Airfix Sea King 1/48 (A11006)

[richard shea]

What a great kit. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of building this - unputdownable. The detail Airfix crammed in is just brilliant.

it is obvious that there will be a HAR3/3A and HC4 Junglie in later boxings.

I added some extra detail;

Seatbelts and inertia reel drums.

Rotor brake handle at the pilots overhead panel.

Electrical and hydraulic connectors blanks and winch attachment mounts above the cargo door.

Hot rod/ice accretion indicator under the second pilots footwell window (a cut down bristle).

Tail fold unlock warning flag made from a piece of paper painted red.

Forward door hold open stay and step restraint braces. (Not fitted at time of photos)

HF aerial cable from fine thread.

Some other observations on this kit.

What’s good.

Instrument panel and consoles are excellently detailed.

External surface detail and panel lines.

Mesh grills over gearboxes.

Rotor head (within the limits of injection moulding technology).

Filler points and sight glasses for the Intermediate and Tail rotor gearboxes.

Lower hull detail and aerials.

Engine bays have the potential for super detailing or aftermarket resin parts.

Small stuff, e.g., wing mirrors, tail pylon break ratchet, disconnect coupling on the tail rotor drive shaft fold point.

Troop seat canvas texture.

ASW dipping equipment.

Forward doorsteps and tread recesses.

Flotation bags details and creases.

Optional tail and main rotor blades including folded option.

The plastic.

EAPS/SNIPS engine intake filter box assembly surface detail.

MSS/FLIR turret and downlink antenna.

Cockpit glazing – wipers and screen wash nozzles.

What could be better?

Forward door, upper and lower hold open stays and cable restraint.

Winch connectors for hydraulic and electrical plugs.

Winch frame spot lamp.

The ASW radome could do with a murphy proof tab to ensure correct orientation when attaching to mount frame.

No wet fit floor/sea tray option – this is a major feature of any SAR Sea King.

Lack of seatbelts.

Weighted tyres.

Lack of MS 10 crew life raft.

The cargo door crewman’s grab rail (D28) is in the kit but no reference in the instructions.

EAPS/SNIPS engine intake compressor wash connectors not featured. These are located just above the forward entry door.

No sea anchor lanyard.

Rotor brake handle at pilot’s overhead panel.

No Semi-Automatic Cargo Release Unit (SACRU) option or release cable.

The retail price is also very competitive in my opinion.

[Dominic Thomas]

Looks like you have made a great model there. Thanks very much for sharing the photos of it.

[DoubleD]

Excellentclap