The Sound and the Fury - The Ultimate Hawker prop fighter

[The Wooksta!]

"No, it isn't."

Primer?  No, not yet, because that may hide something.  I've been looking at fitting the fuselage to the wing. 

You cannot view this attachment.

I placed the fuselage over the top, marked out two grooves that align with the inner end plates of the radiators and then carved the plastic back about maybe half a millimetre.  I trimmed the fuselage wing roots back almost removing the fillet.

You cannot view this attachment.

And it sits nicely in the groove, with the firewall aligning with the back of the radiators along the spar line.

So, can we now prime the wing?

Yes.  Now it's time for paint.

[The Wooksta!]

"Oh, God. I think I'm going to be violently and copiously sick."

So the primer is on and that is a good milestone to pass.  Like I've said, the wing is make or break and this still needs a fair bit of work.  The primer has revealed a lot of dimples, pot holes and craters, but not quite as many as I'd feared.  So it's back out with the superglue.

You cannot view this attachment.

Top.  The area above the radiators still needs a lot of work.  I'd slightly angled the top down when I'd glued it in place.  It's had a coat of superglue and baking soda and sanded back.  There's a second coat on, but it's just superglue.

You cannot view this attachment.

And underneath.  I still need to fix a few areas resultant from the erroneous cuts made earlier.  It's never going to be perfect - the topside is about as good as it'll get and underneath...  It's underneath and if I add some drop tanks, they might distract the eye enough.

So after a lot more sanding and some polishing...

You cannot view this attachment.

The uppers.  May need another coat of superglue above the radiators but it's about done.

You cannot view this attachment.

And underneath.  Not sure, the next coat of primer will be telling.

Once the wing is fixed, it's time for a lot of rescribing, which is one thing I really hate.  The ailerons are different, so they were filled, and I'll make some plastic card templates from the plan view.  I doubt they'll be that far out.

You cannot view this attachment.

So the current state of play mock up.  The fuselage is sitting nicely in the groove I carved earlier, the trailing fillet is neatly done and the engine just about lines up.  There's a lot of filling and fettling to do there.  Thankfully, the plastic is quite thick and the pouring lug on the engine can always be sanded back a bit. Ideally, I'd like to pull the fuselage sides in a bit to reduce the need for sanding, but I'll worry about that later.  One of the tailplanes has gone walkies, bizarrely (edit: found in a different Sea Fury box).  Some of the detail under the wings that has been sanded off will be replaced with some resin copies made from moulds taken off the Academy wing using that Silligum stuff I've had having about for ages.

A week to get this far?  Very happy.

Looking ahead, it'll have to be with a Tempest squadron, but which one?  It's also got to have Type D roundels and I think I'll go with Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green on top with PRU Blue underneath, so RAF Germany.

[kitbasher]

Looks fantastic, Lee 👍

[NARSES2]

Looks fantastic, Lee 👍

It does indeed   

[The Wooksta!]

"I just don't seem to be able to get rid of this hangover."

I gave the wings a good sanding earlier and then a good coat of primer.  I've since given it another sanding with a fine grade and the uppers look smooth enough. Underneath...  Not quite as nice but the area that needs the most work would likely need filler anyway when I join the wing to the fuselage.  There comes a point where perfect becomes the enemy of good enough, so other than a small skim of yer actual Humbrol near the port radiator I'm calling it.

You cannot view this attachment.

The top.  You can see that little bit of filler. 

You cannot view this attachment.

And underneath.  It'll need a coat of primer and there's some blisters to fit just outboard and aft of the wheel well bays.  I made a mould of those last night and I'll cast a few over the next few days.  And then I start rescribing the lost detail.

You cannot view this attachment.

And I have a copy of the engine.  This is the first one out of the mould.  The exhausts are a little...vague, due I suspect to the repeated primer coats on the master.  Like the blisters, I made a copy of the exhausts of another engine, so I can run some more off.

You cannot view this attachment.

And this is it in place, albeit taped up.

So, proper progress at last.

Finally, I've decided on a squadron - 16 Sqn.  56 Sqn had Tempests, but were renumbered as 16 Sqn in April 1946 and they flew Tempests until replaced by Vampires in 1949.  So the colours and markings planned are smack in the right timeframe.  The only snag is that the earlier P.1027 Eagle cowling is more apt for a shark mouth.  Hmmm.  Might have to keep looking.

[PR19_Kit]

I think you've got two pics of the wing upper Lee, but it looks good anyway.

[Old Wombat]

I think you've got two pics of the wing upper Lee, but it looks good anyway.

Not now, he doesn't, but, yes, good fix-up! 

[PR19_Kit]

Not now, he doesn't, but, yes, good fix-up! 

Oh yes, and very good it looks too. 

[The Wooksta!]

"And what's the problem, Neil? The dummy run was a complete success!"

Having took a day off from this build - I really wanted to try and get a bit further with the Sabre Fury and Frankenstein - I've now glued the engine cowling in place.

You cannot view this attachment.

Just the starboard view.

You cannot view this attachment.

This shows the pouring lug, carefully designed to be both hidden inside without trimming and also assist in supporting the wing.  It also helps that when the fuselage sides are glued to the lug, it pulls them in so there's less sanding to do on the exterior.  It also means that the work I did in carving a channel in the wing to accept the fuselage was fine for a Centaurus fuselage, but not for the slimmer Eagle.

You cannot view this attachment.

Means there's more of a gap to fill, but I enjoy the sanding, so it's not all bad.

You cannot view this attachment.
You cannot view this attachment.

Speaking of gaps to fill...  I'll probably use some scrap card as hardcore and then Revell filler over the top.  So Stop!  Filler time!

You cannot view this attachment.
You cannot view this attachment.

Liberally smeared with the last of a tube of the Revell stuff.

Now to decide what to do about the tail fin...

[Gondor]

Now to decide what to do about the tail fin...
 

P.38?

Looks good Lee. Mostly well thought out, but then hindsight has perfect vision.

[The Wooksta!]

"Neil, Neil, Neil! Nails aren't in the recipe."

What I mean about the tail isn't how to build it up - and yes, P.38 would likely be how I'd do it - it's more do I either go with the drawing and cut the fin/rudder down or keep with the taller but thinner (chord) Sea Fury fin.  I'm minded toward the latter for ease - I just need to fill the gap at the top - and explain that as the production Harpies were on the same production lines as the early Sea Furies, they got the same fin for ease of production.  Or the dead hand of the Ministry of Supply demanded it.  Easier to change the backstory than change the model and this way there's less filler work. 
If and when I do a second - and there will be a second at some point, likely in the High Altitude Day Fighter scheme - then I can do the drawing fin.

[Gondor]

It's your model Lee, and I like the way you're thinking of doing it, makes lots of sense, the same kind of sense that the aircraft looks to have been developed from previous Hawker products.

[The Wooksta!]

"Hey, that's my clause!"

So the filler is all sanded off and the pouring lug trick pulling in the fuselage has made the blending it in much easier. So...

You cannot view this attachment.

You cannot view this attachment.

All the filler is gone and the join line is relatively smooth.  A coat of primer and then I can do the final snagging on the fuselage before rescribing the few panel lines I've lost.

[Gondor]

That is really looking the buisness Lee 

[perttime]

Is the nose ending up heavy, or lightweight?
Just wondering about balance when the model is on its wheels.