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Xtrakit 1/72 Hawker Hunter T.7 - XF321 RAE Bedford 1980-84 ++FINISHED++


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This is my entry for this GB. My initial plan is to build it OOB but I am not sure which version to make yet. The options are

T.7 XL573 from No 237 OCU, RAF Honington, 1986/87 - Red, White and High Speed Silver(HSS)

T.8 "The Admirals Barge", RNAS Yeovilton - Roundel Blue/Gloss White

T.7 WV372/R, No2 Sq.RAF, RAF Wildenwrath, Germany, July1970 - Dark Green/Dark Grey Camo over HSS

I will be a little late starting because I am trying to complete another build first.

The kit box.

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and the two main parts sprues plus a clear sprue for the canopy

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also included is a small etch fret and film instrument panel, a couple of resin seats and exhaust.

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​I hope to be joining you soon.

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Hi John,

I looked into this GB by chance and just saw your build intention.

The T.7 and T.8 are arguably the most graceful Hunter, so that will be a nice eye candy!

And I am sure you are not going to disappoint us, by choosing the trickiest paint scheme!!!

Cheers

JR

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WV372 would be a fitting tribute to Shoreham. If you dont do it ill probably will if thats ok.

HT if you would like to do WV372 then go right ahead, it will be difficult enough to make a decision with just two choices.

Hi John,

I looked into this GB by chance and just saw your build intention.

The T.7 and T.8 are arguably the most graceful Hunter, so that will be a nice eye candy!

And I am sure you are not going to disappoint us, by choosing the trickiest paint scheme!!!

Cheers

JR

Good to hear from you again JR. I hope that things are well with you. We have just arrived back from a restful few days in North Yorkshire -not a very pleasurable experience for a Lancastrian, :fool: ​ but what can you do when you have a wife who is nuts about the place? :winkgrin:

As for the colour scheme, I think that secretly we both know the direction that this one is heading, don't we?

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Good to hear from you again JR. I hope that things are well with you. We have just arrived back from a restful few days in North Yorkshire -not a very pleasurable experience for a Lancastrian, :fool: ​ but what can you do when you have a wife who is nuts about the place? :winkgrin:

As for the colour scheme, I think that secretly we both know the direction that this one is heading, don't we?

Good evening John,

as a beret-toting Frog from the other side of the Pond, I must confess my ignorance as far as the charms, or lack thereof, of North Yorkshire are concerned... For us, it always rains there, as it does everywhere else in the Perfidious Albion. As you can see, we are not bigoted, nor do we entertain cliches...

Re your promising Hunter, I know where you are heading. And don't kid yourself for a second that it may be a secret!

Take care and have a lot of fun!

JR

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Made a start on this today and have managed to prime and assemble the cockpit parts, also got some black on the instrument panel. If you build this kit ignore the instructions re fit of the rudder pedals they show them fixed upside down, the rounded end should point to the cockpit floor.

I've also had the opportunity to look at other parts in the kit and I think that I may have to do something about the wheels, so off to search t' internet see what is available after posting this

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DSC00698_zpso8azulqc.jpg

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So it is started!

Isn't it funny how many kits let us down through downright shoddy wheels? And you are one of the lucky ones, with Lowestoft right around the corner...

Guess how I feel when I have to follow the same online ordering procedure........ Patience really becomes a virtue!

It is a bad start when the second plastic piece you have to glue is shown upside-down on the notice!!!! Have fun!

JR

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It is a bad start when the second plastic piece you have to glue is shown upside-down on the notice!!!! Have fun!

JR

Yes, but it can sometimes be the usual fayre for limited run kits, quite often the instructions are unclear with regard to fit of parts. I ordered a set of replacement wheels from Freightdog last night - this was just a personal choice for me, I'm not a fan of using etch on wheels.

Model making must be a long process for you Jean, and I think that we are guilty of forgetting just how remote it can be for some modellers. I guess it is quite exciting when a package arrives though.

As an aside, I have just been watching a male Chaffinch who keeps flying and tapping at our kitchen window. I can't decide if he is trying to get in or is just tapping to tell me that the feeders need to be filled. Then again maybe he is a kamikaze Chaffinch, I think that I will go and fill the feeders anyway. :winkgrin:

Update

​I completed the cockpit assembly last night and it now needs a light dry brush to pick out the detail on the side panels.

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​Then I had a dry fit in the fuselage halves and there is quite a gap at the front so the sides will require a bit of a scrape to get it to fit before closing the halves up.

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John, I found with the joint all you had to do was simply sand down the sides of the tub and you will be able then to fit with now filler (well not as much), I think I also took a nib out of the bottom of the tum where the tabs are in the fuselage as I think this is what prevented a snug fit.

Just wait until the wings :), you'll love the fit on them.

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Thanks for the advice guys. A combination of scraping the fuselage sides, sanding the tub and removal of the vertical parts of the locating points seems to have resulted in a good fit. I just have to get the back end to close up around the exhaust pipe and we are on to a winner. I will also check the canopy fit before closing the fuselage up, hopefully get that done later.

Cheers.

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With the exhaust i put it further back into the fuselage if you do not reduce the resing rear. The exhaust sits a little far back but i thought that not a bad compromise.

Seems like a fair compromise Stuart, I have found a reference in my copy of MDF16 Hunter that shows the pipe sat further back than I was trying to fit it.

So this is where I have set it

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I have also added some weight above the nose-wheel bay and under the tub using aquarium plant weight.

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​Then started to join the fuselage from the back end. This is the join at the front with just a slight gap, but with a clamp and some gap filling superglue it should close up nicely.

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It is interesting to see how the Xtrakit Hunter goes together, it had some terrible press when it was first released but how much of that was just the Hunter enthusiasts picking fault I'm not sure. Apparently one of the wings is a hassle to fit.

I had this kit but I think I passed it on to someone who knew what to do with it (i.e. Col) once I'd built my PJ Production/Revell T bird conversion.

Duncan B

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Apparently one of the wings is a hassle to fit.

Duncan B

Thanks for the heads up Duncan. I have had a trial fit of the wings and one of them looks as though it could be a little tricky, but I think that with some patience and a bit of tweaking it should fit OK. Good to know that it is not my ham fisted assembly work that has caused the problem.

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It's a moulding issue. If you notice in plan view that wing is also too far back and need to be brought forward to match the other. This leave a gap at the rear wing root that nee sorting. Also the rear part of the wing at the root needs a bit of trimming as one is more angled one is more pointed. Apart from that the wings are fine.

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I had this kit but I think I passed it on to someone who knew what to do with it (i.e. Col) once I'd built my PJ Production/Revell T bird conversion.

Nope. Not me :shrug:

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After a bit of work last night I was able to get the wings on, but this was before I picked up HT's previous post and by then it was too late to rectify them. It does look a off when viewed from above, I may try and improve the look by adding plastic strip and fairing back at the leading and trailing edges of the wing roots, but other than that I will have to live with it.

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A view of the intakes that shows the offset - I have not decided yet, but I could try to disguise this by adding some strip along the leading edge and fairing this back in.

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