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Rotor Craft H-34 fuselage extension
Topic Started: May 22 2015, 06:05 PM (1,216 Views)
Big Kohona
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Flyboy72nd
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I have both versions on their way to me now, was hoping they would be in today!!??!!
Got them because of the discussion on BM in the GB section, in the STGB for the Wessex, there it was stated that the fuse is 6 - 8 inches short! IIRC

Well IDNRC, the actual number is 6mm too short, and it is in the section in the pic, from the fuse transition to the start of the tailcone.
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Building something Canadian, Eh! Graham; to avoid confusion M., from Canada's Capital!!
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Aaron_w
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Toady
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These are kits I pay attention to and thought I'd heard of all the issues (actually a short list), a short fuselage is news to me.
Aaron Woods
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Stevehnz
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Oh dear, looks like I'd better look in on this thread too, 'cause maybe I'll need one of these for my Seabat kit to go with an S-58T conversion & now perhaps a rear fuse fix up. :(
Steve.
Steve Hannah
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Big Kohona
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Flyboy72nd
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As mentioned I have ordered one of each so when they get in I will post pics of the white metal gear with the Wessex set.
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Building something Canadian, Eh! Graham; to avoid confusion M., from Canada's Capital!!
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Aaron_w
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Toady
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Comparing photos of 1-1 and 1/72 models, I am not convinced this is necessary. There is possibly a panel line issue, the kit has a prominent panel line at the end of the transmission cowling, the 1-1 has a less prominent panel line several inches before the end of that cowling.

The issue I see with the resin piece is they include the fuel cap. If you look at the actual aircraft the fuel caps are on a flat-ish piece of fuselage, not the section that angles back to the tail as the resin piece does. So it would appear to me this resin piece is incorrect.

Rotor Craft have a pretty good reputation, so I'm curious if this is just intended for a specific variant, not the entire line of S-58s.
Aaron Woods
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Big Kohona
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Aaron_w
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In the case of the H-34, I think you are stuck with me, I really dig these early whirlygigs but am mostly familiar with the Sikorsky built aircraft.


So having had a little more time to look at the issue, I think it was stated incorrectly. There is nothing wrong with the length other than Hannants listing.

It is specifically an issue of the fuel caps. The Sikorsky aircraft have two caps, one on either side and below the rear right hand window (well actually 3, there is another further forward).

The Westland Wessex variants only have a single cap further back and higher, actually in the location shown on the resin piece. The Italeri kits have the Wessex fuel caps in the same location as the Sikorsky which is incorrect.


So this isn't a length correction for all H-34 / Wessex kits, it is a fuel cap correction specifically for the Wessex kits.


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Aaron Woods
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Big Kohona
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Aaron_w
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I've not been able to find a website for Rotor Craft, they seem to just sell through other venders. Hannants does have a listing for quite a few parts from them. I can't seem to make a link to the search work, but if you search Hannants by manufacturer, they list 17 items between 1/72 and 1/48.

I bought the Rotor Craft UH-1C/L Rescue Hoist set a couple years ago, from Linden Hill. Nice set that fits well onto the Italeri UH-1C, it adds the optional roof mounted hoist used on some short bodied hueys (I actually got it for making a USMC UH-1E).

They have done several conversions using the Italeri H-19 kit to build various versions of the Westland Whirlwind. Unfortunately they offered their nice conversions with metal legs after I had already purchased several nice but less extensive resin conversions from other companies.



I would be curious when those who have ordered the parts compare them to the kit fuselage how much if any difference in length they find. It is possible there is a length issue, but I'm thinking someone at Hannants made an assumption, and may have started an internet rumor.

I am also curious which landing gear they modeled on the metal gear. I assume the bent leg style which was common to both Sikorsky and Westland aircraft. This item alone would be useful for converting the more readily available UH-34J kits which come with the later V leg landing gear, to the earlier bent leg style.


Back to the length issue, I am skeptical about using drawings to prove accuracy, but out of curiosity I dropped a fuselage half from an Italeri Wessex kit onto the 1/72 scaled drawing in Warpaint's Westland Wessex book and it is a near perfect match.
Aaron Woods
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colinburgess
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Good evening guys. Flyboy alerted me to this site and the ongoing discussion re the Wessex/H-34 corrected fuselage plug. Firstly however a bit of history. I started ROTORcraft back in the early '80's to satisfy my own interest in gaps inthe helicopter model market. I mastered the parts for the HU2K-1. Giuded by a freind who said base your kit on what you would like to find in a kit if you had purchased it elsewhere and this was my basic ethos.
Eurathane resins were in their infancy/unobtainable, so I was using Ester resin, yes not the best! I moved along and started a couple of Wessex conversion/correction kits.The HAS Mk3 and HU5 at this stage I was casting, packaging the parts and posting the orders myself. My casting failure rate in summer was around 60%, hardly worth my while I thought. Postage and payment became an issue in the pre Pay-Pal days so I pulled back. Meantime Ali at Alley-Cats/A2zeemodels, who I had know down here in South Africa had set up his company. We struck a deal, where he would handle casting, marketing and disribution etc, I would get parts etc to fill my needs plus, this left me free to persue mastering.
Over the years we had expanded the range but production of new items had slowed and with the demise of A2zee and Alley-Cats, I had wanted to close the lable. Ali told me Colin at Frieghtdog was interested and we sold the lable to him and this is where we are today.

Back to the Wessex/H-34 fuselage plug. Having been a Wessex maintainer, I think I knew the subject fairly well. Italeri had made a better job of the Wessex than Matchbox but still not prefect.
I based my research on the very good 4+ Publications book on the Wessex and it's excellent and very accurate scale drawings. I laid the fus, half of the Wessex HU 5 over the drawings and found a discrepancy of 4mm from the aft of the cabin. The panel line aft of the cabin windows to the start of the tailcone is too short. there is also a discrapancy at the rear edge of the cockpit windows the total is 6mm. Hence the 6mm plug. Yes I added the gravity and pressure refuel points but the H-34 modeller would have to fill these.
Well 6mm doesn't sound a lot but it's 17" or 432mm a significant dimension in 72nd scale. Yes you can build the kit as is, 'but it just don't look right'! I've got a couple more Wessex items in the pipeline as and when time allows me. Now being retired I have lots of other diversions besides helicopter modelling.

Thanks for the oportunity to set things straigth and I'll gladly answer any questions.

Colin Burgess @ ROTORcraft
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Flyboy72nd
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Thanks for the info Colin. ^_^
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Building something Canadian, Eh! Graham; to avoid confusion M., from Canada's Capital!!
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Aaron_w
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Thanks for explaining Colin.

I was hoping when you said you had been a Wessex maintainer you had based this piece off of measurements from an actual aircraft fuselage. Unfortunately as is often the case it is just the usual which drawing is accurate (Warpaint vs 4+ in this case), 6mm in 1/72 is a pretty big boo boo.

If it is an error it is an issue with all three available kits, Matchbox, Italeri / Revell and Hobbyboss. I have all three and that section of fuselage is essentially identical in length (certainly none are 6mm longer). They may very well have copied from each other, so that really proves nothing, just that it is or is not an issue on all the kits.



While I'm not sold on this particular piece, I am a fan of your work. Not many doing stuff for helicopters, even more so the case for helicopters that are not Hueys.

So about the metal landing gear, any chance of those being offered alone? I have a bunch of V leg UH-34s and I'd like to convert a few to the bent leg style.
Aaron Woods
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Big Kohona
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