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TonyOD

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Everything posted by TonyOD

  1. TonyOD
    Yeah I spotted that too. I think it's the Xtracolour one I mentioned is an equivalent. Thing is (to my eye at least) there are two kinds of all-green RN Wessex in play - the ones with matt finish and low-vis roundels (e.g. Falkands) which are very olive and very drab, and the ones like XS522 (as I'm trying to do her) which are a darker, bluer shade of green with something of a gloss finish. On the right is the colour I've been using (per Italeri's instructions). In the middle is Humbrol 149, which I think is the right shade to use. On the left is (according to some conversion charts) the Revell equivalent to H149, though it looks nothing like it LOL. Bit of remedial work to do, but no dramas. Generally speaking the issues I face during my (to be fair quite amateurish) builds are normally the result of my own carelessness or clumsiness, but on this one the kit manufacturer seems to have it in for me!
  2. TonyOD
    Right, done a bit of research. Xtracolor X028 is something called RN helicopter olive drab, and there doesn't seem to be an equivalent in any other range. However looking at pics of various Wessexes I get the impression that this colour was used on aircraft with low vis roundels and black or white lettering in combat zones like the Falklands. Pics of all-green Wessexes with high regular roundels/white lettering seem to be a darker, "bluer" green. I could get a tin of the Xtracolor from Hannants but their minimum orders and shipping charges kill me. Or I could get Humbrol 149 from a local stockist. Or I could use Revell 67, which I have and which is reportedly an equivalent to H149. Or I could stop getting so wound up about minute differences in shades of green that nobody will care about but me. Any of the Wessexperts (see what I did there?) shed any light on the colour of XS522 before I start scrubbing paint off stuff? @hendie maybe? Thanks
  3. TonyOD
    So here's a thing. The instructions depict two FAA colour schemes, a camo job and an all-over dark green. They say the dark green in the camo and the all-over dark green are both FS 34079. I've been using Humbrol 116 as an equivalent. I've got as far as painting some of the smaller pieces, the upper faces of the rotor blades and the meshy bits around the nose and the rotor (dry brushing over black). I've been vaguely troubled that it looks a bit olivey compared to pics of helicopters of this type, and for that matter the artwork on the back of the box. And now I look at the box and there it says that the all-over green isn't FS 34079, it's FS 34092, a darker green that translates into Humbrol as no. 149. Have I done something to upset Italeri, maybe in a previous life? Fortunately I was just about getting to priming so haven't painted the fuselage. Maybe I'll see if I've got 149 in and make a comparison. Italeri are doing my nut.
  4. TonyOD
    Never heard of this before I saw your build. Just been reading about it. What a story. Many thanks.
  5. TonyOD
    That's a big ol' bomb!
  6. TonyOD
    My modelling space is the end of the dining room table. My stash in four large cardboard boxes out in the shed. The roof has seen better days and has leaked (on the to-do list), the boxes are mostly in a woeful state after ten years in there but the plastic won't come to any harm. All my instructions and decals are in a filing cabinet indoors though.
  7. TonyOD
    I prefer "vague suggestions"...
  8. TonyOD

    Sea base

    TonyOD posted a topic in Diorama Chat

    Hi all, For my upcoming first crack at a group build I'm thinking of doing a two-plane wheels-up aerial diorama (flyorama)? The encounter in question takes place of the Mediterranean. Can anyone put me onto a source of convincing looking sea? Thanks
  9. TonyOD
    Amazing. I love those far east roundels.
  10. TonyOD
    Well, @perdu, after no small amount of deliberation I took a very deep breath and went at that nose with dremel, files and sandpaper, and now I have a front end that looks more like a Wessex, less like a ski jump. It's going to need a bit of filler and tidying up but I'm very pleased with this outcome. Thanks again for the heads up.
  11. TonyOD
    Hello! Plenty source material down your way!
  12. TonyOD
    Thank you @825, that's really interesting. The Shack is my likely target due to ready availability of kit and decals, but if I go for another heavy this or the Sparrow will be up there!
  13. TonyOD
    I'm going to give it a look over later to see if I can do anything with it. Carving it back that much and still having a hole anywhere near the same size as the intake cover thingy seems like a big ask. If not, I'll brace myself for a few slings and arrows if/when I present the end product for inspection . The advice is much appreciated!
  14. TonyOD
    Blimey. You know what, I hadn't even noticed, which says a lot about my attention to detail I guess... but now you mention it. That top lip to scale would be sticking out by what, a foot or more? I'll have to have a ponder on this one, it's some fairly major surgery by my standards and I'd risk messing the whole thing up if I get it wrong. It would help if I hadn't stuck the nose on already Here's the thing: I'm working at a while different level to lot of the modellers on this forum (witness: does not have decal sheets of serial numbers kicking around). I've just about worked up the confidence to do little corrections like those steps, reshaping a nose might well be beyond me. Found this which is where it should be at:
  15. TonyOD
    I've wondered about those D-Day stripes before... invariably on models kits they are presented very neatly, but I'd heard about them being slapped on in a hurry, sometimes even with mops and brooms, which surely would have given a rather rough and ready look to the end result - your picture certainly supports this! I guess the stencils were a casualty on this particular Spit...
  16. TonyOD
    Well my decal sheet has arrived. The first thing that's remarkable about it is that while it features a whole bunch of Wessexes it doesn't include serial numbers for any of them - if you want serial numbers you need to buy a whole separate sheet, which is a bit naughty if you ask me, Modeldecal! The second remarkable thing is that as well as all the Wessexes it includes a Belgian Mirage, which seems a bit random - is there a link that I'm missing? Luckily for me the sheet includes no less than three representations of XS522 at various stages in its career (and I do have the serial numbers for that one). I'm going to go for the RFA Olna/1976 option, mainly because I like the Olna crest the most but also because there's a fantastic photograph that I can refer to. 829 NAS it says on the decal sheet, though it XS522 might have been with 846 NAS at that time. RFA Olna was a "fast fleet tanker" that carried a complement of three Wessexes and later Sea Kings. It's almost as much fun finding out more about the aircraft as it is building the model!
  17. TonyOD
    This takes me back. My very first build years ago was the Airfix PR XIX, newly issued at the time. I built PS888 in its original RAF guise, before realising that the fuselage roundels were the wrong size. I got so hung up about this apparent inaccuracy that I refinished the Spit to represent the same plane later in its career with the Thai AF. Surely it must just be a case of switching the roundels and tail flash, right? After all, why would they go to the trouble of repainting the spinner? And now, something like 11 years later, I find out that the spinner might have been the wrong colour! You just can't win! Enjoy the build, whatever colour its nose turns out to be.
  18. TonyOD
    Fantastic job. I've been telling myself that my 1/72 Italeri Wessex will look OK "within the limitations of the scale", but I see this and realise I have no excuse!
  19. TonyOD
    So despite the fact that my FAA stash runs to 40+ kits I absolutely need to buy two kits for upcoming Group Builds, an F-35, a Shackleton (since I found out there was one with ROYAL NAVY on the side), and now this. The mrs ain’t gonna be happy.
  20. TonyOD
    Fantastic job. I've had half an eye on this because I could swear I saw some decals for an FAA version somewhere. Though I might have dreamt it...
  21. TonyOD
    That's stunning. What a beautiful paint job.
  22. TonyOD
    Ah, but "faster" rarely means "better" in this game! (What is this "scratch built" of which you speak?) Two weeks in it's starting to look a bit like a helicopter, albeit at the moment a very scruffy one. It's funny how the more you get into it the more you notice dimensional inaccuracies - nothing that the casual observer would notice, and it will look like a Wessex in the sense that you're unlikely to mistake it for a Spitfire, but some of it is all over the place. Some inaccuracies I can have a crack at fixing (e.g. those steps) but others are clearly beyond my skills and I won't lose any sleep. I've spent an unusual amount of time with the kit over the last couple of days, normally I'll just do half an hour or maybe an hour at a stretch, but modelling is very much secondary to outdoor pursuits and I need to get outside today! I've found some better pictures of my incoming decal sheet and am considering my options!
  23. TonyOD
    It certainly does!
  24. TonyOD
    This is brilliant, and what a fantastic photo, thank you! I've done a bit further digging - I looked at the decal through a magnifying glass and could see the word LONDON. In fact it's not, as I thought, a crudely rendered 707 NAS crest: But the insignia of HMS London herself (the coat of arms of the City of London does feature a red sword): Maybe the red sword in both is pure coincidence. You can get lost in this stuff... I wonder what the story is behind the Busby art. I remember the Bernard Cribbins-voiced British Telecom ads of the 1980s featuring said bird, he was really annoying. As well as the yellow Busby on the nose, the tail features further artwork - the words "make someone happy" (the slogan from the ads) and what appears to be a deceased Busby! Anyway I now have the Modeldecal sheet on the way so I have a bunch of options to choose from. Who knows how this Wessex will end up?
  25. TonyOD
    Lovely. I've got various seafaring biplanes in the stash, but haven't summoned the nerve to go at anything with rigging on it just yet!
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