**** DONE: 1/72 Westland SeaKing - Home Country Modern Aircraft/Spitfire Marks GB

[parsifal]

1/72 Sea King Mk 50 – Home Country Modern Aircraft/Spitfire Marks GB
Username: Parsifal
First name: Michael
Category: Beginner
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Airfix kit
Model Type: Sikorsky Sea King HAS 2 converted to a Westland Sea King Mk 50 with the Royal Australian navy (RAN). This will basically be an out of the box build given my previous horror stories building rotary wing a/c. My apologies to vic in particular. They say emulation is the highest form of flattery vic, but this was sheer coincidence, and i havent anything else i can enter at the moment.....I do sincerely apologise for the overlap....but hey it might be interesting to see how thge two builds work out....
Extras: Aussie Decals Decal set. Am trying to find a PE cockpit after market kit, but nothing yet.

My entry for GB14 is the Sea King Mk 50, S/NThis helo has a special place for me, as it was introduced around the time I joined the RAN as a junior recruit. When it was withdrawn from service in 2011 (after more than 35 years service) I admit to a certain lump in certain part of my throat….i felt as if a dear friend had just passed away. I had trained with it, travelled in it, ordered it to do stuff, worried about it, cursed it, and ultimately grew to have a very soft spot for it in my heart…

My entry will be from the heart, but I am somewhat daunted by the plethora of talented people that are also lining up to build this baby. Mine is at a smaller scale, in keeping with my larger project of building all the RAN types at 1/72 scale, but the kit is not too bad actually. No obvious signs of poor quality, and a reasonably challenging build for a novice .

I apologise for building yet another Sea king, but for me I don't have another choice at the moment


The Mk50 was the first fully uprated version of the Sea King HAS.1 to fly (30 Jun 1974), incorporating many features of the RN HAS.2. 10 ordered by Australian Navy, with deliveries from Autumn 1974. RAN Sea King serials are N16- plus the Westland airframe build number (as opposed to the c/n).

Sea King Mk.50 replaced the Westland Wessex HAS.31 as the RAN's ASW Helicopter. During the first five years of operation, a number of aircraft were lost due primarily to a loss of Main Gear box oil. Two more Sea Kings (the MK.50A) were acquired from Westlands in 1980 and had increased internal cabin space. Following the 1982 retirement of the carrier HMAS Melbourne, by Jan 2004 Australian Sea Kings could still operate from the replenishment vessel HMAS Success (OR 304), the landing ship heavy HMAS Tobruk (L 50) and the amphibious transport ships HMAS Kanimbla (L 51) and HMAS Manoora (L 52).

3 further examples ordered at Mk50A standard as attrition replacements in early 1980s.

RAN Sea King Mk50 fitouts typically included Racal ARI 5955/2 lightweight radar, Racal Navigation System RNS252, Racal Doppler 91, ADF Bendix/King KDF 806A and Tacan AN/ARN 118. All serving Mk50 airframes were further upgraded to Mk50A standard through a mid-life extension (LOTE) project, signed on 1 Jul 1994. The Sea King fleet was used in the anti-submarine warfare and submarine training role. In 1995, the AQS-13B sonar was removed and from that point, the Sea Kings main role was changed to maritime utility support.

RAN Sea King "07" S/N N-16-118 Chassis number WA793 has the following individual history: "First Flight 03/01/75. Previously G-17-7. Delivered 18/02/75. Delivered 02/03/75. On board HMAS Melbourne, 'Spithead Deployment' 28/04/77 to 04/10/77 with HS817. RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset UK. 25-28 June '77 to participate in mass flypast for Queens Silver Jubilee celebrations, due to bad weather 07 did not take part. Exercise 'Highwood' 5-20 July '77, North Sea VERTREP from RFA Stromness to HMAS Melbourne. First Sea King to undergo LOTE. Large crack found in fuslage 97? major repairs undertaken. Then the Gulf aboard HMAS Success for 2.5 years. In Timor onboard HMAS Tobruk. Participated in the largest amphibious assault since WW2, where 100+ troops and equipment were inserted into the southern coastal town of Suai. Noted with toned down markings 24/02/02. In the Gulf aboard HMAS Kanimbla during 03-04/2003 on operation Bastile/Falconer. On 13 April 2003 with L/CDR Moggach(P)RAN and crew the aircraft suffered an input coupling bearing failure in the main transmission whilst conducting a low level recce sortie over Iraq's Al Faw peninsular.The crew managed to nurse the aircraft 18nm to a Royal Navy base at Az Zubayr where an emergency landing was made.The aircraft had 2 engines and a main rotor gearbox changed in Iraq as a result.Between the 25/2/03 and the 25/3/03 during Operations in the North Arabian Gulf, Shark 07 has flown 112.5 hours. The aircraft was also fitted with a 7.62 mm cabin mounted machine gun with 1000 rounds of link ammunition and armoured seats for the crew.
Served with with 817 Squadron as Shark 07.
Took part in final Sea King flight formation prior to retirement 15/12/2011.
To be preserved FAA Museum Nowra"

The replacement for the Sea King was meant to be the Kaman Seasprite. This light ASW Helo has not proven equal to the task, and Australia at this moment is in the unfortunate position of having no dedicated airborne ASW assets. The navy is using Sea Hawk utility helos as a stopgap with results as good as can be expected, but nowhere near as good or effective as the best days of the Sea King. The RAN was once considered one of the foremost ASW expert forces s in Air /surface ASW co-operation. We seem to have given that advantage away at this moment

The last 5 operational Sea Kings withdrawn from service in December 2011
I intend to paint my sea king in the colours applied as they existed 1976-2002

 

[parsifal]

Some starting photos

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Nice one Michael, and a kit from when Airfix were in their better period.

 

[meatloaf109]

Looks like you have done your research, should be interesting!

 

[Wildcat]

Awesome choice Mike! I was aboard Kanimbla in 2003 so have many photo's of "Shark 07" if your interested. I even managed a flight in her, after the new engine had been fitted. Paul Kimlin, the co-pilot(?) was unfortunately later killed in the Nias Sea King crash.

 

[parsifal]

hi Wildcat

would love to see the photos, particularly the interiors. Thats a sad story about the co-pilot

 

[N4521U]

My first flight in a 3A, HS-4 San Diego, 1960 something, 10 miles out at sea.

"Pilot, sonar", "Go ahead sonar", "I have an oil streak comin down my window", "heavy flow?", "quarter inch", "let me know if it gets heavier" as we turn back toward land, note, we are at about 6,000 feet.

5 min later, "pilot, sonar", "go ahead sonar", "flow is about 1/2" wide now", "roger that, keep me posted".

2 min later "Pilot, sonar" "go ahead" "flow is about 3" wide now, and about double the rate" "roger that sonar" I could here the alarm, chip detector, transmission. We had dropped down to about 20', "Sonar, pilot", "go ahead pilot", "If fluid level gets critical I will flair and the two of you take the raft with you when you jump out" "roger that", we now get all our gear together for abandoning the aircraft. The first crewman didn't like this at all.......

We made it to the field, landed on the very end of the runway, shut down the engine just as the transmission ground to a complete stop..... Welcome to the SH-3A.......

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Nice one Mike and it looks like we're going down the same path. You can get some great pictures from this site:

ADF Aircraft Serial Numbers -RAN N16 Westland Sea King Mk.50A

 

[Wayne Little]

Good to see you in again Michael!

 

[N4521U]

Let's see some work matey. I didn't know I would like seeing helicopters being built, but I is chompin at the bit.

Go man go!

 

[parsifal]

I was planning to go next week. I still have the Firefly on the bench, waiting for those blasted rockets

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Go when you're ready mate, the chomper's can chomp!!

 

[Wildcat]

Mike, some pictures as promised. Sorry but I don't have any interior shots, all are dark to almost black - note how my scanner took the door gun position as black and white. Anyway hope the pics are of some use, I have more but most are of the same or similar angles.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Not sure what your kit has on the rotor blades Michael, but the Aussie version was modified to carbon blades and consequently they are smooth top and bottom and not ribbed like I have in my kit.

 

[parsifal]

Fantastic information thankyou both so much. I note that there are some pretty good interior images on the ADf serials site. my memory (dating back to the early 80s was an overall grey finish on the interior with a lot of black around the cockpit, green fabric and unpolished aluminium frames. Som e of the consoles were finished in either off white or light sea grey.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

So glad you have mentioned those colours Mike, as that is the way I have gone.

 

[Crimea_River]

Good pics Andy.

 

[parsifal]

well I have now cleared the decks by completing the firefly and have begun my research and interiors. I have a similar problem to Vic. On the starboard side of the HAS 50 has a window in the the sliding hatch, and one just over the starboard float, my Airfix kit does not show it that way. I have a removable hatch for the main entry in my kit, but also a window aft of the main hatch which just isnt there in the real service aircraft. On the port side, there should be just one window sort of abreast the main hatch. i have three openings, all of which appear in the wrong spot on the fuselage.

I am slightly better off than Vic in that the port side entry is at least shown, and I have a main hatch, that I can either open or shut.

The interior of the airfix kit is very basic, and the seats are all wrong. I am inclined to paint and fit the aircrew figures, mostly to hide the awful seats from view. Unless I can find a full detail of the seats and work out a way of fabricating them. I'm figuring that having one model with aircrew inside might be cool (sort of) if I paint them well enough.

On the other hand the decals for the dash work and interiors are pretty good and accurate. I might complete the model closed up, unless I can do a reasonable job on the internals. I dont think I can, nor do i think it justified at 1/72 scale. I'll see how the fuselage mods turn out first.

Will post shots of the fuselage and the cockpit tonite

 

[N4521U]

Glad to hear you can start on this one Michael.

Vic, ribbed rotor blades???? Don't recall them being fabric covered! LOL