Ragtag Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) With the decision to phase out the Sea King HAR.3 during 2017, a replacement was needed. Rather than following a privatised model, the MoD opted instead to look at other potential helicopter resources. There were two obvious candidates to replace the HAR.3 - the Super Puma and the Merlin. Following trials with both aircraft, the Merlin was selected. Following the release of the RAF's Merlin HC3s to the Royal Navy's Commando Helicopter Force, and the upgrade of most Merlin HM1s to HM2 standard, the Navy was left with 10 surplus HM1 airframes. These ten aircraft were made available for refit to Search and Rescue specifications. The newly-designated HAR.5 would retain the HM1's Searchwater radar, as well as being fitted with a slimmed down version of the HM2's advanced avionics suite. Several changes were made to the internal layout. Seating was rearranged to accommodate the extensive SAR equipment. Additional bulbous observation ports similar to those found on the Sea King were added close to the centre of the fuselage to aid in visual searches. Obligatory box shot: The sprues, showing the painting work completed last night: A test fit to check how observable the interior is and decide on a construction order. Posts elsewhere on the forum have suggested completing one side at a time and then joining the two. However, the fit seems clean enough so I'll probably just follow the order in the instructions: Edited September 2, 2015 by Ragtag 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Love it, crack on mate... You can never have too much Merlin wiffery. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 Thanks Colin I'll be raiding a few bits from an Italeri HC3 as well so will have to figure out something to do with the rest of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Cool subject. Less of a What-if and more of an If-only. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 Yesterday was mainly spent recoating various interior bits. In the HM2 the mission console aft of the cockpit can be split, and half removed to allow for more stretchers - so I sawed it in half and added some plasticard to neaten things up. Even with this modification though things are still fairly cramped - not sure where I'm going to put all the additions I wanted to make to the interior. Then it was squeaky bum time as I decided to add the apertures for the new observation windows. The glazing I have requires a slightly larger than 6mm hole and the only chuck I have in the house that would hold a 6mm bit belongs to the hammer drill. So - with heart in mouth I hand-drilled a pilot hole on each side of the fuselage and crossed my fingers. Turned out ok, thankfully! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Some of us would probably have just turned the drillbit by hand... But well done on the fearless option! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 (edited) That was Plan B but I decided it would take too long (the bit not being the newest). The drill has a throttle trigger so I just took it nice and slow Edited August 21, 2015 by Ragtag 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fids Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Any helicopter build is a good build IMO so really looking forward to this. Is it going to be Yellow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 It sure is! I'm now looking at the HC.3 I borrowed some bits from and am pondering an HC.4 in Navy red/grey to complement it. Anyone know of a suitable source of twin-wheel landing gear? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fids Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 yellow it is, awesome. of course if I was doing it then it would Culdrose Blue and Red ace of clubs an' all but hey, to each their own Hmm now there's an idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) Been cracking one with the cockpit and radar station detailing this week. Still a few bits here and there to tidy up that I've spotted in the cruel close-ups. Next step is to paint and fit the seats in the cabin and scratchbuild the rest of the cabin gear - liferaft canister, first aid kits, stretcher etc. Edited September 2, 2015 by Ragtag 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tc2324 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 The workstations look great and a lot of effort has gone into them. I hope there will be enough openings so that people can look inside and see the work there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Wish I could take the credit but other than sawing the station in half I'm afraid the rest is just an Eduard PE set I've glued on. There'll be two open doors, one of which is quite sizable, so the rear cabin will be quite visible - scratchbuilding the rest of the cabin will be the challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Progress at last! So, I decided to have a bash at making a stretcher a little more akin to what's currently found aboard the Sea Kings. In hindsight, I think next time I'd probably use brass wire for the whole thing (I'd forgotten I had this until I'd already started. Had to dig it out of the railway stash). I then made some shelving out of styrene sheet and rod, along with a few bits to put on and under it including a liferaft canister. The cargo netting securing it all in-flight is from a pack of ASDA clementines - it's a little thick but I wanted to push on with the build and was the best I could find. Satisfied with the interior, I then closed up the fuselage and added the rear section plus a couple of other bits. It's beginning to look a lot like a Merlin... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Just about ready for a lick of paint: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Looking good so far. Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Thanks Trevor. Have to say the fit on one or two of the prominent detailing parts is pretty awful, so some filling and sanding still to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermo245 Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Coming together really nicely and like the interior details, especially that stretcher! Dermot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Cracking work in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Moff Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Mega! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomastmcc Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 cool idea.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Well, having filled, filed and sanded back to what I thought was a good finish I gave the whirly a lick of yellow.Turns out the fit of the front glazing was nowhere near as good as I thought... I'm reluctant to use filler so close to the clear parts so I'll try to fill it with a combination of ClearFix & superglue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milktrip Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 This is a cool idea and coming along nicely. Regards the gap; have you any white milliput? Some masking tape along the glazing and a wee sausage of the white stuff. It can be shaped with a wet finger and sands quite nicely. I used some on the doors of an allouette 3 to bulk them out a bit. these were clear parts and didn't have any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 I do somewhere although I've just given it a second coat and I think the ClearFix has done the job - it was a very narrow gap but really showed up with the yellow paintwork. Thanks for the tip for the future though milktrip - I had a bad experience using Revell Plasto on a clear part once. Meanwhile, I'm pondering the fine details of the scheme - a couple of rough ideas below. It's surprising how cluttered the Merlin's fuselage is, didn't realise until I came to add markings. I'm unsure whether to stick with the all-black frames on the cockpit glass or to go for yellow with a black anti-glare panel as per the Sea King HAR.3. Any thoughts on that one chaps? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Well, in the end I tried it with just the anti-glare panel but decided it didn't look right with the Merlin's shape, so on went some more masking tape and all the cockpit frames are now black. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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