Airfix

[The Wooksta!]

Supposedly, Airfix designed the Spitfire Tr.9 first, then realised they may as well do a 48th mk IX too, hence why we're* getting both.


*But not me. Not my scale and I have the AZ two seaters in double figures as it is.  Plus half a dozen each of the Brigade and M&E conversions, plus 4 CMR to do real ones.

[Gondor]

I've heard a bit of grumbling, that surprised me to be honest, about the Wessex, either about it being an RAF variant rather than an RN one, and/or something to do with the colour scheme(s). I'm pretty confident that Airfix have enough brain cells to rub together to make the tooling adaptable for a future RN version, so that doesn't bother me, and of course, we can always what-if it.

The after-market boys will get in first with the conversion bits and at lease one decal company will introduce a new decal sheet for the Wessex as well.

Gondor

[Mossie]

Also, I've heard a bit of grumbling, that surprised me to be honest, about the Wessex, either about it being an RAF variant rather than an RN one, and/or something to do with the colour scheme(s).

Eh? The only RAF variant has been one of the 1/32 Fly kits (among several Navy ones).  All other Wessex kits, 1/48 &1/72 that I'm aware of have been naval versions. I'll be surprised if they don't release one, it should be relatively easy to produce them if they've broken the parts down correctly.

[kitbasher]

The Matchbox Wessex was repopped at least once as an RAF HAR.2 (https://www.scalemates.com/kits/matchbox-40136-westland-wessex-hu-5--145111), but yes it started life as an FAA variant.

[Mossie]

I wasn't aware of that boxing, but did it have the mods to make it a HAR.2 or was it just a decal swap?  The HU.5 looks superficially like the HC/HAR.2 but with detail differences.

[PR19_Kit]

The Italeri Wessex comes in both RN and RAF versions, in both scales too.

With some cross kitting you can make almost any of the various marks, I cross kitted an HU5 and HAS3 to make XM845, an HAS1 that I flew in in 1961.

[kitbasher]

I wasn't aware of that boxing, but did it have the mods to make it a HAR.2 or was it just a decal swap?  The HU.5 looks superficially like the HC/HAR.2 but with detail differences.

Dunno but suspect yes, decals only.  I'd forgotten about the Italeri kit.

[Mossie]

The Italeri Wessex comes in both RN and RAF versions, in both scales too.

There's a RAF liveried option in the HAR.3 boxing, but it's a bit of an anomaly and was a development aircraft for A&AEE. It was passed to RAF use as a ground training platform and was later painted in the yellow SAR scheme, long after it had stopped flying.

[PR19_Kit]

There's a RAF liveried option in the HAR.3 boxing, but it's a bit of an anomaly and was a development aircraft for A&AEE. It was passed to RAF use as a ground training platform and was later painted in the yellow SAR scheme, long after it had stopped flying.

Don't you mean an HAS3? There never was an HAR3 Wessex.

That one must have looked weird in RAF markings with the big dorsal radome!

[Mossie]

I do. I got the labels slightly mixed, with Italeri having it as a HAS.2 on their website but correctly as HAS.3 on the box. Also, the RAF option is labeled as a HAR.2 (wrongly). So it fried the brain cells a little and by the impulses got to my fingertips, it came out a little weird...