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Wessex HAS.3 Humphrey 1/48


goon

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Hi All,

I'm starting the Italeri HAS.3 built as Humphrey on the morning of the SAS rescue from South Georgia. Italeri's decals are crap / inaccurate - is there a third party sheet, or at least an Antrim crest on a sheet somewhere?

Knowing the square root of nothing about guns, what, exactly, is a GPMG that was fitted in the starboard window? Is there a 1/48 product available?

 

Many thanks,

Gareth

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27 minutes ago, goon said:

Hi All,

I'm starting the Italeri HAS.3 built as Humphrey on the morning of the SAS rescue from South Georgia. Italeri's decals are crap / inaccurate - is there a third party sheet, or at least an Antrim crest on a sheet somewhere?

Knowing the square root of nothing about guns, what, exactly, is a GPMG that was fitted in the starboard window? Is there a 1/48 product available?

 

Many thanks,

Gareth

The GPMG is the General Purpose Machine Gun.  It was pretty much standard defensive armament for rotary machines, light mobility ground forces, etc.

 

Not sure where you'd get one (or the decals) in 1/48 scale.

 

Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

 

Trevor

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I get that, but WHAT gun is it? Manufactrer and model. I'm trying to find one in 1/48 scale and the choice is baffling. Not all, if any, have GPMG as part of the description.

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Ahh, apologies, well for a start you may want to look at Airfix 1/48 Afghanistan vehicle and figure sets, some of them include a Gimpey although the cost just for a gun is a bit of overkill.

 

Check your PMs 

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On 4/26/2020 at 1:13 AM, goon said:

Hi All,

I'm starting the Italeri HAS.3 built as Humphrey on the morning of the SAS rescue from South Georgia. Italeri's decals are crap / inaccurate - is there a third party sheet, or at least an Antrim crest on a sheet somewhere?

Knowing the square root of nothing about guns, what, exactly, is a GPMG that was fitted in the starboard window? Is there a 1/48 product available?

 

Many thanks,

Gareth

G'day Gareth,

 

You may not need the HMS Antrim crest as Humphrey's paint scheme was 'toned down' on the journey down to the Falklands.

The blue grey  colour was extended upwards over the upper yellow parts and the Antrim crest was over painted. I am not sure if the South Georgia operation was before the repaint but I suspect that it was after. Most of the upper stencils were over painted as well, and the white fuselage numbers and roundel portions were also over painted so that the roundels were just blue/red and the fuselage codes were black,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

Edited by Pappy
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Thanks for that Pappy. I'm hoping to show the helicopter as it was on the morning of the rescue. I've corresponded briefly with Chris Parry (radar operator on the day) and he says it had been repainted, most stencils overpainted in black and the Antrim crest 'toned down'. Not sure whether this means totally blacked out, so I'll have to go back to him if I can't find out.

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Airwave used to make a nice resin GPMG in 48th scale but I’m sure it’s OOP now, I bought a couple from Hannants a few years ago. Might be worth keeping an eye out or reaching out here on BM ? 

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Hello Goon,

 

there are two poor quality B+W photos of "Humphrey" in Rowland White's book "Vulcan 607". They both show "Humphrey" during the rescue flights (first one: Wessex leaving a ship deck, second one: Wessex on the glacier, not far away from a Wessex lying on its side). In both photos Humphrey looks very dark overall and there no visible markings.

 

HPH

 

Cheers,

Antti

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According to BARG's superlative Falklands: The Air War, Humphrey had been repainted prior to Antrim's arrival at Ascension Island on 10 April. It is described as 'RAF Blue-Grey overall with very dull Red/Dark Blue [almost black] roundels; deck letters deleted; ROYAL NAVY titles, serials and the name "Humphrey" on the nose all overpainted Black'.

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4 hours ago, goon said:

Thanks for that Pappy. I'm hoping to show the helicopter as it was on the morning of the rescue. I've corresponded briefly with Chris Parry (radar operator on the day) and he says it had been repainted, most stencils overpainted in black and the Antrim crest 'toned down'. Not sure whether this means totally blacked out, so I'll have to go back to him if I can't find out.

I would suggest an 'Antrim crest' shaped shadow may have been visible underneath the paint, i.e. a dark sihouette of ther crest but not much else,

 

 

cheers,

 

 

Pappy

 

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Also worth bearing in mind that there is a walkaround on a certain modelling site:

 

 

Humphrey was delivered directly to the FAA Museum via RNAS Portland on arrival in the UK aboard Antrim in July 1982. She is therefore as she was during the conflict, with the addition of the ship's crest on the upper airframe, some dayglo mission symbols on the cabin door, and a dayglo mouse motif on the nose, all applied on the voyage north. The museum has highlighted some shrapnel holes with dayglo circles.

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IIRC, Modeldecal did a 1/72 scale decal sheet which included Humphrey in Falklands finish.

 

I appreciate that you are working in 1/48, but Dick Ward's notes on the instruction sheet were renowned for their accuracy.  I don't remember which set it was, but I imagine someone on BM would have that information.

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I've been following Chris Parry's updates on twitter recently, he was a warfare officer who was on the Humphrey that depth charged the Arge sub at SG.  Some of the actual photos taken by him and others who took part are also on twitter of the actual helo's. You can see other updates he sent earlier than the ones below with his account of the SAS drop and rescue.  Might be of interest for modeling the Humphrey.  I'm just trying to source one in 1.48 myself.

 

 

 

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Thank you for all the extra information. I wasn't aware that Humphrey has been largely untouched at the FAA museum so was discounting that as modellers do with restored examples. Look at that pic of the aircraft airborne I can see that the Royal Navy title has been done in black. I think the scheme was evolving so quickly at the time I might have to abandon my attepmt to tie it down to one moment in time.

 

Thanks again,

Gareth

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