1/72 WESTLAND GAZELLE XW849 ROYAL MARINES GLADYS

The Gazelle is a French five-seat helicopter, commonly used for light transport, scouting and light attack duties. Powered by a single Turbomeca Astazou turbine engine, it was the first helicopter to feature a fenestron tail (a shrouded, multi-blade anti-torque device housed in the vertical surface of the tail) instead of a conventional tail rotor.

Designed by Sud Aviation, later Aerospatiale, and manufactured in France and the United Kingdom through a joint production and development agreement with Westland Aircraft, further manufacturing under license was undertaken by SOKO in Yugoslavia and the Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO) in Egypt. Introduced to service in 1973, the Gazelle has been operated by a number of export customers and has featured in numerous conflicts around the world.

XW849 was part of the first batch of 60 Westland Gazelles ordered by the Ministry of Defence in 1970 and was the 16th Westland production aircraft. XW849 took its first flight in December 1972 and was delivered to RAF Tern in May 1973, in readiness for the entering service in July 1974. Serving with 3 Commando Brigade Squadron and 847 Naval Air Squadron for the greater part of its service life. Transferred to storage in 2005, XW849 then moved to Gazelle Depth Support in January 2010, for reduction to spares. Then, in December 2013, XW849 was bought by the Gazelle Military Helicopter Trust as a bare shell for restoration and static display.

Featuring excellent attention to detail and a superb paint finish every time, each model comes with its own display stand. Limited edition of 196.