Revell Germany’s all-new kit of the Westland Sea Lynx Mk.88A comprises more than 300 parts injection molded in white styrene — and it’s packed with detail!
You can build either the standard Sea Lynx or the “sonar” version, which includes all the sonar equipment racks and optional seating arrangement.
Cockpit detail features fully detailed seats with molded seat belts and raised details for the center console and overhead console. The instrument panel is a combination of raised and engraved details. And if you don’t want to paint the panel details, there are decals to make that task much simpler. All the doors can be posed open or closed.
Armament includes optional Sea Skua missiles, two torpedoes, and a 12.7mm machine gun. There are markings for two aircraft: a standard Sea Lynx in overall dark gray over light gray, and the colorful “Special MFG-3 Nordholz 2006” version with a multicolor Lynx coat painted on both sides!
Decals were thin and printed in perfect register, providing markings for either version. I chose the bright “Special” version.
Typical for Revell Germany, the 20-page, 93-step instructions have callouts for Revell paints only. I found the instructions somewhat busy, with parts indicated by numbers, colors by letter, and decals by numbers enclosed in a square. None of the 13 sprues have any identifier, whereas most other manufacturers letter the sprues; because the parts are numbered only, I spent a lot of time looking for pieces.
I began research by looking up the Revell colors on the Internet and finding a cross reference to Tamiya acrylic colors. Study the interior construction steps carefully; either variant requires different holes to be drilled in the cabin floor for seats and equipment racks.
After sorting all that out, construction was trouble-free. Parts fit was nice, though sometimes complicated; lots of subassemblies are needed to capture the Lynx’s distinctive shape. Clear parts were thin, crystal-clear, and fit perfectly!
Once construction was complete and the clear parts were masked with Tamiya tape and glued in place, it was time to tackle the paint scheme. The kit supplies mask templates in the instructions; I made several copies so I didn’t have to cut up the instruction sheet.
I mixed colors using Revell’s recommended ratios, but with Tamiya acrylics. The first two shades of orange didn’t work out well. I used a spray-can adhesive on the masking templates and attached them to the sides, then painted the topside and underside colors and waited a day or two for things to dry. But when it came time to remove the paper masks, some of the adhesive and paper stuck! I ended up using Tamiya lacquer thinner on cotton swabs to remove the gooey paper and the paint underneath it. I was able to touch it up, and the second time around I secured the masks with Tamiya masking tape.
With the masking and painting done, it was time to apply all those wonderful Lynx decals. They performed perfectly, following the mask outlines as designed. I did have to use decal solvents to get them to conform to some of the raised details, but that was expected. I studied the decal sheet and placement instructions carefully to understand where all those spots needed to be placed. I did find the carrier film was so thin I had to hold the sheet up to a light to see exactly where to cut out the individual pieces. Once the decals were on and dried, I gave the model a coat of Testors Dullcote to homogenize the finish.
This was an enjoyable build. With lots of small parts and subassemblies, I would recommend it for more-experienced modelers (especially building the special scheme). Regardless, if you are a Lynx modeler you’ll probably get more than one try: Extra, unused parts on the sprues may be a harbinger of other versions to follow.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the December 2013 FineScale Modeler.