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MD's whirlygig attempt no.1 updated, not alot but has at least been updated!


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Greetings everyone, I intend to kick off this group build attempt with the new cracker from Airfix, the lovelly looking Seaking 4.I have a good friend to thank for the kit. He was returning back from the UK and brought one back for me, so cheers Steve!

First up is a look at the kit for those that haven't seen it yet (where have you been!) all washed and ready to go (I take it washing a kit before a GB starts is allowed??)

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and the decal sheet

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So what to build her as, I have a soft spot for the Mk4 because it was the first aircraft the Navy trusted me to look after. It was VN of 846 NAS back in 1990, We sytarted on the Intrepid for a tour around the med on Ex Dragon Hammer, and then we had a couple of weeks camping in the dessert and operating in Egypt. Bit spooky because 2 months later the gulf war kicked off and my squadron were one of the first to go. Unfortunately (or fortunately which ever way you look at it!) I left the squadron a week before to continue on my Tiffs course. So this is what I would like to model

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A Mk4 from 1990 of 846 (this one shown is VJ also of 846 which joined us) unfortunately I can't remember any serial numbers so I don't know if I can model VN accurately. This is another shot load lifting off the Intrepid

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And this is the only photo I have of VN with some sprog Tiff awkwardly relaxing on it for a photo op (but it doesn't show the number!)

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I can't remember who died that day but I seem to have my trousers at half mast!

So thats attempt number one ready for the off tomorrow :thumbsup:

Bob

Edited by moaning dolphin
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And we are off, I must admit I did cheat a little and took it as 0001 GMT that the build starts so utilized a little cheeky timeshift to do a touch of work on Friday night :winkgrin: . The initial look over the kit looks very nice and the detail is also very good. I have noticed a couple of 'rivet counter' anomalies which I will address along the way if needed. I did notice several ejector marks on the inside and these were filled. There is one annoying one on the back of the bulkhead behind the co pilot but a quick splash of filler sorted that.

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They are not a major issue but I was going to have the doors open and just wanted to disguise them. Next it was to build up the cockpit

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Everything was primed and then a coat of Model master acrylic 'Medium grey' was applied. When first applied over the great expanse it looks very light (a bit too light), but I stuck with this because it will darken as it dries and then when all is closed up it will darken still and will look ok in the end (hopefully). The kit suggests 64 which I think is too dark, normally I would used Humbrol 27 but I think this has also been darkened too much. I used to find Halfords grey primer not too bad a shade but can't get this out here!

The cockpit was also painted grey as opposed to black (I think 85 is black). My kit will depict an early 90's machine which were all grey inside. I also masked off the floor around the floor panel joins and filled in the areas with black to represent the non skid flooring, this also breaks up the monotony of the grey. The last thin was to paint the crew seats in the same grey and the canvass covers in blue. I then added lots (and I mean lots) of harnesses for the crew seats :sleep_1: . So this is where I am at now. I think I am almost ready to close here up!

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I have also fitted the internal decals, I think the consol detail is a bit too garish and too prominent, but it is probably better than nothing at all, I'll see if I can tone it down with a bit of matt. Also the kit says to fit the armoured seats for the pilots (not yet fitted) but this is not a fit for the time period. Luckily Airfix provide 2 non armoured versions which will suffice. Back in the Seaking STGB there was a nice tutorial on building accurate pilot seats, alas this is no longer needed for this kit as Airfix seem to have a very reasonable representation. I have some harnesses left over for these two seats so will detail them and then fit them.

So that is all for now

Cheers now
Bob

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Just a quick update on this, I managed to fit the windows to the fuselage. The fit was ok but needed a bit of fettling on the edges to get it to sit inside the recess nicely so that they would be flush with the external skin. Again not a major problem just being a bit picky. For the rear starboard window area there is a plastic blank that needs fitting, it fitted fine for the inside but was slightly recessed against the external skin and required a bit of filler. This will explain the green patch you can see in the photo below. After I smoothed it down I painted over it just to make sure it looked ok. After that was all done it was time to get the beast together, All fitted fine, the only bit of fettling required here was a small piece at the start of the tail drive fairings. Airfix have you fit a small filler piece so that the rear fairing is correctly moulded. This just needed a small sanding to make it fit nice and level. So here she is all joined up with a bit of tape to hold those edges in!

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The fit is generally good but the sides at the rear of the fuselage need a bit of pressure to hold it in when you fit the underside. The instructions will have you fit an aerial (2 thin protruding rods) from the inside before attaching the bottom. I blanked this off and will fit them at the end because we all know that they wont last very long any way! Also before closing it up I dirtied up the inside a bit as we all know those Booties don't always clean their boots off before they jump in. The flash does make it look overstated but looks ok in reality. Well that's all for now.

Cheers now

Bob

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Thanks for encouragement!


Hi Bob,

I did a quick search & your Seaking HC.4 'VN' is ZG822.On 5/6/1995 with 846 Sqn. it did a flypast at Portsmouth Harbour & in 2007 it went to 848 Sqn. code 'WS'.

A link to a photo of it ;

http://www.worldairpics.com/images/wap_thumbs/1004972.jpg

Hope this helps,

Jimbob.​

Hi Jimbob

Thanks for that information, that does sound good. I know that over time the letter code (VN) do change around from time to time. When I did my trip, VN was found to have a major crack on the lift frame and went back to the UK before we went into the dessert. We operated with VJ of 846 and with 'A' of 845 on loan. When I got back to the UK VN was in bits in the corner under repair (about 3-4 months for a repair) and I don't recall her being allocated to another squadron afterwards, so that is the best evidence so far!

On the aircraft front, after removing the tape there were a couple of areas that required a bit of filler, mainly along the underside piece. Nothing major and some may leave such a gap, but I had a large blob of filler on the go so thought I would make use of it!

I then turned my attention to the nose piece. Airfix provide a modern nose for this but VN in the 80s/90s only had a lamp fixture and a glidescope aerial, so I removed a couple of boxes and filled a couple of recesses with plastic rod like so

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When this was dried and blended down, I offered it up to the aircraft. Where it fits it was a touch sloppy and if it doesn't sit in the right position then it will mess up the fitting of the canopy. As this is in 3 parts I didn't want to tempt fate, So the side canopies were taped into position and the nose piece fitted, it did leave a slight gap on one side though. On reflection this may have been due to not ensuring the fuselage halves being fully cleaned up. There has been comment on the new Airfix kits having a tight tolerance and this may be the cause. I did also have to tidy up the inside of the nose as it didn't want to well over the instrument panel (due to the filler pieces I had fitted)

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But the other is quite nice and snug

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Still a little more rhinoplasty required but this is starting to come together nicely :thumbsup:

Cheers now

Bob

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Greetings again and again thanks for the encouragement!

Just a little bit of progress this week end, I managed to finish off the front seats. As I mentioned before I ditched the armoured seats and luckily the kit provides 2 traditional ones, these were painted up and some etch belts were fitted. These are Merlin harnesses but they look ok and if you don't say anything no one will ever notice!. These seats come with the bottom recessed so I fitted a yellow square to represent the Personal Survival Pack that the aircrew sit on

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Just a small item missing......and that's the sheep skin cushion that prevents their buttocks from getting too cold! (and also houses their emergency gloves), this was made from painted tissue to provide the fury texture. This was fitted, the harnesses flattened and the seats fitted, looking ok so far!

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Turning my attention to the far end, I have decided to go with a folded version to save space. Airfix thoughtfully accommodate this with a nice plug to securely mount the tail at the right angle. This blank is totally solid and not 100% representativce, so I chopped a bit away from the pylon side bottom and the top of both sides where the driveshaft goes. I don't have any before pics but this is the after

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A bit better, the drive shaft is just a short piece of rod to give the impression, I wasn't going to sit there and put all the teeth in there!

That is where I am at now, I do need to get down to my LMS to pick up some 'proper' paint so I will get as far as I can.

Also as a footnote I discovered the Eduard etch for the kit. It does look very nice and would really enhance it, but for the internal and external would cost more than the kit, and I haven't even factored in postage! The only bits I would really need is the grills and the filter plates that Airfix do in decals. But we shall have to wait and see on that side

That's all for now

Cheers now

Bob

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Just a quick blank update, all the parts have now been primed, black has been applied and the blades have been coated. I was intending to hold off on the green until I get down to my LHS but I found a bottle of Model Master Olive drab. I thought I would give this a try and it did go on very nice but it is Olive Drab and not green, in one light it looks good in another it doesn't look right, so now I am not too sure. I will take some photos and get them up for tomorrow and ask for opinions, but until then.........

Bob

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Good morning everyone and at last I have some photos and PB is working so I can upload as well, always a winner! So before I cover the paint shade I shall just rewind a little. I have built her up and also the rotor head, I am going to do a folded version and have seen on other builds that the side blades are folded way too high, I tried it out on my test bed and they are indeed way way too high

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They should be a lot lower and more twisted, I have tried to attempt it with just finger pressure

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Still not great and it takes (relatively) a lot of pressure to hold it in position. To mould the blades to a new position will take a lot of manipulation and I really don't want to start cutting the thing up because at the moment it has a nice strong bond, so that will require a bit more thinking about.

I have also tried to drill out the kick step for cabin door entry which went very well until I screwed up one hole which turned into 2 and now into 4! I have done a temporary repair which will hopefully sort it

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The winch base was also another thing I looked at. At least Airfix are on the right track with this but it is a little simplistic and the support arms are too close to be moulded nicely so had a go at making up my own like I did with my Seaking GB

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It looks ok and also a lot bigger but in reality is only very slightly bigger but I think will look better when I finish.

Now onto that paint, I was going to wait a couple of weeks until I can get to my LHS to get some dark green when I discovered I had some olive drab, so this was applied and here is the result

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and against one of my only colour references

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I really am in two minds. It is completely different shade to the photo but that photo is over 25 years old ( :analintruder::frantic: ) and was taken in the Mediterranean sun light so isn't the best reference, it almost looks like a 'chrome' green. I look in one shade and it looks ok, then see it in a different light and it is way too dark. I am wavering against it, but what do you guys think? I would appreciate an honest opinion.

Finally I looked at the sand filter, the kit one is very bland and the filter details are provided by decals which are the wrong colour and doesn't look right. I have a Revell one left over from the STGB so am making them together. I sprayed them in black and then masked off the Revell filter panels. I used this as a reference to mask off the Airfix version (The decals are slightly the wrong shape for the sandfilter I am modeling. I don't know if they have since been remodded or if the decals are wrong). So this is them side by side

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I do prefer the Revell one but that is slightly more 'squat' and will need a bit of modification to fit proper but looking at this photo the green looks right!

That's all for now, but I'd really appreciate the colour opinions :winkgrin:

Bob

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Thanks for the input guys, I tend to agree it is too dark so I will wait until I can get to my LHS. Although saying that I do have a Russian green and may experiment with a thin coat of that over drab on some blanks and see what that gives.......or I could just be patient I suppose!

Bob

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ah just caught this hiding away in the forest of other helicopters. - Nice build. I don't envy you .... 1/72 - stuff of nightmares

So this was what you wanted the green for then ! I think the MM Dark Green will work for you though maybe just a touch of yellow will be needed ? I'm sure you'll sort it out though

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Thanks for the advice above, I am now going down to the LHS this weekend so I will pick some up then, until then its back out with the Cormorant and my #2 build which is starting to live up to its title of #2!

Bob

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