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Wessex HC2 - A Dauphin's Stablemate: 520 days later.... IT'S FINISHED ! (why, yes it is indeed)


hendie

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I've decided that the Wessex is the antithesis of aerodynamic with all of those add ons and bolt ons.....

On the other hand - as a muse for a Hendiesisation project I guess it's hard to beat :)

Love this sort of stuff - great work as ever Hendie.

1950s helicopter design? Aerodynamic? You were lucky if the rotor blades were aerodynamic in some of those early designs, let alone the fuselage.

The H-34 (Choctaw / Seabat / Seahorse), on which the Wessex was based, first flew in 1954 - that's only 10 or so years after the R4 Hoverfly, which was the first practical helo as we'd understand it. You might as well look at something like a Vickers Gunbus (roughly the same time after the Wright Bros as the H-34 was after Igor Sikorski hovering in his trilby hat) and wonder about the aerodynamics of that.

The kind of aerodynamics you're talking about (parasite drag from all the gubbuns hanging off the aircraft) aren't really an issue in most rotary wing designs - even modern ones- cos they don't go fast enough. Modern helos, with BERP blades (themselves only really practical once composites became realistic), turbine engines and all that malarkey... they pay a bit more attention to aerodynamic lines (think Lynx, S-76, and so on), but even then it's all relative. Helicopters are for hovering, flying slowly, lifting unfeasibly heavy things underslung, getting into very confined spaces in a jungle, or landing on postage stamp flight decks (look up the Tribal Class frigate and imagine landing on that!). If you want smooth whizzing things, go fixed wing!

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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Or Osprey. See m'learned friend Nigel.

Hendie, It's a blinder (doh!)

Maube there was an almost on

position for the rotor brake.

If not, there is now.

I think the protuberances were breathers

for the underfloor fuel tanks.

Though I could be wrong (again).

You didn't forget the step each side

above the cable trunking, did you?

I nearly missed one once, going down!

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I think all the little protuberances (or twiddly bits as I call them) are what make helicopter modelling so interesting and fun. I certainly like researching and adding them.

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I think all the little protuberances (or twiddly bits as I call them) are what make helicopter modelling so interesting and fun. I certainly like researching and adding them.

ditto

it helps that heliocopterators have been a passion for most of my miserable life

The power to make the sky do what you tell it has to be at least as good as slipping through the sky without it noticing you are there

'til you ain't :)

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Or Osprey. See m'learned friend Nigel.

Hendie, It's a blinder (doh!)

Maube there was an almost on

position for the rotor brake.

If not, there is now.

I think the protuberances were breathers

for the underfloor fuel tanks.

Though I could be wrong (again).

Sea King rotor brake rather then Wessie, but I think they were similar; it's a pretty simple design - you were pushing to pressurise a hydraulic cylinder. Sometimes it was easy, but sometimes you really had to get both arms involved & strain. IIRC there was then a gate into which the lever sat, this stopping the brake from slipping off. Hendie's brake would stop the rotors, but not stay on. But it's certainly close enough.

Good call on the fuel cell breathers; I bet you are right - the Sea King had a very similar arrangement (which I had completely forgotten until you mentioned it), but without the Hendie Protruberance

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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Did Sharky Ward say that?

Trevor

He might have done. I was taught it by Chris "Runner" McBean, the brave man who taught me to fly helicopters (alas no longer with us). Runner served with Sharkey in more than one carrier, so who knows who picked it up from whom. My guess is that it predates the Sea Harrier; it sounds like the sort of thing some "chopper pukes" (such charmers, these Stovies) would come up with to hold their own in the bar as people thundered their mega-dangerous jets into arrestor wires! In the context of a ship, who can deny it's true?

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Yes, but a breath of wind,

and there goes your model!

The Puma has an 'on' gate

but memory says the Wessex

one went overcentre on a cam?

I think you are right, looking at this pic from an ARC walkround there seems to be no where for it to slot into.

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/awa01/601-700/awa675-Wessex-Barber/14.jpg

Although if they were on a tea break mid way through bleeding the rotor brake system then the handle would be in a realistic position, Just need to scratch build the bleed rig in position and then you are sorted. And are those blinds on the forward skylight windows as well???? :worms:

Edited by moaning dolphin
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I think you are right, looking at this pic from an ARC walkround there seems to be no where for it to slot into.

The Wessex had a over centre geometric lock that bottomed the internal piston to prevent it going all the way forward (on) the only gate was in the off position as the operator stowed the handle out of the way in the horizontal. A complete bugger to replenish and keep free of air as it was not connected to the aircrafts primary or secondary hyd systems.

Loving the build.

The Woo

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Or Osprey. See m'learned friend Nigel.

Hendie, It's a blinder (doh!)

Maube there was an almost on

position for the rotor brake.

If not, there is now.

You didn't forget the step each side

above the cable trunking, did you?

I nearly missed one once, going down!

1) okay, okay, alright already... I'll have a look and see if I can get it into the locked position. what's the worst that can happen ?

2) Nope, just haven't got that far yet.

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1950s helicopter design? Aerodynamic? You were lucky if the rotor blades were aerodynamic in some of those early designs, let alone the fuselage.

The H-34 (Choctaw / Seabat / Seahorse), on which the Wessex was based, first flew in 1954 - that's only 10 or so years after the R4 Hoverfly, which was the first practical helo as we'd understand it. You might as well look at something like a Vickers Gunbus (roughly the same time after the Wright Bros as the H-34 was after Igor Sikorski hovering in his trilby hat) and wonder about the aerodynamics of that.

But it does have a certain kind of beauty in it's fugliness. I prefer to think of it like a Clydesdale (the horse!)

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In the middle of my Wessex HC 2 build, and with all the incorrect and missing features that Italeri have messed up on, I had a fleeting thought…. Should I abandon this build and wait for something better ?
For clarity… This thought occurred to me as I looked back over all the scratch work I have done, and can now see how I could have made things better. Had I given it some forethought, and known that I would go this deep into it, I know I would have planned and executed things differently.

Then I came back to my senses and realized that I have got this far, I should see it through to the end. However….
Now, with Fly models coming out with a 1/32 version of the HC 2 sometime soon (???). I can see that particular model as being a vehicle (sic) for an uber- super-detailed Wessex HC 2.

That being said, I am sure that there will still be parts, features, etc that will not be present on the model, due to the limitations of the molding process etc. I will assume that Fly will include some etch, but am still pretty certain that those who know the Wessex intimately will see some areas that can be improved or where HC 2 parts can be added. For example, I hate seeing 3D features represented by 2D etch parts (brake lines are a perfect example)

As I started drawing up a list of parts that I think I would need for this super-detailed HC2 I started thinking… are there any others out there who would also be interested in such an add-on package ?

I know I am jumping the gun a bit, and without seeing Fly’s end product it’s all a bit premature. However, my plan is to obtain a kit as soon as it is released and then start working on the finer details, and actually plan the build. So it would probably be several months after the kit release before any detail set would be available. So, the question is… would anyone else be interested in such a venture ? It would be extremely low volume, and therefore, probably not cheap.

Am I losing my mind? or are there other similarly crazed individuals out there? Should I start a new thread on this topic just to see what happens ???

Edited by hendie
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I think you are right, looking at this pic from an ARC walkround there seems to be no where for it to slot into.

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/awa01/601-700/awa675-Wessex-Barber/14.jpg

Although if they were on a tea break mid way through bleeding the rotor brake system then the handle would be in a realistic position, Just need to scratch build the bleed rig in position and then you are sorted. And are those blinds on the forward skylight windows as well???? :worms:

Yup Dammit!!! .....another set of blinds!

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In the middle of my Wessex HC 2 build, and with all the incorrect and missing features that Italeri have messed up on, I had a fleeting thought…. Should I abandon this build and wait for something better ?

For clarity… This thought occurred to me as I looked back over all the scratch work I have done, and can now see how I could have made things better. Had I given it some forethought, and known that I would go this deep into it, I know I would have planned and executed things differently.

Then I came back to my senses and realized that I have got this far, I should see it through to the end. However….

Now, with Fly models coming out with a 1/32 version of the HC 2 sometime soon (???). I can see that particular model as being a vehicle (sic) for an uber- super-detailed Wessex HC 2.

That being said, I am sure that there will still be parts, features, etc that will not be present on the model, due to the limitations of the molding process etc. I will assume that Fly will include some etch, but am still pretty certain that those who know the Wessex intimately will see some areas that can be improved or where HC 2 parts can be added. For example, I hate seeing 3D features represented by 2D etch parts (brake lines are a perfect example)

As I started drawing up a list of parts that I think I would need for this super-detailed HC2 I started thinking… are there any others out there who would also be interested in such an add-on package ?

I know I am jumping the gun a bit, and without seeing Fly’s end product it’s all a bit premature. However, my plan is to obtain a kit as soon as it is released and then start working on the finer details, and actually plan the build. So it would probably be several months after the kit release before any detail set would be available. So, the question is… would anyone else be interested in such a venture ? It would be extremely low volume, and therefore, probably not cheap.

Am I losing my mind? or are there other similarly crazed individuals out there? Should I start a new thread on this topic just to see what happens ???

Count me as a fellow crazed individual!

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You can't give up now. Your dedication and resourcefulness in bringing this build kicking and screaming up to this point is an inspiration.

No pressure you understand........

Trevor

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Don't give up, your highlighting all the inaccuracies Italieri have neglected to add. Your kit outstrips the winner of the IPMS Nat's helicopter class last year, some many mistakes and such a small model.

Oh by the way just to push you nearer the edge, you could add the document box above the pilots seat?

Anyone know when the Fly kit will be out?? Reallllllllllly want this.

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Oh by the way just to push you nearer the edge, you could add the document box above the pilots seat?

Anyone know when the Fly kit will be out?? Reallllllllllly want this.

Made it yesterday! (and the fire extinguisher is just waiting on paint)

I'm not sure whether to add the remainder of the cockpit before or after I paint. Masking is going to be a nightmare whatever way I choose to do it. I'm just scared that once it's buttoned up, if I break anything during the masking/painting/de-masking process that I won't be able to fix it. - it's a bit cramped in there!

You can't give up now. Your dedication and resourcefulness in bringing this build kicking and screaming up to this point is an inspiration.

Don't give up, your highlighting all the inaccuracies Italieri have neglected to add. Your kit outstrips the winner of the IPMS Nat's helicopter class last year, some many mistakes and such a small model.

Thanks guys - I have no intention of giving up - it was just one of those fleeting thoughts, before I realized just how crazy it was.

I hope to make this a good representation of the HC2's that I worked on. It will never be perfect, but I hope that I can do the build justice in the end.

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I knew you'd do the right thing Hendie, you have all along after all

I cant see me buying a LARGE Wessex but I reckon someone delving into Wessexectory will need to make parts for improvement

And I think it should be you :thumbsup2:

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this is a rather small but exciting update (for me anyway).

I was messing about in SolidWorks with the tail wheel casting - my plan was to develop it as sheet metal so I could use that template to cut sheet styrene to make my own version when I had one of my (seemingly more frequent) 'doh moments.... what about all this new fangled 3D printing nonsense that everyone is talking about ?

A quick bit of googling found wads of companies offering the service so I thought - what have I got to lose?

So, a bit more development in SolidWorks got me to this point

3-25-2015%25205-11-21%2520PM.png

I then uploaded the model to Shapeways and knock me sideways with a feather..... it was going to cost me all of $1.68 to get printed... okay I had postage on top of that but $1.68 ???

In the end I went for Ultra Frosted Detail - the highest detailing plastic offered and it was just over $5 for that, but it still seemed a bit of a bargain, so in went the credit card details and a week later I had this in my hands....

S5003082.JPG

I couldn't believe the level of detail, it really was very, very good. It's hard to see from that photo above so I gave it a quick squirt of primer - and you can see that they have really managed to capture the detail in the printing process very well indeed.

S5003083.JPG

It's a bit grainy but that's only to be expected with the medium. A little bit of clean up and a coat or two of primer and paint should make this a very presentable part.

Another (out of focus) shot shows that I even got the mounting flanges for the rear shock in place. I did consider adding the shock as well, but if my dimensions were just slightly out, then it would have looked wrong - and not fitted.... yes, I am going to scratch the rear shock!

S5003085.JPG

And here's how it would look in situ. Compare that to the kit version!

S5003084.JPG

I have to say that I am very impressed. I wish I had thought of 3D printing during my Dauphin (and earlier) builds as it would have made some things much, much simpler.

Of course, after I got this one printed, I examined the rear casting a lot closer in photo's and realized that I got a few detail incorrect. So I have now revamped it to this version.

3-25-2015%25205-24-57%2520PM.png

I still need to do some checking as to how it's going to fit on to the kit, and I may have to raise the attachment points slightly higher to make it sit right. But, overall I am rather excited at this new direction.

I know some people don't consider 3D printing as scratching, however, I consider it as yet another tool to take advantage of. Sometimes you choose styrene, sometimes ally can and sometimes 3D printing - and as costs come down I think that many more modelers will be taking advantage of the technology. Even current pricing structures are very very affordable.

I am currently waiting on the oleos being delivered. I am not sure how that is going to turn out since the oleos are tubular and the printing method may work against me here, but we'll see. I am also going for printing in steel this time around - should be interesting!

At that price it was worth experimenting. I am also considering printing the aerials as the kit versions are rather pathetic.

... and don't even mention the beetleback!

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