Sea King HAR 3 from Revell Mk41 kit

[kitchentable]

 

Hi

 

This was the first chopper I have built since the Airfix SH-3A in 1972, but I hit my stride and attacked the special intricacies of a model where there is as much inside as outside.  

 

The model was the Revell Sea King Mk41 complete with Sea Skuas.  Being a Brit I like to build in home colours, so after a little research I aimed for a HAR3 version.  The HAR3 has the substantially extended cabin (inside not outside!) and that matched the German Navy dimensions.  Unfortunately that’s where the similarity ended.  This meant almost everything in the cabin was scratch built.  A good portion of the cockpit was too.

 

My aftermarket items were

 

Xtradecal X72303 decals Sea King Collection 

Airwaves PE AEC72220 for Revell kit

Eduard PE BIG72139 interior/exterior for Airfix HAR3 kit

Eduard Canopy Mask CX082 for Revell kit

 

I was obviously drawn to grey not yellow.  The three aircraft modified for the Falklands look a lovely mix of purposeful beauty.  Anyway, the Sea King is a magnificent machine and fills the archetypal role of “a proper helicopter”.  

 

I did sweat for months building the cabin.  The utility seats were pretty straightforward to make and the Eduard belts work well with them.   I skipped on the cabin roof, representing it only with a plasticard sheet and no soundproofing.  I took the view that to show the roof means holding the model in an off ground pose and stuffing the camera in the door.  Ok, I’m a lightweight!

Beginnings of cabin, and first attempt at Observer seats, before doing them properly

 

The two observers seats were a real challenge but I was pleased with the finished item.  I only wish they were more visible when installed.  Both types of crew seats were modelled on real items on sale on Ebay!

 

Proper Observer seats made from brass, and Utility seats

 

The lower crew seat frames were made from plastic, then a brass hoop added to hold the cushion.  The cushions were actually reused and modified from the Revell seats. There are loads of other structures, avionics and fittings in the cabin that were nice to model.

 

Cockpit and forward cabin, using kit bulkheads but otherwise scratch built

 

A bespoke mash of Eduard and Airwaves PE was used in the cockpit.   In another article I have criticised Airwaves PE.  For this kit it was also not good.  As an example the port side downwash strake is at least 100% oversize.   Why do they do this?   With careful mixing of the PE I achieved what I wanted. Just about the only shortcoming that was unfixable was the fit of the Revell single piece cockpit glazing.  Actually it’s not that bad but there were small ridges in places.  One further problem I had was dust accumulating on the inside during the final finishing.  It was impossible to remove this in places, so my photos have a surreptitious strategic intent to obscure that.  The Falklands mods of ESM and a couple more antennas were easy to add.

Cockpit soon to acquire canopy

 

I used Sovereign Hobbies EDSG and various surface finishes around the airframe.  

 

No issues with the main spray job, except the grills getting clogged

 

The decals were a joy and they gave just the right amount of visibility to the numerous stencils.  The Eduard grills were a bit of a nightmare because airbrushing tended to fill holes.   I went a bit crazy on the rotor hub and fitted brass cyclic arms and a birds nest of eze-line to represent the astonishing mass of hydraulics up there.  The hub needed a little persuading to deliver the correct and equal amount of blade droop.  

 

There are not many areas where I wish to have done better.   I am annoyed at the fuselage tie-down rings.   I stuck the PE rings on before painting and they are lost in the paint now.  I should have cut out the engine access panels and then fixed them back to show the panel lines better.   Hummphh.

 

 

When finished I found that it photographed well, and the finished pics might be the best set I have ever taken.  Most final photos were by Canon EOS at 10 second exposure, and using my iPhone as a light source (good tip there).   Due to the forever time to build the interior and then a fiddly exterior it took 11 months to build, with work proceeding most days.  Still, I like the end result and it might be my best all round achievement (so far).

 

Phil

 

[Blue Monday]

Very nice Sea King. 

 

BM.

[coneheadff]

Great conversion and a great looking Sea King!!

[troschi]

Very pleasing model. Good job!

[Abandoned Project]

Fantastic whirlybird Sir! Kudos on that wonderful interior. 

[Bertie McBoatface]

Complex build came out very well