll be copying them based on your start . Colin w

Hi Actually the sign by 27 at the QAM notes that it is on loan from the RANFAA so presumably they can have it back one day . It is being well looked after . Colin

Well a bit more progress here now. I have finished off the fuselage including nose cover steps PE and most of the aerials. Windows and doorway masked in place but the cockpit canopy I have masked separately. Inside the canopy I have added the overhead consol with the rotor brake added to the Stbd side, silver with a red knob on the end. I have also added some Davey Clarkes head sets hanging from wires. Once the canopy is on I'll sit these on the seat backs. I've also started the rotor head. As my blades will be folded I have cut these as per the instructions on the Scale Warships instructions and built the head assemble to start. I have added in the oil damper lines but will leave the rest until I have a better idea where the blades will go. Colin W

Well we learn more every day. Thanks Colin and Perdu, I'm trying to get my head round these ideas. now did I correct my own gearbox ? Colin W

MK3 is looking good now its got some colour in it. Colin W

Interesting update there Steve. I was at the Queensland Air Museum in July looking at what they claimed to be the last Mk31A . Apparently not enough upgrade kits were bought so it was obsoleted to an instructional airframe when the others were converted to B's. Colin

Hi Is it the camera angle or have you tilted the rotor hub/gearbox forwards? Bag looks the part! Colin W

Looking great at his point. I see you haven't managed to knock the tail wheel oleo off yet! Well done. Colin W

Definitely worth the time taken to do the foil work.

Looking good in the old classic scheme. Wessexy but a bit different! Colin

Hi Francis I have been avoiding the stores issue for a couple of reasons. Mainly I dont usually fit stores as I travel with my models a lot and these are too easy to knock off. For Humphry I am aware of no available weapons so its a scratch build job for the stores. The complication is that in the FAA museum Humphry has a full set so its either stick to clean or carry on with the building. I think I'll hang on and see how I feel when I'm a bit furthur progressed. Fortunately the 4+ book has some really good drawings for scratch building. I don't know whats available in 1/72, maybe Heloman has more idea. If you are following me for recomendations then here are 3 more. Add the instrument panel before you fit the nose cap. Its very easy go drop in and almost imposible to get out. Cut away the plastic in the gearbox cover then glue this in place before adding the PE. Dont worry too much about seams as most of them get covered by add ons in later steps! Colin