Search the Community

Sikorsky S-55/H-19 Chicksaw/Westland Whirlwind Warpaint Series No.106 Guideline Publications Sikorsky were the pioneers of helicopters or rotary-winged aircraft in the Western world, and licensed their products extensively to British company Westland, where they became well-loved and almost household names. The Chicksaw was the first practical helicopter from Sikorsky, capable of carrying a substantial load due to the Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine that was initially fitted. Later replaced by a turbojet engine by Westland, this gave the aircraft a longer nose, better serviceability, and greater range that broadened its appeal and made for a long career both in the military as well as the private sector. The book is the latest in the Warpaint series, and is supplied in a soft card binding with sixty pages in between, all of which is printed on glossy stock with colour on almost every page. In between the informative text regarding the development and use of the aircraft are a host of interesting photos of it in its various guises, a great many of which are in colour due to the increasing use of colour film during its service. Roughly the first half of the book is devoted to the Sikorsky built variants, and there were a substantial number of those. There are a great many interesting schemes shown in profile, including the highly colourful and more than a little creepy clown faces of the Square Dance Team, which also wore "skirts" of material around their landing gear to carry on the theme for the displays they put on. The rest of the book details the development and use of the license build Whirlwind, an aircraft that saw extensive service with the British military, explainingis why it still has a special place in many people's hearts along with the Wessex, which was another license built Sikorsky product. Westland's licensing still carries on today with the much improved Westland Apache that has substantially more powerful engines than the original design. Again there are a large number of profiles to whet your appetite, and both the Westland and Sikorsky productions have scale drawings aplenty for their respective variants all in 1:72 scale as befits the main scale that you'll be able to find a kit in. Speaking of kits, the text often mentions the modeller, and there is even a kit, aftermarket and decal listing toward the end that shows just how badly a new Whirlwind is needed in 1:48, as most of it is in 1:72. As a 1:48 builder, than makes me sad, as there is only an ancient Revell tooling that dates from the same era as the Chicksaw itself. At the very back of the book are a number of reference photos of parts of the airframe that aren't usually seen from by the casual observer, which will be of assistance to anyone looking to detail their model inside or out. Conclusion A good read, plenty of pictures that are of excellent quality, as well as a large number of plans that will be very helpful if you are planning on building an accurate model. Now, who is going to provide us with a new tooling of the Whirlwind/Chicksaw in 1:48? Review sample courtesy of

Hi all I have a question about colours of Grey used by the Raf. (only modellers can find conversations about shades of grey interesting ) Anyhow I note that wrap around colours in humbrol would be 163 and 164. But I see some useing a colour I have never until recently come across called ocean grey 106, It looks a little lighter and I guess is ideal for creating the faded look of an in service 164. Or did the raf sometimes use 106 later on or was it restricted to spits tempests typhoons and such like. I have used humbrol 27 since I was a kid I believe this was the call out for ww2 machines. I am not particularly fussy when it comes to shades I like to know what is official but I do sometimes mess about with other shades to create variation in air frames. Especially as after seeing many of the same planes lined up over the years they are often varied in shade. I have seen a tornado that had about 4 different shades of green and grey all over it so I guess its whatever you like. I just wondered if hu106 is a matt version of hu164. Just as a matter of interest I have recently found a tin of humbrol 163 from 20 years ago in my modeling draw and my suspicions that the shade has changed are true when I noted hu66 looks more like hu163 used too. My old tin of hu163 is about 50% darker than a new tin of hu163 and more brown in hue. so i guess even the manufactures are guessing. Cheers Rob

Hi All, Put this post on earlier but think i may have posted on wrong forum. Been out of the scene for quite a while for one reason or another and am just getting back into a bit of modelling. Which brings me to my request. Would anyone out there have a set of decals for a 1/72 scale Lancaster of 106 Sqn, (ZN- ), by any chance ? Hoping to build a diorama with the new airfix bomber supply set as 106 Sqn was my Dad's old Sqadron, (sadly he passed ago a year ago as now). Fingers crossed, I look forward to hearing from you, Best regards Roger