Doc72 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Hello everybody, I am very delighted finally to be able to post something in RFI aircraft forum. This model is inspired by the wonderful website http://www.radfanhunters.co.uk, which is really one of my favourite aviation sites on the web. It is a fantastic documentation of the RAF's Middle East Air Force and especially RAF Khormaksar during the twilight of the British Empire in the 1960s. The model depicts Hunter FGA.9 XE649 in August 1965 operating from Khormaksar during the Aden Emergency and carrying the combined markings of No. 8 and 43 Sqn. Both squadrons had pooled their aircraft at this time. I based the model on an inflight-photo of XE649 that can be found in the gallery section of the above mentioned website (in the 43 sqn gallery). From this photo it is not possible to tell whether this aircraft had the golden/yellowish undercarrigae legs and bays, but this detail is clearly visible on other Hunters from this period and from the same squadrons. The kit, of course, is the one from Revell and it is airbrushed with Tamiya acrylics. The kit was built mostly out of the box. The only additions are the underwing rocket rails. I documented this little modification already in the Work-Progress-forum in last November (!). http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234968528-hawker-hunter-with-rocket-rails-172/ Well, I am not a fast builder... The tear-shaped ejector fairing on top of the outer wings were omitted. AFAIK, they only appeared when Matra rocket pods replaced the 3-inch rocket and their underwing rails. The Aden Emergency, however, was fought with the older WWII-style 3-inch rockets. I took most of the decals from the Xtradecal X72-123 sheet that actually covers a number of Hunter twinseaters but includes the 8/43 sqn-markings. The decals for the serial number were taken from some generic decal sheet with RAF-style letters and numbers. I tried to display the aircraft in a fairly weathered state because photos show that the RAF Hunters under the harsh sunlight and dusty conditions in the Middle East looked much more worn than their cousins serving in Europe. A high number of operational sorties against insurgents in the Aden protectorate certainly added to the worn look. First I applied a rather patchy paintjob by using lightened variants of the camouflage colours and later oil paints were applied for an additional faded look. I would like to get sharper photos, but this is all I could achieve with my present equipment and after a lot of experimenting. Thanks for looking and every comment is welcome. Ole 25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Great stuff,.....lovely weathering and the wings look hot enough to fry an egg on them! The Radfan was a horrible but little known war (emergency, conflict?) so cheers for remembering it. Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Lovely work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 That's a great Hunter, that looks to have spent a lot of time out in the sun. Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussG Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Fantastic Hunter, I love the weathering!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomoshenko Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Lovely work. Like the worn and faded weathering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain goat Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Great! Nice Hunter and impressive weathering. Always had an interest in Khormaksar Hunters - there's a nice RAF video on YouTube about the force in Aden - Hunters at 08:30. Maybe of interest. Jay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc72 Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Cool, thanks Jay! I didn't know this video. I liked the description in the video: "a lot of men look at a lot of mountains in a lot of sun". The British in general did a good job in winding up their empire (compared to France or Portugal for example), mostly retreating without a major bloodshed and leaving behind more or less stable, pro-western states. The Aden Protectorate was one of the exceptions whith a hastened British withdrawal in 1967 and a Marxist regime taking over. As we could read in the news recently, the country remains very unstable and violent nowadays. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Very nice, definitely looks the part. Exactly like the Hunters in the video. The video is fascinating too. The commentary makes that war seem a rather jolly affair. Where as in reality it was a nasty business. Everybody wandering about in the standard uniform of khaki shorts and boots. What a contrast with modern practice. Body armour, helmets? Who needs them? The sequence where the rather relaxed RAF regiment lads are seen fighting off the enemy hordes is amusing 9:38. Clearly they're not actually firing those SLRs No sign of any brass being ejected. If they were the cameraman in that position would be in receipt of hot brass cases and seeing as no one is wearing a shirt he would be ducking and diving to avoid them. There is nothing quite so exquisitely agonising as a hot brass case or two dropping down the back of your neck. Personal experience there! No doubt it was a bit of show for the film. The irony of it all is that fighting and air strikes are still ongoing in the country. Some things never change. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesmodels Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 A very nice Hunter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestFan Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Fantastic, looks like she's been worked hard. I like this a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Womby Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Great result. Looks just as sun/sand worn as the real thing. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 very nice looking hunter.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synopsis Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Lovely aircraft, great weathering, nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildeSau75 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Great rendition of one of my favorite planes. Love the painting. Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Very nicely done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Always good to see a well made Hunter and the weathering on this one really does look like it's been sat out in the middle eastern sun. Duncan B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdonnell Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hello,Doc72 - Congratulations on a beautiful looking build of your Hunter.A Corker of a Hawker!! All the best,Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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