[Italeri 1/48] Westland Wessex HU5 of 84 Squadron DONE :)

[Jurrie]

Dear all,

 

Last months I've been working on an Italeri Wessex HU5 in 1/48 scale. Some info on the Wessex:

Quote

The Westland Wessex was a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under license by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine; the Wessex was the first large mass-produced helicopter designed around use of a gas turbine engine.[1] Early models were powered by a single Napier Gazelle engine, while later builds used a pair of de Havilland Gnome engines.

The Wessex was initially produced for the Royal Navy (RN) and later for the Royal Air Force (RAF); a limited number of civilian aircraft were also produced, as well as some export sales. The Wessex operated as an anti-submarine warfare and utility helicopter; it is perhaps best recognised for its use as a search and rescue (SAR) helicopter. The type entered operational service in 1961, and had a service life in excess of 40 years before being retired in Britain.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Wessex

 

The kit from Italeri is not too bad, but also not really good. Details are soft, especially on the top. And some basic details are lacking. The fit is ok-ish. I used the following:

1. Italeri Wessex UH5 kit no 2720 (the 'UH5' is an error by Italeri. It should be HU5...)

2. Eduard mask

3. Eduard interior PE

4. Paints from Gunze for airbrush and Vallejo for brush painting

5. Weathering products from van Gogh, 502 abteilung (oils), AK Interactive line with e.g. grease, oil, dust etc

6. Uschi van der Rosten rigging wire

7. Some copperwire and evergreen for some of the details I've added

 

I decided to portray the Wessex in the form of 84 Squadron, based in Cyprus (according to the kit info) in 1987.

 

Here are the pics. You can see the build log here.

 

I will now be starting on a Hobbyboss 1/72 Tomcat.

 

Cheers!

Jurrie

Edited August 21, 2019 by Jurrie

[chris148]

Stunning piece of modelling,superb

[DaveyGair]

Superb result, looks just right (finish wise, I know nothing about Helicopters!).  I haven't attempted a chopper since abandoning an Airfix Lynx back in the 80's but I have a new tool Sea King I got from ASDA for a tenner a couple of years ago, so maybe due a change from fixed wing types.

 

 

 

Davey.

 

 

[RMCS]

Fantastic 

[Hewy]

Really like it jurrie, washed out look suits me fine

[Rich G]

Nice to see an 84 Sqn bird, having been a member of 84 Sqn Air Cadets, I've seen plenty of memorbilia about the mother squadron and actually got to see them at RAF Akrotiri when they were still operating the Wessex in 1998. 

 

Awesome job on the weathering and detailing, it looks spot on!

 

Rich

[IGKent]

Great! I liked the attention to various little things. 

[ivan-o]

What a great job. 👌

[TheStig]

Lovely

[Jurrie]

Thanks for your kind responses.

 

@Rich G, nice to see somebody with some connections here. Do you by any chance have some more info on this unit / Wessex type they operated?

 

Gr,

 

Jurrie

[Rich G]

On 8/26/2019 at 9:58 PM, Jurrie said:

Thanks for your kind responses.

 

@Rich G, nice to see somebody with some connections here. Do you by any chance have some more info on this unit / Wessex type they operated?

 

Gr,

 

Jurrie

Not that much really, I went on a camp to RAF Akrotiri when I was 17, I believe it was the Wessex HAR2 operated by 84 Sqn at the time in an all over grey camo scheme with the blue band. Because they were operationally active we didn't get a chance to fly in them but we did get a tour of the officers mess and crew ready room. 

 

I know they operated several types of Wessex over the years HU5 and HC2 if I remember, they went onto using the Bell griffin more recently.

 

Rich