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Airfix Westland Sea King HR.3 1/72


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Merry Christmas guys!!  Just a thought while  I was on the CPU before dinner.  I just got hold of the "new" Airfix Westland Sea KIng HAR.3 and it appears to be a fine kit. I will build it as such, although I do also like the Revell offering also in 1/72.  My question is simple. I always wanted to do a nice US Navy SH-3 like the famed " Helicopter 66". Is either the Revell or new Airfix offering buildable  as an early US Navy version?  I know I'd have leave off and shave off all of those add-on pieces for starters such as any ECM./radars etc. I can also also come up with the appropriate tail rotor from an old AIrfix kit if I have too.  . I am mostly concerned about any major surgery on the fuselage.  Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated.

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22 hours ago, Viasistina said:

Merry Christmas guys!!  Just a thought while  I was on the CPU before dinner.  I just got hold of the "new" Airfix Westland Sea KIng HAR.3 and it appears to be a fine kit. I will build it as such, although I do also like the Revell offering also in 1/72.  My question is simple. I always wanted to do a nice US Navy SH-3 like the famed " Helicopter 66". Is either the Revell or new Airfix offering buildable  as an early US Navy version?  I know I'd have leave off and shave off all of those add-on pieces for starters such as any ECM./radars etc. I can also also come up with the appropriate tail rotor from an old AIrfix kit if I have too.  . I am mostly concerned about any major surgery on the fuselage.  Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated.

 

The amount of work you'd need to do on either the Airfix or Revell to convert to a US Navy SH-3 is a little more than shaving off add-ons...

....the main thing would be removing the generator bulge on the starboard doghouse; the centre refuelling point on the port side would need adding, and to starboard the refuelling point aft of the cabin door would need relocating to under it; both kits include a five-blade tail rotor, but the composite main rotor blades as supplied would require their roots modifying to the metal style...

....though old, the Fujimi SH-3H is still my preference for Sikorsky and licence-built versions - it was also available under the Testors label, and has recently been boxed by Italeri; the latter comes with decals for '66'..

 

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2 hours ago, Glynn Jacobs said:

I concur with using the Fujimi kit and probably try to add the Airfix internal details, Master Hajo's skills not withstanding.  I'll be using mine to make a Spanish Armada SH-3H AEW bird with the necessary Revell parts.

 

WARDOG

With the possible exception of the cockpit, neither the Airfix or Revell interiors would be suitable for a USN SH-3 - again, the Fujimi/Testors/Italeri kit fits the bill...

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Here is what you need to do the kit to build Old 66. 

 

http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2016/05/creating-sikorsky-sh-3d-from-new-airfix.html?m=1


However, depending on what you want, skill set and who would be viewing the kit, outside a select few (some on this forum) and yourself no one will know if the details are correct or not. Build using this kit with what you are comfortable changing and have fun.

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Tank...excellent article. Just what I was looking for.  I've realized that for the price of any resin or brass update, I can buy an old Airfix kit as a donor for a few needed parts such as the beacons. Did the SH-3 have one or two windows on the port side?  I think I see two windows on some photos, the most forward one partially hidden by the brace for the sponson.  Thanks for your assistance.

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Jodie’s reply.

 

The more complete answer to the question is in Tommy's post here:

http://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2013/02/us-navy-asw-sh-3-sea-king-variations.html

 

SH-3A and SH-3D aircraft as built only had one cabin window on the port side. The second cabin window is more associated with the SH-3H modification (reworked SH-3A/D/G airframes). Best advice (as always) is to choose a specific aircraft at a specific moment and build from references. Since - as Tommy's post linked about illustrates - individual aircraft varied not just in cabin window configuration but also in sponson configuration, presence/lack of an ice shield (and even within that, which type of ice shield), short or extended stabilizer, etc., it's best to build from what you have references on.

 

For whatever it's worth, so far as I know "Old 66" never got the second window on the port side. But I could be wrong. The last photo I've seen of that airframe is from 1973, and it was still essentially in 1969 configuration.

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