The new Wessex

(Courtesy Italeri)

It's been a long time since Revell issued the 1/48 Wessex, and the market has been waiting for a replacement.  And here it is.  A new tooling that includes a small set of photo-etched parts and markings for four aircraft - and all for £25.  The parts are engraved and riveted, albeit a bit on the shallow side.

The cockpit is quite nice, and has an etched panel and seat belts, although I chose to fit a set of Eduard colour belts.  Don't we all?

As I am building, I can't help but think of how similar it is to Italeri's 1/72 scale Wessex.  Yes, it's the same aircraft, I know, but the build is identical.  To merely upscale the tooling probably helps to keep the price down.

Here are some photos.  I'm pleased with how it's going.  More later.

Seriously?

Just walking past the sci-fi section in my favourite model shop last week - yes, there is still the odd one! - I noticed this.

I was instantly struck by the unusual design.  Not your predictable over-exposed Star Wars  or tired Star Trek movie-related kit, but a strange looking ship I had never seen the likes of before. A quick rifle through the box revealed large, well-detailed parts, four paint schemes, a very nice sheet of decals and a big big engine!

There was also a dvd, which promised a virtual tour and a bit more info.  From what I can gather (I do not speak Japanese too often) it seems to belong to the anime genre, and is an anti-gravity raider in 1/20 scale.

The big attraction for me is that you can interpret it any way you want.  No-one can criticise the RLM shade you have used, or correct your allocation of rivets.   I can please myself!  It's a genuinely exhilarating thought.

If you have built this model, or know more about its origins, do comment here, I'd like to know more.

Coming back down to earth, here is Italeri's new tool Wessex UH-5 in 1/48 scale.  It's a nice kit, four colour schemes to choose from and not a bad price.  No anti-grav capabilities but it looks good.  So many kits, so little time.

A Fine Pair

Midget submarines have caught my attention recently - they have featured in the latest model mags and I got a couple of kits for Christmas. Santa brought me the ICM Type XXVVII Seehund (Sea lion) and the Biber fron Italeri.

The Sea Lion is a very straightforward injection moulded kit in 1/72 scale, and very easy to construct. I decided to weight the hull, because I feel this gives the finished piece a little more credibility. A project like this also depends on paintwork. I felt that painting it in the same way as I would an aircraft would be appropriate, but with modifications. A brown/black wash worked well, followed by some heavy duty dry brushing. This turned out well and I was pleased with the results.

The Biber was broadly similar, but in 1/35 scale. This kit offers a small photo etch fret with parts for the hull and inside the conning tower, and a very convincing instrument panel. I used a similar paint routine as on the Sea Lion, but with heavier shading.

I have included photos of both models with others in their corresponding scale - the Sea Lion poses with the 1/72 scale Gato Class sub, and the Biber with Italeri's own PT boat. I think these settings speak for themselves.

Elco 80 PT Boat Completed

When a project ends that has been as enjoyable as this one, you are struck with a sense of triumph, of a job well done. Then the anti-climax hits and there is a sadness because it's finished. Well, almost finished - I still have the figures to do.

I don't usually bog the reader down with too much paint detail, but I was asked to expand on it, so here's a run down.

Painting
Having under-coated the model in a matt pale green, I pre-shaded it with black. Since there is a lot of handling of the hull, I allowed for a 12-24 hour drying period in the painting sequence. Starting with the lightest colours, I then began to add the camouflage. To achieve the hard-ish edges, I used BluTack rolled out in thin sausages. This can cause overspray though, so careful masking is important. The final shade I used was black; jet black would be far too stark, even in 1/35 scale, so I cut it with tan, around 15%. Any more and it looks like mud.



Weathering
I started with the deck. It must be remembered that PT boats were often in the thick of action and at the mercy of a Pacific sun, suffering the ravages of daily wear and tear. Following the route on deck that the crew would take to carry out their duties, and using the original green as a base, I gradually lightened in a seemingly random pattern with my airbrush turned down. I started with a light brown and gradually moved on to a yellow. By now I was covering less surface, but with greater density to give the impression of wear.


Weathering the hull was similar. I just did more of a vertical cloud pattern, blending the colours carefully for each camo shade. A light brown was used on its own to simulate wear on the bow where the bow wave is constantly battering it. The only wash I used was in dark brown, and that on the deck and fittings only.


And that was it, give or take. It was a wonderful project to build - the first I have tried, but it won't be the last. Figures to come.

Elco 80 PT596 from Italeri

Or in other words, that great big thing on our coffee table. It works out at just under 28" long and 10" tall on its stand. It's 1/35 scale so it'll go with your armour collection. Did they have tanks at Tulagi?
That's dealt with the size issue, what about the kit? Well, I've been all month just putting it together. It comprises: four x .50 machine guns, one 20mm Oerlikon cannon, one 37mm deck gun, two x posable rocket launchers, four x 21" torpedoes and one 40mm Bofors AA cannon. It took as long to type as it did to build.


I am not going to give out tips on building this kit as it practically builds itself. The reference booklet that accompanies it contains some very useful photos of PT596. From what I can see, the kit wants for nothing. A small set of very useable photo-etch parts are also provided and make for some lovely finishing touches around the model.


The mast/radar array is superb, as are the machine gun positions. The torpedoes have nice surface detail and photo-etched fins. Their release brackets are also very convincing.
The assembly and build-up of the boat is nearly at an end, and what fun it has been. Good detail and parts fit, and a pleasure to see the model take shape.

The next stage of course is the painting. This is the real fun, for me. Unlike a 1/48 fighter, a 1/35 PT boat will need to be carefully planned and each section completed in order. More photos to come.