1/48 RAN Westland Scout

[Bell209]

Finally done. I see I started this around Christmas 2017, so it's been over three years in the making. There are lots of scratchbuilt mods and replacements, most of which are covered in the WIP, which can be found at:

 

Just some are:

• Modified the main and tail rotor gearboxes and drives to more accurately represent their appearance
• Modified the attachments for the main rotor grips to give a more realistic appearance and provide a droop to the blades
• Removed the weird hump from the engine deck and scratched a tray in lieu
• Cut the engine up, placed joiners in the sections and added almost everything else you see from scratch
• Modified the oil cooler to look a bit more like the real thing using plasticard and wire mesh
• Scratchbuilt the hydraulic services on the forward left side of the deck
• Added hoses/wires/pipes to the engine, main transmission and hydraulic services
• Completely scratchbuilt the landing gear
• Scratchbuilt most of the interior and instrument panel
• Removed the Wasp bulges on the fuselage and added Scout ones, where applicable
• Scratchbuilt the horizontal stabiliser and attachments
• Removed the Wasp fin and scratchbuilt a Scout one in lieu
• Scatchbuilt the tail stinger and supports
• Cut open the steps in the fuselage and blanked them off
• Added landing, nav and anti-collision lights from sprue/spares
• Scratchbuilt the cargo hook and attachments
• Added/made all antennae (except the two on the nose which are kit items)
• Made the ground handling wheel mounts from scratch and modified the donated wheels to suit

Painted with Humbrol enamel Oxford Blue, Tamiya acrylic Clear Blue and Modelmaster enamels flat black and silver. Clear coats of Future (gloss) and sightly flattened Future using Tamiya X-21 for the top coat.

 

Modelled as N8-102 earlier in her career and before she was painted in the high-vis dayglo orange colours prior to her loss and subsequent recovery overboard from HMAS Moresby using the Hawkeye Models decal set (which was great) and some of the kit decals for the rotors (which were absolute rubbish but sort of worked in the end).

Lots of faults but it'll do for me. I'll add the windscreen wipers after I retrieve them from my other workbench back in Adelaide as they're on the Fujimi Kiowa sprue I used for some AH-1P Cobra its in a previous project.
 

 

Lots of frustrations along the way and there are still a heap of issues but I'm happy enough with it in the cabinet. Someone's sure to release a good 1:48 injection-mouilded Scout now but I won't be buying it as this will suffice.

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Bell209
Fixed broken links

[Farmerboy]

Labour of love, but well worth the effort, good job!

[Chewbacca]

Nice work Rob.  

[CJP]

Great work Bell209 -  she looks very tidy now after a lot of work from you - you must have some achievement euphoria now

CJP

 

[RMCS]

Niiiice 

[Bell209]

Thanks, team. Yeah, I mostly like it but am disappointed with the clear parts. Still, they're better than they were post-tape removal! Looks nice in the cabinet next to the AH-1P, too (although it's quite a bit smaller).

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Nice work Rob, the extra detail paid off in the final result

 

[Abandoned Project]

Nice whirlybird. Love the engine detail.

[Bell209]

31 minutes ago, Abandoned Project said:

Love the engine detail.

Thanks. It's a good initiation for the Bell 47G and SUD Alouette III in the stash!