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XZ691

Westland Lynx HAS.2

RNAS Yeovilton 

29 JSTU

1980

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So, another lynx. This one i am very happy with. Before i talk about the model, lets talk about the real thing. XZ691 was a HAS.2 that got selected to be used in OP BANNER in Northern Ireland. She was stripped of her standard scheme (Blue) and painted in Army/Marine Camo and was put in 29 JSTU (Joint Services Trials Unit) I could only find one picture of her, so anything on the port side  could be fiction. Because the picture was taken at an angle, It was somewhat difficult to follow the camo. After putting decals on i realised that is was pretty inaccurate. The band on the Aft fuselage/start of the tail should be a lot wider in particular. The blue sun shield is way too opaque (I have no translucent blue and probably won't until after this lockdown). I did some minor modifications that are needed on Hobby post lynx. The Flotation bags are made from tissue paper, and I like the look quite a bit. The tags are made from Masking tape. Even though there isn't many decals, I used quite a range including 2 Xtradecals sheets, the kit sheet, and an Airfix sheet. This was my first time using Hataka paints (Red Line) and I am very happy with them and will buy more in the future.. The Olive Drab is Hataka and Black is Tamiya.

 

WIP: 

 

Edit: I've just read that she was rolled out the factory in 1979, so she may have not been painted blue beforehand and rolled out with this camo.

Edited by Westlandaircraftenthusiast
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Great model of this very little known aircraft,...... used for anti gun running patrols but painted as an Amy Lynx to fool the IRA and help it blend in with the other Lynx in NI! 

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I was reading about this very  helo last night,  in an old SAM Vol 6 10 July 84 port side drawing by Mike Keep.  Interesting background story.

 

  You done a great job really nice looking model very well done.

 

thanks  for sharing

 

Eamonn

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Thanks guys!

 

1 hour ago, tonyot said:

used for anti gun running patrols but painted as an Amy Lynx to fool the IRA and help it blend in with the other Lynx in NI! 

I was wondering why they wanted a Navy cat considering they had army ones, Thanks.

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4 hours ago, Westlandaircraftenthusiast said:

Thanks guys!

 

I was wondering why they wanted a Navy cat considering they had army ones, Thanks.

Used to fly along the coast,.... even at night,....the search radar was the reason for using a naval aircraft too. The Army camouflage was just added to make it blend in with all the Army Lynx which were a common sight over NI,... a blue one would stand out like a sore thumb and give the baddies an idea what was going on. 

Edited by tonyot
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Hi there. That’s a very nicely done Lynx in unique markings for an HAS2. On the subject of whether XZ691 was originally finished in Oxford Blue,I can confirm that it was. I flew in it on 5th June 1979 prior to it’s departure from Yeovil to Le Bourget to take part in the Paris Air Show (I was Flight Test Engineer at Westland at the time) in the Oxford Blue scheme.

 

Chris

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Wow Thankyou guys.

17 hours ago, tonyot said:

Used to fly along the coast,.... even at night,....the search radar was the reason for using a naval aircraft too. The Army camouflage was just added to make it blend in with all the Army Lynx which were a common sight over NI,... a blue one would stand out like a sore thumb and give the baddies an idea what was going on. 

Do you know how long she was in NI for? This one has a really interesting history, more so than i originally thought.

 

16 hours ago, CT Modeller said:

Hi there. That’s a very nicely done Lynx in unique markings for an HAS2. On the subject of whether XZ691 was originally finished in Oxford Blue,I can confirm that it was. I flew in it on 5th June 1979 prior to it’s departure from Yeovil to Le Bourget to take part in the Paris Air Show (I was Flight Test Engineer at Westland at the time) in the Oxford Blue scheme.

 

Chris

Cheers, its amazing on how you can get information so fast.

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1 hour ago, Westlandaircraftenthusiast said:

Wow Thankyou guys.

Do you know how long she was in NI for? This one has a really interesting history, more so than i originally thought.

Sorry mate I cannot remember,..... leave it with me and I`ll see if I can find out.

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