Westland Wasp HAS 1: 1/24th Scale.

[RCPlym]

1 hour ago, TheBaron said:

Good morning all.

 

Work on the Wasp of late has been that visually uninspiring preparation stage of a build, all that repetitive trimming off and sanding down printing support marks from various pieces.

 

One especially taxing part to do this for was the roof/windshield framing, due to both the sheer number of supports involved and the delicacy of the part when holding and sanding:

The white regions on the cruciform centre of the roof and inside the windshield are where there was no way of avoiding layer lines during printing and so a little post-processing with Isopon filler was required in order to sort them out.

 

The new set of more accurate Luneberg reflectors also got printed and prepped:

I've decided to simply plough on with preparing parts for painting for now, starting with the interior features of cockpit and cabin. These parts will all end up painted Dark Admiralty Grey so have been freshly shorn of print marks and sanded smooth in anticipation:

The framework at image left is in fact the rear seat. The real thing has a canvas cover stretched across it which, I think, it might be possible to reproduce sympathetically for the scale using a slightly rough resin-soaked paper to mimic texture and colour.

 

What really consumed the bulk of time the last week though were all the smaller items like the flying controls:

Seeing that close-up makes me really sorry there isn't a category in modelling competitions for 'Most amount of dust and cat hairs on a model part'...🤫

 

Due to their fragile/spindly cross sections it was a slow old procedure, being careful not to snap anything under handling/sanding:

These have all been mounted for painting using a dab of printing resin on a cocktail stick as I find this method superior to superglue for strength and easily sanded flush again afterwards.

It seemed sensible to leave that very spindly black frame (which the missile control racks are mounted on) on its supports for painting as I just know I'll snap it. The tiny items next to it are auxiliary compasses and to the fore, the pilot's flare gun.

 

I won't have  time to paint them this weekend as I'm taking my wife Cat into a gig in Galway tonight. It'll be a busy week ahead at work also but expect to lash some DAG on those parts next weekend.

 

Some very bewildering clouds here the last week...

Tony

 

 

 

 

Thats a super example of striated clouds. Not seen any as good as those before! 

[TheBaron]

Afternoon all.

 

Just an update on some further jiggery-pokery of late, starting with a glaring design mistake:

For some reason (which I can't account for) my design drawing for those photoetch pieces beneath  the front seats was short by a fraction under 2mm in length, meaning that not only would they look wrong but they weren't capable of spanning the gap between the legs which they're bolted to on either side. The design drawing for both has now ben corrected for later production purposes but that left me with the dilemma of paying out (as well as losing time on the build) to get a new set of etch done for a single part, or else scratch build them myself on this occasion:

CAD and 3d printing are truly great resources but nothing I like better than some scratch work on a messy bench. Using the original as a template I marked out a longer version of each part on some brass, adding lightening holes with the faithful old RP Toolz hole punch set:

If like me you don't like having your laptop in proximity to potential damage on the bench, this Spacedesk app lets you cast your PC or Mac desktop to an Android device (like the tablet shown below), interacting with it locally as an additional computer screen well away from your main machine. It's wireless, free for non-commercial use and perfect for running visual references at the bench via Pureref:

After a couple of hours scribing and punching, the RHS:

 - and LHS:

 - now have baseplates that look as they should.

 

Over the course of last week then I used any spare time to give all of the interior fittings a coat of Dark Admiralty Grey, as well as giving the cabin framing its outer RAF Blue Grey:

The small hole in the topouter corners of the windshield frames on either side are deliberate, being where the windscreen wiper arms are bolted onto the small motors which sit inside the cockpit roof on either side. The framing won't of course be visible once the vacform roof is installed but thoroughness of paint in all things, or summat....

 

Anyway, with paint starting to go on in a few places now it was also time to consider the related visual aspect of shine and lustre, of the degree visible here on the nose of the Minerva Flight Wasp:

Even operational Wasps were kept in good order in terms of weathering so I began some brief experiments earlier on a nose mule to test out some different approaches to the problem:

The left hand side of the aircraft nose was just paint buffed to a shine with the Dremel - quite nice but not shiny enough. Middle section was Winsor & Newton Galeria Satin, nowhere near enough. Right side of nose (and nearest the camera) was the ever impressive Alclad Aqua Gloss. Since taking that photo I gave that section a rub down with some tissue paper and it shines smooth enough even for HMS Minerva, so I reckon that's the way to go for the exterior paintwork.

 

I hope your weekends/modelling is/are going well for you: We've some unseasonably hot weather here this weekend so just about to drag the barbecue grill out onto the terrace for Fleshfest 2026...

 

Take care until next time,

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RCPlym]

Truly marvellous to see!

But, your bench is remarkably tidy.

Mine has overflowed into and onto the dining room table. Evidently 60 square feet in my workroom is insufficient...😂😂😂 

[LSP_Kevin]

Fantastic work, Tony! How do you punch holes in the metal without distorting it?

 

Kev

[Archimedes]

Lovely work Tony!

 

I admire both your old and new school deployment of technology. Naval aircraft, when not in combat conditions, are kept in good order paint-wise or else the salt spray gets to them pretty quickly. That superb picture of HMS Minerva’s Wasp is a reminder of that. Well done on all of your progress. This is one of the best builds on LSP I have ever seen. I am impressed not only with your attention to detail but also your sheer determination to get this to the finish line. Bravo.

 

Kind regards,

Paul

Edited May 24 by Archimedes

[TheBaron]

21 hours ago, RCPlym said:

But, your bench is remarkably tidy.

Mine has overflowed into and onto the dining room table. Evidently 60 square feet in my workroom is insufficient...

It's an inexorable tide that knows no bounds....

15 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Fantastic work, Tony! How do you punch holes in the metal without distorting it?

Thanks Kev! 

The die part of the RP Toolz punch & die set lets you clamp the metal or plastic part firmly between its upper and lower halves, keeping it pressed flat whilst you belt it with the punch:

It's a fantastic tool but I have to stay away from their website due to all the other fantastic tools there...

 

10 hours ago, Archimedes said:

Lovely work Tony!

 

I admire both your old and new school deployment of technology.

Very kind of you Paul. Although I'm an unabashed technophile when it comes to stuff like 3d printing, the sheer pleasure of crafting something from matter with your hands is a fundamental part of being human as far as I'm concerned. I could watch flint knapping for hours! 

10 hours ago, Archimedes said:

This is one of the best builds on LSP I have ever seen. I am impressed not only with your attention to detail but also your sheer determination to get this to the finish line. Bravo.

Thank you!  I learned some time ago that the best way to keep motivated is to post your stuff on a public forum so that once you've started, there's no backing out. Curiosity and downright stubbornness help too of course....

 

 

Edited May 24 by TheBaron

[RCPlym]

31 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

The die part of the RP Toolz punch & die set lets you clamp the metal or plastic part firmly between its upper and lower halves, keeping it pressed flat whilst you belt it with the punch

 

I am partway through brewing up my own version of that little gem to cover 0.5 to 2.5mm holes to compliment one that goes from 3mm to 10mm I inherited from my Father.

May well be cheaper in my time spent to buy one ultimately! 😂 

[Archimedes]

8 hours ago, TheBaron said:

 

I could watch flint knapping for hours! 

 

 

Ah…you have watched me building a model then… 😂

 

Kind regards,

Paul

Edited May 24 by Archimedes

[LSP_Kevin]

7 hours ago, TheBaron said:

The die part of the RP Toolz punch & die set lets you clamp the metal or plastic part firmly between its upper and lower halves, keeping it pressed flat whilst you belt it with the punch:

It's a fantastic tool but I have to stay away from their website due to all the other fantastic tools there...

 

 

Ah, I hadn't considered that you were using a dedicated tool! I have that set, actually, but never thought of using it for metal. Thanks for the tip!

 

Kev

[TheBaron]

22 hours ago, RCPlym said:

I am partway through brewing up my own version of that little gem to cover 0.5 to 2.5mm holes to compliment one that goes from 3mm to 10mm I inherited from my Father.

May well be cheaper in my time spent to buy one ultimately! 😂 

It might be cheaper but I doubt it would be as satisfying as completing your Father's work. 👍

I've this cheapo set from Ebay which goes from 3-16mm which comes in handy for larger items:

The punches are quite handy at double-tasking as metal rollers too!

16 hours ago, Archimedes said:

Ah…you have watched me building a model then… 😂

15 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Ah, I hadn't considered that you were using a dedicated tool! I have that set, actually, but never thought of using it for metal. Thanks for the tip!

You've now got me wondering should I have used it for metal at all Kev! 🤣

 

Actually I reckon it's safe enough for belting bits out of 0.15-0.3 mm thicknesses of brass sheet, beyond that threshold though the smaller ones would perhaps be in peril.

[TheBaron]

Good Friday all...

Some more paint activity to report firstly.

 

Items like the AUW presetter and radio gear have an initial layer of flat black applied in preparation for further detailing:

An item I only just remembered to do whilst the black was out: the way the back support cushions are  visible through the lightening holes on both front seats:

The T10K3 and missile switching units then had some olive drab:

These initial coats are airbrushed straight onto the resin here without any primer: I don't miss it quite honestly and prefer less build up of pigment on such surfaces when it comes to retaining sharpness of part definition on small features. 

 

Things were going well making a start on colour & patina detailing the flying controls:

 - when a ludicrous bit of self-sabotage occurred as I pinged the nozzle of the airbrush away to Gods-know-where during cleaning. I love my 0.2mm Creos P-270 for detailed airbrush work like this but boy is that nozzle tiny when you're on hands and knees with a torch, scouring the carpet of the workroom. The last week was spent periodically following the replacement parts on their way across Europe until hey finally arrived last Wednesday:

This enforced paint-hiatus of several days at least forced me to clean out and re-organize the studio so that you can now move around the various zones more easily without constantly having to move stuff out the way. 

 

It also got me to turn my attention to the tail-fold section and more specifically, working out the best way to attach the PE hinges accurately:

 

Designed to be a working feature on the Wasp at both scales,  it was a mistake I soon copped to attach the hinges in isolation from each other as seen above. To open and close the two sides have to line up very accurately so using brass rod and tape, I made sure both respective sections were 'locking horns' before tacking the PE into place with resin:

The fore/aft alignment of parts would be a dead giveaway if these features were askew/ahoo:

 

 

It might look ok but does it work?

Yes:

All the way?

Thankfully, yes:

The tail hinges need a little post-attachment work to build up their profile to match the real thing, which either resin (as I'm using) or the likes of Milliput can handle:

I'm understandly pleased/relieved at how these designs have integrated with one another now as physical objects:

The 'face plates' will obviously hide most of the interior:

Having read that AK's Xtreme Metal stuff performs best over primer I laid down some Alclad Black Primer prior to airbrushing a mix of Polished Aluminium and Duraluminium stirred together in the cup:

Being of metallic appearance without a high shine value, a Gloss Black base wasn't necessary. Corresponding regions on the boom and tail also required the same appearance:

 

Again, more patina work and cable detailing etc. to do but at present it seems sensible to stick the face plates onto those sections after the exterior of the airframe has had its RAF BG coat, just to limit the risk of damaging those metal surfaces with masking.

 

Somebody in Berlin is currently selling some great high quality photos of XT778 on Ebay from its Ambuscade Flight years....

Hopefully I'll get a chance to whip the airbrush out again over the weekend but for now - as always - thanks for looking in!

Tony

 

Ps. Finished this gem last night - can highly recommend:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 08:35 AM by TheBaron

[geedubelyer]

Flippin' 'eck 

[mozart]

Where will the sorcery end? 

[Landrotten Highlander]

The milk-producing-bovine I pray to everytime I see an update has started churning out sour milk.

 

 

after this upate I shall have to find a new one.....

 

 

 

 

Fantastic work by the way

[TheBaron]

On 6/13/2026 at 7:20 AM, geedubelyer said:

Flippin' 'eck 

 

23 hours ago, mozart said:

Where will the sorcery end? 

 

19 hours ago, Landrotten Highlander said:

The milk-producing-bovine I pray to everytime I see an update has started churning out sour milk.

Steady on lads: this is starting to sound like the beginning of a Dennis Wheatley  novel!