perdu

Ron thanks for your kind words re: the Wessex. I think I'd use acetate or acrylic sheet for the windows too, I have Krystal Kleer and although it does work it doesnt allow a slight bend as if on a curved fuselage which shaped plastic does It must be "flying boats landing on the water" time lately I have a Stranraer to do which I've been giving thought to a dio with her just cutting into the water on her way down to alight (I nearly wrote "On her way to land", not quite what I meant ) I have a few pictures of the interior of The RAF Hendon Museum Sunderland if they would be any help to anyone. I took them marvelling at this thing of grace and beauty that my dad went to war in. Only certain parts of the 'plane are accessible but if they help...

That must be real water/fluid in those bottles I love this A; its a chopper B; it's a SAR chopper C; it's lovely work I love it, can you tell? bill

it looks like paint it next is the cry for many of the models on here these days General M, I have been looking and enjoying this build, you are doing us a huge favour with this one never enough Pre War RAF bombers around But I gotta admit it's getting better Thanks to you b

She's coming along nicely Learstang I am enjoying this one bill

nicely nice work Nobby. As ever your undercart work is amazing too, no less magical than the bits you can see It's hats off to Nobby time again paint ah yes she's going to be awesome "in paint" bill

I dont think you would have time Nobby:) Me lots of time but limited access to MY study now that Mrs P shares the pooter and has an intolerance to paints and glues. Slows me down no end... have a little more The details that make a model a portrait are what you dont know are there but add dimension to the picture These fitments on a real Wessycopter seem to be for armaments, searchlight power and such stuff, just down in front of the door And so I added them to the fuselage along with lots of other "atmosphere" gismos Decent pictures of the port side are less common but there are a few that can be accessed to show the bits I like to use Apologies for the horrid finish- it gets better ish So, by now I think we ought to look at "what I got after adding all those gubbinses" The basically finished airframe was treated to a coat of white (like an idiot I used Humbrol Matt White enamel, never ever again ) which did at least disclose the bits thhat needed resanding and polishing prior to top coating And then needed even more later Here she is masked for painting No1 And matted with early adjustments To digress (it isnt illegal, yet) here is the instrument console being built up so it can be tucked away under the windscreen. I did this earlier of course, just found the pictures And this is the new nose in "the rough" awaiting cutting filing sanding and cutting filing and more sanding. It is a bloomin' awkward shape to get right And as an appetiser, the test shot of the new decals I've been making for this one and her sister ship in a few months time (I'm taking a Wessexy break for a while, there is a Japanese 700 scale ship to finish before my local club excommunicate me. It is for a Hospice competition that you have to pay extra fines if it isnt presented at the Feb meeting. It wasnt and I desperately need to avoid even more money raising for the Hospice And I have Frog's Lightning F6 and Phantom F4K or M calling me to get on with them) here are the test decals 'nuff for a while I hope bill

been moving along quite nicely recently, time for some more of the model detailing the front end and "show a leg" and alook at some of the rescue equipment inside the cargo cabin A view into the cockpit before the instrument console was fitted, showing the pedals with differential brakes fitted for the right hand seat only. This stuff becomes invisible from outside, you'd need to be in the cabin looking past the driver's feet to see them with the canopy on! R.R.Gnome engine intakes were added down in the glory hole, rescued from the airbox of an old Airfix SH-3D, long gone the way of all flesh and polystyrene. [in fact you might find them under twentyfive years worth of landfill up Cannock way... If you do, you can have them, all of them including my beloved C-23A Sherpa] This blooming wide load is the nose and filter box as defined by Matchbox This is the way it should look according to the wonderful plans from the 4+ book Fuel ducting and pipe runs were added to the underside, Frog made no attempt at them and Matchbox made a mad stab in the dark at them. All Wessexes I build do and will in future have them as on the real things. No two marks of Wessexy have the same underside ducting, thank the lord for the 4+ plans. Phew! And here, the last for this afternoon (I have decals to print this afternoon) is the filter box underside showing the various vents, drains and the HC2 SAR2 and HU5 style landing light fairing, yet to have its lamp fitted. Getting to the first coat of primer paint soon God how I hate that stage

good job you didn't have to take them to your local chemist for developing isn't it no seriously for a minute the pictures, in their entirety, are what makes a good WIP this is a good WIP (even better really ) I'm going to need lots of the strut mountings you know bill

Cheers chaps While I'm on a "mouldings" kick here's a couple of attempts I made to copy the wheels and rotor head details from a Frog kit I made the moulds with Humbrol Maskol applied over a well soaped item and allowed to dry for a week or two, adding Maskol as the layers dried out I have used that technique before but not for a whole unit, previously just making a half moulding that could be glued to its other half (made the same way). I made a pair of PT6As for a Shorts Sherpa that way Anyway here's a couple of moulds and the first shots off them in Holts resin mixture, nowhere near good enough for a decent model but I do like to experiment, especially when no-one seems to say where they get their moulding stuff from. I saw moulding materials at Telford but the prices were blimmin' scary for an elderly pensioner like meself There is one wheel (it did capture the hub webbing that I was interested in) and a rotor head plate awaiting trimming I didn't use either of them but did do a further wheel with a little filler in, as the first shots were plain clearly brownish fi-glass resin and were impossibly brittle All of these early tries were full of holes due to me having to drop the resin into a slit in the mould rather than having a clear filling path, but have all filled nicely with Squadron White Stuff and sanded out well This was only a poor attempt at learning processes and I learnt enough to do it right if I have to (I think/hope) I will get on with the build again soon, off to experiment with printing decalcomonies again all good clean fun ish! bill

There's no way the pictures were "going over the top" Fozzy Out "here"we have a deep seated need to see the exhaust in place, burnt Just like that and that is wonderful scratchbuilding straws... right blimmin' size... just how likely is that? The exhaust is one of them tour de force thingmys, simply great I will be sitting awaiting strut time with anticipation, hooray bill

A little bit more, been getting some of the decals printed and varnished today I will post about them later, some horror stories to unload Anyway I needed to make transparencies for the fuselage as there were none anywhere in the drawer When I made my HC2 I used the Matchbox canopy to mould one I could see through and as I still had this I decided to adapt it to fit Frog's much more accurate nose section It had been moulded for the Matchbox kit after all To get the edges pulled in properly I built a small vac forming box big enough to make small fuselages if I felt the urge but with a vac mask small eough to use on canopies Here is the box with the milliputted Wessex canopy in place I use an ancient Henry vacuum cleaner to add suckfulness and a propane gas lamp for heat. I made the holder from two bits of MDF with holes drilled to take drawing pins that can hold the acetate in place through both layers Here is the moulded acetate still held in the holder And removed from the holder but still on the former Here's what it's all about making one of the test fittings more later this week if you like bill

Always been a softie for the Sunderland, probably because my dad flew in them during WWll I will enjoy seeing this become a graceful aircraft Welcome

Glad you are back in the saddle Don I'm in for the ride I love this aircraft too bill

OK a bit more for those who are looking The kit tailwheel beam was missing (Me surprised? After thirty years in a drawer? No) so I needed to make another. Since I saved the mould I used with my HC2 from last year and will need some more for the other two Wessexes coming along maybe in the autumn so I moulded a couple of beam bodies This is the result of moulding this black polycard and adding ten or eleven other bits to it The tailwheel beam is such an important part of the shape that I'd be ashamed to use the little lump of bent polystyrene that Matchbox used so I developed this method for the HC2 and carried it across to this cab. And as I have two more models one of which is a salvaged Matchboxer I intend keeping this method on all of my fleet. The driver's seat (and his mate's) were made up from straight cut poly pieces and with a moulded seat pan that carries a survival pack I understand. Although after making them they needed sheepskin cushions I decided to make them fairly like the real thing, then add the sheepskin bits. bare bones of a seat tested for fit then with added Milliput sheepskin covers Oh yes the real thing minus sheepskins Hope this is of some interest bill

Now with the fuselage built I got on with making the detailing bits For such a beefy airframe Wessex has a surprising number of not very solid bits on her For an example the tail is a collection of wire mesh constructions where cooling vents vie with ally panelling for attention. As do of course the upper sections of the fuselage around the rotor head. All need to be represented in one way or another Frog in their wisdom, back in the early sixties gave the modeller two pieces of transparency to represent the main tail vents and my model should have had those. It didnt missing long ago So I needed to find clear plastic thick enough to fit the front and rear mesh vents and with all my scrap box thrown away in a fit of "bugger these things I won't need THEM again"-itis back in the eighties I have little old stock to draw on. So I looked for a compromise and found several old Airfix clear stands that were too thin to do the job and popped them into the casing from a used "tea light" cleaned out first naturally Hold the tray over another lit tea light and Bob's a welcome uncle, the pieces of kit stand began to melt and run together. I found that unless you are careful you can get air bubbles but a few bashes at this got me material I could work with When filed and sanded this happens more later if anyone wants it bill

I love it, you made us a good 'un Thanks for showing it to us

Nice to see Don again hi :thumbsup: my massive stash? about twenty old Froggies and Airfixes (two of them are plastic bagged P1127s) A Hasegawa Flogger and a couple of Matchbox beauties, including a Stranraer I flogged off most of mine on eBay a few years back (wonder if any of them ever got built?)

Another query please does this look too small As you can see I'm a bit further on than the WIP (and I'm getting a bit fed up nothing is working for me this week maybe it will be better after I varnish the blimmin' thing) bill

I havent seen 32" decals but Hannants do show this text against their part number X72-065 "RAF Post War Serial Letters and Numbers, Black. 16" , 18" , 20" , 24" , 30" and 48" . 3 sheet set. For the same content in white see X72129. (RAF Roundels)" X72-065 is black obviously but they say that they have the same in white quite clearly I will say that their posting is very quick, if I order tonight I would expect to get them within 48 hrs They have been excellent, although I'd expect a possible delay over the weekend (I don't work, for them or anyone else )

wot Nobby says Woody you CAN get too overintense I think that the window apertures will hide nicely when the oval masks are taken off, if I'm worried I tend to add a little of the actual colour into the seams to act as a subtle bit of extra masking/filling, that can be smoothed out of sight very easily Usually does the job nicely I think this is a delight and a proper tour de force

I just blooming love this Just so "right" Possibly the best Defiant wings since Boulton and Paul built 'planes

Morning all all the interior seating has been made and fitted in, the collectives made and linked together. move the pilot's collective and the number two's moves too. The drive shaft boxing and soundproofing fitted and paint tastefully sploshed around (the green is from Vallejo, 70974) The cabin waterproofing is two tones, a sky coloured wall covering with a dull dark green floor and "skirting board", I used Tamiya colours for those. with the fuselage "together" it was time to start the new nose filter which became this after fettling Hope this ordinary stuff isnt boring I have to start on the main rotor gear this week, but we're not that far in this tale yet Here're some of the ancillary bits awaiting fettling Some more later but I will soon be at "where I am now" and I work slowly (exceedingly slowly) so fumes from paints and glues dont give my missus breathing problems so the tale will falter for a while, later on A last, for now, some of the exterior detailing in situ, hose and electrical connections and the front leg pivot point stiffeners later folks

More of the build up cabin seats being made and cabin seats (starboard side) and the basket stretcher hanging from the roof as in the 4+ book which has been my build bible Moulding the basket stretcher with one of Mrs P's clothes pegs carved to suit Keep shtumm, I don't think she's noticed any missing Moulds from an unattributed source for other jobs, these two are for moulding the blown window and the pilot's seat bases Hope this is enough for tonight I have "Midget and Sprite Club" tonight so I'll be out from now

True how about a couple before we old pensioners go out on the town? waterproof inner lining going in over some of the myraid wires and pipes on he port wall and the ceiling going up so the curvy fuselage formers are partly hidden

Ah My small (to allow for a couple of old pensioner's eyesight) screen res must be fooling me then OK carry on it is then