Westland Wessex HAS Mk.3 Royal Navy

[martin77]

Well hello everyone,

Well ive not been posting much just lately so i thought i'd do a W.I.P for my next model.

The model in question is this...

A great kit it think, but i have decided to scratch build the whole cabin and cockpit areas as well as any other airframe modifications i need to make, so wish me luck with this as theres a hell of a lot of work to do.

I've made a start on the cockpit, and cabin, but like i said there is a long way to go so i will keep updating when i can with my progress.

So on wih the pictures so far....

Start of the cabin....

I think these are the heating ducts....

And then a couple through the cabin door...

So thats it for now, i'll update as soon as i can, let me know what you think guys and any advice or images would be appreciated loads.

See ya soon.

[pacificmustang]

Oh, great stuff martin! Looking forward to sitting back and watching this one unfold

Bruce

[periklis_sale]

great start Martin!

[heloman1]

Lookin' good Martin, I'll be following your build closely.

Colin on the Africa Station

[Martian]

You have done some nice tidy work there but unfortunately it is wrong. The cockpit floor ends about where you have the black squares and the forward bulkhead is located there. I did think hard about this post but felt you would rather know now than later when it is too late to put things right. Its a mistake that I made when I had my first go at the type when the kit was first released in 1988, except that I found out too late to do anything about it. I'm just going to get my Wessex file out and will post pictures of the correct confiuration for you within the hour. Getting the layout of the floors amd bulkheads right is, in this case, crucial to getting the equipment in the right place.

Hopefully Ian at Heritage will make the undercarriage legs from his Wessex kit available as a separate set for those who wish to tackle this kit.

Martin

[Martian]

As promised the interior layout of floors and bulkheads.

And you will probably need these as well.....

[martin77]

Thanks for the info Martin, i didnt realise from the photos ive found as reference. But i can see now that the cabin floor needs extending under niether the flight deck which creates the over hang you can see in the cabin. So i've ripped everything apart nd started to re-configure the whole area.

Also did all RN HAS.Mk.3's have that equipment in the cabin, or did they have other configurations for cargo, personnel etc etc?

I will post some pictures when ive done more, see what you think

And thanks everyone for the kind words so far, watch this space.

[bootneck]

........Hopefully Ian at Heritage will make the undercarriage legs from his Wessex kit available as a separate set for those who wish to tackle this kit.

Martin

Hi Martin,

Ian already produces this conversion set and it has the oleo correction bits etc. It even has the proper cockpit floor, sides and back etc. Check HERE

I have it and, doing a dry test-fit, it seems to go together quite nicely.

Mike

Foreground - Revell 1:48 Wessex HAS.3 with Heritage Aviation Westland Wessex Conversion set.

Background - Heritage Aviation's Wessex corrected tail assembly (separate conv set).

.

[Martian]

Thanks for the info Martin, i didnt realise from the photos ive found as reference. But i can see now that the cabin floor needs extending under niether the flight deck which creates the over hang you can see in the cabin. So i've ripped everything apart nd started to re-configure the whole area.

Also did all RN HAS.Mk.3's have that equipment in the cabin, or did they have other configurations for cargo, personnel etc etc?

I will post some pictures when ive done more, see what you think

And thanks everyone for the kind words so far, watch this space.

The gubbins in the drawings could indeed be ripped out to reconfigure the helicopter in the utility role, The best example of this being during the retaking of South Georgia and the rescue missions from the Fortuna Glacier.

To be clear, the cockpit floor ends immediately aft of the control columns or whatever they are called in helicopters. I always get collective and cyclic mixed up!

Hope that helps

Martin

Edited June 12, 2012 by martin hale

[Paul Bradley]

Collective you collect (lift), cyclic goes round and round in cycles!

[hacker]

As promised the interior layout of floors and bulkheads.

And you will probably need these as well.....

Now do these apply to just the RN version or does it also apply to the American version as well?

[davepb]

Thanks for those pictures, I've been asking for something like that for ages. By the way, does anyone have a copy of the Cutting Edge Wessex set instructions?

Dave

Edited June 13, 2012 by davepb

[Pete in Lincs]

And if anyone is still puzzled .....

The pilots seats are hung off the cockpit rear bulkhead.

The lower portion of the seat tilts up (hinges at the rear)

So that it is possible to squeeze into the cockpit from the cabin.

And vice versa of course, though a bit tricky in flight.

The forward cabin bulkhead goes from the cabin floor,

Up to join the cockpit floor, not far behind the Cyclic sticks, as mentioned above.

On the forward bulkhead there is a central hatch (we refered to it as the coalhole door,

which gives access to the flying control linkages. From memory it is about 2 feet square.

It is not a door, but is held in place by screws.

On the rear cabin bulkhead, On the RAF HC 2 we had a flimsy concertina door for access

to the radio racks & tail cone. On the RH side behind the bulkhead is a metal fuel tank.

On the front of this bulkhead was stowage for flares/flaregun & fire axe.

Left cabin windows on an HC 2 are smaller than those on an HU 5.

Pete (Ex Wessex HC 2 Rigger)

[martin77]

Hi Pete, have you any photos of the interior at all??

[bootneck]

Hi Pete, have you any photos of the interior at all??

Hi Martin,

I've just been over to the museum to get some internal shots of our HAS.3.

I'll post some images shortly

Mike

[martin77]

Hi Martin,

I've just been over to the museum to get some internal shots of our HAS.3.

I'll post some images shortly

Mike

Oh nice one Mike. im sure theres a hundred people want these as well as me. \thanks buddy :-)

[bootneck]

Here with a few to get you interested.

I'll send the rest to Julien so that he can put them in the Walkaround Section

cheers

Mike

Aircraft is XM328 [653] 'The Sow'

Looking at forward cabin bulkhead from main door. Note the bulkhead is further forward than the kit position.

Looking up into cockpit from main cabin - pilot seat removed.

[Martian]

Now do these apply to just the RN version or does it also apply to the American version as well?

I would imagine that the US version would be nearer to the fit of the HAS1 as the HAS3 carried more equipment than the US versions seem to have done. I will look out the fit for the HAS1 and put it up here later.

Martin

[Martian]

Here is the layout for the HAS1 as promised. Incidentally this sonar gear could be fitted to the HU5 according to the manual for that type. Some of the County class guided missile destroyers had HU5s embarked from time to time and presumably this is where this capability came into its own.

Martin

[OzH]

These should help....

Drawings and HU.5

Bournemouth Wessex

HC.2 then HU.5

Should just about cover it.....

Edited June 13, 2012 by OzH

[martin77]

Well all this is great guys thanks, i'm starting to regret this now, theres so much to do

But i have started again and made some small progress. I'm not the worlds best scratch builder, but i want to get better so this s the perfect oppurtunity to have a proper go.

So i'll post an update soon when i get a little more done

Thanks everyone

[Martian]

Well all this is great guys thanks, i'm starting to regret this now, theres so much to do

But i have started again and made some small progress. I'm not the worlds best scratch builder, but i want to get better so this s the perfect oppurtunity to have a proper go.

So i'll post an update soon when i get a little more done

Thanks everyone

Don't get disheartened, Martin you will end up with a great looking model when its done. Try doing what I do and set yourself an achievable goal for each modelling session, even if its only to get a bulkhead or two done. The worst thing you can do is to be thinking about all the problems that this build might or might not throw up. You will just end up running scared of the project. There are loads of people on the forum who will chip in with advice if you do get stuck at any stage. Remember also that the never was any prizes for speed in this hobby and just plod along at your own pace. You are right that this project will improve your scratchbuilding abilities. This will leave you with a great sense of achievement and also a liberating feeling, in that you will feel comfortable in tackling a far greater range of subjects.

Hope that helps and doesn't sound too pompous

Martin

[Ian @ KitsforCash]

Well all this is great guys thanks, i'm starting to regret this now, theres so much to do

But i have started again and made some small progress. I'm not the worlds best scratch builder, but i want to get better so this s the perfect oppurtunity to have a proper go.

So i'll post an update soon when i get a little more done

Thanks everyone

easier to just use our detail set, all the hard work done by ozh from this forum

[bootneck]

easier to just use our detail set, all the hard work done by ozh from this forum

Wholeheartedly agree here

Mike

[martin77]

I agree, using the detail set woud be very easy, and i'm planning on building another Wessex at some time so i might go that way then. I just really fancied a challange and to improve my skills. I've done plenty of scratch building in the past and always with great results, but i've never done any on this scale, i mean i didnt realise how much there was to do to the kit, so i'm going to stick with it and give it a go. Like Mike just said i'll tackle one bit at a time until hopefully im left with sub assemblies, and the help and support so far has been amazing, so hanks everyone for that. I think the most daunting part of this build is the sonar equipment, and if i could build the cabin in another config, then i would. But we'll have to see, so here we go......I'm going in..