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Fifty shades .. H-19 the circle closed, ciao baby


perdu

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Jeff have you worked on Junglie Merlins, or just the Pingers?  I have the Airfix Merlin in my stash, eventually to be buillt as a Navy Mk3 (or even Mk4 if I can get enough references about the differences), and I have seen some photos that suggest that they too start to get somewhat patch-worky over time.

 

To be honest, I amazed that no-pme has seen fit to release 846NAS decals/stickers/transfers [delete to taste!] for the Airfix 1.48 kit - you seem to be able to get transfers for an astonishing array of stuff, including one-off schemes worn for a few days at an individual air show... but the Navy’s ex-Crab Merlins... not a dickie bird.

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Only ever the pinger- itself a term that is less frequently used nowadays. For the junglie Merlin, as you know they had one careful owner (well two if you count Denmark) before being moved on and there are some wonderful photos of them in use in desert regions showing great weathering opportunities for those who like to indulge.

It's amazing that endless decal sheets offering the exact same  Bf-109 schemes can be found from virtually every decal producer but beyond that....

One thing that annoys me is photos captioned as an RAF Merlin when its marked very clearly Royal Navy!!! But then every military aircraft belongs to the RAF.....

 

Jeff

Edited by pinky coffeeboat
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Well Bill, I go away for the week and I come back to find all sorts of stuff happening here, all good, except as noted already by Crisp, that poor Sea King being used in that way! I came down off the ceiling when I read your explanation though 😁

 

Keep up the excellent work.

 

Terry

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3 hours ago, andyf117 said:

In Bill's defence, that is the very tired old Airfix moulding, as evidenced by the huge exhaust apertures - superceded by more recent and much better offerings...

....when Modelzone had the ASaC.7/AEW.2 boxing on sale for £2.99, I bought one solely for the decal sheet - haven't bothered to use the rest even as a 'mule'!

Are the additional parts decent enough to be used to convert the more recent Airfix Sea King kits?  If I recall correctly, one of the reasons I bought that kit was the larger dorsal radome of the RN machines.  Finding that it was the old moulding was a surprise, but I suppose I was incorrectly assuming that as I'd not seen that version before then it must be a new release.

Edited by JosephLalor
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9 hours ago, andyf117 said:

In Bill's defence, that is the very tired old Airfix moulding, as evidenced by the huge exhaust apertures - superceded by more recent and much better offerings...

I know.  But still... the indignity... 

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Joseph one plan rabbiting around in my head was to use the HC4 and add floats and things from the early 'mule' to complete a proper Sea King

 

Then Airfix went and did it for me...

 

Crisp, for shame

Have you ever studied the Airfix SH-3 huh?

 

S'not a proper one, the cockpit area was drawn by a clown back in the far and distant past

 

Let her lie, being finally useful and relieved

 

And yes, I do have the Junglie to play with in the paint shop one day

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Funny how my tablet threw out a yellow shade for the orange

He did a wonderful job on that, pity about the execrable nose glazing

It would be stunning with a realistic front end

 

As it is it gets a WOW!

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4 hours ago, andyf117 said:

Think of Bill's use of it for his Merlin as the modelling equivalent of this:

fetch?id=3720564

I really want to do this scheme, but will probably chicken out and do XZ570 in later guise - same finish, but without all the nose gubbins!

You could do it as a twin build with XV651, the cab used to develop the (Lynx) Sea Spray radar in the 70s

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4 hours ago, andyf117 said:

fetch?id=3720564

Cracking picture there Andy. I seem to recall seeing this aircraft or similarly modified one with a less pronounced nose, on the ground at a display in the very dim and distant past. Don't recall the bright orange bits though. My memory fails me on the detail of that, but it must have been sometime in the 80's. In those days I would have frequented shows at Biggin Hill, Fairford, Boscombe Down, Greenham Common, Yeovolton, Chivenor and Culdrose. I wonder what it was I saw and where?

 

Terry

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25 minutes ago, Terry1954 said:

Cracking picture there Andy. I seem to recall seeing this aircraft or similarly modified one with a less pronounced nose, on the ground at a display in the very dim and distant past. Don't recall the bright orange bits though. My memory fails me on the detail of that, but it must have been sometime in the 80's. In those days I would have frequented shows at Biggin Hill, Fairford, Boscombe Down, Greenham Common, Yeovolton, Chivenor and Culdrose. I wonder what it was I saw and where?

 

Terry

This one?  https://goo.gl/images/tWjGyB

 

If so, that’s the Sea Spray testing HAS2 [Edit: HAS1 - 5-blade tail rotor] I was talking about (XV651)

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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5 hours ago, andyf117 said:

Think of Bill's use of it for his Merlin as the modelling equivalent of this:

fetch?id=3720564

Looks like some sort of African tribal version!

 

Ian

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4 hours ago, andyf117 said:

That would have been ZB506 (sister aircraft to my ZB507 build) - RAE Bedford's Mk.4X, which was also used for Merlin radar testing:

15158820759_59f0e7318e_o.jpg

A rare view of the abandoned “Scruggins Turret” version of the Seaking, where the Aircrewman manned a turret just behind the dog kennel (the base of the turret installation can still be seen).   Early trials seemed promising, right up to the moment when an over-excited Royal Marine Corporal blew the complete tail pylon off in flight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Or possibly it sometimes had a Sea Searcher in the conventional radar position, but where’s the fun in that?]

 

For the true Seaking geek, the 4X is such a weird hybrid of Mk.4, 5 & 6.

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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Thanks Willy, perfect (and the first in my collection) views of the defensive suite that attached to the ladder-like framing on the sides

 

And a perfect example of the Colours Of Many Coats paintjobs.

 

 

Acknowledgements to Dolly P for the new title

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9 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

This one?  https://goo.gl/images/tWjGyB

 

If so, that’s the Sea Spray testing HAS2 [Edit: HAS1 - 5-blade tail rotor] I was talking about (XV651)

I do believe that must be the one, and I notice from the photo credit on that shot it was taken at Biggin Hill in September 75. This is a real memory jerker for me Crisp, as I know I was there that year as it was my 21st Birthday (13th Sept) on the weekend prior to the show. I recall also the first appearance of B-17 Sally B that year too. Mystery (for me) solved I reckon.

 

8 hours ago, andyf117 said:

That would have been ZB506 (sister aircraft to my ZB507 build) - RAE Bedford's Mk.4X, which was also used for Merlin radar testing:

I do also have memories of seeing that one Andy, but I think that must have been much later, as it was in the scheme you show.

 

Thanks both for helping jog the grey cells!

 

Terry

Edited by Terry1954
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To lurch back on topic guys my Merlin is going to represent ZH847 for which I was gifted the hoist and FLIR unit and some brilliant photography to use for detailing, viz:

44715195_690460477986448_766891821143149

 

Yes I also received the Tiger decal and tail warning markings (would you believe that various sizes of the DANGER marks are around, only one size will fit)

 

As you see the patchwork is suitably paint jobbed

 

I have some  problems with the 'defensive suite' gear, no problem making it up, those pictures were fabulous but there were no pictures of the aft end of the framework, either side so I am going to have to guess

 

Stand by for size creep, next thing... :(

 

Kiowa has had bits of interior work done, I'm very busy losing finished yaw pedals at the moment

 

Belts and other inconvenient visible bits for example

P1010196.jpg

 

Yes they are the yaw pedals I have put down just...

 

Well, somewhere

 

I will find or replace the pedals then close up the skinny little fusel-box, gosh it's tiny

P1010194.jpg

I might have to make up a rear seat cargo to weight the front skids, we will have to wait and see

I modified the IP so the decal could sit still

P1010199.jpg

 

Waste of time dont bother, it's invisible on the panel


:(

 

Oh yes whilst I'm here

 

This is for Ced

 

P1010200.jpg

 

Next to the phone on my bench, quite useful too at times

 

Unlike the blarry phone...

 

bye y'all

come back soon d'ye hear

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