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Gloster Meteor F.4. 1:32 HK Models


Shar2

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Gloster Meteor F.4

1:32 HK Models

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History
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft itself began in 1940, although work on the engines had been underway since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. Nicknamed the "Meatbox", the Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in terms of its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter.

Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces and remained in use for several decades. The Meteor saw limited action in the Second World War. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) provided a significant contribution in the Korean War. Several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in photo-reconnaissance and as night fighters.

The next major change was the Meteor F.4 that went into production in 1946, by which time there were 16 RAF squadrons equipped with Meteors. The first F.4 prototype flew on 17 May 1945. The F.4 had the Rolls-Royce Derwent 5 engines (a smaller version of the Nene), wings 86.4 cm shorter than the F.3's and with blunter tips (derived from the world speed record prototypes), a stronger airframe, fully pressurized cockpit, lighter ailerons (to improve manoeuvrability), and rudder trim adjustments to reduce snaking. The F.4 could also be fitted with a drop tank under each wing while experiments were performed with carriage of underwing stores and also in lengthened fuselage models. The F.4 was 170 mph (270 km/h) faster than the F.1 at sea level (585 against 415), although the reduced wings impaired its rate of climb.

Because of the increased demand, F.4 production was divided between Gloster and the Armstrong Whitworth factory at Baginton. The majority of early F.4s did not go directly to the RAF: 100 were exported to Argentina (and saw action on both sides in the 1955 revolution, one being lost on 19 September 1955) while in 1947, only RAF Nos. 74 and 222 Squadrons were fully equipped with the F.4. Nine further RAF squadrons were upgraded over 1948. From 1948, 38 F.4s were exported to the Dutch, equipping four squadrons (322, 323, 326 and 327) split between bases in Soesterberg and Leeuwarden until the mid-1950s. In 1949, only two RAF squadrons were converted to the F.4, Belgium was sold 48 aircraft in the same year (going to 349 and 350 Squadrons at Beauvechain) and Denmark received 20 over 1949–50. In 1950, three more RAF squadrons were upgraded, including No. 616 and, in 1951, six more. In 1950, a single order of 20 F.4s was delivered to Egypt.

The Model
Whilst this kit has been out for a little while, this is the first opportunity we’ve had to review one. The Meteor is a historically important aircraft, particularly to the RAF and as such it is great to see one at last in this scale. The moderately sized box with a fine artists impression of the aircraft in flight on the front isn’t exactly bulging with parts when the lid is lifted off. The parts contained on the three large medium grey sprues are well moulded though, with fine engraved panel lines and riveted areas. There is no sign of flash of imperfections on the review sample and not too many moulding pips, making the clean-up of parts pretty simple.

There has been much discussion on the forums about the accuracy and from what I can glean is that the engine intakes are not the correct size, sitting somewhere in-between the narrow and wide intakes that were used on the Meteors. Fortunately there are already aftermarket items available from the likes of Fisher Models, but considering the amount of work done in designing the kit, it would be been preferable to have the correct intakes from the start. That said I’m sure there are a lot of modellers who will build the kit without even noticing the error. The rest of the kit appears to be pretty accurate and I haven’t seen anything to state otherwise.

The large instruction booklet is nicely printed and the diagrams would be very clear if they weren’t printed so faintly, making them rather difficult to read properly. It might just be my example, but I’m just glad it isn’t a more complex kit.

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The build begins, naturally with the cockpit. Now, I’m not familiar with the differences between the various marks of Meteor cockpit, but it seems to me that there should be more “clutter”, certainly after looking at photos online. As nice as the mouldings are and the detail contained on them, British cockpits of the era always seemed to be rather cramped and full of equipment. The throttles are indistinct and the whole area is lacking that certain something that, in this scale is not something even the least discerning modeller would want.

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Back to the build, the cockpit floor, complete with nose wheel well is fitted with the rear bulkhead, seat, (sans belts), joystick, instrument panel and footboards with rudder bar. To this, the port and starboard cockpit sides are attached, creating a sturdy tub. This is then fitted to one half of the fuselage along with the nose weight thoughtfully provided. Before closing the fuselage up there are several holes that need to be opened up and the nose mounted machine gun barrels glued into the rear of the troughs. The two halves of the rudder are joined together and slotted into position so that it is sandwiched between the fuselage halves. With the fuselage closed up the various aerials can be added, along with the rudder trim tab, extreme nose, upper nose panel and canopy rails. The prominent gunsight is another area that will need detailing, especially the removal of the grey styrene sight glass to be replaced with a clear part. This is another area which is rather strange, given the scale of this kit. The three sections to the canopy are now fitted, with the centre section posed in either the open of closed position. The clear parts are very clear and well moulded, with the exception of the windscreen, which, on this example has a slight ridge, like a very flattened V on the main screen panel, which should of course be flat. It’s barely noticeable and can only be seen at certain angles, but it is there.

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Before the wing halves can be fitted together the three piece ailerons need to be assembled, each consisting of upper and lower halves and a trim tab. The engine fronts that fit behind the large splitter wedges look more like bulkheads, although once assembled you won’t see too much down there they could do with some extra detailing. With the engine parts and ailerons in position the two upper sections of the wing can be attached to the single piece lower section. The separate flaps can then be attached either in the extended or retracted positions. If the large ventral fuel tank is to be used, the attachment holes will need to be drilled out. Since the model does not come with either engine provided the separate access panels can be glued shut. Alternatively you can now buy an aftermarket set from Profimodeller which includes a very detailed engine, framework, etched brass panels, intake and exhaust, should you wish to give your model the works. The other option is find an old Matchbox 1:32 Sea Venom and nick the engine out of that, it may not be the correct type, but with a little bit of detailing it will look the part. With the wings assembled the intake rings and exhaust nozzles are fitted. The wing can now be joined to the fuselage.

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The horizontal tailplane is now assembled. Each of the fixed and moving surfaces comes in upper and lower halves with the elevators also having separate trim tabs. With each side assembled they are fitted to their respective positions on the vertical tailplane. These are followed by the four airbrakes fitted above and below the wing between the nacelles and fuselage, which can be posed extended or retracted with a bit of surgery required, and shown in a sketch in the instructions.

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If the undercarriage is to be displayed in the lowered condition the door retraction arms need to be fitted into the main bays first. Each undercarriage leg comes in two halves, as do the wheels. With the wheels joined together they are sandwiched between the yokes and mudguards of the oleo. Single piece wheels would have been nicer or even single piece tyres with separate hubs, but there you go. There has been some debate about the main wheels, but from pictures seen during the research for this review they appear to be correct. With the undercarriage assembled they are fitted into position, followed by the nose and main undercarriage doors. If the undercarriage is to be posed retracted, then you will need to remove the tabs on each door and glue into place.

Decals
The decal sheet provides markings for two examples.

  • Meteor F.4 of 600 “City of London” Squadron RAuxAF 1951
  • Meteor F.4 C_027 ex-EE527. Now housed at the Museo Regional Interfuerzas, Santa Romana, San Luis. It is, apparently, the oldest Meteor airframe surviving anywhere

Printed by HK Models themselves the decals look to be well printed, in good register and colour density. Don’t worry about the roundels for the fuselage sides, which are a completely different blue, being a lot lighter than the wings, although the wing roundels do seem a little dark. The Argentine scheme is rather colourful and would certainly stand out from the crowd. The rest of the sheet contains the few stencils and walkways. The only visible carrier film is seen on the code letters for both machines but since it’s not particularly thick it should sttle down well on a good gloss coat of Klear or Alclad Gloss.

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Conclusion
Whilst the kit is a reasonable size, there aren’t that many parts, which would make this a pretty good kit for someone moving up to this scale, although the price might put them off a bit unless they really wanted a big Meteor. That said, there are some good deals around. The trouble is, it’s like HK Models rushed this into production before all the finer details had been completed as it really could have been a stunner with more time and care taken in its design. What it does give you though, is a great blank canvas to detail it to whatever standard you wish. There are also some juicy aftermarket sets being released if you wish to build an F.8, which most forum members would have preferred. Oh! In some of the first released boxes there is a 1:144 mini Meteor desk model, which is a rather odd inclusion, especially as you will need to source some decals for it. Recommended with the provisos mentioned above.

The kit can be bought worldwide online, and in the UK from Hannants.

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Review sample is courtesy of logo.gif

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Meteor F.4 C_027 ex-EE527. Now housed at the Museo Regional Interfuerzas, Santa Romana, San Luis. It is, apparently, the oldest Meteor airframe surviving anywhere.

Only if you discount the first prototype DG202/G which is at Hendon. Which some say you can as it was not called the Meteor then.

Julien

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