We're off. RAF Sea King HAR

[Waspie]

I saw the lion but no idea which squadron it was related too! Squadron crests and squadron related symbols can be confusing. 771 NAS displays the Ace of Clubs but the formal crest is;



On 819 we only displayed the formal crest. (Achilles heel with an arrow through it!!) Represents the boot of Italy with e arrow showing the attack heading on the WW2 Taranto raid when the squadron flew Swordfish!

[Waspie]

Cor blimey!! Bit challenged this morning!! Trying to get some tiny seat legs fit into place. You get five in place and one will just not go! Three arms would have been useful! Ended up using a 0.something drill bit to semi ream out the locating holes. Then spent a while nurturing a tiny bent leg to be in line with the rest!!!
Then a deep breath and start again on another set!!! Wish they were as robust as the real seat legs. Locate over the deck stud, turn and lock the leg into place!!! Still, it's coming along! Have 95% of the cabin equipment fitted. Depending on the weather, (forecast isn't particularly good), I may try and spray a primer on the cabin tomorrow, then add a bit of detail to the cockpit area.
Question for rickoshea52 on the Mk3 the access to the cockpit was there a bulkhead at the rear of the left hand seat pilot?. On the Mk2, 5 and 6 as you walked up the steps you had the broom cupboard in front of you and the rear of the left hand pilots seat. When conducting a navex I regularly stood between the pilots - no bulkhead!

[rickoshea52]

No bulkhead.

Try this resource - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/...yal-air-force/

Beware though, this walk round site has a mix of HAR3 and HAR3A. As a general rule, 202 operated 3’s and 22 3A’s. The major external difference is the VHF aerial (washing line) layout and some spade aerials.

[Richard48]

Interesting read.Quite partial to Seakings,Ive got a couple of Revell kits in 72 that constantly leer at me from the shelf of long ago purchases.
Watching with interest if you dont mind me pulling up a seat.
Rich.

[Waspie]

No bulkhead.

Try this resource - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/...yal-air-force/

Beware though, this walk round site has a mix of HAR3 and HAR3A. As a general rule, 202 operated 3’s and 22 3A’s. The major external difference is the VHF aerial (washing line) layout and some spade aerials.

Perfect, just what I needed. Right down to the sheeps wool seat covers over the seat pan liferaft.

[Waspie]

Interesting read.Quite partial to Seakings,Ive got a couple of Revell kits in 72 that constantly leer at me from the shelf of long ago purchases.
Watching with interest if you dont mind me pulling up a seat.
Rich.

It’s my first kit after 45+ years so more an exercise in assembly and experimenting with an airbrush!! Another first!!

[Richard48]

It’s my first kit after 45+ years so more an exercise in assembly and experimenting with an airbrush!! Another first!!

I own an airbrush but never used it.Living in a flats put pay to the spray.Might get to use i hope someday.Good luck with your painting.
Rich

[Waspie]

I own an airbrush but never used it.Living in a flats put pay to the spray.Might get to use i hope someday.Good luck with your painting.
Rich

Maybe you could run a vent tube out of a window! I'm limited indoors due to wifey being asthmatic. So I am left to carry out any spraying in the garage/workshop on less windy days!!

[colin m]

First kit in 45 years, well done. Like others have said, I've built this kit and it is nice. I'm looking forward to seeing it built.

[Waspie]

Well, I primed it a couple of days ago and returned today to put a first coat of base colour to the deck and bulkheads. Also experimented with a couple of bits. Mixed some colours to try and replicate the orange for the rear observation seats and also, not shown, the innards on the LWS, Light Weight Stretcher. I did a mix of bright yellow with a sand colour to try and copy the sheeps wool covers on the pilots and navigators seats. More layers to go to build up the depth of colour.

[Waspie]

Finally managed to get a couple of hours to myself. (New puppy has put so much on the back burner).
Disappeared into my man cave and had a play with the airbrush and experiment with a bit of 'weathering'. Well!! Making the Sea King deck dirty!! I think it's too much, need to get more paint off the brush! But it's a learning process so I'll know for next time. Just as well all the doors will be closed and it won't be visible.
I primed the inside of the two cabin sections. Hit a snag when I was cleaning the airbrush, symptomatic of having a cheapo I reckon!! The finger button jumped out onto the floor!!
Anyway, a lesson in stripping and reassembling the airbrush entailed together with a damn good clean as it was in it's component parts.
Not very happy with what's transpiring with the model but it's still looking like a Sea King at the moment.
Question. When masking off areas to be sprayed, what tape do you use? I have loads of frog tape and that general white masking tape. Or should I procure something different?
Progress so far.

[Jim R]

Looking fine.
Don't use ordinary, decorator's masking tape. It will either rip off the paint and/ or leave a residue. Loads of special stuff made for modellers. Tamiya is good, comes on different widths. Remember to carefully burnish the edges of the tape to ensure a nice clean edge.

[Waspie]

Looking fine.
Don't use ordinary, decorator's masking tape. It will either rip off the paint and/ or leave a residue. Loads of special stuff made for modellers. Tamiya is good, comes on different widths. Remember to carefully burnish the edges of the tape to ensure a nice clean edge.

Thanks for that Jim, really glad I asked I could have really messed up worse than I'm already doing!!

[Guest]

Hit a snag when I was cleaning the airbrush, symptomatic of having a cheapo I reckon!! The finger button jumped out onto the floor!!

That’s not unique to cheap airbrushes, as the trigger is usually only really held in place by the needle, though it may have some additional protrusions to keep it inside the airbrush a bit. On a Badger, for example, pulling the needle out and holding the airbrush upside-down is enough to lose the trigger — and then you’ll have great fun getting it back in because a sprung bit of steel sits against the back of it, that you somehow need to push back before you can re-insert it. Iwatas are similar but at least have a kind of pivots on the trigger so it needs to be rotated 90° before it can come out of its slot. Doesn’t stop it coming up too far, of course, but that’s not as bad as it dropping out unexpectedly.

As for masking tape: buy the kind aimed at modellers, or at least the yellow or orange or otherwise colourful kind sold at DIY stores. The old-fashioned white type, like Jim said, is far too adhesive.

[scottie3158]

Doug,
Welcome I will follow along.