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After three months of occasional evenings....

Here is a Classic Airframes 1/48 Sea Hornet NF.21. This has had selected areas fully detailed that are not usually covered.

Also, this has had a number of modifications that are necessary to correct the basic shape:

+6.5mm insert in the rear fuselage ahead of the tailplane/fin.

Full depth undercarriage bays.

Complete undercarriage leg, bays, and doors moved rearward by 6.5mm

Filled unnecessary panel lines on fuselage and wings

Added correct panel lines on wings.

This was all detailed in a WIP thread here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234983720-classic-airframes-dh-sea-hornet-nf21/

 

36649576344_4c140351a2_b.jpg. by hornet project, on Flickr

 

A brief history to be found in Lewis Cooper's Hornet File book:

Sea Hornet NF.21 VW957 was built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company and first flew in 1949.

It was delivered to ARDU Culham on 20th June 1949.

Entering first line use on the 17th January 1951 with 809 Naval Air Squadron at Culdrose, initially coded as 484/Q.

By May 1951 it joined HMS Vengeance.

August 1951 saw brief stays at RAF Coltishall, Hal Far, and Gibraltar.

By February 1952 it was back at Hal Far, Malta.

In June 1952 VW957 was on-board HMS Indomitable for just one month until returning to Culdrose by July 1952.

Here it stayed until flying into Leuchars in September 1952.

In January 1953 it was onboard HMS Eagle until March where VW957 ended its first stint with 809 NAS.

Between March and August it received refurbishment at Lossimouth and Culdrose, coded CW/481.

On the 2nd September 1953 it re-joined 809 NAS on HMS Eagle for the final time, coded J/481.

On the 28th September VW957 was used to trial the "Evaluation of using a whistle for emergency stops."

It was reported as having had a hydraulic failure on the 19th January 1954 onboard HMS Eagle.

HMS Eagle said goodbye to 809 NAS in February 1954 when the Squadron was sent ashore at Gibralta.

By 28th March 1954 the Squadron returned to Culdrose.

With 809 NAS giving up its Sea Hornets in favour of the new Sea Venom, their Squadron Commanding Officer Lt Cdr Henley flew his last aerobatics (in a Sea Hornet) in VW957 on 7th April 1954.

Two months later after a period of storage, VW957 was transferred to Airwork FRU at St.Davids in Pembrokeshire coded as BQ/415.

It was used here for Radar interception training.

On the 19th December 1956 its useful life had come to an end, and it was sold for scrap.

Evidently, remains of six of the last Sea Hornets scrapped at St.Davids were to be found on the airfield dump for at least the next 10 years.

Photo's show remains of mid-rear fuselages of these up until around 1970. VW957 was one of these recovered, the other being VX250 now on display in the DH Museum.

 

23507222398_1448fa9a70_b.jpg. by hornet project, on Flickr

 

36688904653_852630e14d_b.jpg. by hornet project, on Flickr

 

37102586240_ab6982c157_b.jpg. by hornet project, on Flickr

 

36688903763_dc552bde6f_b.jpg. by hornet project, on Flickr

 

37102585750_b4bcb566df_b.jpg. by hornet project, on Flickr

 

36688902633_6bf815891e_b.jpg. by hornet project, on Flickr

 

 

Edited by David A Collins
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Very very nice - liking that a lot! Beautiful job.

That radar set thimble looks even more odd without the fairing!

thanks for showing

ATB
Rick

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Good evening David,

What a cracking model of an outstanding aeroplane.

I am a bit of fan of the Hornet in all its shapely forms, with examples of the Classic Airframes and Dynavector in my stash.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge on this and other threads.

Regards

Darren

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I've been looking through possible RAF schemes for the Hornet F4 I'm looking at doing next. Like this Sea Hornet I want to show a less commonly seen colour scheme.

I've modelled one before in 1/72 scale: PX293 of 33sqn. This has a single belly camera and a target towing fitting. This also has the high demarcation line between the PRU blue and grey/green cammo, and squadron "bars" either side of the fuselage roundels.

The other option would be WF898, Q of 80 Sqn. This has a single belly camera, nose art with the lightning strike through a bell on each side of the nose, and blue spinners.

....so many different published schemes to choose from, and manufacturers keep on reproducing the same few!

Edited by David A Collins
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  • 1 year later...

Hello Gerrardandrews and cngaero,
 

Thank you both. It was certainly the most difficult scratch built correction I have attempted to a mixed media kit so far, but very rewarding to have finished and now on display.

 

Maybe towards the end of the year, I will make a start on the Hornet F4 I've been promising myself for a while. I'm planning on showing the camera installations, and possibly the open cannon armament bays on this one.

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Beautiful model David. Thanks for re-doing the photos.

I saw dozens of Sea Hornets being scrapped at Lossiemouth and there was substantial remains of one in Quarrywood scrapyard near Elgin up until at least 1968.

A travesty that not one was preserved.

Richard

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What a wonderful job David,.... I love the scheme too and intend to build one in this too,.....although mine won`t be as good as this!

Cheers

           Tony

            

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