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Dragonfly to Widgeon. Who knows?


perdu

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2 minutes ago, perdu said:

Yes it is, however the piston and jet versions have the same fuselages.

I think it is the HAS4 or 5 for the piston version and the jet one is the HAS9.

The torpedo fuselage is the same.

Our friend @heloman1 could tell you, he was involved with producing the castings for the HAS9 I understand.

Good morning Bill, if memory serves me all the HAR Mk9's were re engineered HAS Mk7 fuselages. Where the cabin  floor was raise by four inches to accommodate the same fuel capacity with the addition of the torpedo bay. The cabin door was also shortened by the same amount. The Mk'9's had the Gnome nose added but the torpedo bay remained and then the designation changed to HAR (Helicopter Air Rescue) from HAS (Helicopter Anti Submarine).

Hope this helps clarify the identity?

 

Colin

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This mesh nose was always going to be a stretch beyond the clear moulded piece wasnt it.

 

So far I have been unhappy with the actual vac-moulded piece from PETg, just not being thin enough to do the job.

 

Last night I threw away yet another bodged PETg bit and as often happens I woke up asking myself why I wasnt casting a clear nose to work with from UV Setting resin?

 

Answer: first time it occurred to me.

 

As I have the nose casting mould I gave it a go, four layers of UV resin allowed to set in sequence.

 

Gives a nobbly looking casting which after a while of sunlight and UV today might be good enough to file, sand, polish and use on the nose.

 

P1010138.jpg

 

A proof of concept piece, this one but who knows?

P1010139.jpg

 

When I can file this it will be reshapeable to the desired outline, but if it doesn't I will revert to plan A, use the acetate sheet I just ordered to make a better vac-formed nose.

 

Here's where the new clear-ish piece came from

 

P1010140.jpg

 

Today is playday again.

 

:)

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I'm not sure why there are already 11 pages of this and I only noticed it now.... :banghead: :banghead:

 

Anyway, great first post (for me) to start with, casting clear resin! :tasty:

 

I shall follow from now on Bill, if you don't mind :) 

 

Ciao

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4 minutes ago, giemme said:

I only noticed it now.... :banghead: 

Well you have been busy G  and so far I am only playing at it

 

But this seems likely to work

P1010141.jpg

 

A little exploratory filing work gives me

 

P1010142.jpg

 

Oh heck Perdushake kicks in, but I think you can see the effect of gently filing Limino resin.

 

 

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Trying harder this time

 

16394989605948069229560923958682.jpg

 

The basic clearview nose unpolished and stuck on with a strange new glue E6000 which it seems needs 24hrs to set before it may be approached.

 

16394990117995980432374423857516.jpg

 

The basic shape looks OK

 

The new nose height set with a roll of tape of a suitable width

 

16394992749538479498019144890338.jpg

 

OK more tomorrow, ciao.

 

 

 

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Greebling begins.

 

We are looking for this mesh effect.

 

P1010043-2.jpg

 

Out of

16396030289427959497785311319137.jpgI

 

 

16396030722576175782905866443228.jpg

 

16396031226068947549537625940207.jpg

 

Close?

 

This was last night, this a.m I have begun greebling in earnest.

Hinges for nose engine access panels, stiffener tapes around the tail cone joints added and down below the repositioned horizontal strakes added from Evergreen T-sections.

Later today a rebuilt-ish tripod should allow photography to happen and some more hinges and vents will be fettled up a bit.

 

Laters folks

.

 

 

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Greebling home with a song on the air...

 

16396757145643405588350083330126.jpg

Instrument shroud and codriver's step, preliminary window masking to be trimmed gently.

 

Interesting thing at the rear of the engine compartment, possibly a ventilating hatch and the driver's lower step which is a vee shaped additional step for crew entry.

 

16396757400154405753516007781535.jpg

 

Lotsa more knobs bumps and hingey thingeys to come plus more skin stiffening panel pieces around the tail cone tomorrow.

 

And tomorrow may come a thin, fine layer of grey primer.

 

See, we shall...

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Some more greebled bits done and oh look the lid's on.

 

P1010147.jpg

 

The front end hinges need refining and more greeblies at the back needed.

 

Tail rotor drive shaft grafted on and the prominent rib up the fin-thingy added.

 

P1010146.jpg

 

There are a number (blooming large number) of vents and bumps to add to the rear fuselage, both sides but at least the cabin and cockpit can be refined and closed so it can be primered.

 

Laters folks...

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S'only fair I suppose 'cos I got to watch you do the sam-ilar stuff on yours.

 

So where am I?

 

Who am I?

 

Oh no that's an elderly Doddy Diddy-man routine, oops.

 

OK more fettling is on board

 

 

Door/window rails added next and a slightly bigger servicing platform fitted in

 

16397537774938332148794128575925.jpg

Back of the cabin, each side are a pair of vents, up in the arch of the roof, how much ventilating they did I'm not sure but they are there and need adding to the cabin.

 

I fastened a pointy plunger from my very last white plastic cocktail stick and plunged it into a piece of polycard over a small hole in my bench.

 

Gwyn doesn't understand why I drilled and sculpted several sizes and shapes of hole into the Formica­­­­® worktop.

 

Anyway, here's pointypiece.

 

16397536667466059815288078363746.jpg

Trim that and slice down the middle and cut it back and add new rails for cabin cover.

 

16397545303171382622688112851124.jpg 

 

There needs to be a fit for radio next, antenna posts to be added including a pair of antennae under the nose which our residential experts may be able to tell us if the are VHF, IFF, ULHF or any other spoonful from the military alphabet soup of transmissibles.

 

And finally for this arvo, the overdoor lamp fitted to an assortment of Westlands helicopters was crafted from that last white cocktail stick

 

16397568025964749093266725147487.jpg                

 

When the glue sets I can trim it to shape like that

 

5-Ace-Hendon-136.jpg

 

Hoist and other vents later, ciao.

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  • perdu changed the title to Whirlwind is OKish so the Dragon needs to fly...

Thanks for the hint Terry, Enville White was in so some of that had to be enjoyed.

 

No hangover either which mixing it with ABK Pilsner can do to me.

 

Yummy.

 

Anyway with the HAR/HC10 well advanced and the Dragonfly sitting forlorn and neglected I decided to lavish a little love on her,

 

The Royal Navy Dragonflys had an uncomfortable bustle fitment behind the main wheels which has various changes of shape and direction and would be heavy as all get out if I milliputted it so sheet metal work comes into play here

 

Here's the attachment in Yeovilton.

P1010151.jpg

 

Flat sides only and every other direction and dimension with sinuous curves to aim for...

 

yukk.

 

So open the back and stick on the sloping floor of the bustle.

P1010148.jpg

 

 

Cross fingers 🤞

 

And consider the next move, plan:A (There's always a plan:A innit?) fit flat side panels then add curved pieces to fill in.

 

Or plan:B Polygami, the art developed at Shizuoka many years ago by the styrene masters from the slopes of Mount Polystyreno.

 

This entails finding a  thin enough piece of placcycard to make the bustle in one piece with the assorted sinuous curves built in.

 

P1010154.jpg

 

P1010158.jpg

 

Concept testing in here (Axioms tested next door...) *

P1010159.jpg

 

Quietly confident

 

P1010160.jpg

 

 

I am quietly confident that UV Setting Resin will not hold these joints in tension and that I am going to have to return to the adhesion situation before the weekend is out...

 

We will see.

 

 

 

 

*AXIOM TESTING COURTESY T.PRATCHETT ESQ AUTHOR SADLY DECEASED FUTURE CONCEPTS LOST... off the shoulders of Orion?

 

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Wow!  Apologies for negligence; this is my first catch-up with the recent be-greeblement of the Whirly, and she's looking mighty fine after all that work.  
 

You don’t show the pair of aerials under the nose, but assuming they are an identical pair the likelihood is that they are VHF homing aerials (known as “Violet Picture Homing”, and still referred to in such quaint 1950s terms as late as my 1980s Sea King training).  The Sea King had a VP Homer fit ip to & including HAS5,, but in >1,000 hours in the beast I never saw it used except as a device to add workload to a harrassed pilot (probably already working with at least one “failed” primary instrument) during Instrument Rating Tests. 

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