Royal Navy AW EH-101 HM.1 Merlin colours help

[Pappy]

G'day people,

 

I managed to score the 1/72 Revell (nee Italeri) Merlin but now have to tranlsate Revell's colour call outs to something resmbling reality.

 

1. Would I be correct in assuming that the exterior would be painted in a simialr fashion to RN Lynx i.e some version of Medium Sea Grey (MSG) ? whilst the cabin is in Dark Admiralty Grey (DAG)?

 

2. What colour is the landing gear? It appears to be a very light grey (but not white)

 

3. Still with the landing gear what colour are the  wheel wells? I am thinking the nose wheel well (NWW) is the same as the exterior but no idea what the inside of the main wheel wells (MWW) should be?

 

4. What colours should a live torp be? the BM walkaround has a blue band (i.e. inert)  where the warhead is which would normally be yellow and there is also a red band in front of the blue band. I would like to paint my tin fish as warshots

 

There are some great interior pics in the BM walkaround section and it would appear that the cabin floor appears to be black and the cockpit is also entirely black with the cabin seating also in black for the loadmasters and sensor operators,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[Seamus]

Hi Pappy,

Definitely MSG for the overall main colour. They quickly become weathered and different panels appear in different shades, so worth checking reference images against the cab you're building. I might even have some in my own archive.

 

AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 ZH834 Royal Navy RNAS Culdrose 30/07/15 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 ZH832 Royal Navy RNAS Culdrose 31/07/14 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

To my eye the wheel hubs appear white while the legs are a light grey as you suggest-Light Aircaft Grey or Light Gull grey maybe?

I typically don't shoot undersides, especially of helicopters, so have no reference of my own to the wheel bay interiors, my guess would be either white or the same light grey of the legs. Presumably the cabin is the same colour as used on the Mk3/4 as shown here which to my eye looks lighter than Dark Admiralty grey- Dark Gull Grey perhaps?

Can't help with the torpedo colours, but hopefully that's of some use. If you let me know what cab you plan to build I may have some images of it

Cheers,

 

Shaun

Edited January 7, 2022 by Seamus

[Pappy]

G'day Shaun,

 

Thanks very much for the reply and the piccies. I am not convinces the hubs are a different colour, it may just be that they are more exposed than the strut itself? 

 

The pics are awesome, thank you. I find that it is difficult to get pics of the underside of helicopters as walkarounds are typically of static aircraft so these shots will  be vary handy in determining where all the underside 'furniture' goes! 

 

I had noticed the dissimalr panel colours and was planning to try and replicate the effect to break up the single colour. I donjt have a particular cab in mind, I will likely go for an anonymous squadron workhorse instead of a shiny airshow special,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[wellsprop]

@Pappy

 

@Troffa will be able to give you a better idea, but...

 

1. MSG all over, the interior is also MSG, except some panels on the floor, which are black - see mk4 below. FYI, the airframe is made up of various composites and conventional metal construction. Two panels (of differing material),, when painted with the exact same paint and method, are noticeably different colours. 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=merlin+mk2+interior&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjstP21x6D1AhUBEhoKHYZaClgQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=merlin+mk2+interior&gs_lcp=ChJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWcQAzoHCCMQ7wMQJzoKCCMQ7wMQsAIQJzoECCEQCjoECB4QClCfCVjEE2DXFmgAcAB4AIABmAGIAZoHkgEDMC43mAEAoAEBwAEB&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=EK3YYezsF4GkaIa1qcAF&bih=657&biw=360&client=ms-android-huawei-rev1&prmd=isvxn#imgrc=ZHb1GFHD5hgntM

 

2. The landing gear  is the same colour as the exterior (I think). 

 

3. The wheel well sides are the same colour as the exterior, the wheel well top might be black, can't recall. 

 

 

4. No idea. 

 

I can't quite recall, but I don't think the  colours are BS381C anymore, instead, I think they are Fed Std 595C. 

 

Ben

[Pappy]

G'day Ben,

 

Thanks for the reply and whT a great photo. The airframe has gained a few more lumps and bumps. I notice it carries a FLIR pod now but what lives on the two square panels aft of the rear stbd window? It looks like there is some form of provison for other role equipment  where the two slightly different grey squares are.

 

Cracking shot of the belyy as well.

 

I agree with MSG  (well as a starting point anyway) as the exterior colour  and variations therof and it will do for the interior but disagree with your suggestion that the undercarriage is also MSG.

 

My walkaround pics show the landing gear struts to be a very light grey approximating FS26440 Light Gull Grey (LGG) although I am not suggesting FS paints were used, it is just a handy reference for me as I am more familiar with FS codes vice BSC..

 

I think that the torps included in the kit are supposed to be Sting Ray torps but it is proving difficult to find pics of the warshot rounds, I just keep finding the same pics of the exercise rounds

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[ACDC]

Pappy,

 

I think the landing gear is Light Aircraft Grey the same as Lynx. Gear wells are MSG the same as the airframe.

 

If you look at the photos in https://www.seaforces.org/wpnsys/SURFACE/Stingray-torpedo.htm the photo half way down of the Stingray with a yellow band on the forward end is a 'Warshot'. There would still be a black nose cap fitted for an air dropped torpedo to protect the sonar sensors.

 

BJ

[Troffa]

Good morning all, I hope you are well.

 

Wheel wells are Black, I'm not sure if this has always been the case-I came to Merlin in Mid Career- it may be a Mark 4 upgrade thing- but the Torsion Box for the Main undercarriage has always been Black, and the interior of the composite Sponsons and nose bay have been black as long as I recall. Now caveat emptor and all that- If you are 6 months into a 8 month cruise on HMS Floaty McBoatface and you need a bit of surface finish touch up, MSG will do if you have no Black left in store, but the general as delivered scheme is Black. 

 

Undercarriage is a very light grey enamel, hard as nails and glossy. Easy to spot Leaks and any damage. I think Dowty supply it so Industry standard finish I would suspect. 

 

Some really great shots of the Mighty Merlin on this site, including a great image of the lower surface:

 

Merlin!

 

 

[Pappy]

1 hour ago, ACDC said:

Pappy,

 

I think the landing gear is Light Aircraft Grey the same as Lynx. Gear wells are MSG the same as the airframe.

 

If you look at the photos in https://www.seaforces.org/wpnsys/SURFACE/Stingray-torpedo.htm the photo half way down of the Stingray with a yellow band on the forward end is a 'Warshot'. There would still be a black nose cap fitted for an air dropped torpedo to protect the sonar sensors.

 

BJ

 

52 minutes ago, Troffa said:

Good morning all, I hope you are well.

 

Wheel wells are Black, I'm not sure if this has always been the case-I came to Merlin in Mid Career- it may be a Mark 4 upgrade thing- but the Torsion Box for the Main undercarriage has always been Black, and the interior of the composite Sponsons and nose bay have been black as long as I recall. Now caveat emptor and all that- If you are 6 months into a 8 month cruise on HMS Floaty McBoatface and you need a bit of surface finish touch up, MSG will do if you have no Black left in store, but the general as delivered scheme is Black. 

 

Undercarriage is a very light grey enamel, hard as nails and glossy. Easy to spot Leaks and any damage. I think Dowty supply it so Industry standard finish I would suspect. 

 

Some really great shots of the Mighty Merlin on this site, including a great image of the lower surface:

 

Merlin!

 

 

 G'day BJ and Troffa,

 

Thanks for the input, and I finally get to see what a warshot looks like. Troffa, thanks for confirming the u/c colour and no way in zillion years wouls I have guessed black OEM MWWs, it just seems counter-intuitive for spotting leaks and doing maint but you work on 'em so good enough for me. Just one thing though I am building the HM.1 not the HC.4 so I am not sure if this changes anything, most of the pics in the link are for HC.3/HC.4. I have heaps of ref pics for RAF variants so all over those

 

Can you tell me what colour the cabin interior for the HM.1 should be? Is the cabin floor black or grey? The Revell instructions use mouse grey, anthracite and concoctions with ratios so I am a bit over those The BM walkaround pics show a dark grey I will opt for DSG but unsure of the floor, if it is all grey with black anti-slip  sections or all black with grey floor hatches this is where I am stuck at the mo' 

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

Edited January 8, 2022 by Pappy

[wellsprop]

I've done a bit more digging and can expand on what Troffa said.

 

The undercarriage is a very light grey. The interior of the nose gear walls (on the Mk 1 and Mk 2) is the same colour as the airframe (I recall it is indeed black on the Mk 4 - same as international variants).

 

 

@Pappy @Troffa

Sorry to add to the confusion, but I think the sponson wheel well is the same colour as the airframe, see below. This shows the sponsor interior of the Mk 1. I think it's the Mk 4/4a and international that has black wheel wells.

 

The wheels appear to be a an even lighter grey, almost white. I suspect they are the same paint spec but from different manufacturers.

 

 

The interior is, near enough, the same colour as the exterior - again, the soft furnishings inside may appear a different colour when painted in the same colour. The floor is also the same colour as the rest of the exterior, it is not dark sea grey. There are some anti slip panels (I think) but I can't recall where in the Mk 2 (I'm mainly working on the Mk 4 at the moment!). 

 

 

All the photos came from here http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/howard_mason3/merlin_hm1/index.php?Page=2

 

Bear in mind, these photos are of a Mk1, I don't know if their are any differences (in colour etc) between the Mk 1 and 2. The Mk 4 is different again.

 

Another thing to be aware of, I don't think any of the colours are actually BS381C (the exterior may be, as it's painted in-house). Anything that comes from a subcontractor is more likely to be Fed Std 595 - many of the parts were originally designed (and manufactured in Italy as well as all over Europe and from the US) in Italy, the Italians specified common international standards rather than British Standards.

 

And finally, to be a real pedant, all the Merlins/101s flown by the UK, Italy, Japan, Canada (and a couple other countries with one or two aircraft) are EH101s. The AW101 is the marketing name for the 600 series (Norway and Poland), it actually has a very different airframe as well as different engines - it's quite a different beast (by the way, it's also a superb bit of kit).

 

Ben

[Pappy]

Outsanding work that man there!

 

G'day Ben, a huge thanks that was hugely helpful (as were the other contributions) and I don't mind being corrected at all - I learnt something new after all,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[Troffa]

Can't beat a bit of Merlin at Breakfast 🙂 Right off shopping with the missus. I'll see you lot later. 🙂

 

 

[ACDC]

Troffa is correct that the early Merlin wheel bay and torsion boxes were black, as that was the standard spec. Later variants are all painted to either customer specification or more commonly to match the airframe. e.g. the NAWSARH aircraft wheel bays were painted black on the first aircraft but the customer then wanted it changed to white along with the landing gear. 

[junglierating]

You could always go for an Itslian CSAR.....as the song goes ....paint it black🤣🤣🤣🤣.....ill get my coat 

[wellsprop]

But of an update on this... Over the past couple weeks I've poked my head in the wheel wells of a Merlin Mk2, Mk4 and Mk4a.

 

I can confirm the following;

 

Wheel wells can be, light grey (like the fuselage), black or green (mk 4/4a).

 

The interior is a slightly darker grey than the exterior.

 

The floors on the mk4 have black metal parts to drive a land rover on to.

 

Seems the best thing to do is pick a serial number and do your research! 

[Planebuilder62]

Dear Pappy

The round object behind the starboard window is a SARBE transponder.If you are lucky, the nice people at Whirlybirds might have one before they close down in 3 weeks.

 

BTW the SARBE is part of their Norwegian Seaking conversion set, well worth the money as it comes with resin, PE and a complete decal set.

 

regards Toby

[Pappy]

G'day Toby,

 

Thanks very much but if you are referring to the black fuselage mounted thingy, it is included in the kit already,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[Julien]

 

[Pappy]

Thanks very much Julien,

 

Pappy