Nigel Heath Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Lovely work on the pilots and cockpit, excellent job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Thanks for the comments! I used to paint 54mm figures when I was a teenager and so sometimes I get carried away on the pilots. I remember building this kit when I was about 12. The day I finished the build was a smorheringly humid August day in Chicago. We had finally gotten an airconditioner that year; a window unit installed in the dining room. I took my sea King with its freshly painted wheels and sat it on the dining table to admire my work and sit in the chill breeze of the AC. We had a spectacular thunderstorm later that day. Its funny how a model can evoke such deep rooted memories of the way things felt 25 years ago. Thanks for sharing your build. This is a nice trip down memory lane for me Thanks - I know how it goes. I was at a model show in Cosford on Sunday and I bought an original Airfix moulding Ju87 in a type 3 bag just because I remember my brother building it and flying it around the house in 1960-something! It was a hot day then too. I certainly won't be building it! Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomoshenko Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Really enjoyable build. Pilots looks the business. Like the old school approach to giving an old school model a proper makeover. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Nice work on that nostalgic old kit. I built quite a few in my yoof. Old 66 of course, a nice glossy blue Royal Navy conversion, and a matt green 'Commando'. Happy days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 (edited) Hello All,Well it's been a hectic this year, and I've only got about five days at home between now and the end of the GB so I need to crack on. I also lost my camera last month so all the pictures are taken with an iPad.I was advised that my canopy tint was the wrong colour, so I hedged my bets by mixing up a turquoise-blue from acrylics and Future, and applied it to the cockpit to give a slightly deeper tint than before:It looks a bit rough in isolation against a white background, but it looks fine in place, and I must say I'm happier with the re-do:The vent at the back of the engine housing needs a bit of love to get over the moulding short cuts. I will be adding the numerous gratings using squares of black decal film later in the build:Undercarriage next. I think the legs are a bit short but I haven't done anything about it because mine will be retracted. I drilled some lightening holes in the webbing to emulate the real thing:"Uh-oh, the wheels have come off..."The kit is missing this bump so I added it from balsa (picture is pre clean-up!):Somewhat belatedly (after I'd started the white topcoat), I decided to enlarge the intakes. So there's a selection of wheels from a Gnat, 1/144 He 111 and Frog Gannet:The Frog Gannet wheels are made from unbelievably tough plastic, but we got there in the end...The replacement compressor cones are from Airfix Il-2 missiles. I also reduced the size of the exhausts using little cones made from paper and superglue, all blended in with putty. Should have done this earlier, too!You can't see it in the photos, but I started with a base of my "dirty white", a pot of white polluted with a tiny amount of grey and brown, and then built up successive coats using progressively whiter mixes of that and pure white. The last coat was a dry brush of almost pure white over the highlights:The anti-dazzle black does a good job of hiding the too-small windows below the canopy:The underside was Humbrol acrylic Gull Grey. You can only get this in the old acrylic pots and it's a bit thick. I should have done thinner coats with more time between them, but time is something I don't have at the moment!For anyone else considering this build, the struts up from the sponsons to the upper fuselage could do with replacing and fairing in to the sponsons with putty, because the bottom end looks a bit weird.My consolation prize for all this travelling is that I will be across the Bay from the USS Hornet museum in a couple of weekends time, so I can go and look at a real Sea King on the deck!Thanks for looking,Adrian Edited May 5, 2016 by AdrianMF 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Cracking progress Adrian,I,m on with their new tool SAR Sea King at the moment I wonder if this era can be modelled from it,I have fond memories of rushing out for this kit when it was released and finishing it all in a morning! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansReggelsen Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Just saw this! I like it very much, having built it myself when I was but a young boy. I have the Fujimi kit around somewhere whis I plan to built as 'Old 66'. Cheers Hans J 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 You are doing a great job with this one Adrian and have gained extra marks for using balsa! Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 Hello All, I'm away again but here are two pictures from my last modelling session: I made some yagi aerials from 5 Amp fuse wire and superglue. I've also dipped them in future to try to give them a plastic coating. I'm hoping they will be tough enough to survive... I also painted the large "66" for the Apollo 11 recovery. When I was planning this build, all Hannants had were the decals for the Apollo 12-13 recoveries, which have most of the markings I need but not the right size numbers. SInce I spent my money at Hannants the 8-11 set has been re-released. Oh well... You can also see the Yagi bracket on the sponson strut. I'm also not sure whether I want to adjust the sit of the tail wheel, which doesn't quite look right. I have about four days at home between now and June 12th, so this is not a shoo-in for finishing on time. I will try. Thanks for looking, Adrian 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_W Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Looking very nice. Great painting skills especially freehand on the glazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV1969 Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Looks great! especially the glazing - very inspiring. I too want to make the Apollo 11 one and couldn't find the decals when I looked, I did get a cheap set of the Gemini 10/11 from eBay which would be different - an overall 'Engine grey' one, but interesting to hear that the Apollo 11 decals have been re-issued. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Looking superb right now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Smashing stuff Adrian.....You really do have a special way wih these old Airfix kits. Love your figures, great resculpting and they add loads of personality to the model. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Thanks for all the comments. I'm finally back from two working weeks in the USA, where I did manage to find a bit of time at the weekend to visit USS Hornet and see its reproduction of "Old 66": So I'm back home and on the case (after a spot of gardening). I finally got around to constructing the main rotor. To get all the blades aligned nicely, all I would need is a giant protractor with all 360 degrees marked up very clearly... I just happen to have such a thing! Out wit h the 72-times table: I am now on the final straight with this one, so the next posting should be the finished article. Thanks for looking, Adrian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Clearly invented with whirly-thing builders in mind.....Whatever will they think of next! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Today was windless and sunny, so I could set up my photo "booth" on the garden table in dappled shade. My wife also kindly located my "lost" camera (wrong cupboard!). So here we are: Base is balsa edged with plastic card and a bent piece of coat hanger with a plug to fit in the sonar dipping hole. The thing cries out for a man on the door, a capsule and a dinghy with a couple of divers. The base is designed to accommodate a capsule and dinghy, but in the meantime I put a photo on the base to set the scene. My first helicopter ever - it's been fun! Thanks for organising the group build. Thanks for looking, Adrian 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 That's one of the best Sea King's I,ve seen in a long time Adrian,and certainly the best build of the Airfix kit,superb! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 That really looks the business. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Wow Adrian she looks fantastic! Even better when you consider this is made from the old Airfix kit, just goes to show what you can do with some modelling skill and patience. Extremely well done. Craig. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
825 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Absolutely cracking. And from an elderly kit at that. Caught the atmosphere brilliantly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude_gan_ainm Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Beautiful model Adrian,looks class in flight. Jimbob... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Another top result Adrian. Congratulations! Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Superb.....Airfix should put you on a retainer! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 :thumbsup2: :thumbsup2: Great, not only the work but the presentation of the kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyf117 Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 (edited) Content withdrawn - I will NOT be threatened by a moderator, simply because I queried the actions of another... Edited June 27, 2020 by andyf117 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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