The Sound and the Fury - The Ultimate Hawker prop fighter

[The Wooksta!]

"That's a completely brilliant idea, Mike. I've been wanting to do this for a long time!"

Well, after some anticipation and a false start elsewhere, I now have the plans (courtesy of Kitbasher) for my next project.

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The Hawker P.1030.  Basically, an enlarged Fury fuselage with a revised Tempest wing.  There is a...  I hate to use the word "kit" when it comes to his "products" so in the most polite way and through gritted teeth "a collection of badly cast resin lumps approximating parts" by Unicraft.  The website doesn't show said lumps, just the master.  He's a bit finicky with people "borrowing" his images, despite his blatant pilfering of images by other people, so here a link.

http://www.unicraft.biz/on/hawker1030/h1030.htm

Hmm.  Tail fin looks too thick and the u/c doors are definitely wrong compared to the Hawker drawing.  Hannants want 35 notes for this.  Erm, no, perhaps not.  I don't just think I can do better - I KNOW I can.

So this is my recipe:

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TBH, I'm not actually using that Sea Fury kit, but the Sea Fury parts from this:

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Because said kit is just the Sea Fury in it's entirety but with added resin and plastic for the two seater.  So, left over is a single seat fuselage, the instrument panel, resin cockpit tub, tailplanes and the bit that goes behind the cockpit.  TBH, I've always felt that Special Hobby bolloxed that anyway, and I have a mould taken from a white metal piece Aeroclub did for the PM kit way back in 1991.  I just need to find it.

To which is added:
Blackbeard RR Eagle resin cowling and resin leading edge radiators (maybe...)
Wyvern prop
Filler
Plastic card
Superglue

So, where to start?  Tediously following every other build review - with the cockpit?  Actually, no, strictly speaking, the fuselage.  Because before I can close it up, I need to do some surgery. 

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P.1030 was 3 ft longer than yer actual standard Tempest and much of that extra length is in the engine, but Wor Sid must have been channelling his inner Kurt Tank, because the back end gets extended too.  Handily, there's a nice panel line before the tail, so I know where to cut.  You can just about make it out.
That fuselage was partially chopped in anticipation of getting a Sabre and I got it wrong, cutting too far forward.  But this is the type of mistake you'd rather make, because it's easier to remove than it is to put back in. So I've lined it up on the plan as best as possible and you can see just how much needs to go in.  Roughly 11mm but I'm not measuring it as I'll be using a variation on CAD - cardboard aided design - in the form of a sheet of very thin plastic card cut to the shape of the rear fuselage, to which I'll affix the tail and then align the other bits of the fuselage.
I'm confident that I can assemble the fuselage and then insert the completed cockpit tub afterward.  There's a guideline that kind of supports it inside, but I'll do some trial fitting to test the theory before using any glue.

I'm not planning on doing ANYTHING with the wing until the fuselage is all buttoned up, because it's going to be fiddly and needs a lot of cuts.

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Looking at the plan, it looks to be a standard Tempest wing with the leading edge radiators of the Tempest I and the leading edge brought forward to line up. In addition, there's a 1ft inserted in the centre section to increase the span from the 41ft of the Tempest to the 42ft of the P.1030.  And finally, after another look at the plan, the centre section is flat and lacks the curved belly of the Tempest centre section.

I've gone with the KP kit for the wing for several reasons.  Firstly, I had it sitting there and I really don't want to spend my dwindling stash of Great British Pennies on yet more kits when I already have a loft full. Secondly, it's already designed to take new radiators and moulded as such, so there's less chance of my cackhandedness ruining things.  Thirdly, it has some nice wheel well surrounds that make it all nice and firm without the leading edge, unlike the Academy and Heller wings which are somewhat floppy in that area when cut.  I know from bitter experience. Finally, the plastic is quite soft, so cutting should be easier.

My plan?  So far, it means making two spars, fore and aft, that will run the length of the wing from the outer edges of both wheel bays.  The forward one should help support the plastic card leading edge radiators. I might not bother with resin ones.  We'll see. Once I have the spars, I can cut out the curved centre and thus widen to the extent of the new wing planform.  Then we have the issue of the revised leading edge.

Way back in 2009, when I initially looked at it, I thought it was a standard Tempest wing and thought of using a thin plastic card former sandwiched between the wing halves and then built up with hardcore and filler (now, I'd use superglue and baking soda).  TBH, I could still do that but what I'm thinking now is simply remove the wing leading edge from a dead Tempest (that Academy one reduced to Cat.E) and glue over the top of the original then fill the gap.

There's a few other issues.  The Tempest has a more curved wing fillet than the Fury and thus the KP wings are somewhat short at the root, so I'll plank with scrap card and fill over the top.  I'm not entirely sure that the guns are in the same place, although they probably are, and the ailerons are somewhat longer.  But that's a case of fill, cut further in and rescribe.



EDIT:  Having rechecked the plans and 3 different sets of wings against them, I've revised my opinion.  The additional span is at the tip, not the centre section, thus the guns are in the correct position.  There's additional chord at the trailing edge too.  This means that I'll revise my plans regarding the wings entirely and consequently the donor kit too.  I'm now leaning towards an Airfix one, simply because the wheel well bay insert is a single piece and that includes the centre section, thus keeping the wing correct when I cut out the curved section.  Plus the wings are complete top and bottom, whereas the KP wings have the control surfaces moulded complete as part of the upper wing halves.

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Prior to the new Airfix, the Heller Tempest wing has supposed to be the most accurate, so I've dropped this one over the top to illustrate what I mean.  The yellow tape is to mark out the main spar, which I'm using as a datum.  So there's an additional 6 inches (2.2mm in 72nd) at the tip, with roughly the same on the trailing edge.  So I think separate wing halves and thin plastic card sandwiched between before filled is the way to go.  As it is, all the panel lines will change anyway. Except the main spar.

I did say that the wings were going to be fiddly...

The only other changes are the tailplanes, which look to have a slight sweep towards the tip outboard from the root, but that's just a case of adding some strip and the aforementioned superglue/baking soda combination that's served me well over the years.

Undercarriage looks to be straight Tempest.  I might use the Matchbox one, simply due to the weight issue, but there's a lot more to worry about before I get there.

I won't be starting this for a while - there's enough on the bench as it is - I just wanted to get the ball rolling, so speak.

[NARSES2]

Regarding Unicraft, I'm still trying to work out after 25 years or so how Igor can go from what look very nice masters to the lumps of resin he sells ?   

Where are you getting all these Wyvern props from Lee ?

[The Wooksta!]

I've a plan to mould and cast them, using the Aeroclub one as a master.  The rubber is en route as we speak.

As for Igor, it's down to the fact that the resin he uses is utter sh*t  - before any of his defenders say "well, that's all he can get", there are other Ukranian resin manufacturers using better resin, so it's clearly down to choice.  There's also his terrible quality control, meaning he's charging top whack for resin lumps when I've thrown away better castings.  Take his masters, clean them up and remould and cast with a better rubber and resin and the product is 100% better.  I can prove that with the Bv 237 that I copied for personal use.

[NARSES2]

I've a plan to mould and cast them, using the Aeroclub one as a master.  The rubber is en route as we speak.

Be interesting to see the results Lee. It'll be a ticky shape to mould I would have thought ?

[The Wooksta!]

I've seen the way Czechmaster do it now as a complete prop and I think I can replicate it.  I've looked at the Aeroclub one and whilst based on the Frog prop, it's a bit thicker.

[NARSES2]

Ah, I wasn't aware Czechmaster had moved to a complete prop. Certainly should make life a bit easier.

[The Wooksta!]

Some of the spitfires have both a spinner and separate prop blades and a complete prop.  It's got a central pouring lug with a thin web on the blades and a deeper runner underneath.  That's what I'm planning and I think it'll work.  Getting cast blades out of the mould could be interesting though, although the web should stiffen things up.

I've had a slight rethink on the leading edge, which thoughts crystallising around cutting along the main spar, removing the leading edge up to that point, using some thin plastic card underneath to support and backfill the gap with plastic card and superglue/baking soda.  I'll trial it with a gash PM Sea Fury wing that I have to hand.

It's just struck me that P.1032 *might* have had the same wing as 1032, only with the centre section taken out, a la Fury/Sea Fury.  At least it may have had the wing leading edge extended in the same manner.  There's no drawings for P.1032 so we'll likely never know.

[The Wooksta!]

"Listen, Michael, there's no need to worry! I've got a plan with which to thwart them!"

Construction hasn't started yet, I'm still gathering bits.  The Aeroclub Wyvern prop has been cleaned up, I just need to look at webbing and building mould boxes.  An Airfix new tool Tempest (to differentiate from their twice reboxing of the still decent Heller kit) is on order and I think it should arrive Thursday.  But I'm really not going to worry about the wing until the fuselage is all done.

What I have done is nip into the library before the club to run off a few copies.  The plan is to make some templates for the rear fuselage profile, do the cut at the back end, affix the fuselage halves to the profile, backfill the resultant gap and reprofile the spine.  Once the fuselage proper is done, I can worry about the engine cowling.  It's not easy to explain, showing rather than telling is the best bet. I can see it in me head, I just can't find the right words to describe it.

[The Wooksta!]

"Yeah. We've made some toast!"

I've made a start. 

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This is the fuselage template, cut down from a copy of the plans Dave passed me last week.

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And with some thin plastic card.  This stuff is really thin and came from the hotel I used to work at, it was the base for a box of deserts.  Really wish I'd got some more, but I think that was the only sheet I ever saw.  Should really have asked Pastry John to keep an eye out.  He always kept the cheese biscuit boxes, which were very hand for keeping Lego in.  However, I digress.  Back to the Prologue.

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The Special Hobby Sea Fury fuselage.  At this point I've yet to cut the remaining engine attachment points off back to the firewall (see the Fury thread), but the port tail has been chopped down the panel line.

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I used the template to cut the core.  Score round with a scalpel and slide away.  Simples.

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And the port fuselage parts added.  You can see what needs filling and building up.  I've cut back to the firewall - actually, that needed a bit more fettling - and removed the flare out.  Not to tidy but there's a great deal of sanding to come - yay! - so right now I'm not going to worry. 

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Couldn't resist taping up what's done so far - which is really very little - to give an idea of shape.  Even though the engine cowling will be reworked entirely and the tail...  Not sure if I'll just keep the Sea Fury tail on the grounds of production harmonisation or build the front up to the height of the Fury profile.  I mean, with that sort of power, it may well have needed a bigger fin and possibly larger tailplanes.

Although I was tempted to cut the templates for the wing, I've resisted so far on the grounds that A: I don't yet have the Airfix Tempest that'll form the basis and B: I really don't want to complicate the build at this early stage by jumping straight into the trickiest bit which is likely to make or break the project.

[Gondor]

That is looking very nice Lee. I have no real suggestions to put forward, as you seem to be following the best path with this one. Is it possible to keep your "spine" when you close the fuselage halves together, or will that make the fuselage too wide?

[kitbasher]

👍

I'll be starting my P1030 later this year, meanwhile I've been photocopying my plans in order to get templates ready.

I'd finally plumped for my SH Sea Fury do be a donor (my PM Sea Fury will be used for a quick whif in the very near future).  Change of plan regarding donor Tempest.

Probably madness but I've a clunky old Revell Tempest that'll give up its wings.  They're nearly but not quite Tempest shape but should do the trick with modifications. 

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Bits of the fuselage can be used to augment the Sea Fury bits.  A built pre-loved but rather battered Academy Tempest is likely to surrender its wing leading edge (the fuselage is in the P.1009 bits-and-bobs box).  Meanwhile lots of SH Sea Fury bits will feature in my P1030.

Don't go holding yer breath, y'all 😂

[The Wooksta!]

"I'm right here. I thought the vacuum cleaner looked a bit on the tentative side so I souped it up a bit."

Well, the fuselage bits got glued to the core. 

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The yellow tape is to protect the tailplane roots from heavy sanding.  I'm still torn as to the fin shape.

What I'd intended with the rear fuselage extension wouldn't work with a tapered shape, although it would with something like a Lancaster or a Ju 88, so I just added a stringer, then sections of scrap card to fill the gap built up to just below the surface, then superglue and baking soda over the top.  Unfortunately, there's a step in plan view, so I just built it up.  Again, with superglue and baking soda. The above is after it's all been sanded back.  I'll give it a blast with some primer tomorrow to see how much needs fixing.

So the fuselage is coming along quite quickly, but I knew this bit wasn't going to be too difficult. Tomorrow I'll start tackling the engine cowling.  Again, I may use a template, but the "plastic card as hard core under superglue and baking soda" trick I've oft used will be deployed again.  Or I may break out the P.38, although I'll have to deploy to the shed on smell grounds.

That is looking very nice Lee. I have no real suggestions to put forward, as you seem to be following the best path with this one. Is it possible to keep your "spine" when you close the fuselage halves together, or will that make the fuselage too wide?

The central spine is less than .5mm, so I'm really not worrying about that too much. If anything, it's actually helped, as it's brought the fuselage a tad wider at the firewall, so the engine cowling mates better with less need for filler.  I'll be using the same sheet of thin plastic for the wings, so they may be a tad too deep, but again, I think I can live with it, because there's no easy way around the build up.

👍

I'll be starting my P1030 later this year, meanwhile I've been photocopying my plans in order to get templates ready.

I'd finally plumped for my SH Sea Fury do be a donor (my PM Fury will be used for a quick whif in the very near future).  Change of plan regarding donor Tempest.

Probably madness but I've a clunky old Revell Tempest that'll give up its wings.  They're nearly but not quite Tempest shape but should do the trick with modifications. 

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Bits of the fuselage can be used to augment the Sea Fury bits.  A built pre-loved but rather battered Academy Tempest is likely to surrender its wing leading edge (the fuselage is in the P.1009 bits-and-bobs box).  Meanwhile lots of SH Sea Fury bits will feature in my P1030.

Don't go holding yer breath, y'all 😂

If you've got the SH Baghdad Fury or the Sea Fury T-20, that'll give you a spare fuselage and tailplanes, resin cockpit tub, instrument panel and the bit behind the cockpit spare on the sprue.  The only real expense in mine is going to be the wings (well, the rubber for the prop mould, but I need quite a few Wyvern props, so it'll be minimal) and I've outlined upthread just why I think the Airfix one is the best fit.  I can see why you'd think of the rivetty Revell one, but the additional span is at the tips and aligning it over the plans at the root isn't quite correct, using the main spar as a X datum and the gun ports as a Y, should give you more idea of what needs building up and where. Plus the centre section is parallel depth and the outer panels have dihedral from the panel line just outboard of the radiators.  I'll know more for sure when the Airfix Tempest arrives.  My back up plan consists of a Heller wing, because that's what I have left in the stash.

If you decide to use the Revell wings, I have some spare resin wheel well bays that I was gifted in a cheap Heller Tempest I bought Telford some years back that I won't be using.  Although you could probably use that Cat.E Academy wing for that purpose.

I'm assuming your PM Sea Fury is destined to go RAF?

[The Wooksta!]

"No, but he's left a little present on the mat."

The postman has just delivered the Airfix Tempest, so it was ripped open and the wings quickly removed from the sprue.

After some test fitting, it is definitely the way to go, and I'll explain as I go.

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The top wing on the plan, using the main spar panel line as a datum.  The gun ports line up nicely, so any additional span has to go in at the tips.  Trailing edge needs extending too.  Well, that's what the template will be used for.  That lower cockpit section is superfluous, so it'll get cut out, but once the wing is together.  This means I can do a really nice Furious, possibly with a Special Hobby Sea Fury wing.

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This piece is the reason for me choosing the Airfix kit over the Heller (I don't have any unmolested Academy, the KP was rejected due to their engineering choices and I have a few Heller left in the stash).  It's one continuous piece, because I may have to remove the wing centre section between the wheel well bays due to the curve (see next photo) and it'll keep everything square.  It will need some surgery at the front.  The extensions outboard may be handy as the radiator mounts, but whilst that's not something I'm going to worry about now, it is something to think about later.

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The drawings for P.1030 look as though it's the Fury wing with the centre section put back in (it was taken out of the Tempest to create Fury) but without the curve.  So that's got to go.  My initial thoughts were surgical, but I'm now thinking it may be better to backfill the interior with either plastic card or my go to favourite superglue/baking soda and then sand the exterior flat.

The leading edge outboard of the radiators.  I've had several thoughts - build up with filler, use the leading edge of another kit, or cut and shut with the kit.  I'd really rather avoid the cuts, so I may use that Cat.E Academy wing I have sitting unloved and unwanted in the Tempest/Fury spares box.  There's a gash Fury wing that I can cut up to get my eye in first.

So that's my thought on the wing I'll be using.  Seems a bit presumptuous to be thinking of the wing whilst I've yet to get the fuselage done, but I was anxious to see if my choice of base kit was correct. 

Well, the sun is out, so time to retire to the shed to start sanding that engine cowling...

[The Wooksta!]

"And by the looks of it you failed them all."

Well, maybe not all of them...

After the excitement of the Airfix Tempest arriving, it was time to take a heavy duty sanding stick and other implements to the engine cowling.

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I'd added some tape over the exhausts to protect them, although I may yet take them off and replace them with copies of those from the CMR Wyvern TF1.  Depends on how much rubber I have spare.

Anyway, you're all aware of what the Eagle cowling looks like from the photos up thread and you know I have to change the profile.  The the gap at the bottom was filled with some scrap plastic card and then covered with superglue before being liberally dusted with baking soda.  Looks really crusty?

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Looks a bit smoother now, but that's deceptive.  I know from bitter experience that what looks like a smooth sg/bs surface is full of pits and dimples, so I'll wait until I get a coat of primer on it.

Now to build up the top.  Using the plan, I cut a plastic card former too big - on the grounds it's easier to remove than add - and glued down the centreline.  Some thin plastic card was glued either side, then more scraps of plastic card glues in with Plastic weld.

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That was sanded back, roughly to the profile before being smeared with more sg/bs. 

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Not looking too clever, but more sanding, and we're getting there.

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Now it's time to get a coat of primer to see how far off I am.

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Hmm.  Underside needs filling, but the shape is about there, but the top...  The top is bad! (No, that's good!). So, more sanding.  As for filling?  Superglue and baking soda?  Perhaps not, because it's a bit too blunt an instrument.  I mean, it's fantastic if you want to build up an area quickly, but it can get a bit too crusty and spread, meaning more sanding... And the dust is horrible.  I've actually had a bit of a rethink with the cowling, because others are interested in scratch bodging one so I may use Revell filler to build it up from here on in, prime, and then mould it.  The rubber should arrive soon, I'm just not sure if I'll have enough.

[The Wooksta!]

"No, mine's a yellow Ford Anglia with flames up the sides."

Whilst I had the primer out, the's see what the filler work on the fuselage looks like.

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Hmmn.  Much of a muchness.  The plug seems to be fine, it's just the rest that was built up to reprofile the fuselage.  You can see the pits, divots and downright craters that's a consequence of the superglue/baking soda method.  As this isn't a master, I'll have to fill it the same way, because although painting is a long way off, I need something that tape isn't likely to lift.  My plan is to paint into the gaps with Humbrol, then carefully build the divots up with superglue and baking soda.

See which method I employ in part two...