HELLER (AIRFIX) 1:72 WESTLAND LYNX HAS

 

Reviewer: Pete Noyle  (peternoyle@kw.igs.net)
Kit Review submitted:  October 2003

Kit Details:

TBA

The Aircraft:

Medium shipboard helicopter.

Designed by Westland Helicopters Ltd of the UK, the Lynx is now part of a joint production line (70/30), of Westland and Aerospatiale (now Eurocopter) of France. All versions of the Lynx have digital flight controls plus all weather avionics that makes the type a very versatile machine. The first prototype flew in 1971. The Army version, the Lynx AH Mk 1 was/is used by the British Army and the police wing of Qatar. The Lynx HAS Mk 2, the subject of this kit, is the naval version and serves with the navy’s of Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, France (Mk 2 and Mk 4), Germany, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, South Korea and the UK.

The Kit:

Heller kit number 80367 is contained in a top opening box and consists of four sprues (plus the two fuselage halves), in white plastic and one spru of clear parts, all loose in the box. 131 parts all told, according to the instruction sheet (although the box says 106 pieces), very crisp with very little flash but with fine raised panel lines. The clear parts look excellent. One of two models can be chosen, one is the French HAS Mk 2 for 34F Flottilles of the Aeronavale and the other is SH-14C for the Dutch Navy.

There is no engine intake debris shield supplied.

Painting is by numbers and a chart of Heller paint numbers to Humbrol numbers is included. The box gives a skill rating of ‘moderate’ for the construction of this model.

Instructions:

One large sheet printed on both sides gives the construction notes in (more or less, see my gaff below) 20 easy to follow drawings and icons. A second sheet gives the explanation of the icons, a Humbrol/Heller paint list and general modelling tips in eight languages. The reverse side of this sheet shows the paint guide and decal locations. Assemby starts with the interior that is then added to the right fuselage half. At this point a decision is needed to go for France or Holland. The Dutch version needs two holes not to be opened up. The engine rear cowls (parts 51 and 52) need the centre moulding cut away with a knife – parental supervision for young children please! The front windscreen and side panels are separate clear mouldings. The sliding doors are operational. 

Construction:

We all make mistakes and/or have others mistakes thrust upon us. Mine are highlighted by the words AW GAWD.

I followed the instruction sheet generally, moving from one sub-assembly to another while waiting for paint or glue to dry.

Step 1. My first job was to cut the arms off of one of the pilot figures and make new arms from scratch. One arm I made to look as though it was operating the collective pitch lever and the other was made to grasp the control column. This guy was now the pilot and he sits in the left seat with his feet on the rudder bar. The second crew-member was not touched except to bend the legs so that they rested on the floor, nowhere near the rudder pedals! You can't have two drivers in a helicopter! The seats are slightly offset to the right leaving a small gap on the left where a scratch made collective pitch lever can be installed. Nice touch from Heller – but why did they not supply such a lever?

Construction proceeded smoothly and I really had few problems – the worst one was of my own making. 

AW GAWD, I misunderstood the instruction sheet. At Step 5, five holes have to be opened up BUT – if you are modelling the Dutch version, two of them do not need to be opened. In my befuddled way I read it as though any hole with an ‘X’ was the Dutch version so I did not open up any hole. To fit the main undercarriage ‘wings’ I had to prod the fuselage with a pin until I broke through the area where the locating slot was. It was easy to carve out the slotted hole - but what a waste of time! I will now stand in the corner facing the wall.

AW GAWD, The fuselage did not fit together well at the tail rotor location. I carved off the hazard light and filled and sanded the gap. I then made a replacement hazard light from scratch and I fitted it after final painting. The underside of the cabin was a little out of alignment and I had difficulty achieving a flat, seam free, surface. I overcame this by applying several thick paint coats, rubbing down with 400 grit wet & dry until the seam went away.

Step 8 shows a small round disk (part 74) needs to be added to the underside of the nose section. I could not find this little part on any sprue. 

Steps 9 and 10. The actual position of the tail fold hinge and mechanism is not well defined in either the instructions or the box art (because I had not cut out the holes). The best photograph that I could find of a French Navy Lynx showed that the split line is just forward of the start of the upsweep of the tail and corresponds to a vertical line depicted in the kit’s paint/decal drawings. I used this datum to position the hinges and actuator (parts 101, 102 and 103).

Steps 16/17. I thought that the sliding doors would be a problem but they were not. I first attached the upper door rail to the fuselage and let it dry for several hours. I did have some difficulty attaching the upper rail, I used a minimum amount of glue because I did not want to fill up the slot where the door would run but this made the actual adhesion to the fuselage very week. (I had to do it several times before I was satisfied that it would not come off and of course the more times that you do this kind of thing then the more chance there is of making the very error that you were trying to avoid! I did get some glue ‘lumps’ that had to be trimmed away after the glue had hardened). I then attached the lower rail with the door in place, adjusting the rail as the glue dried to ensure that the door moved easily. All this was a bit moot, when the painting was done the door was stuck tight! Lesson learned here is – paint the door separately and wrestle it into position when all the paint has hardened.

The main undercarriage is dealt with at Steps 11/12. The moulding is for the ‘weight on wheels’ (WOW) state, i.e. the aircraft on the ground. The main support shaft protrudes through the sponson with WOW and can move up and down. If you want a model ‘in flight’ then the main wheel undercarriage needs considerable modification. The box art illustrates the aircraft coming in to land with the U/C hanging down so you can see what has to be modified to achieve this configuration. The main undercarriage legs are the same, that is – not handed left and right, quite correct for the Lynx. 

Steps 16/17 shows the engine exhausts ducts being fitted at that point. I did not fit them but added them after the final painting. The outside of the exhaust duct was painted with a mix of Aluminum and matt Black and the inside painted matt Black. (This painting cannot be done when the exhaust pipes are in place).

Painting:

For masking I used low tack Frisket Film from Badger Air-brush Co. The difficulty with this stuff is that it is transparent and once in place it is not easy to see. I dab a bit of paint on it before I cut out the mask shape but be careful the paint may flake off and end up on the area that you want to paint!

I painted each piece as construction went along. For the pilot figures I painted their overalls ModelMaster Euro Dark Green and then applied Aircraft Interior Black before the green had dried. It looks close to a French ‘overall’ style flight suite and the combination of colours accentuated the folds in the material.

The French Navy external colour scheme consists of two basic colours, Anthracite Blue gloss (Heller # 9029, Humbrol # 134) and Anthracite Blue matt (Heller # 7029, Humbrol # 77). I had neither of these colours but I did have ModelMaster ‘Blue Angel’ blue acryl and when I dabbed a bit on the box it look just like the artwork. I brushed the complete model with this colour and then applied ModelMaster flat clear over the areas meant to be matt coated. It seemed to work quite well but it does not look like my reference photo that shows the matt upper area as a light gray. Of course aircraft colours are changed as often as we change our coats and as I could not date my photograph I went with the box art. I painted the engine air intake duct ‘silver’, terminating the blue at the intake lip. I did not know how far the blue paint extends into the intakes, all the photographs show debris screens in place. The nose radar matt black was applied on top of the blue and was also brushed on.

AW GAWD. Once the painting was done and a few days had passed I removed the masking. Wotamess! I had paint bleeding under nearly all of the window masks and the masking used to define the matt blue lifted off great lumps of the gloss. On top of this the insides of the windows were covered in tiny white flecks that look suspiciously like dust from my filing. How did that get in there?! I prised off the two windows above the crew members and laboriously washed the insides of the clear parts with Windex, using Microbrush sponges. Slowly I brought back the shine to the windows and then I used another Microbrush sponge to paint Future on to the clear parts to reinforce the shine. The top windows were cleaned up, soaked in Future then put into place using clear parts cement. I was amazed that I was able to bring the model back from a painter’s nightmare into something resembling a reasonable model.

After the cleanup it almost looks like new!

Other paints used –

Testors enamel – 1146 Silver; 1163 matt Battle Gray

ModelMaster acryl – 4728 Olive Drab; 4729 Euro Dark Green; 4767 Aircraft Interior Black; 4700 Semi Gloss Black; 4701 Semi Gloss White; 4677 Aluminum; 4729 Euro Dark Green; 4728 Olive Drab.

Craft colours – Native Flesh; Bright Red; Antique White.

Decals:

Decals for both versions are supplied together with items common to both. Colour register seems to be good with the exception of non-slip pads for the roof, these have a distinct white edge to oneside.

The decals are quite thin and applied very easily, snugging down over the raised panel lines without the need for softening. I think that the tail number ‘622’ and the word ‘MARINE’ are a little too large for the space on the boom.

Options:

There really are no options available in this kit, the only option might be glueing the sliding doors open or glueing them closed (or letting the paint do it for you!).

Versions:

The kit makes up into one of two versions. The first is the one that I followed which was the French Navy Lynx HAS 2 of 34F Flotilla that has two torpedo’s, or the Dutch Navy Lynx SH-14C of 860 Sqn. The main differences are in the decals to be applied and the additional antennae for the Dutch machine, which does not carry the torpedo.


© Pete Noyle 2003

Recommendations:

I think that this one is a winner, it makes up to be a great little model and with some aftermarket goodies in etched brass (such as an engine debris shield), and some alternative decals, then you can have a fleet of Lynx’s (or should that be Lynxi?). Some of the parts are very small so good eyesight is a must!

Cost in Canadian dollars - $14.99 + local taxes in 2002.

Highly recommended to all, but note the need to use a craft knife. The ‘intermediate’ skill rating is a fair assessment.


© Pete Noyle 2003

 

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