1/72 Westland Sea King 4X

[tonyot]

Gorgeous,.... wonderful modelling. 

[Head in the clouds.]

9 hours ago, Adam Poultney said:

Love the scheme

Thank you Adam, I do feel with the advances in aviation we are going to miss the Raspberry Ripple scheme and the weird and wonderful that came out of the sheds of RAE/A&AEE.

[Head in the clouds.]

4 hours ago, tonyot said:

Gorgeous,.... wonderful modelling.

Thanks @tonyot, appreciate that.

[bzn20]

Never get tired of looking at this . Detail is fantastic . Cab/Tail join doublers ,fuel tank vents .The crew door/steps including those fiddly step supports are something else . I can imagine that thing on the front must have caused some problems hung that far forward of CofG . Say it again . Very well done . Thanks for showing 

[robgizlu]

Super job

Rob

[Head in the clouds.]

6 hours ago, bzn20 said:

Never get tired of looking at this .

 

Thank you @bzn20 very kind words. Yes, the door was very fiddly, the unit at the front came together fairly well, it was the two large beams that caused me the biggest headache, made from brass I just could not get enough heat into it to solder it all together, so fell back onto CA which was not ideal, too brittle.

 

 

6 hours ago, robgizlu said:

Super job

Cheers Rob, it is one of my favourites now.

[ads121]

Just got back to replying. hopefully my two pictures will have been posted to. The link is from Flickr

My Seaking XV371

Adam  

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2021 by ads121

[Head in the clouds.]

Very nice indeed Adam, is that you in the window in pic 1 per chance?

 

That particular configuration is one that is on my to do list but for the time being once my XV371 is finished I will give the Sea King production line a rest.

 

As with any trial aircraft/helicopter, the decals can be a source of frustration as few of the smaller unit titles and badges are available, hence my 371 being on hold. And lets not forget your calibration markings, wouldn't it be nice to have someone do such things for us?

 

Thanks for replying.

 

Gary

[ads121]

Yes, sad to say that is me in the window. 🙂 That was my office window for approx 5 years at Farnborough / Boscombe.

All the decals for this would have been very difficult to come by as its a 1/32 scale so instead I had to improvise by literally sourcing the relevant decals off the net somewhere (Plus the many pictures I have) and playing around with them on Paint Shop Pro and printing them off onto photographic gloss paper to the correct size. Took a while but didn't come out too badly.. Hence the piccie of me in the window.

I have just completed a Lynx Mk 7 1/32 as well all with printed off decals.

Cheers Gary

Adam

 

 

[Head in the clouds.]

On 7/21/2021 at 3:44 PM, ads121 said:

1/32

Wow, a 1/32 Sea King!

 

Is the whole kit scratch built as I do not know of a kit of the Sea King in this scale? That would be another 'wow' if it is.....😆

 

Gary

[ads121]

(A rare 1/32 scale Sky Pilot model kit) which was originally a German Navy/ Marine version) Not your usual Airfix type of model but a fairly good example of Seaking.

So an easy model to build as there is no glue involved only screws. Bought from the Helicopter Museum in Weston Super Mare 10yrs ago. 

Adam

[Head in the clouds.]

18 hours ago, ads121 said:

involved only screws.

Very interesting Adam, a new one on me. I am curious now so I will have to ask google...😃👍

[Specialbranch]

On 3/21/2021 at 7:27 PM, Head in the clouds. said:

This is the 2nd of my trio Sea King WIP build celebrating the diverse test and development airframes based on various Sea King marks.

 

ZB506 was purchased along with ZB507 as test and development airframes from the outset, being based on the Commando airframe but at first glance can seem confusing as they can sometimes have a HAS5/6 radome fitted making them look like this version. This was always the case and fits in with the type of work being carried out, look at any picture of these two airframes and any number of things could change from one pic to another, ZB506 was often seen with a NATO flange fitted to the nose, this allowing a multitude of sensor fits to be trialled.

 

The focus of my build was taken from a picture I found in 'Farnborough,a Hundred years of British Aviation' as it had just been pulled out of it's hanger. It is fitted with two large horizontal pylons/sponsons at the end of which is mounted the Heli-Tel camera system. I believe the first iterations of this were fitted in the rear cabin of Army Scouts pointing out the port side in the early/mid seventies, later progressing onto Wessex and Puma in the form seen here, although the mounting is simpler on the Wessex and Puma.

 

The Heli-Tel is an ultra long range system developed my Marconi and tested extensively by RAE at Farnborough, I believe the camera moves up and down while the 'U' shaped cradle rotates about it's axis to allow a full field of rotation. Beyond this I have not been able to find out much more.

 

So what of the kit. Well, the base kit is the Airfix HC4 offering with a Eduard exterior PE set. This is a good kit to use as a base, being modern with good decals, few of which were used unfortunately, goes together well although a little care is needed on the cockpit glazing as it comes in several parts and needs careful alignment. Beyond that the kit was modified extensively, in brief;

Windows blanked.

Fuel point moved near cargo door.

Addition of truncated dorsal dome.

No light above cargo door.

Scratch built Flotation devices.

Scratch built side sponsons and Heli-Tel unit.

Some aerials scratch built.

 

The biggest thing to look out for with Raspberry Ripple Sea Kings is the addition or removal of various lumps, bumps and aerials as the fit can vary significantly from machine to machine..

 

Paints used were predominately Tamiya Acrylics with some Humbrol for smaller items. Alclad Gloss was used for the top coat and Humbrol Matt varnish where needed. Humbrol black wash was used for limited weathering.

Decals are from many various sheets as no one really does a complete sheet for RAE machines that includes stencil data. The only decals to give a problem were the rotor blade sling points, even though the surface was smooth they still silvered and I could not get rid of it, only a thin layer of paint subdued it then I lost my nerve, you can't win them all.

The main sponsons are made from brass and the camera mount is made from Evergreen, the camera made from a wooden craft bead and filled with old PE to represent the internal gubbings.

 

As there was much to document I shall not repeat it here but the WIP can be found here; https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/

 

Hope you like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recieved two kits both being AB212 from mistercraft. Both kits had a two piece round element and this "ball" sat in a "U" shaped cradle.

The ball once built had a view finder moulded on to it. When i figure out how to upload pictures then I will add them to this post.

The RAE and QinetiQ are very close to my hear and I am glad to see the Seakings getting thier moment of glory. The work and dedication i have seen so far in this few picrures are outstanding. 

 

 

[corsaircorp]

Congratulations my friend !!

Raspberry ripple is'nt it ??

Very stunning conversion !! It's amazing !!

Sincerely.

CC

[Head in the clouds.]

21 hours ago, Specialbranch said:

The RAE and QinetiQ are very close to my hear and I am glad to see the Seakings getting thier moment of glory. The work and dedication i have seen so far in this few picrures are outstanding.

 

Thank you very much @Specialbranch, kind words indeed. This is why I wanted to build such machines as once the work is done they get modified again and the previous conversion can get lost in the march of time so I feel it is important to remember them and the boffins/aircrew that pushed the science of airframe/powerplant and electronics.

 

18 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

Raspberry ripple is'nt it ??

Thank you.

Yes it is @corsaircorp, unfortunately very few if any aircraft carry this scheme now and it is sorely missed on the airshow circuit.