1:72 Wessex HC.2 steps airfix

Aires/Quickboost, Westland Wessex HC.2: steps (1:72)

This product is not a model but a detail accessory in resin for the plastic kit of the Westland Wessex HC.2 helicopter in 1:72 scale from Airfix. The set replaces the boarding steps on the fuselage; it does not contain the kit itself, the paints or the glue.

What the steps are for

The Wessex is a tall machine, and the crew and the technicians reached the engine section, the gearbox and the rotor head by boarding steps on the side of the fuselage. These are thin elements, often only a few millimeters wide, and that is exactly why in injection plastic they are cast heavier than the scale would call for, or they are only suggested as relief. A resin replacement can have them markedly thinner and with sharp edges, so that they stand out on the fuselage as separate parts and not as an impression in the wall. On a finished model this is one of the details an experienced eye notices straight away.

Use

• Wash the parts first in water with detergent, because primer will not hold without degreasing.
• The castings are small and brittle: separate them from the casting block with a new blade or a fine saw, never break them off.
• Cut the original plastic boarding steps off the kit and smooth the fuselage surface so that the new parts sit parallel and in one line.
• Mark the position lightly with a pencil or by the original traces, then bond them with super glue (cyanoacrylate).
• Spray the primer and then the fuselage color; wear and scuffed metal around the steps is a rewarding target for a dry brush and fine chipping effects.

Who the set is for

• Modelers building the Wessex HC.2 in 1:72 who want parts of the correct thickness for the scale.
• Those who do not want to struggle with building the steps from photo-etch or sheet metal.
• Builders of competition models and of dioramas with figures beside the fuselage.

Working with resin: sand wet or with respiratory protection; the fine dust from resin should not be breathed in. Use super glue in a ventilated room and protect your eyes and skin.