1:48 scale
Our thanks to Hannants for supplying the review sample – www.hannants.co.uk
History
This is the eyes of the British Fleet at sea, the Sea King Mk2A AEW, (Airborne Early Warning). The Royal Navy’s AEW capability had been lost when the Fairey Gannet was withdrawn after the last of the fleet carriers, HMS Ark Royal, was decommissioned in 1978. Four years later during the Falklands War, a number of warships were lost with heavy casualties, this was due to the lack of an indigenous AEW presence – the RAF Shackleton AEW.2 proposed fleet cover was too unresponsive and at too great a distance to be practical. So two HAS2 Sea Kings were modified in 1982. They were both flying within 11-weeks as the AEW2A and deployed with 824 ‘D’ Flight on HMS Illustrious and served in the Falklands after the cessation of hostilities. Later versions of this Sea King variant came into operational service in 1985, being deployed by 849 Naval Air Squadron. Thirteen Sea Kings were eventually modified. The main modification is the addition of the Thales Searchwater radar which is attached to the side of the fuselage on a swivel arm and protected by an inflatable dome. This allows the helicopter to lower the radar below the fuselage in flight and to raise it for landing. The aircraft were further modified and designated AEW7 with the removal of redundant equipment most noticeably the ASW radome above the rear fuselage.
The Kit
The first thing that strikes you about this kit is the fantastic photo which adorns the box lid, it really does give that feeling of power that you associate with this famous helicopter.

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Remove the box lid and you’ll be equally impressed with the good looking contents inside 11 sprues of standard Hasegawa light grey plastic, 2 clear sprues, 1 photo etch fret (of which only 4 of the nine parts are used) and a medium sized decal sheet.
The new sprue included for the AEW radome looks very nice with some very well defined recessed and raised detail, but a nice touch here would have been to include an option to have the radome in the deflated state, this would look great (and my brain is tinkering with ideas on how to create this effect! Watch this space)
The instruction sheet is in book format which in my eyes is the best way to be, it starts with a brief history of the type and a breakdown of the box contents.
After a while inspecting the kit, all parts on this sample were present and attached to the corresponding sprues and no flash or defects. Hasegawa always seem to get surface detail on their kits down to a tee, not too much and not too little: the perfect balance! Inside the cockpit you have the option of having decals for the instrument panels, but I would recommend painting up the nicely detailed consoles provided (all 4 of them) plus the seats have some raised seatbelts to paint if the thought of photo etch isn’t on your radar!
Also a nice touch in the kit is the option of making your Sea King’s main rotor blades fold away in the stowed position, brilliant! If like me you are limited to space when displaying your finished builds at home, because this is quite a fair sized chopper, the rotor diameter is bigger than a dinner plate.
The schemes that you get with the kit include: Royal Navy ’88’ 1982 in Extra dark Sea Gray and also: Royal Navy 849Sqn ‘180’ 1988 in Medium Sea Gray.
Conclusion
A very well presented kit with no obvious flaws at first glance, the price may put some people off, but if you do decide to part with your cash you will be rewarded with a lovely helicopter kit that is quite different to anything else out there, and it’s British!
Highly recommended to all helicopter and Navy fans out there. Now how about a Search and rescue version? Adam B.
(Ed – I think that’s on their radar everyone! Check out the Photo Reference Library for a full walk around set of images)