DONE +++ 1:72 SA 365 ‘Leumadair' HR.1; Re. of Scotland Air Corps SAR Squadron

Dizzyfugu · April 30, 2022, 12:53:21 AM

The kit and its assembly:
Another chapter in my fictional alternative reality in which Scotland became an independent Republic and separated from the UK in 2017. Beyond basic aircraft for the RoScAC's aerial defense duties I felt that maritime rescue would be another vital task for the nascent air force – and the situation that Great Britain had outsourced the SAR job to a private company called for a new solution for the independent Scotland. This led to the consideration of a relatively cheap maritime helicopter, and my choice fell on the SA365 'Daupin', which has been adapted to such duties in various variants.

As a starting point there's the Matchbox SA365 kit from 1983, which is a typical offer from the company: a solid kit, with mixed weak spots and nice details (e. g. the cockpit with a decent dashboard and steering columns/pedals for the crew). Revell has re-boxed this kit in 2002 as an USCG HH-65A 'Dolphin', but it's technically only a painting option and the kit lacks any optional parts to actually build this type of helicopter in an authentic fashion - there are some subtle differences, and creating a convincing HH-65 from it would take a LOT of effort. Actually, it's a real scam from Revell to market the Matchbox Dauphin as a HH-65!

However, it was my starting basis, and for a modernized/navalized/military version of the SA365 I made some changes. For instance, I gave the helicopter a fixed landing gear, with main wheels stub wings taken from a Pavla resin upgrade/conversion set for a Lynx HAS.2, which also comes with better wheels than the Matchbox kit. The Dauphin's landing gear wells were filled with 2C putty and in the same process took the stub wings. The front landing gear well was filled with putty, too, and a adapter to hold the front twin wheel strut was embedded.

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Lots of lead were hidden under the cockpit floor to ensure that this model would not becaome a tail sitter. A thimble radome was integrated into the nose with some PSR – I opted for this layout because the fixed landing gear would block 360° radar coverage under the fuselage, and there's not too much ground clearance or space above then cabin for a radome. Putting it on top of the rotor would have been the only other option, but I found this rather awkward. As a side benefit, the new nose changes the helicopter's silhouette well and adds to a purposeful look.

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The rotor blades were replaced with resin BERP blades, taken from another Pavla Lynx conversion set (for the Hobby Boss kit). Because their attachment points were very different from the Matchbox Dauphin rotor's construction, I had to improvise a little. A rather subtle change, but the result looks very plausible and works well. Other external extras are two inflatable floating devices along the lower fuselage from a Mistercraft ASW AB 212 (UH-1) kit, the winch at port side was scratched with a piece from the aforementioned BK 117 and styrene bits. Some blade antennae were added and a sensor turret was scratched and placed in front of the front wheels. Additional air scoops for the gearbox were added, too. Inside, I added two (Matchbox) pilot figures to the cockpit, plus a third seat for a medic/observer, a storage/equipment box and a stretcher from a Revell BK 117 rescue helicopter kit. This kit also donated some small details like the rear-view mirror for the pilot and the wire-cutters - not a typical detail for a helicopter operating over the open sea, but you never know...

The only other adition is a technical one: I integrated a vertical styrene pipe behind the cabin as a display holder adapter for the traditional hoto shooting's in-flight scenes.

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

su27rules · April 30, 2022, 01:34:10 AM

Wardukw · April 30, 2022, 11:55:44 AM

Oh its a fav Thomas mate ..i love the sound for the Dolphin or Panther in military use ..a couple fly over the camp quite often .
Lovein your build so far and it looking good man

If some crowd made a 35th model of one of these id wet myself with excitement

PR19_Kit · April 30, 2022, 02:23:25 PM

I've always liked the SA365, specially the USCG ASR 'Dolphins', and I bought the pukka, and expensive, Dream Model kit last year.

But yours looks JUST as good! I'm looking forward to the finished job.

McColm · April 30, 2022, 10:45:43 PM

The British Army flew them as well

comrade harps · May 01, 2022, 01:01:49 AM

Will be interested to see how painting goes with all that red plastic.

Looking that part so far

Dizzyfugu · May 01, 2022, 11:31:43 PM

Painting and markings:
Well, with the red base, I eventually decided to avoid any foreseeable pifalls...

However, it still took some time to settle upon a design. I wanted something bright – initially I thought about Scottish colors (white and dark blue), but that was not garish enough, even with some dayglo additions. The typical all-yellow RAF SAR livery was also ruled out. In the end I decided to apply a more or less uniform livery in a very bright red, similar to the USCG scheme, with Humbrol 238 as base. This tone is, probably due to trademark issues, marketed as "Arrow Red (= Red Arrows)" and effectively an almost fluorescent pinkish orange-red - quite an eye-catcher.

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Only the black anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen, the radome and the white interior of the fenestron tail rotor were painted, too, the rest was created with white decal stripes and evolved gradually. Things started with a white 2mm cheatline, then came the horizontal stripes on the tail, and taking this "theme" further I added something similar to the flanks as a high contrast base for the national markings. These were improvised, too, with a 6mm blue disc and single 1.5 mm bars to create a Scottish flag. The stancils were taken from the OOB decal sheet. The interior became medium grey, the crew received bright orange jumpsuits and white "bone domes".

No black ink washing or post-panel-shading was done, since the Dauphin has almost no surface details to emphasize, and I wanted a new and clean look. Besides, with wll the white trim, there was already a lot going on on the hull, so that I kept things "as they were". Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of semi-gloss acrylic varnish for a light shine, except for the rotor blades and the anti-glare panel, which became matt.

Here's a look at the "90% stage" of the project:

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

McColm · May 01, 2022, 11:41:02 PM

Wardukw · May 02, 2022, 03:20:41 AM

Looking good Thomas and very bright

Ya aint gonna miss this in a hurry

NARSES2 · May 02, 2022, 05:29:40 AM

Looking very good

DogfighterZen · May 02, 2022, 11:03:09 AM

Dizzyfugu · May 03, 2022, 12:29:00 AM

Nothing new here, yet. Model has been finished and waits for a photo session, but I have been too busy recently to find a good mood for this task...

Dizzyfugu · May 07, 2022, 02:39:05 AM

Finally... But the 'Leumadair' HR.1 turned out nicely, very attractive.

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
After the country's independence from the United Kingdom, after its departure from the European Union in 2017, the young Republic of Scotland Air Corps (locally known as Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) started a major procurement program to take over most basic duties the Royal Air Force formerly had taken over in Northern Britain. This procurement was preceded by a White Paper published by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2013, which had stated that an independent Scotland would have an air force equipped with up to 16 air defense aircraft, six tactical transports, utility rotorcraft and maritime patrol aircraft, and be capable of "contributing excellent conventional capabilities" to NATO. According to the document, "Key elements of air forces in place at independence, equipped initially from a negotiated share of current UK assets, will secure core tasks, principally the ability to police Scotland's airspace, within NATO." An in-country air command and control capability would be established within five years of a decision in favor of independence, it continues, with staff also to be "embedded within NATO structures".

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Outlining its ambition to establish an air force with an eventual 2,000 uniformed personnel and 300 reservists, the SNP stated the organization would initially be equipped with "a minimum of 12 interceptors in the Eurofighter/Typhoon class, based at Lossiemouth, a tactical air transport squadron, including around six Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, and a helicopter squadron". The latter would not only have to take over transport duties for the army, there was also a dire need to quickly replace the former Royal Air Force's Search and Rescue (SAR) capabilities and duties in the North with domestic resources, after this role was handed over to civilian contractor Bristow Helicopters and the RAF's SAR units had been disbanded.

This led to the procurement of six AS365 Dauphin helicopters as an initial measure to keep up basic SAR capabilities, with the prospects of procuring more to become independent from the Bristow Helicopters contract. These aircraft were similar to the Eurocopter SA 366 MH-65 "Dolphin" for the United States Coast Guard but differed in many ways from them and also from any other navalized SA365 variant.
For the RoScAC's SAR squadron, the SA 365 was taken as a starting point, but the helicopter was heavily modified and locally re-christened "Leumadair" (= Dolphin).

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The most obvious new feature of the unique Scottish rescue variant was a fixed landing gear with the main wheels on short "stub wings" for a wider stance, stabilizing the helicopter during shipboard landings and in case of an emergency water landing - the helicopter was not able to perform water landings, even though inflatable emergency landing floats were typically fitted. Another obvious difference to other military Dauphin versions was the thimble radome on the nose for an RDR-1600 search and weather radar which is capable of detecting small targets at sea as far as 25 nautical miles away. This layout was chosen to provide the pilots with a better field of view directrly ahead of the helicopter. Additionally, an electro-optical sensor turret with an integrated FLIR sensor was mounted in a fully rotatable turret under the nose, giving the helicopter full all-weather capabilities. Less obvious were a digital glass cockpit and a computerized flight management system, which integrated state-of-the-art communications and navigation equipment. This system provided automatic flight control, and at the pilot's direction, the system would bring the aircraft to a stable hover 50 feet (15 m) above a selected object, an important safety feature in darkness or inclement weather. Selected search patterns could be flown automatically, freeing the pilot and copilot to concentrate on sighting & searching the object.

To improve performance and safety margin, more powerful Turbomeca Arriel 2C2-CG engines were used. Seventy-five percent of the structure—including rotor head, rotor blades and fuselage—consisted of corrosion-resistant composite materials. The rotor blades themselves were new, too, with BERP "paddles"at their tips, a new aerofoil and increased blade twist for increased lifting-capability and maximum speed, to compensate for the fixed landing gear and other external equipment that increased drag. To prevent leading edge erosion the blade used a rubber-based tape rather than the polyurethane used on earlier helicopters.

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The "Leumadair HR.1", so its official designation, became operational in mid-2019. Despite being owned by the government, the helicopters received civil registrations (SC-LEA - -LEF) and were dispersed along the Scottish coastline. They normally carried a crew of four: Pilot, Copilot, Flight Mechanic and Rescue Swimmer, even though regular flight patrols were only excuted with a crew of three. The Leumadair HR.1 was used by the RoScAC primarily for search and rescue missions, but also for homeland security patrols, cargo, drug interdiction, ice breaking, and pollution control. While the helicopters operated unarmed, they could be outfitted with manually operated light or medium machine guns in their doors.
However, the small fleet of only six helicopters was far from being enough to cover the Scottish coast and the many islands up north, so that the government prolonged the contract with Bristow Helicopters in late 2019 for two more years, and the procurement of further Leumadair HR.1 helicopters was decided in early 2020. Twelve more helicopters were ordered en suite and were expected to arrive in late 2021.

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: 2 pilots and 2 crew
Length: 12,06 m (39 ft 2 1/2 in)
Height: 4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Main rotor diameter: 12,10 m (39 ft 7 1/2 in)
Main rotor area: 38.54 m² (414.8 sq ft)
Empty weight: 3,128 kg (6,896 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,300 kg (9,480 lb)

Powerplant:
2× Turbomeca Arriel 2C2-CG turboshaft engines, 636 kW (853 hp) each

Performance:
Maximum speed: 330 km/h (210 mph, 180 kn)
Cruise speed: 240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn)
Range: 658 km (409 mi, 355 nmi)
Service ceiling: 5,486 m (17,999 ft)

Armament:
None installed, but provisions for a 7.62 mm M240 machine gun or a Barrett M107 0.50 in (12.7 mm) caliber precision rifle in each side door

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Airbus Helicopters SA 365 'Leumadair' HR.1; '03 (SC-LEC)', Republic of Scotland Air Corps (RoScAC; Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) SAR squadron; Wick John O' Groats Airport (Scotland), 2019 (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Quite a tricky project. While the Matchbox Dauphin is not a complex kit you need patience and have to stick to the assembly order to put the hull together. PSR is needed, esp. around the engine section and for the underside. On the other side, despite being a simple model, you get a nice Dauphin from the kit - but NOT a HH-65, sorry. My fictional conversion is certainly not better, but the bright result with its modifications looks good and quite convincing, though.

Old Wombat · May 07, 2022, 02:44:25 AM

Really good build, Dizzy! Especially the scheme, shouts SAR in over-sized bold capitals!

Wardukw · May 07, 2022, 03:07:27 AM

Bloody hell that turned out great Thomas

Mate as far as im concerned this is your best work so far ..this is surpurb man and you saying this turned out nicely is the understatement of the week