Red Roo Models Bristol Sycamore Mk.4/HR.51 RAAF, RAN, RAF & Civilian Service (RRK48004) 1:48

[Mike]

Bristol Sycamore Mk.4/HR.51 RAAF, RAN, RAF & Civilian Service (RRK48004)

1:48 Red Roo Models

 

 

Even while the guns of WWII were still firing, Bristol were developing the rotorcraft that became better known as the helicopter.  Their project wasn’t the only one in existence, as the Nazis were also developing their own helicopters at around the same time, sending a small number of their early prototypes into service before the Allies, although to no avail.  The Bristol project became the Sycamore, and it was the first British helicopter to reach production, and also the first to be registered as safe for flight by the British authorities just before the beginning of the ‘50s.  It went into service with the RAF in time to take part in the Malayan, Cyprus and Aden emergencies as battlefield taxi, medical evacuation, and as cargo transport.  Although less than two hundred of the type were built overall, a substantial number were built for the post-war reconstituted German military, and small numbers were used by the Australians and Belgians.  They also saw civilian service in reasonable numbers, and stayed in service with the RAF for a long period, with the last one leaving service in the early 70s, while the Australians struck theirs off charge in the mid-60s.

 

 

The Kit

This is a re-boxing of AMP’s 2018 tooling of this early chopper, but with additional parts to represent the aircraft and types that are mentioned on the box top, and in their usual fashion, they are heavily focused on antipodean airframes, which is only fair given their location and expertise.  The kit arrives in a thick card box with a picture of some of the decal options on the top, and inside the captive lid is the AMP plastic, which extends to four sprues in grey styrene, plus two smaller sprues in clear plastic.  In addition, there are two frets of Photo-Etch (PE), two sections of clear acetate with printed shapes, two small blank pieces of blue decal paper, two decal sheets, and a thick colour laser printed instruction booklet that has colour profiles and reference photos in the rear, plus a separate sheet that documents additional positioning of stencils and the painting of the rotor blades.

 

The styrene parts are well-moulded and have good detail, but as these are medium-run moulds there are the occasional sink marks that are a feature of thicker parts, where the styrene shrinks as it cools, which is more evident in the bulkier areas.  There are only a few however, and if they are tackled before construction begins, they shouldn’t pose any real issues.  The detail more than makes up for it, and the crew cabin is moulded in clear styrene to ease fitting and masking of the windows, which is always a good idea that is often found in helo models, as they tend to have excellent visibility thanks to huge expanses of perspex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit, which will be highly visible on the finished model, and this work starts with the two crew seats, which are well-detailed, having separate rails, cushions, backs and armour, plus PE stays that link the two cushions, and lap belts for the crew.  The instrument panel is a kidney-shaped unit with instrument backs on the backside, and a decal placed over a coat of white paint, then a PE surface to depict the details and instrument bezels.  It will be sensible to take care in aligning the layers, which can be done by using Klear as a glue and to make the dials shiny after painting.  It is supported by a long tubular arm that later suspends it in front of the crew without impeding their view.  A set of seatbelts are also made up for the three canvas passenger seats that later fix to the rear bulkhead along with circular headrests and more PE supports, leaving the bench seat parts on the sprues.  The seats are glued to the cockpit floor after adding the pilot controls in tandem along with the centre console and rudder pedals, the latter made from PE and fitted to the front of the cockpit floor alongside a fire extinguisher.  The rear bulkhead clips into the back of the cockpit floor with the three canvas seats as previously noted.  The semi-complete assembly is slotted into the opaque plastic underside of the fuselage, which is in turn joined to the aft fuselage halves, taking care to cut the slot in the starboard side if you are modelling a military version.  The cowling over the power plant is first detailed by adding a number of PE louvers into the engine intake at the front, and an axle that projects from the underside of the rotor head into the interior.  It is then glued in place in anticipation of the clear fuselage and windscreen parts.

 

The clear parts are prepared with small handles, then it would be an idea to make some masks for the inside of the windows so that the interior can be painted a suitable shade and not left shiny when painting it externally.  Before these assemblies are fixed to the model, the rotor-head is created, which is a process that will result in an excellent focal point for your model.  You are incited to take care removing the styrene parts from the sprues as they are delicate, and that seems a sensible precaution.  They will also benefit from scraping of the seams to give them a more realistic appearance before you start putting things together.  The main head part is the basis for the forthcoming work, which includes plastic and PE parts to give the assembly a highly realistic look.  A scrap diagram shows the completed assembly, and you might miss the second diagram that is for extended blades – I know I did for a moment there.  The key step is installing the triangular blade holders that all point in the same direction for stowed blades, and in-line with the rotor-head when extended for flight.  The cockpit clear sides and roof are added to the model next (don’t forget to remove any masks!) along with the main gear, which are each two-part wheels with two more parts for the struts, the starboard unit having a box fairing near the top.  A small highly detailed winch assembly is attached to the starboard side of the engine compartment, and a long strut stretches diagonally down the side of the fuselage, partially in the slot cut in the fuselage side earlier for the military version.  The rotor suppports are added to the tail boom to hold the stowed blades later, and the nose of the model is glued into the front after adding a coaming to the inside, where you might want to fill two tiny sink marks at the ends, and a PE windscreen wiper on the outside.  Also on the starboard side is an engine exhaust, which is covered by a bulged fairing to the front, presumably to avoid burning the legs of the crew or passengers.  On the port side are a number of tubular step frames, a filler cap and a rear-view mirror, the head of which is PE, so the back side should be painted with the shiniest metallic you can lay your hands on.  The steps are replicated on the starboard side too, with more small parts and the front landing gear leg on the underside.  The tail boom also has a long, slender and angled bumper fitted, a small stabilising surface, and of course the three-blade tail-rotor and crown.  The final task is to install the rotors stowed or in position for flight, attaching to the appropriately configured rotor-head.

 

 

Markings

The booklet contains a general stencil placement guide, and there is another loose page with additional guidance and details to paint the main rotor blades and the tail-rotor in great detail.  There are a generous six decal options on the sheet, with a broad range to choose from.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• A91-2, 1 Air Trials Unit, Jan 1955
• XN448, 852, 723 Sqn. Fleet Air Arm, RAN, Jun 1960
• XG544, 118 Sqn., RAF Aldergrove, Northern Ireland, 1962
• XG548, Joint Helicopter Unit, HMS Ocean, Suez Crisis, 1956
• VH-INO, Australian National Airways Pty Ltd, May 1956
• VH-INO, Australian National Airways Pty Ltd, Flying Billboard for Thorn Atlas (Thorn Australia)

 

 

 

 

The Thorn Atlas decal option has a large pair of colourful backgrounds to the logo, which aren’t included as decals, but are supplied as pre-printed stencils on the acetate sheets.  You are instructed to cut out the templates and spray the colour onto the provided decal film, which you can then overspray with clear gloss and apply to your model after cutting them out close to the painted areas.  You could of course use the templates to make a tape mask and spray them directly onto the model, so now you have two choices of how to do it.

 

Decals are printed under the Red Roo banner, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a satin carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

Early helicopters are usually a weird, ungainly looking bunch, but apart from the Sycamore’s unusual nose-up ground stance, it is a surprisingly modern-looking aircraft.  The base kit is good, and the Red Roo additions make it better.  Add a bunch of well-researched, attractive decal options, and we have a winner.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of