Jump to content

1/72 Westland Scout to Wasp conversion


Recommended Posts

You know the feeling of waiting ages for a bus and then 2 come along at once, well here is the second Airfix Scout related build within 24 hours. I got the idea to attempt this conversion the first time after seeing the Wasp prototype on the Feightdog stand at Telford a few years ago. A long wait followed and the Air Graphics released a Wasp conversion set along with a new engine, torpedo´s and decals. On top of that Perdu´s inspirational build gave me, well inspiration. Last but not least was a visit in 2019 to the Weston Super Mare Helicopter museum to see a Wasp close up.

 

Here are the building blocks.

 

spacer.png

 

And some reference information:

 

spacer.png

 

Here is what is left of the decal set after I sent on the ones I am not going to use to a fellow BM`er:

 

spacer.png

 

This build is being treated as sub assemblies with the cockipt being built seperate from the fuselage. The pilot and co- pilot doors have been removed and the fuselage wall thickness reduced around the windows. I found that Kristal clear gives a better representation of the fottwell windows so that will get fixed after the painting a decalling.

 

I must say that the 1/72 Wasp parts are very fine and delicate and Air Graphics must be thanked for attempting to mass produce this conversion set. All the undercarriage legs are very finely moulded. Thet rear undercarriage sponsons need a bit of trimming to get them right and they were attached using Milliput to fill the gaps at the same time as gluing them in place.

 

spacer.png

 

Some more progress pictures will be posted soon to show the present state of play.

 

regards Toby

  • Like 17
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some progress has been made in the last few weeks when the first set of pictures were taken. What makes a Wasp differnt from a Scout is its undercarriage. In 1/72 scale the legs are very fine, delicate and fragile. The plan is the put the legs on and insert the finish built cockpit. All the 4 legs are on and it stands evenly on all 4 legs. I added a Q-tip in the background to show how small this is. The foldable tail has been added along with a scratch built hinge and lock that appears to be missing a bit. Onto the pictures.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

  • Like 14
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lordy, that's small!  This is amazing, delicate work on your part, and I love it.  Looking forward to seeing next steps on what promises to be a petite masterpiece by the appearance of things thus far...!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hi there

After a 1:1 scale Greenhouse build in the back garden I have been making very small sub-asseblies. Building this Wasp reminds me very much of building a Biplane; Start in the centre and paint/decal everything early before the final assembly. By its nature it is very fragile with lots of sticky out bits so I have taken the time to fix the interior bits and the fueslage. Here is one of the etched brass seats together with my modified seats from the kit.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

I have added the Collective to the Pilots seat and I have scrachbuilt the missile controller for the chap in the left hand seat. Here is the rear bulkhead with the bench seat, the bacrest was mde from card, the bench seat is 100% Airfix.

 

spacer.png

 

The fuselage has been painted with Xtracolour RAF Blue Grey and then the beautifully printed Air Graphics decals added. The tie down rings on each leg were added using PVA glue. The stencils came from a Model Alliance Hawk stencil decal sheet. The hardest part with this stage, apart from not breaking anything off, was the anti slips patches on top of the sponsons and undercarriage legs. The first plan of laying thin decal strips of black over white did not work as the decal would not conform to the thin legs. Plan B is what can be seen here. Revell 09 Graphite was put in at all loacations an then white was painted to give the correct patch size. The final painting job was to reduce the with of the white stripes by painting in with the blue grey.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

More to follow when the cockpit is filled up and the canopy goes on. In the backround the engine and rotor head are taking shape.

 

Regards Toby

Edited by Planebuilder62
typo corrected
  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having fairly recently gone the other way (Wasp to Scout) in 1/48 scale,  I'm finding the work here fascinating - well done, so far!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just found your thread. A fascinating conversion and looking very nice. Those decals look crisp. I will look forward to seeing the finished build.

The sight of the Scout in its red stripe bag brought a nostalgic tear to my eye 😅 I remember building it over 50 years ago.

Cheers

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always found the Wasp to be a very attractive little helicopter. I remember as a teenager watching the BBC Tv series Warship and being inspired to convert a Scout, using IIRC bits of stretched sprue and surplus undercarriage wheels. I even handpainted the HMS Hero lettering on the nose! Sadly it has long since been consigned to the scrapbox...

I am enjoying watching this build.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hi there

Progress has been taking place slowly overvthe last few weeks. Following @perdu’s example the main rotor head has been busied up with counter weights and linkages. Thanks to @JagRiggerthe rotor droop at the droop stops has been incorporated here as well.

 

spacer.png

 

And here with a coat of paint:

 

Using the Airfix Magazine as reference the main rotor blades were painted with Light Grey upper surfaces and black undersides. In addition each blade tip was painted the appropriate clour with a yellow stripe.

 

spacer.png

 

 

The back end of the egine looked a bit empty so a disc brake was scratch built from round plastic discs. An oil pump of the port side main engine deck was also scratch built.

 

spacer.png

 

The cockpit has been filled up as well. The missile contoller was added to the co-pilots seat and a control box at his feet. The torpdo launch contol was added to the instrument panel. The fuselage top edges were very wobbly and getting the vac-form canopy edges the fit on both sides was difficult so a couple of spreader bars were fitted across the top of the fuselage to stiffen it up. These were painted black afterwards before the roof/ winscreen/ rear window caopy went on. This is how it looked before the roof went on.

 

spacer.png

 

regards Toby

Edited by Planebuilder62
Added extra reference
  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...