Scale aviation modeller international

this is a nice sheet of decals with

two options, and a clear film with

the instrument panel on it. There

is also a vinyl masking sheet.

The A4 size instruction sheet,

in colour, has the assembly

instructions on one side and the

history of the helicopter and

optional schemes on the other.

BUILDING THE KIT

This kit is very easy to build,

so if you find yourself with a

spare Sunday afternoon, this

can be easily finished in that

time. The instructions are easy

to follow, but take care, as this

kit is so small that it is not for

people with sausage fingers!

The grey plastic sprue is flash

free but the plastic is soft, so care

must be taken when removing

parts from the sprue. I would

recommend using a very sharp

blade rather than clippers, as

they may break the parts.

I began by removing all the parts

and cleaning them to prepare them

for painting. I also cut out the brass

parts and fashioned them into the

required shapes. After assembling

the interior, I painted it with a coat

of Alclad White Aluminum. At the

same time I sprayed the turbine

and lower rudder in silver. The

interior I hand brushed: grey for

the seats and black for the seat

cushions and instrument panel.

The tail is made up from 4 pieces.

I attached the tail section onto the

boom, then added the completed

assembly onto the main body of

the helicopter – all fairly easy. On

removing the two clear parts from

the sprue, however, I noticed that

they were incompletely moulded.

The front lower part on each half

was missing a 2 mm section.

Hopefully this particular kit is

the only one with that problem!

Finally, I glued the two

clear parts together and then

masked the body shell. The

vinyl masks fit perfectly.

PAINTING

Preparing my airbrush and mixing

the paint took longer than painting

this diminutive helicopter. The

kit comes with two options: a dark

blue Royal Navy machine (G-APJJ),

or the same machine in a yellow

livery. I chose the blue livery as it’s

the one on the box art, and I like it!

I used a mixture of Tamiya

X4 Blue and Gunze H15 to get the

required shade. Once the paint

was dry, I gave it a coat of Klear

(yes, some of us have a hidden

stash in the loft). I sprayed the

rotor blades and the turbine with

Alclad Silver and varnished them

with a further coat of Klear.

THE DECALS

The decal sheet is very small,

of good quality, and went

onto the helicopter easily.

After they had dried, I gave the

whole model a coat of Humbrol

gloss and waited for it to dry.

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Putting all the separate parts

together is simple and trouble

free. Unfortunately, the mis-

moulding on the bottom of the

clear parts spoils the look of the

kit. An experienced modeller

would have the know-how

to fix this by moulding a new

canopy, but that is beyond me.

Adding and painting all the

small details finishes the model.

CONCLUSION

This is a very easy model to

make, but it’s extremely fragile

and not for the short-sighted!

I enjoyed making it, despite the

mis-mould. This little helicopter

looks very good, next to larger

helicopters in my cabinet.

My thanks to AMP for

supplying the review sample.

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