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++++ Westland Scout ++++


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It's summer 1966 and the World Cup is on. However, unlike the majority of the UK we Scots kids are not that interested as we weren't there. I was on holiday with my Uncle Tom and Aunt Rose at their house on the Ayrshire coast  as it always was when we were young the weather was good, sunny and dry. Between swimming in the open air swimming pool, kicking a ball around with my cousin and wandering long and wide around the beaches, town and fields my Aunt Rose bought me a model kit and my choice was the Scout. I made it in a few days and in those days Airfix were decent enough to mould it in Dark Green so painting was minimal and most of the transfers  were applied to the plastic. I have three of them in the stash, I got them to convert into Wasps but have never got that far yet. It's a relatively recent boxing as one of the sets of markings is for an 1996 Scout at Middle Wallop while the other option is the same as originally back in '66 a Scout of the Royal Jordanian Police. 

 

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This is a great choice, I built quite a few of these in my youth and made a mess of most of them.

I remember being intrigued by the, what seemed to me at the time, very exotic Jordanian option.

You're very lucky to have 3 of these as they go for silly money at the minute on a certain auction site.

Following with great interest.

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Thanks for sharing your memories 👍, i remember making one as a kid too and mucking up the skids and mounts.

good luck with this build it’ll be fun to see what you do with it.

The second box-art in the gb to feature an aircraft flying around the sun 😁

Edited by Dansk
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16 hours ago, modelling minion said:

This is a great choice, I built quite a few of these in my youth and made a mess of most of them.

I remember being intrigued by the, what seemed to me at the time, very exotic Jordanian option.

You're very lucky to have 3 of these as they go for silly money at the minute on a certain auction site.

Following with great interest.

Thanks, I picked up two of them, in this boxing some time ago but I can't recall where. It might have been Modelzone (or the Model Aerodrome as our local stores were pre-Modelzone) and the third which is a card and plastic bubble boxing I think I picked up S/H in the Dorking Model Shop. I've always been to scared to try the conversion from scratch, with wheels/undercarriage being the big challenge, but I've now got a couple of the Air Graphics conversions so I will be having a go soon.

16 hours ago, Dansk said:

The second box-art in the gb to feature an aircraft flying around the sun 😁

Hadn't noticed that. Obviously a very high flying Scout. 

 

Anyways to the kit. A relatively small number of parts, and to be honest for its age not too badly moulded. This boxing according to Scalemates is 1998 so just over 30 years since first released. There are a few moulding pips and some sink marks but nothing too challenging. Very little flash and nothing seems short moulded. The detail on the exterior and some of the parts is not bad. 

 

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The transparenices are much better better than I expected having read some other builds here. They are thick and there's some excess plastic in the frame lines but should be workable with. I do have a couple of Airwaves vac canopies in the stash but I'd rather keep them for my Wasps. Small transfer sheet as well. 

 

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Classic Airfix instructions

 

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and an invitation to join the Airfix modellers club and a returns slip for spare parts. Remember them?

 

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i've also got this and will ponder whether to use it or build OOB.

 

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Some paint on. 

 

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Transparencies cleaned up and ready for dipping in Klear. 

 

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The Nimbus main body assembled and cleaning up started. I have a couple of resin engines but I'd like to keep them for a couple of Wasp conversions. 

 

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4 hours ago, modelling minion said:

A good start.

Will you be adding any extra plumbing to the Nimbus?

I'm not sure. Looking at pictures the shape and everything looks reasonable but there's the world supply of piping and wiring round it. How I can replicate even an impression of that will be difficult. That being said I've decided to use the etch on the interior as even with the thick transparencies there's a lot to be seen and the cockpit does look a bit bare. I'm not a fan of etch but this behaved well and no piece is minuscule needing an electron microscope to see what I'm doing. 

 

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The IP and console looks a lot better and the seats are a marked improvement, even though I bent them up the wrong way round. I was going to crew the Scout but now I'm not so sure. 

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51 minutes ago, Dansk said:

Looks great with the etch. Why is it purple?

It's actually a blue shade, the purple is just the way the light caught it for the picture. 

 

17 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

That etch really has made a difference, I have mixed results with it myself but you are making it look easy.

It has made a difference, especially for the seats and IP, and not too much hassle which I've had before with etch. None of the pieces are too small, they were easily cut off the etch with a scalpel and the bend lines were clean and clear enabling bends to be done easily with a scalpel blade. Now putting some paint on and will assemble the cockpit a little later. I do have a quandary now in that I was going to add the crew to hide the poor seats and lack of seat belts. Now I have nice seats and there's a good set of harnesses should I leave it empty. 

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Much of the etch done and painted. The Nimbus cleaned up and some paint added too. I will have to rethink my idea of having a pilot in as without major surgery his crossed legs won't clear the cyclic. It's a pity as the two figures are not bad representations. 

 

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The PE certainly adds to the kit :thumbsup2:

I did the same build a few years ago (but with the vacform canopy), and really liked the PE wipers :coolio:.

 

Cheers

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18 hours ago, Dansk said:

Can you cut the cyclic in half

bottom half stays on the floor and a trimmed down top half goes between but above his legs?

Didn't think of that Paul, good idea. However, I've already added the etch seat belts so this one will be crew less. 

12 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Very nice work, the cockpit looks excellent as does the Nimbus.

Pity the pilots don't fit but the cockpit does look very good even without them.

 

3 hours ago, CliffB said:

The PE certainly adds to the kit :thumbsup2:

I did the same build a few years ago (but with the vacform canopy), and really liked the PE wipers :coolio:.

 

Cheers

Thanks guys, the etch really does make a difference. I do have a vac form canopy but the amount of work is probably too much   

 

Here we are now with the transparencies added and the interior fitted. Still the rear bench seat to fit but I'll let this all firm up so I can work without disturbing it. 

 

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Interior finished apart from one more belt. 

 

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Fuselage closed up, rear end was fine but front required a bit of tape to keep it together. 

 

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Cleaned up and seams tidied. 

 

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Engine deck on. Nice fit but a little bit of filling was needed on the end of the boom before fitting. 

 

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And now with some paint on. Will need a couple more coats before the Dark Earth goes on. 

 

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On 6/14/2020 at 7:49 PM, Planebuilder62 said:

Dear Mr 825

How does the main canopy fit?
 

regards Toby

Thanks @Jinxman and @modelling minion, it's slowly but surely coming together. Overall despite its age the fit isn't too bad and as well as making the interior look good the Airwaves set has put a fair amount of weight at the front so I don't think any extra weight is needed to prevent tail sitting. I hope there's enough as everything is closed up now. Toby @Planebuilder62 I haven't tested the canopy yet. I have removed it from the sprue and tidied it up and given it a dip in Klear. But it's still sitting safe in a little plastic bag for the moment. 

 

The green paint is done and now some coats of Dark Earth are on. It's quite tricky brush painting due to the small size and the ribs on the boom. A little bit of tidying up will be needed with the final coat. But I am glad I didn't have to mask it it for air brushing, I'd still be doing it next week.  

 

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I've also removed most of the small pieces and tidied them up ready for affixing, painting or both. 

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