russ c Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Hi everyone, Just finished my attempt at `loosely` converting Revell`s 1/48 Wessex kit into something that looks vaguely like a S-58T Twinpack .......... .......in the absence of an available kit. Finished to represent a chopper of Air America as used in the early 1970`s by the CIA during the Secret War in Laos Which fills one of the gaps in my small sub theme on the subject. Apart from the work to the nose: I added a cabin roof and converted the seats to look like military examples, added a bit of detail in the cockpit such as coaming over the instrument panel, cyclic sticks etc..... ...some hydraulic hoses to the winch, brake pipes and landing lights, wire mesh on areas around the tail, an attempt at creating the sling ,pipework and `gubbins` under the fuselage. and added various aerials to suit the subject. The mis-matched patches and touch ups on the paint work were copied from a picture of XW-PHB at Udorn AFB in Terry Loves book ` Wings of Air America` although the port side is not shown. The nose was done with plastic sheet, P-38 car body filler, wire mesh and a lot of wet and dry All measurements and cross sections were done with Mark 1 Eye Ball and are not to be taken seriously 🙄 Hope you enjoy the pic`s Thanks for looking, cheers Russ 56 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme H Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 What a great build also meant to also say, how well you pulled off the shabby appearance 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Great effort andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) Brilliant,....... what more can I say,.... another superb addition to your collection, Cheers Tony Edited October 31, 2018 by tonyot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Great work Russ ... I dont suppose you have any plans ? I have one of these 7 miles from where i live and desperately want to model it ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 That looks terrific Russ. While you say it may not be millimetre perfect I can't tell from looking at it, it sure looks the part to me in every way.. 👍 Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Orsum,another cracking job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Lovely build and i love the way you did the patchwork... I am familiar with this chopper as i also have a copy of this book wich is great reference on the secret war.. Cheers, Jan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kampartiger Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) Fantastic conversion work. A 'missing link' no more.Terrific job on the S-58! Edited November 1, 2018 by Kampartiger Missing word 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Very convincing! It's got that air of 'real' about it. Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 14 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Great work Russ ... I dont suppose you have any plans ? I have one of these 7 miles from where i live and desperately want to model it ? Cheers Corsair` no plans I`m afraid, all done from photo`s and Mk 1 Eye Ball. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Excellent Russ,some real old skool scratchbuilding there,great job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Fantastic work as other had said......a model to be proud of..... Cheers.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauly Boy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Absolute beauty!! Air America is one of my favourite subject. Been wanting to do this version for a while now. How about a Caribou next??? Always enjoy your builds! Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 3 hours ago, Pauly Boy said: Absolute beauty!! Air America is one of my favourite subject. Been wanting to do this version for a while now. How about a Caribou next??? Always enjoy your builds! Paul Thanks Paul, I think a Caribou is a bit on the large size in `48th I`d have no where to put it. Dreaming of a Helio Courier or Dornier 28 being bought out by some manufacturer though. 🙂 Well you can dream.......... Cheers Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Hello Russ, My compliments with the excellent result regarding this conversion. Regards, Orion 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Wow! Brought back happy memories of watching the American Detective series Riptide and their S-58T "The Screaming Mimi" Thanks for posting. mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booty003 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Great result Russ, you have done another cracking job. The old girl sure ain't no looker though....!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Russ that is simply fantastic. I think your Mk.1 eyeball is very well calibrated as your S-58T looks spot on to me. Like you say these appear in so many pictures of the war in South East Asia, and especially the secret war in Laos and Cambodia. Very well done mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfordhibby Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Never ever thought I would see one of these modelled. Most unlikely we'll ever see a mainstream kit of this beastie. Lovely lived in look to the finish, as per usual your builds never cease to amaze me. Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger331 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Russ, Not one of my favourite versions of the S-58/Wessex family, I will readily admit, but you have captured the look well and I enjoyed seeing how you put this conversion together !. Another great subject for your S.E.A collection Well Done, Sir ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Loiking really great! Congrats on this scratch project!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Nice paintwork Russ. I like the way you modulate to panels. Really adds to the life of the subject. I tried it on my Zero, but it was a bit light and will be lost in the final finish. Next time I will try to make it more defined. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 6 hours ago, Greg Law said: Nice paintwork Russ. I like the way you modulate to panels. Really adds to the life of the subject. I tried it on my Zero, but it was a bit light and will be lost in the final finish. Next time I will try to make it more defined. Thanks Greg, re, the panels : in the case of the Twinpack, I found a photo of the actual aircraft which had got large areas of mis-matched paint applied ( probably had some corrosion control or other damage repaired ) and this is what I tried to replicate. I`m not trying to tell you how to finish your builds, but it would look a bit odd on a Zero probably, I`d try to do it much subtler in that case. Cheers Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) Yes, I did try and do it subtle. In the end it turned out too subtle and faded away. Still not a problem, this Zero has a blotchy camo anyway, so it wouldn't have been noticed. I learnt something from doing it and that was the point of the exercise. Same with the cowl scratches. I first tried to use micro-mask to get the scratch effect which worked to a degree, but when I tried to remove micro-mask the tooth brush damaged to the rest of the paint. In the end I repainted it and just hand scratched it which worked out much better. For me at this stage it is all about experimenting trying to get some of the nice effects I see on your models. Edited November 6, 2018 by Greg Law 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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