1/32ish Skypilots "Waterbird" CH-124 Sea King

Gallery Article by Harv on Oct 18 2012

 

 

His Royal Highness, Prince William, conducted some unique helicopter training while on his Canadian tour in the summer of 2011.  While in Charlottetown PEI, he practiced landing and taxiing on water in a Sea King operated by my unit, 423 Squadron, from Shearwater Nova Scotia.

 

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The model is the 1/32ish Skypilots Sea King.  As usual I modified it by removing some incorrect detail, and adding several scratchbuilt details.  Basic decals were made for me by Belcher Bits.  The "special" Navy Centennial marks were printed on a Gerber vinyl machine as well as some hand painting for the blue squiggles.

The yellow tape is the real vinyl stuff used on the real aircraft. It's used to tape up vents and access panels, to prevent water ingress.  The aircraft may float, but NO, it is not totally waterproof.  By the way, Prince William found the unique experience quite valuable, as the Royal Canadian Air Force are the only military still training in water landings with the Sea King.  With the CH-148 Cyclone on the horizon (eventually) the practice will soon be history.

Harv

      

Photos and text © by Harv