Pretty Mediocre Modeller

I was on holiday in South Lincolnshire and found a great model shop in Spalding called Mason's Models.

Some recent Birthday Presents, really enjoying the Spitfire at the moment!

Yes, I would definitely buy that, in fact any 1/72 (not 1/76) airfield support vehicles (or buildings) from any country from eras WWII to present day.

Humbrol 78 Cockpit Green

That sketch has made me very glad that I'm not into building model sailing ships! Must admit they do look good when done properly like oldmodeller's above!

Thanks for the comments everybody. The original red and blue scheme on the Whirlwind was for the HMS Endurance ships flight. The bright colours where to show up against the snow and ice incase of emergency.

Never thought this old kit would stir up so much interest! Anyway, finally finished. Not the most accurate kit I've ever built, but a fun build nevertheless. at least it looks a bit like a Whirlwind. Now, Airfix, how about a newtool long nosed 1/72 version?

Hi Dale, Thanks for the comments. No primer was used with the white, it as Vallejo Model Air Insignia White applied with a flat brush. It only took 3 or 4 coats over a bare plastic surface that had been washed in very dilute washing up liquid first then rinsed.

I would also like to see a Fairey Battle, but in 1/72 as well. However, I don't agree with the comment about Spitfire and Mustangs, if a P-51H or P-51A were tooled in 1/48, loads would be sold, likewise if a 1/48 Spitfire .... No you got me there, I can't think of anymore major variants of the Spitfire that have not been done!

Hi Rod, Thanks for the positive comments. I would say that if you are building this kit, do it for fun, not to get a perfect replica, and it has been a relatively quick and fun build. The fit was a bit wonky around the front end, and needed some heavy duty sanding, and the cockpit side windows were a pig to fit, I would suggest separating the 3 panels from each other and putting in individually. The major inaccuracies are the rotor head and the front wheels. The head would take a lot of work to correct, so I left it as it was, but improving the front wheels was quick and easy, and I think improve the look no end. First fill in the mounting holes in the side, cut of the side mounting lug on the wheel unit, drill new holes underneath and fit the legs in the proper place. The dished hubs were detailed with some scrap plastic rod and tube, not accurate, but looks far better, and some scissor links added from slivers of card, all that took about 20 minutes. As for the engine, all I know is that the bottom of the compartment was open, a radial was fitted, in reverse (facing backwards) so the ancillaries could be easily reached, and the bottom pistons poked out the bottom a bit. Was easiest to just paint it black, as the Stones say.

Can you give us some info on what, where, how etc please?

No, not to much weathering, being an admiral's Barge and all that, I should think it was kept pretty spotless! I only need to finish the decalling, add the last few bits, tail bumper and aerial, give it a coat of varnish, probably gloss, with a bit of satin added to knock the shine off a little, then install the windshield and fix the main and tail rotor. The only problem is finding the time to do it!

Thanks Ratch, Though not quite finished yet.

Hi Dominic, The white was Vallejo Model Air insignia white, the green Revell aqua emerald green.

Basic decalling is completed, though still have about 20 stencils to apply. Generally they went over the raised rivets pretty well, but it was a bit of a nightmare to make the multipart white cheatlines look straight, and line them up on each side. Also the green 'ROYAL NAVY' titles are printed straight, but they need to go ver the compound curvature of where the cabin area blends into the tailboom, and this made the decal bend downwards. I overcame this by cutting the title into two words and applying each separately, making it look more level. The main and tail rotors are just push fitted at the moment. I added some yellow lifting strop markings to the main rotor from sliced up painted clear decal film, to make it look more interesting. Don't know if it is historically correct or not. I also went away from the kit instructions for painting the tail rotor warning stripes.

Painting is completed. It was brush painted, the white went on the upper surfaces first, then masking and the bright green down below. Did have a bit of trouble getting the green to cover, took up to 5 or 6 coats in places. After that some detail paining around the vents etc. The underside of the nose is painted black as on the real aircraft this area was open, and you could see the engine. Decals next.

Thanks for the comments guys. Yes, it is going to be in the kit scheme, I did toy with an RAF SAR yellow one but decided against it. After the first run of Whirlwinds the tailboom was angled down by 3 degrees to give more clearance for the rotors, especially in a heavy landing where they could flex downwards. This gave it a bent look.

All the fuselage seams have now been dealt with. The next step was to add the undercarriage. The two parts of each main leg were cleaned up of mould lines and cemented in place. It took some doing to get the orientation of both to match! With the smaller front wheels, I had to do something with these, as Airfix mounted these in the wrong place due to moulding limitations of the time. They have mounted them on the side of the fuselage, where they are actually mounted on the firewall of the engine bay, protruding out of the bottom of the helicopter (On piston Whirlwinds the bottom of the engine bay was open and the bottom of the engine also stuck out a little, I will paint this area black). The hole in the side was filled, and a new hole drilled underneath in the correct location, then the incorrect mounting lug removed from the leg, and it was cemented in underneath. I hope the pictures explain things better than me!

Now it was time to join the two fuselage halves. Using Tamiya extra thin, I started at the rear and worked forward section by section. The boom area was a very good fit indeed, needing only a swipe with some wet and dry paper to eliminate the join when dry, but when I got to the cabin area the fit was not so good, and some heavy duty sanding had to take place around the nose and on the underside, as well as some filler used on the top join. All came out well in the end though. As can be seen the exhaust was also fitted at this point. It was improved by scraping off the mould seam line, drilling out the end with a pin vice and then the end of my hobby knife, and by filling in the large ejector pin hole on the top. If this post has been repeated, I apologise as I have been having some issues with the site today!

Construction started with the cockpit, which by 1956 standards isn't too bad, with a floor, seats that look half decent, collective sticks, soundproofing around the rotor gearbox, and an instrument panel shroud which is only high enough for the pilots knees. All areas were painted 'Sea Grey', which I think is the closest match that Humbrol has for 'Admiralty Grey'. Pilots were also painted up in what I think is close to the correct colours. The cabin glazing went in okay, but the cockpit side clear panels were a difficult fit. It may have been better to seperate them before fitting. Some lead strip was glued into the nose with wood glue to prevent tail sitting, and the rotor was cleaned up and glued together while the paint was drying. The pin that holds the rotor on had its top disk drilled out.

Now this is an old kit, the information on the box tells me it was designed and tooled in 1956, and it does show on the plastic parts! The reason I got this kit was two fold, firstly I didn't have a whirlwind in my British Cold War aircraft collection, so it fills a gap, and secondly for nostalgia, as I first built this kit in the 80's as a kid, and still have some parts in the spares box. To be pedantic, it is not a Westland Whirlwind, as the box states, as the HAS.22 was actually built by Sikorsky in the USA, and then shipped to Britain for test and evaluation, so in truth it should be a 'Sikorsky Whirlwind HAS.22'. I do like the box illustration, with the 'Admirals Barge' flying away from, probably, HMS Victorious and the guard of honour standing to attention and saluting on the deck. They don't do them like that anymore. Pity Airfix didn't include the silver USAF SAR colour scheme anymore though. The plastic parts have some flash and quite heavy mould seams on them, and some of the parts are chunky and toylike, such as the rotor head and front wheels, which look like lollipops to me. However I want to build mostly out of the box, with only some minor modifications. I will have to do something with those front wheels though, they're not even in the right place! Main parts, not that much to it, but it does have some cockpit detail which is unusual for a 1950's kit. The Lollipops I was talking about! The main wheel legs. Can't work out why the mounting ring on one is so much bigger than the other? Do like the soundproofing for behind the flightdeck. Colour callouts and decals by Cartograf. Much better than I remember.

Hi Mark, Sorry your post has been hijacked! Great work on the scribing of the det cord and painting the pilot by the way. If I may give some constructive criticism, the look would have been improved slightly if you had removed the mould lines from the glove fingers and arms first. Please post updates on your build as you go along. Jason

Hi, welcome to the forum Tom, I know what you mean about these panels on some model kits, they are way over scale. However, they are not a different colour to show the groundcrew where the panels are, it represents radar absorbent tape that is put on the edges of the panels, as these are the most radar reflective parts of the airframe. At first this tape was a slightly different shade of grey, giving some interest to the finish. Now though the tape is produced in the same colour as the camouflage, so the finish is even more boring from a modelling perspective. I believe the new kit is a new tool, but as part of the starter range that was introduced a year or two ago with the Spitfire Vc, Red Arrows Hawk, Sherman Firefly and Tiger I. So a 'proper' kit with fine surface detail, but simplified details and construction. This probably means it can only be built in normal flight mode, without all the open bits and pieces needed when hovering. Don't know how raised the tape representation will be though.

Parts 158/159 are the wingtip navigation light covers for the F2A/F6 version of the kit. If you are building the F1/F1a/F2/F3 version of the kit they won't be needed, you will use parts 156 and 157 instead. I do not believe that there are any glass parts in the nose area.