1/48 Trumpeter Dauphin

by Liam Hourston

--------------------

 

A customer to the shop I work in asked if it were possible to make an air ambulance model for a friend of theirs who used to work on them. I chose the Virgin-sponsored Dauphin 365N, based in London, England, which I subsequently found out was replaced by another type altogether, but as I had already commenced the build, I ploughed on regardless.

There was an opportunity to do a little scratch-building  (which I am tentatively getting into) as the interior of the kit is not designed to be used as an ambulance, I could little, if any, reference on-line for the interior of this machine, except for the information that came with the WhirlyBird decals which I had purchased on-line. So, having found some images of the Coast Guard HH-65A Dolphin, I went with what I thought might be best, cutting up the interior seats to make the required three in their respective positions, an open bulkhead at the rear of the cabin with a curtain and a stretcher.

Imagine my horror to find that none of it can be seen, not really. Bah! Hulk SMASH!

The decals were a nightmare to put on as they shattered into a billion pieces. I got them on as best I could and sealed them, then painted over them with white paint and sealed that too.

And to top it all, the customer never came back!!! Why if I ever...........

However, she looks good (and the Dauphin wasn't that bad either) and it was a challenge  (for me) that I think I dealt with ok!! But never again with those decals!

Thanks to all those who helped and advised me  (Hi Gerald and Clive!)

Liam

Click on images below to see larger images

Photos and text © by Liam Hourston