rotorheadtx Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 (edited) Oookay then.....everything lined up, thumb out of bum, camera charged, off to the races! First up, the components of the build; kit, decals, reference..... And the kit parts..... And l' object d' desire.....funny how the artworks match......must be authentic then. Edited June 16, 2013 by rotorheadtx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Hi Tony. Sounds good even without the pics. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share Posted June 16, 2013 (edited) First modifications needed; the canopy framing, fuel tank sump, and tailboom strake removals. The canopy of the blue & white bird in this image has the early HOS-HUS/Westland style framing. The yellow a/c wreck has the later Sikorsky style framing with the added window panel. Westland Whirlwinds have flat belly pans like this early USCG H-19, so the big bulge on the belly of the kit has to go. Milliput to the rescue! Even though the SAM drawings show them in place, the upper quadrant strakes on the tailboom need to be removed. A simple matter of scraping, sanding, and then rescribing the panel lines. Edited June 16, 2013 by rotorheadtx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Tony, to save you any heartache with the windscreen braces, in the ROTORcraft kit we supplies some yellow decal strips. You might want to go this route instead of trying to glue something to the clear parts. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1fuN0 Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 This one, I have a feeling, is gonna be one to watch.... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share Posted June 16, 2013 Tony, to save you any heartache with the windscreen braces, in the ROTORcraft kit we supplies some yellow decal strips. You might want to go this route instead of trying to glue something to the clear parts. Colin Colin, I think you've misunderstood my commentary; the framing needs to come off, not be added. Here's my HAR.10; look at the canopy - this one has been modified to the Westland arrangement. Adding the internal supports is a doddle, it's the sanding off of the molded framing that can be troublesome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 (edited) Oooooooooops, just revisited you pic of the two trashed ones and realised what you were indicating. Must remember to look before I leap! Colin Edited June 16, 2013 by heloman1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gajman Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 The key to filing clear parts is to go gently, don't apply too much pressure. It takes a bit longer but is worth it. The plastic is a lot more brittle than the normal plastic. I used to be really nervous of working with clear parts for the very reason that I cracked a few. But once I realised what I was doing wrong the cracking stopped. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Enjoying this, especially the links to reference photographs. Will now need to rip the canopy off my part-built example and start mucking around wth it. Not so sure I will find adding thin bits of sprue tidily to a transparency such a doddle as you did. Lazy question ('cos I could easily look up some photos myself): is the upper rear fuselage strake wrong for all Westland-built Whirlwinds or just certain marks? If the latter, which? PS I found both strakes rather heavily done and replaced them with the smallest square section rod I could find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Tony's going to give you his answer but in the meantime, the strakes are an inverted V shape with wings/flanges on the tops (bottoms) to allow for riveting to the boom skin. The upper strakes were probably added to soak up any increase in engine output as with modification the engines gave progessively increaded power output. Similarly with the drooped boom of the later marks, the boom was drooped to reduce the likelyhood of the mainrotor blades hitting the tail boom. Westlands also increased the chord of the tail rotor pylon. Plus the two horizontal stabs were positioned flat. Probably the easiest way to represent the V and it's flanges, would be a strip of styrene and then a V shaper piece of sprue or styrene section glued onto that. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 (edited) Gary, I've done it before on my HAR.10; I haven't cracked one yet, but I know at least two others that have. (Touch wood) Seahawk, the trick is not to use plastic for the framing braces in the first place. On my HAR.10 I used four small lengths of fuse wire glued in with PVA (white glue), thus no worries about crazing the canopy. Only glue the tip ends of the wire, where they meet the window framing. As for the strakes, Colin has it right; the early versions didn't have them, but as engine power increased added structural strength was needed. The H-19/Whirlind family of helos can be a modeller's nightmare from all the subtle changes, best rely on photos if at all possible. Anyway, on with the progress...... One thing I forgot to mention regarding mods from H-19 to Whirly is altering the grille-work on the starboard side of the fuselage. All of the Westland built piston-engine birds had less grille-work than the Sikorskys. On the model, the third column of grille-work, and the area above the "fill-cap" needs to be sanded smooth and slightly re-framed. Compare the two sides, and you'll see what I mean. And to prove that I'm not just sitting about typing, some assembly has been done.... :-) I've cut away the belly, added some backing, assembled and altered the boom, and built up the interior parts. Edited June 20, 2013 by rotorheadtx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Looking good - and I thought I had a few mods / improvements to correct an old Gazelle kit; this is in a different league! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gajman Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Gary, I've done it before on my HAR.10; I haven't cracked one yet, Wow, that's tempting fate in a big way It's good to see this progressing. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Hi I have some blanking plates for this conversion, I think thier by Whirlybits. If you want one let me know. Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Steve, thanks for the offer, I have some too. I think this is a quicker way of going at it. Gary, got the canopy modified last night, no problems at all. Pics coming soon. The overcoat of Future is still drying. Ex-FAAWAFU, the Gazza is a great little kit, I've build three(?) so far. The worst thing about it is the uber-chunky rotorhead; looks nothing at all like the real thing, and spoils the delicacy of the model itself. I strongly endorse building a new one from scratch. The blade grips are too big, and thus the blades too short. I may still have my modded one lying around - I'll see if I can find it and send pics of that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the tip - I've already done a fair amount of work to the Gaz head; I am happier with it, without having got to full-on happy yet. It's an "interesting" combination of over-simplistic and too fat (which, come to think of it, describes many of us!). I have at least worked out a way of attaching the head that will allow me to remove it for transit etc - and will also allow me to see what it looks like in situ on a built-up airframe. Still lots to do, but this is where it has got to... I guess that's why we love doing this stuff; I keep on starting kits saying "this one is going to be pretty much OOB", but before I know it I am detailing this, and correcting that, and adding the other... Edited June 23, 2013 by Ex-FAAWAFU 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 Wow!! Holy smokes that rotorhead is amazing!! You are a magician, sir. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 Now the canopy is polished out, and I've started adding the bracing. (That's not a crack in the windscreen, that's a cat-hair - camera sees better than I do.) One other area in the Italeri kit that needs improvement is the engine bay. The kit nose wheels are mounted too far forward, so I've sawn off the bogus kit 'engine' and original mounting sockets. I've added strips of styrene to represent the gear mounts and engine bearers, and I'll drill new holes for the nose gear when the glue is fully set. I've trimmed back the area between the nose wheel mounts to the leading edge of the oil cooler, and I have a Cyclone-series engine that has been held for this project in the great trove-o-resin. Best of all, I've now discovered Instant Mold/Oyumaru........fabricate some shrouding and an exhaust manifold, and Bob's me uncle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 I've got the main rotor head and blades assembled and cleaned up. Some punched discs added to represent the flapping hinge bearings, and Grandt Line bolts to dress up the lead-lag dampers. Both top and bottom plates of the rotor head were sanded on their inner faces to reduce thickness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1fuN0 Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Nice work Rotorhead... Get the feeling this one is going to be a stunner... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Looking good so far.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) I wasn't happy with the thickness of the wire for the windshield stays on my first try; I found some finer wire, and here's the finished product: Note: use Tamiya Clear acrylic to glue in the wires. I've dropped the canopy three times now, and each time the PVA let go; acrylic didn't. Edited June 27, 2013 by rotorheadtx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 I've now added an allusion to the engine, cylinder shrouding, and exhaust collector ring, and extended the engine bearers upwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted July 2, 2013 Author Share Posted July 2, 2013 (edited) Painted the interior and engine assembly, first run-through; detail colors to be hand-brushed with Vallejo and Games Workshop. Edited July 2, 2013 by rotorheadtx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 (edited) Started looking ahead to the paint-booth, and glad I did too! I sprayed swatches of Tamiya and Gunze acrylic dark blues, then started comparing what I had to the decals, FS color chips, and known internet mixing references. The roundel blue of the Model Art sheet is too dark, very close to Gloss Sea Blue in fact. Tamiya X3 is a decent match to Oxford Blue, and I have better roundels from Modeldecal, so I should be able to get good color contrast between the two. Got the white primer and yellow band sprayed on the boom, too. Edited July 5, 2013 by rotorheadtx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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