British SAR Service paint set vol. 1

The colors of the yellow rescuers

The British search and rescue service belonged for decades among the most recognizable flying units of all. A yellow helicopter over the coast could not be mistaken for anything else, and it is precisely this shade that comes first in the set: according to the supplier it was the overall color of Whirlwind machines in the HAR.2, HAR.4 and HAR.10 versions, and further of Wessex HAR.2 and Sea King HAR.3 and HAR.3A helicopters.

The second half of the set is made up of the gray tones that belonged to naval machines. A dark naval gray covered the machines rotating between the Falklands and home bases, while a medium naval gray covered the Cyprus Wessexes after 1993 and Griffin HAR.2 helicopters. They are complemented by the blue-gray tone of the early naval Wessex HAS.1 and the olive finish that the same machines carried in later service.

The details it all rests on

The remaining three shades deal with the conspicuous areas. A deeply luminous red belonged to the noses and tails of naval Wessexes until the beginning of the 1980s, after which a darker cherry took over. Blue then served for the stripes on the tail surfaces of the Cyprus squadron performing duties under the United Nations. The shades are tied to British standards as well as American color numbering, so they can be used outside this particular set too.

The paints belong to the Blue Line range, which the manufacturer builds around application with a brush. The set is put together so that it covers a whole scheme without individual bottles having to be added, and because the shades repeat across types and periods, it will also stretch to a second model built on the same theme.