JamesPerrin's Airfix AH-1 Lynx **FINISHED**

[MerlinJones]

OK Bruce I've squared up the footwell windows so you can call off the heavies!

I should think so, too!

Heavies recalled.
...And I've pulled back the Literacy Louts as well!

Regards,
Bruce

[JamesPerrin]

...And I've pulled back the Literacy Louts as well!

who's going to help me with my homework!?

[TimJ]

Coming along well.

[jssel]

Looking good, James.

[JamesPerrin]

Army Lynx's were painted BS381C/220 "Olive Green" but I can find no colour match or even mix for Humbrol. Xtracolor are the only match out of all the paint range really by providing this colour specifically, though they call it British Army Helo Olive but I'd have to mail order this. The Airfix instructions though do give 86 "Light Olive" as the colour to use and after checking it with some pictures it's frankly close enough. So I picked some up from my LMS (that happens to be on my way to work) this week.

[MerlinJones]

I would also have gone H86. It'll look fine once you get the black on.

Regards,
Bruce

[shangos70]

James thats the same colour that was on the guide for the Wessex , i did numerous searches and came up with the same answers as you . However i saw another build of the Wessex and they had used Nato green so when for that instead . I agree with Bruce , it looks good and once its been glossed then mated off the colours will alter anyway .

[JamesPerrin]

Masked this up last night with blue-tac and given a shot of Xtracrylic Black. The rotors have black underside and dark green uppers. A few areas where the black sneaked between the tape and tac but as I used acrylic on enamel I should be able to clean them up with the appropriate thinners, see there is a reason to mix mediums.

One of my vents got clobbered when removing the tape though.

[Dirkpitt289]

nice work

[Molly-new]

Looking good. All these fab builds have made me start to enlarge my helo collection

[JamesPerrin]

Nearly there now. A week ago I was thinking I might not make it but it has come together pretty quickly and easily.

I used the kit decals as these were fine. My own faux par was that the "ARMY XZ181" as a single piece and I should have separated them. Though well spaced the gap wasn't big enough to straddle the black band on the tail boom and so my serials are black on black

I decided that the green was a tad 'bright' and so quickly gave the whole model a thin coat of Tamiya Smoke - too subtle to see in photos but I think takes the green a tad as well as giving me a uniform satin finish.

The door windows need a little fettle of their flanges and then the paint removing from around the window frame before they would seat properly. My tip here is to use Klear to "glue" them in place, this will seep round the edges nicely when applied to the inside with a brush, and if you do get any on the glazing it's not really going to show.

Just a couple of aerials and putting the bits together and we're done.

[jssel]

Good looking, James. Almost there.

[shangos70]

Nice one James , may dig mine out shortly .

[JamesPerrin]

Cheers Guys.

Good eye on that green, James. I really had my doubts about Hu:86, but with the smoke, it looks good.

Ta, I have seen a few photos where the green looks quite bright and very close to Hu86. My flash has lightened the bare green model a lot too. However when I added the black it didn't look quite right, it may be no more accurate now but doesn't it looks a lot better. I'll pick up Xtracolor's helo colours when I go to Telford, annoyingly they don't have them in the acrylic range.

[splash]

I think it looks spot on.

I have just visited the Helicopter Museum at Weston-Super-Mare today, they have the world speed record holding Lynx, in the green & black colours and allowing for the green to show lighter under flash, I think you have nailed it spot on.

Regards
Splash