The Little World

The Vintage Classic shelf again – this time something I have never built before – the Airfix Westland Whirlwind HAS.22. In reality, it was a Sikorsky S-55 sold to the Royal Navy.

The original kit is apparently of late 50’s vintage though I never saw one in shops in Canada. Basic, as you would expect, but the sprue trees look reasonably clean ( save for the winch ) and the clear works look reasonable – if a bit thick. For a VC price I do not complain.

The really odd feature is the colour scheme – apparently this was a training livery associated with use as an admiral’s barge from one of the helicopter flagships. It is not imagination on the part of Airfix – corroborating information does exist. I shall finish it SOOTB this time and reserve variants for another kit – this is unusual enough right now.

The decals look delightful, but I wish that the business policies of Airfix would extend to specifying paint colours in something other than Humbrol numbers. I know there are charts, but sometimes they do not agree…