Italeri Westland Wessex HU5

[stalal]

My first helicopter model in many,many years. In fact my first one since I started using airbrush.

Wessex fascinated me because of its peculiar shape and when I came across Italeri kit, I wanted to give it a go.

First however, what I have to get this project started

Italeri Wessex HU.5 kit 2720

Eduard Wessex interior set 49622

Eduard Wessex exterior set 48754

On opening the box, there are two big sprues and one set of similar sprues in a separate plastic bag.

The box claims brand new moulds but there is too much flash

Also, the seats are very thick and the back rest seem to have incorrect details, if I go by what I have seen on reference pictures in several walkarounds on the web.

Going through pictures of several RAF aircraft over the years, I also suspect the '9' in 'XV719' here has the wrong typeset.

Edited August 8, 2016 by stalal

[The Scaremonger]

Wessex fascinated me because of its peculiar shape and when I came across Italeri kit, I wanted to give it a go.

Me too!

Isn't this the same build you're going about on Britmodeller? An epic build so far, stalal.

Might want to check the path to your bucket-posted images 'cause none seems to be working.

Cheers,

[stalal]

Yes it is. Actually I thought I will put this up here as well

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234976229-italeri-westland-wessex-uh5-oops-hu5-148/page-1

Edited August 8, 2016 by stalal

[Hajo L.]

Pictures are not showing...?

HAJO

[stalal]

I intend to start with interior but actually could not start. Looking at references, the front bulkhead is totally wrong. Dont know if Italeri did some research or someone just drew the plans out of imagination.

Fortunately, I have Eduard set but I still see some scratch building that I had not planned.

Using the walkaround pictures of Wessex on this forum and from photos in 4+ Publication books, I have started to create the pipes inside the cabin. Its just the beginning and I m also holding my breath to see how it progresses. The intention is to create as much detail inside as possible.

Some more exterior details

I have also used Evergreen plastic rods and sheet to create the backing and stiffening for the pipes

The interior detail of the cabin area is coming along slowly. This will be focus of my build in the next couple of posts.

Edited August 8, 2016 by stalal

[stalal]

Looking at reference pictures, the fuel lid of the kit too thick. It seems the fuel lid on the helicopter is from inside. As hendie's thread rightly pointed, I thinned the hole from inside and then glued the fuel lid cover from inside.

From the Evergreen set of assorted rods, I took the thickest one, cut a piece out of it and then glued it around the perimeter of the hole. I then went on to thin it almost ot the surface.

More work needs to be done. As there are some other details around the filler cap that will need to be scratch built.

The inside of the loading area is also coming along but slowly

Using Eduard sets winch bay door has added a good level of detail to wrong shaped and out of proportion impression of the door on the kit.

[stalal]

Benches in this kit are very basic. I created the bench frame using Evergreen plastic rod.

The internal cabling is also in progress

[stalal]

All bench framing complete. It took some time to do but well rewarding.

Representation of the overhead cabin lights is very flat.

To create some depth and dimension, I painted the lamp circles in very light gray, Gunze H311, and then used a blob of Micro Kristal Clear to form a round light cover. The Micro Kristal dries clear giving a good representation of fogged, aged lights.

Some oil washes and further fading of the ceiling cover will complete the effect.

[stalal]

This bare floor is the most frequent I have seen in pictures on the net and in A+ book I have on Wessex.

The rings were created using a fine metal wire twisted along the finest drill bit that came in the set.

I have built the seat using aluminum tape. The first seat is on!

The making of seats is now complete. The next challenge is the seat backs.

The color is RLM Gray and to my eye it looks a perfect match to the framing of the seats.

The tie down eyelets are made of metal wire and will be inserted in the holes drilled in the floor where Italeri has cast them in relief. These have been colored with the mix of different browns, dark grays and black to create the rusty brown shade.

With the construction of interior gradually drawing to an end, the front bulkhead wall has been detailed as well. It still needs some weathering as does all the interior to be called finished.

[stalal]

Using aluminum tape, the result isnt bad.

The blue is a mix of different shades of blue in Tamiya range. The seat frame was painted Gunze H70 and the seat back strips wound on the top bar of the seat back is painted Gunze H317.

The framing on the wall is all Eduard interior set.

The claxion is a disused horn from an old Tamiya German Kubelwagen.

Now it seems the helicopter is taking shape

Small details created on the rear bulkhead and here 4+ book has been a great help and motivation.

To me at least, the cargo/passenger section is coming to a close.

Perhaps the roof needs a little bit more detailing.

With the roof going to be attached in near future, it seems the passenger compartment will be complete in the next few sessions.

[ChernayaAkula]

Nice going! Gotta love the Wessex. Ugly as heck, but loads of character. :lol:

[stalal]

After a long time!! 

 

As I had been working on different projects. In between I moved homes, Photobucket changed its policies and this project, though not abandoned got lost in events of life! 

 

In my new place, although bigger, I dont have dedicated space for my hobby cave. Hence I had been working in a makeshift workshop. 

 

On to the project. 

 

I m slowly moving toward completing the cockpit of the aircraft. The fuselage halves were glued as loading/passenger compartment was finished in previous posts. 

 

 

 

The front of the fuselage is now in place. 

 

 

The bottom of the fuselage is also in place now 

 

 

The vent provided in Eduard set, although intricately detailed has some size issues as do almost all Eduard parts. So I will remove it and cut it to size so that it fits properly 

 

 

Italeri kit windows dont sit flush in the window cut outs. The kit also does not represent the rubber sealing around the windows. In order to  create the rubber sealing I m looking to wound the thinnest Evergreen plastic rod around the windows. Lets see how it goes.