1:72 Wessex HC.2 Exhausts for Airfix

Clear Prop Models - exhausts for the Westland Wessex HC.2, 1:72 scale

This is not a helicopter kit but a detail accessory in resin made by 3D printing. The set replaces the exhaust outlets on a plastic model of the British Westland Wessex HC.2 helicopter in 1:72 scale from Airfix. On the Wessex the exhausts are among the places most exposed to view along the sides of the fuselage, so their cleaner shape and thin walls show on a finished model at once. The kit is not included in the package.

The real subject

The Wessex came about at Westland as a licensed development of the American Sikorsky helicopter, reworked for turboshaft power. The HC.2 version served the RAF as a transport and support machine - it carried troops and materiel, flew search and rescue tasks and supported ground units. It was precisely its pair of turbine engines that gave the Wessex its characteristic side exhaust outlets, which on a model affect the whole impression of the forward fuselage.

Fitting and painting

• Wash the parts in lukewarm water with detergent - this washes off remnants of the mold release agent and resin, on which paint would not hold.
• Cut the print supports off with a sharp knife or a fine saw and sand the cut faces smooth.
• Make the joint with cyanoacrylate - plastic cement does not work on resin.
• After a primer coat, work with dark metallic shades, heat discoloration and soot pigments; helicopter exhausts tend to be heavily stained.
• Always cut and sand resin with respiratory protection, ideally wet.

Who the set is for

For modelers who are building the Wessex HC.2 in 1:72 scale and want to replace the most visible plastic parts with more accurate resin ones. The set can be combined with further accessories for the same helicopter. Basic experience with resin and cyanoacrylate is enough.

An accessory for a kit, not a stand-alone model. The kit, glue and paints are not included in the package. Work on resin parts with respiratory protection, out of the reach of children.