Westlandaircraftenthusiast

Thanks guys

Thank you, and yes they are very useful i don't have many on a stand but they really do save space (as long as they are tall enough, this one is fairly short)

RFI:

Something you don't see often is this, a HMA.8 Development Lynx. I chose to make the first of 8 CTS aircraft, being XZ236. She was originally a HAS.2, until getting fitted with a seaspray, seaowl and other various equipment used on the HMA.8 in 1989. She still used the engine/gearbox system of a HAS.2, with steel blades and Anti-clockwise tail rotor, possibly getting upgraded later in the program with GEM-42s and CMRBs. I used the 1/72 Airfix Navy Lynx MK.8 (2001) kit and it was an interesting one. So the parts to make a HAS.2/3 parts were fine, the parts to make 'super lynx' were pretty terrible. They are made out of some lighter, softer plastic, that fit horribly. Some mods that i did do was on the engine cowling as imo its a slightly wrong shape. I needed to use a Hobby boss PID as I knocked off the kit one and it disappeared I did come across some problems but did try to resolve them.

I have gone ahead and finished XZ236 (and started another lynx (it'll have a different WIP)) Decals went down Ok, i used a mixture of the kits, Xtradecal and spares. While unmasking i did come across a few issues but i have done my best to resolve them. A couple of them has fogged slightly but oh well.

Is it possible if Someone could help me locate where the OrangeCrop ESM sensors are and the M.A.D sensors are? I believe the ESM sensors are the ones on the nose, sponsors and aft fuselage but i am unsure. Thanks in advance Update: I was correct about the ESM Sensors, was scrolling through a 1/72 lynx thread and found em, just the M.A.D now... maybe im going mad....

Cheers, its mostly decalled now, just waiting for some more to arrive

Painted up the lynx, Since then it is mostly decalled up. I have changed the gear to be somewhat more accurate, but i have also broke off the PID while decalling so i am now using a spare from a Hobbyboss one that built last year.

After a bit more digging i have found a slightly better picture of XZ236 and it does have straight blades. As it is the only picture of her flying that i have i will change it. I was hoping for it to have BERPs but i guess the straight blades make it more unique, its basically a HMA.8 with a HAS.2/3 Propulsion system.... Thanks for the info @Chewbacca

Anyway, I have fully built it (for now) Not too much to say, i have done a bit of work to the engine cowling but nothing too much. Of course some tings are subject to chage at the moment. I hhave actually started to paint it blue but everything that would need changing can be changed easily.

Im not too worried about the helmets if I'm honest but thanks anyway ,I will remember that. I have a picture of XZ236 with BERP blades while in flight along with when it was on the ground. I also know it had a 30 degree angle, but I am gonna worry about that near the end of the project. Thanks for the advice anyway Edit: Actually i can't tell whether it had BERP or not wihle in flight, the picture is at a bit of a strange angle Edit 2: The picture actually seems like it is straight (there is yellow danger stripes on the blades) Could they have been added later in the program or would have they changed the blades just for the airshow? Seen from 32:32

Yes i thought it was, thanks. On this one it doesn't have the grip on the Horizontal Stab. Thanks. I cant tell much between the PP Wessex and the production ones, most probably because there wasn't any as its a license built S-58

I have some good news for XL727. I decided to search up Farnborough 1958, after watching a video on why the Rotodyne failed, and one of the clips shoewed xl727, and at that moment I kicked my self and asked ''why didn't i search up Farnborough 1958 on youtube'' knowing full well it was XL727s first public appearance. I feel like a bit of a wally now lol. I saw a colour video and now has given me the answers to carry on with it (Black stripe down its back, if anyone knows why these were put on Wessex please say, and it had yellow on the top surface on the horizontal stab). Sadly i need remove the decals i have put on her and repaint it as the Blue-grey i thought it would be but it is just blue, which is frustrating to say the least. I will probably spray black on the spine, then spray the model yellow, mask it(i did do it wrong last time) and then add the blue. Hopefully it wont be too painful. I will do this after i have finished the lynx and i have just started an AV-8A... so after them two are done i believe i will start up this project at full speed again ... so see you guys then

Quick update on the lynx.... filler.... lots of filler...The nose has needed lots of filler, the sponsons has needed a reasonable amount of filler and the tail has needed some. The shape is really good for a lynx, but the exhausts. The exhaust are oval, and the exhaust cowling is the wrong shape. I'm not gonna worry about the oval exhausts, but the cowling is needing change. I have applied some milliput on the area (about an hour ago) which you will see in the photos, along with the nose that is still getting filled. While i am reworking the necessary area, i am gonna start a Fujimi AV-8A, which i did start the other day but packed it away because i realised how much filler that will need, all be it simpler areas. Im also gonna paint a half built heron (literally, my cousin saw it and picked it up and i decided to only use one side as the other was missing major components ) in a custom scheme just to practice new techniques/techniques i haven't used in a while..

Thats the good thing about this hobby, you may make something that are very personal to someone, yet is just another 'thing' to another. Hopefully one day i will be working down at Leonardo, but i also would love to work for Historic Helicopters (The older they are the more interesting they are to me) Thanks

So, as you should know by now, i like my whirlydoos, the lynx being one (of many) at the top of the list and with that, i like prototype ones. I also like doing models of airframes that most people haven't seen being made in scale, or even seen in full size, whether that is over the internet or real life. I bought this kit during lockdown, and i kinda knew what i was getting into with this kit (I like doing my research) I was orginally gonna do the oob scheme for the HMA.8, but after looking in a book, i decided to do XZ236, a HAS.2 which was made to develop the CTS equipment for the new and exiting variant of the lynx. I would like to do the other main MK.8 development airframes, ZD249, and ZD267. There was more, but these are what i think are the main ones, named HAS.3CTS The kit does have many flaws, one being fit and gaps, but it does have some details the newer Hobby boss kit doesn't have (although the engineering is miles ahead). So i started work on it, quite a few sink holes if im honest, but nothing too hard to fix. XZ236 didn't have any sound proofing, and just had the framing on the inside, but i decided to be easy but inaccurate and added some sound proofing. The interior went together with little hassle. I also added the pilots as i am gonna have this on a stand (most of the time) The last picture you see is just held together with bluetack and masking tape. It is now mostly put together, but it is consuming as much filler as possible, it may be a mix of me and the kit, but it will get filled, eventually...

Cheers, and yes, a bit of messy scratch building for both. Well for one i kinda cheated. The one in storage has a little piece of styrene glued to the wall which the tail sits on to stay up, the other i just put in a bit of weight behind the cabin to keep it up

Cheers guys, The diorama wasn't actually my idea to start with, i was talking to someone that worked on gazelles at the ETPS and he gave me that idea..

I recently did my last WIP post on these, so its time for a final post for these. Both Gazelles are the Airfix offering, one from the 80s and the other from the 90s/00s. The first one i started (back in March) got to the end of the painting stage and it all went a bit wrong when i found out i had completely messed up the canopy. It took me a fair few months to know what i will do with it. I decided to do it in the scheme of XX453 used by Qinetiq in a fictional diorama with it in storage, getting brown paper getting applied to the glass. (The wonky antenna has since been fixed) The later kit had decals for a pair of HT.2s, but had the GOA on the top section of the canopy. Due to this of course i had to look at AH.1s and found a very nice desert scheme. This one is XZ347 used by the AAC. This one also has a base but it is very quick, and one day i will make one it deserves.

Thanks

Final post on this one, finished both Gazelles now, I enjoyed both gazelles, giving one a new life and starting a new one. I have made a quick base for both, not the best but it gives it a bit of context into the models. With the end of this project, i go onto another one, or two. A Development Lynx Mk.8 and Half a Heron.... Here are a couple pictures (more will be on the Ready for inspection Topic)

Cheers.

XZ347 has been painted, all but the exhaust and transmission. I did preshade, but that has faded quite a bit now (due to paint repairs) On the real thing, it seems to have invasion stripes that has got removed or painted over on the underside, so i tried to replicate that. I also did a bit of work to the rotor as it was very crude. It still is crude, but it looks a tad better. I cut the blades off, and did a similar thing to the rotor head that i did to XX453. I then sanded and rounded off the ends of the rotor so i could fit in the cut on the blade grip.

Just taken some pictures, and you get to see them before my Instagram does which will be a rare occurrence. I have scratch built some antennas on the tail, I made the RWR on the tail, but needs a bit of a rework. This one isn't a tail sitter luckily. I also need to mess around with some more filler around the top glazing.

I have been working, just haven't posted yet. XX453 has had no progress upon it, but i am making a diorama for it (for both Gazelles actually). XZ347 has been made and now is ready for paint, but i only have pictures of the cockpit currently . i didn't do anything too fancy, I added some paper in the back to try and some mapping or maybe a note book. I did try to add some radio wiring on the top 'console' but i didn't go to far on it I will probably take pictures of her tomorrow