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Hawker Fury Mk.I


maltadefender

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Well, Matchbox was always fêted for its bipes so here we go with a rather breathless build of the lovely old Fury. This could go one of two ways...

 

Here is the kit:

 

28189837899_31b794712e_k.jpg

 

Time to read the instructions... quickly!

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Yes, I built this kit many, many years ago. I still have it (mostly!). It does seem that Matchbox had their A-team working on their biplanes. I've always thought the P-12E, Seafox, Stranraer, Siskin, Helldiver etc. were all nice kits. Best of luck on yours!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

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Thanks Jason. I was toying with the idea of bare metal foiling the metal sections but that could be a bridge too far.

 

Hopefully the difference between Tamiya Flat Aluminium and Tamiya Chrome Silver will be sufficient. A long shot but there we go!

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Now that I think of it, I've actually built two Matchbox Furies. The first one (built rather poorly in my callow youth) as a pre-war British version, and the second as the Spanish Fury, with scratchbuilt cantilever landing gear legs and the red bands on the fuselage and wings, and some homemade pre-war Spanish roundels on the wing. It was built about twenty years after the first model and turned out quite a bit better.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

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No arguing that it's a very well thought-out kit of what might otherwise have been a hefty challenge for 10-year-old fingers. But for a 'paper shop special' it certainly has the potential to make a nice looking Fury.

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I've bitten the bullet and started with drilling my rigging holes. I've never had a drill small enough to take the widdy-diddy bits, so it's fingertips only!

 

I've also got the Revell repo of the Gladiator, one of my top 3 favourite aeroplanes of all time. As I wear the tread off my fingers I'm thinking: could I fit two silver jobs in by Feb 11?

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2 hours ago, maltadefender said:

I've bitten the bullet and started with drilling my rigging holes. I've never had a drill small enough to take the widdy-diddy bits, so it's fingertips only!

 

I've also got the Revell repo of the Gladiator, one of my top 3 favourite aeroplanes of all time. As I wear the tread off my fingers I'm thinking: could I fit two silver jobs in by Feb 11?

 

Go hard or go home!

 

 

Chris

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Interesting - the box art is for yellow over the aluminium. Other sources say roundel blue.

 

Looking at this photo I'd say blue is the way forward for this one.

 

tn_Fury-25.jpg

 

EDIT: Apparently not. Apparently it's right.

 

Going through this wonderful forum, I found this content from Smithy on a 2011 build of this kit:

 

Research by those such as Crawford has shown that K2065 was the C Flight commander's mount in 1 Sqn and not the B Flight commander's. C Flight colour was yellow (B was blue, A was red). Secondly, high res versions of the famous photo of K2065 warming up at Tangmere show the tonal difference in colour between the blue of the roundel and rudder and the upper fuselage and fin. Even though there is oversaturation in the photo from it being a very bright day, it is quite noticeable between the fin and rudder (which is at neutral position shown by shadow). I have heard mention how this colour doesn't look like the colour of yellow on Fury trainers and so it must be blue, but this is misleading due to trainer yellow being a matt colour brought into RAF stores in the late 30s. The yellow used on early 30s aircraft was a brighter gloss shade.

I personally think the reason for this idea that K2065 had the blue markings is because of an error from a SAM article which was a main source of Fury info for modellers and decal makers. This article correctly lists K2065 as a C Flight machine but then erroneously lists C flight colours as blue. This has been perpetuated since.

 

Thank you, Smithy!

 

Yellow it is...

Edited by maltadefender
Found the answer!
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A small pause for thought... and dry fitting... allowed me the first chance to take piccies of what may just turn out to be a Hawker Fury.

 

28214510239_427f9817a2_k.jpg

 

I'm delighted with the difference in tone between Tamiya's Chrome Silver and Flat Aluminium. It's subtle but it's there. And it doesn't have any weird creases in it, which bare metal foil would if it was left to my tender ministrations. Yellow remains an absolute swine to paint evenly with a brush... it's all done with hairy sticks by the way. I don't own an airbrush and aerosols would send this little thing into the middle of next week.

 

But for all that it's a lovely old kit, is PK-1 (as it still says on the sprue). It's quite confidence inspiring for a biplane. Hopefully she won't tempt me into over-confidence. Step-by-step I'm hoping to get to the stage where I will dare to have a run at my Pegasus S.E.5, which needs its interplane struts to be cut by hand from a strip of plastic. For now, though, I'm happy to have everything pre-aligned and with just a modicum of flash to trim off!

 

Next jobs are to run the drill bit through the holes I made last night to reopen them after painting. Then I'll start building proper. With glue and everything!

 

39993510861_10b039d18a_k.jpg

 

Yours optimistically...

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Here's the latest update on the itty-bitty Fury. It's still an absolute pleasure to put together and for whatever quirk of the eye - or my eyes anyway - the yellow stands out more on it than if it were an all-over scheme.

 

I wish more manufacturers had engineered their biplane struts in this way. I have only once in a blue moon managed to get everything straight and true with individual struts and more often than not I've had to bin the entire model when it collapses in a gluey mess. Playing to the strengths of the design (and knowing full well my own inadequacies), I went a bit off-piste and plonked the top wing on the central struts first (using superglue), then stuck the bottom wing on. Finally I put the interplane struts in, which clicked into place very crisply indeed.

 

It might not be a design for the purist modeller, but I would much rather have something finished and on my shelf to be proud of in my own little way than have a mess in the bin while I sit there and wonder why I don't like making jets instead.

 

39119652675_a5a99173ca_b.jpg

 

There's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be doing the Gladiator as well after this.

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The rigging's all done and I'm delighted with it BUT I'm now having issues with my undercarriage. Brings a tear to the eye, you know. :blush:

 

Being a repop, the moulds aren't quite as crisp and fresh as once they were and the u/c legs just don't fit their niches. In some desperation I used superglue to pin the rear mounting points in place but I can't for the life of me get the front legs in straight or even to adhere - not even with superglue!

 

I shall continue puzzling over that one because I've got one shot left at it before it ruins the locating area.

 

Deep breath...

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Panic over. Just!

 

I managed to prise away the rear of the u/c legs from their superglue mountings, carefully chip the glue away from the mounting points and then drill new holes wider and deeper.

 

If she was 1:1 size you'd think twice about trying to land her but in 1/72 I think she'll pass. I'll post photos this evening when hopefully the build part will be complete and she'll be ready for a bit of touch-up before decals go on.

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She stands!

 

I've put Klear on ready for the decals and I've left the radio wires off until the decals, final touch-ups on the paint and the clear coats are done. But she is definitely looking like a little Hawker.

 

26193407738_220f623c63_k.jpg

 

Think I'll start work on the Gladiator while I'm waiting to put the decals on. 

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I didn't start the Gladiator. But the decals are all on the Fury now.

 

40069277311_902bce21d5_b.jpg

 

40069279501_6344253ca9_b.jpg

 

I'll let them dry overnight and tomorrow before softening them and will clear coat her and do the radio wires on Monday. Work on the Gladiator starts in the morning with fresh eyes.

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Disaster!

 

Overnight we were awoken to a crash. A mirror had fallen off the wall and fortunately not smashed because it had a soft landing - on my Fury!

 

It was only a small mirror but it took a lot of stuff down with it. In view of the carnage the little Fury got off relatively lightly but it's the troublesome undercarriage that bore the brunt. Fingers crossed I can get it repaired and photographed ASAP.

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12 minutes ago, maltadefender said:

Disaster!

 

Overnight we were awoken to a crash. A mirror had fallen off the wall and fortunately not smashed because it had a soft landing - on my Fury!

 

It was only a small mirror but it took a lot of stuff down with it. In view of the carnage the little Fury got off relatively lightly but it's the troublesome undercarriage that bore the brunt. Fingers crossed I can get it repaired and photographed ASAP.

Noooooo

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  • 2 weeks later...

I fixed her up and the results are in the Gallery - not quite as magically true as she was first time - and put the matt coat on where needed. Radio wires added. She's done.

 

It's been an absolute pleasure to build both this kit and the Gladiator. Thank you all for your company and thanks to the hosts - it was a fun one!

 

IMG_2607a.jpg

 

IMG_2619.jpg

Edited by maltadefender
random 'e'
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