Wafu

Hi, I got the shadow stand from this guy for my Tamiya F-14B conversion, https://www.modeldesigns.co.uk/product-page/shadow-stands-250mm The F-14A was with black acrylic and clear rod from EBay.

Is that for when Wales goes for independence, the Welsh armed forces😂😂😂

Hi Bruce, They can be, however I know people who have been judges there and they say it’s rare for judges to pick up models or bases, they do though on the very odd occasions.

Thanks for your kind words, I was very relieved that I did ‘check’ it before the Sunday began.

Yes it’s in 1/35. It worked in getting all the vehicles and troops, making the LST’s was a challenge though, scratch built but with some 3D printed deck fittings. Thanks you for the compliment regarding my Skycrane, I wasn’t impressed though on Sunday morning at Telford. I came up to the comp in the morning to find my model displaced on its base, the rotor blades moved in the pitch and on the rotorhead axis. I can only deduce that the person/s taking photos for the press at the beginning of Sunday, removed the paper warning for “model not fixed to base”, the model comp application detail slip and the Gold ticket awarded by the judges on Saturday. In fact my model is shown in the IPMS mag with displaced blades. I know the Competition Sec can move the models but I’d hope/expect that if any official was to move my model they would exercise the utmost care, treating it equal if not with more care than their own. Needless to say I wasn’t happy, when I display my model I want it to be as I leave it...

Happy New Year to one and all. Here's my years builds... 1/48 Academy/Eduard boxing of the F4. 1/35 Skycrane. Airfix 1/48 Merlin with Belcher Bits conversion. Academy 1/35 M1151 with Live Resin turret, DEF model wheels, Legend Mine Roller and Rhino. Astrokit, 1/48 Jet Ranger. The best kit of the decade for me, Tamiya 1/48 F-14A Tamiya F-14D with Steel Beach B conversion. Resicast 1/35 Sherman DD with Dragon figures and FoG base. Academy 1/48 Sea Knight I've been working on this for a local attraction, they wanted a scene replicating from the embarkation of the 29th Infantry Div, June 4 1944. It was finished for display in May 2019. Please excuse the background 'clutter', it was so big I had to finish it off in my garage;)

Outstanding FA2, the best I’ve seen in a long while. The wear on the forward edges of the tanks is spot on. Well done.

The Russian and me agree on that one😉

Well said Wimbledon99, thanks to Craig for hosting a great build thread.

Thanks for hosting a great build, the perfect reason to breakout the Sea Kights.

Very nice indeed, bellissimo. Its surprising how much detail can be seen through the cockpit glazing.

Alan, please see this picture, both sides have the stub fitted on this MK2, ex NI cab.

Alan, the Wessex 2 and Wessex 5 have slightly differing fuel systems. The Mk2 don’t have pressure refuel and surge tanks fitted, these tanks and pipe work are seen on any pictures of the Wessex 5. Look for the pipes below the beehive panel at the rear of the gearbox wrap over panels. As for the small black dot panels of the Wessex 5, these are the studs for the fuel tanks to locate and stay in position within the belly of the Wessex, the Wessex 5 had/has 12 fuel cells in the belly and 1 in the kitchen area behind the cabin aft curtain. Each cell is a sealable, interconnected but split into the front 6 to feed the port (#1) engine and the aft 6 feed the stbd (#2) engine. The 13th tank gravity feeds the 11th tank. The fuel can be cross fed from either sets of tanks to feed both engines as selected by the pilot. The large tubular blank shown in the picture, they are covers for the hard points. These can mount either the External Fuel tank arms or the weapons platforms over each main wheel. These platforms carried the forward facing GPMG, half or full rocket tubes, SS-11 wire guided missiles or the later AS-12 wire guided missiles. On the RAF cabs, Wessex 2’s these were blanked off flush to the airframe due to the inability of the mk 2 being able carry the external fuel tanks. Hope this helps?

I’ve been trying my best to remember what the hydraulic component might be in the centre of the picture but I’ve got to admit defeat. Its the Rotor Brake Accumulator, holds the pressure in the system when the brake is applied to the main rotors. A bloody big spring inside makes is act against the hyd fluid. The rotor brake is seen in May 21 post, it’s the first picture. The three sets of two brake callipers are silver coloured on the tail drive shaft.

Does happen, no often but it happens😂 Any ex Sea King guys remember the 707 cab that had one out of six blades fitted the wrong way round😬 The AEM fitted it, the PO sup’ed it and the Chief NAM’ed it (from the comfort of the crew room it was reported) The pilot did his pre ground run and still they ran it, scratch one blade for delamination.

Very nice work there.

A good starting point would be Peter at Atlantic models.

As far as I am aware, it was only the ships that sailed from the gulf guard duties, the Armilla patrol. All Royal Navy ships had the union flag painted on a prominent upper surface, on the Type 21’s it was the bridge.

One thing to note, the 1/48 Italeri kits have a hole in the port aft section This was a legacy from the earlier Wessex 1 days. All Wessex 2,3 and 5 had a plain grille as show in these pictures. The hoist hook in these pictures must have been a Crab thing, RN cabs has a plain hook with a black bumper, during my time on Wessex I never saw on of this type. The hook was in the aft position on the 300ft hoists and in the forward position on the 100ft.

Thanks Andy, it’s a massive help.

Hi all, Can someone point me to a good colour for the Canadian SAR helicopters, the Cormorant preferably. The yellow seems to me to be a little off the usual RAF SAR yellow, could just be me though. I’d like the red and yellow FS numbers if possible? I’d prefer acrylics not enamels please.

13 was always entertaining if they were of different stature😉

Spot on RR, with the picture and your text it explains the action we used to use on the Hermes to reduce damage to the blades during folding and spreading in high winds or if the flight could talk the FDO (Flight Deck Officer) into letting us do it. Let’s face it, all of us on here who have actually spread one of these things would take an easier option if provided, no?

Hi Royal, I’ve a few pictures from my time on the Happy H as a JAEM many moons ago, I’ll dig them out and send them on. To answer your question though, the flight would do all the maintenance on the aircraft, the Yellow and Blue Surcoat were/are Cockhead’s (Aircraft Handlers to give them their true title) they would drive the tractors (blue) and supervise (yellow) the moves. The rest was down to the flight to provide chockmen for each wheel and a brakeman. Taking part art in the spreading and folding would be a Petty Officer supervisor (White Surcoat), and all the trade guys ie Brown for the Grubbers (mechanical trade) Green for the Greenies (electrical trade) Red coat with a black vertical stripe for the Bombheads (weapons) Green with a blue vertical stripe for the Pinkies ( Radio/Radar trade). The flight usually had a Cheif Petty Officer (Senior Maintenance Rating) x1 White surcoat with Squadron number and SMR on the back in a white rectangle. Petty Officer of each trade (total x4) with Squadron and trade Sup on in the white rectangle ie 845 M SUP. Leading Hand of each trade x4. Coloured surcoat with Sqdn then Trade LH ie 845 M L/H. Then each trade of Mechanic x4. Coloured surcoat with Squadron then trade ie 845 AEM. In warm weather the surcoat would be ditched with the foul weather jacket and overalls, we then wore working trousers (No 8’s) with a coloured long sleeve jersey in our trade colours and a white rectangle on the front and back. The front sometimes had your nickname on with the back being marked as above, mine had SCOUSE on. As for the folding and spreading of the main blades, you used the aircraft lift to bring the Wessex up to about cabin door height then spread the main blades with two guys lifting the blade at the tip whilst standing at flight deck height, two guys would be on the head, on each side, stood on the transmission decks, putting in the blade pins and securing the wrist pin to stop the blade rotating in flight. The port blades were rotated to allow stowage in the blade saddles and so had to be return to the correct position for flight. The Blue shirted chockhead would raise and lower the lift to deck height for each plate to be put in the spread position and held at the tip by two guys, the lift was then lowered with the aircraft on and so the blade was spread and the pin put in, sounds complicated but really isnt, a good flight could do this in 10 mins on a bust flight deck. Ill try to find a photo to show this more clearly. Hope this helps till then! One small thing, in the very early 80’s the Fleet Air Arm combined the Electrical and Weapons trades to form the WL branch, however the different colours existed on the flight decks with WL rating wearing either coloured surcoats and flight deck jerseys. That’s for you sprog WAFU’s lol.

Might/definitely not 737 NAS cos they dispanded before this in the 80’s with the last of the Wessex 3’s. 845 NAS did numerous stints in NI covering the RAF Puma and Wessex fleets, not sure about 846 NAS Sea Kings though, I’ll leave that to Sky dancer and Junglie rating as they will know more than me.