Classic Airframes DH Sea Hornet NF.21

[David A Collins]

I'd love to see a correct injection moulded Hornet in any scale!

However, thank you all for continuing to follow progress. I must thank two modellers here that inspired this build, by showing what was possible in this scale: Jon Kunac-Tabinor and Notdoneyet. Both of whom made nice Hornets from the info I passed on.

Edited August 29, 2015 by David A Collins

[David A Collins]

Around the globe, there is approximately 50% of a Sea Hornet left. Even if it was all collected together, quite a high proportion would need replacing even to construct a static aircraft. The main surviving parts come from TT193, VX250, and VW957.

My Hornet F1 cockpit, while largely new build contains parts from three F1's: PX250, PX229, and PX273.

[Keith Primrose]

No, which is why the Hornet project.

There are some big 'bits', a wing centre section, some salvaged rear fuselages, and then various smaller parts.

see

http://users.skynet.be/BAMRS/dh103/survivor.htm

http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?15226-DH-Sea-Hornet-a-survivor

http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/370441-where-have-all-d-h-103-hornets-gone.html

David will be able to give you chapter and verse on this though, the above might save him some typing

HTH

Thanks for that

Keith

[David A Collins]

I've made a start on the starboard undercarriage nacelle this morning. Whether you decide to fit an engine and these ribs or not, you can re-cut the door positions, adjust the engine firewall shape and position, and deepen the bay fairly easily. The vertical ribs were made from thin strips of plastic card.

In the image below, I have marked on the nacelle sides with pencil, the new surface lines and how they should align with the front and rear spars. To accommodate moving the undercarriage leg and door cut-outs rearward, the front portion of the door was cut off and glued in place on the fixed part of the nacelle. To extend the door rearward, I have cut a piece out of the rear of the nacelle and glued it to the doors.

Looking to the rear of the nacelle, you can see a new "V-shaped" closing panel. This goes from the rear spar to the bottom of the nacelle. On the real aircraft this adds stiffness to the rear of the nacelle and prevents debris from being thrown up into the rear of the bay.

This underside view shows how everything is positioned relative to the front and rear spars. The engine firewall (made from the kit part) has had the lower portion scored and folded to make the step that would sit under the engine supercharger. The gap I have left at its top edge, just ahead of the front spar will locate the top of the undercarriage leg. In the CA kit, this main leg is perfectly ok to use. The only thing requiring correction is its angle to the spar (should be 14deg).

Also on view within these bays are a series of electrical junction boxes along each inner wall. Still to be added to each bay are the large oil tanks. Jon Kunac-Tabinor has made some good examples for reference.

Edited August 31, 2015 by David A Collins

[Troy Smith]

I'd love to see a correct injection moulded Hornet in any scale!

However, thank you all for continuing to follow progress. I must thank two modellers here that inspired this build, by showing what was possible in this scale: Jon Kunac-Tabinor and Notdoneyet. Both of whom made nice Hornets from the info I passed on.

Jon's build is here

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234923967-the-dehavilland-sea-hornet-nf21-classic-airframes-148th-model-with-a-few-embellishments/

Notedoneyet's is here

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/16322-148-hornet-f1/

This is John Adams of Aeroclubs thread on the Trumpeter kit, and it's faults and fixes, but has a lot of information as well.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234973909-a-dh-hornet-fix-ation/

HTH

[David A Collins]

Jon's build is here

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234923967-the-dehavilland-sea-hornet-nf21-classic-airframes-148th-model-with-a-few-embellishments/

Notedoneyet's is here

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/16322-148-hornet-f1/

This is John Adams of Aeroclubs thread on the Trumpeter kit, and it's faults and fixes, but has a lot of information as well.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234973909-a-dh-hornet-fix-ation/

HTH

Hi Troy,

Thanks for posting these links here. It is good to have all references in one thread.

While it is possible to add loads of detail to a model, it is very much a personal choice what can be added. I am choosing just to highlight some areas that have not been covered correctly before on this NF21, ie. radiators, engine, front/rear cockpits.

Jonners was the first person to showcase a corrected undercarriage bay/legs, and lengthened fuselage on here, and Notdoneyet was the first to show a smooth top wing surface.

I am not going to show the flaps or control surfaces "moved" on this build, but will probably do on the F3/F4 I plan to build next year.

[AlexN]

Very interesting and useful thread - and great work! I have the same kit, so this will be an extremely useful reference, come the day.

Cheers,

Alex.

[David A Collins]

These two images show the oil tanks in position. These have been filed out of some resin blocks, with off-cuts of sprue for their sump cap. They measure 9x8x6mm. There is a step in the inboard side of each tank to allow for the leg folding struts. This will place the round sump cap off centre (slightly outboard of the engine centre line).

In this first image, you can also see the Night Fighter flame damping exhaust shrouds.

I have also placed the undercarriage legs in their correct positions. Note that the engine firewall is missing in the port fairing, as I will only put this in after the engine is painted and fitted. As you can see, there are a number of struts and hoses to fit in here, as well as the undercarriage emergency blow-down bottle.

Edited September 2, 2015 by David A Collins

[David A Collins]

Very interesting and useful thread - and great work! I have the same kit, so this will be an extremely useful reference, come the day.

Cheers,

Alex.

Hi Alex,

This is proving to be a very satisfying build. Its my first proper build thread, and this kit is proving straightforward to work with.

I look forward to seeing your Hornet one day, as well as plenty of others displaying the range of different colour schemes.

Edited September 2, 2015 by David A Collins

[JasonC]

Nice work so far! Where did the shrouds come from?

Jason

[David A Collins]

Nice work so far! Where did the shrouds come from?

Jason

Hi Jason,

The shrouds come with the kit fortunately.

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

I'd love to see a correct injection moulded Hornet in any scale!

However, thank you all for continuing to follow progress. I must thank two modellers here that inspired this build, by showing what was possible in this scale: Jon Kunac-Tabinor and Notdoneyet. Both of whom made nice Hornets from the info I passed on.

I think David - that it is I who should thanking you.

Without your superb assistance, I'd never have got my Hornet looking, well...Hornet like!

It's a real treat watching your build on here too.

Jonners

[Martian]

I have to agree with Jonners. For those of us who want to build a Hornet, it doesn't get much better than having the man who is actually building a Hornet on board!

Martin

[Paul Bradley]

I'll agree with what they said - this is superb reading for when I gather up enough courage to tackle mine....!

[David A Collins]

I'll agree with what they said - this is superb reading for when I gather up enough courage to tackle mine....!

Hi Paul,

I'm happy to answer any questions on detail for this type. As kits go, this one is fairly straight-forward to assemble.

While I remember, here is a photo showing NF.21 VW957, which is the subject of this build. This photo was taken towards the end of its time with 809 NAS, and shows its colours well. The later Sea Hornets had spinners the same colour as the undersides, and the radomes were mostly tan/white coloured by then. Earlier in their use, spinners and radomes were black. This also shows drop tanks and rocket rails on the wings. By the time is was operated by Airwork at S.Davids the drop tanks and rocket rails had been removed, and yellow training bands had been added around the wings and rear fuselage.

Edited October 4, 2015 by David A Collins

[David A Collins]

The Undercarriage legs and props are the last of the kit parts requiring assembly.

The props and spinners can be used as they are, in my opinion. With the undercarriage moved back by ~6mm, the nacelles/spinners look longer. Remember one prop rotates clockwise, the other anti-clockwise. (Top blades towards each other)

The undercarriage legs are a little tricky to assemble, but are very strong when the glue is dry. To each, three more struts should be added.

At the front it needs another diagonal brace (black part)

At the rear it needs a tie bar to steady the main leg support (light grey part)

Still to be added will be the main hydraulic jack between the leg and structure above within the undercarriage bay.

Edited September 7, 2015 by David A Collins

[airscale]

it is a pleasure to watch you build and correct this kit David - a very useful thread for all those interested in this enigma of an aircraft, thank you for unraveling it's mysteries

looking forward to every post

Peter

[David A Collins]

I hope this shows the actual lines visible on the wing of a Sea Hornet clear enough? I've pencilled-in what should be there, including the slanting rear edge of the radiator fairing. Its very subtle even on the full size aircraft, so for this kit I've chosen to represent it as an engraved line. If you choose, you could cutaway the complete skin forward of this line and inset a piece a fraction of a millimetre higher.

With the lines I wanted to keep now marked out, then comes the messy bit of filling the unwanted details. As you can see, there is a lot of spurious detail present (copied onto the Trumpeter kit too). These lines actually represent the inner wooden wing ribs. They are shown as hidden detail on some original diagrams, so someone would have mis-interpreted the drawing unfortunately. Also in the photo, you can see the diagonal rear edges of the radiator fairings clearly.

Thanks for following, and Peter when are you getting back to your 1/32 Sea Hornet again??

[David A Collins]

Following a little light sanding, and a mist coat of primer you can see the panel lines that should be visible. In this image, I have adjusted the image contrast to highlight the lines further.

For this Sea Hornet I still have to add the four blisters covering the wing fold hinges. These do not come with the kit, so they will have to be fashioned from thin plastic card.

I have also filed away the over-accentuated trailing edge wing tips. On the Hornets and Sea Hornets with outer wing tanks, there were small vent pipes fitted. I will be adding these using brass tube, along with the pitot.

Edited September 9, 2015 by David A Collins

[David A Collins]

I have returned to the main undercarriage now.

The following pictures show the additional support structure required at the top of each undercarriage leg. There is another cross beam that bridges the gap between the wing lower skins, and attaches to the rear of the framework.

Sorry, if this is getting a little photo-heavy, but this structure is best shown from several angles to understand its complexity.

While the kit wheels are perfectly ok to use (right size and shape) I have added a pair of Barracuda wheels here. They have added detail such as the Dunlop writing and a block tread, whereas the Classic Airframes ones are smooth tread.

The following images show the legs fitted in place. If you choose to not follow the kit instructions, as I did, you will have to "spring" the undercarriage fairing side walls apart slightly to fit the leg frame in place. I used a wooden clothes peg to achieve this.

Note the filler in the underside of the engine cowling. This is where the legs were moved rearward and the front of each door were used to fill the gap.

You get a nice snug fit, with the front of the frame up against the angled engine firewall.

[gingerbob]

Just for the record, is the Sea Hornet gear different (beefier?) compared to the [land] Hornet's?

bob

[David A Collins]

Just for the record, is the Sea Hornet gear different (beefier?) compared to the [land] Hornet's?

bob

Hi Bob,

That's a good question and worth addressing here.

There is a hidden difference between the types.

The RAF hornet has rubber in compression sprung dampers in the main legs, whereas the sea hornet used a system called "air-draulic" in its place.

I use the term hidden, as the differences are all contained within the same main leg strut.

I haven't seen any other obvious differences in the type record, but if anyone has photos I'd be interested to see.

Edited September 13, 2015 by David A Collins

[David A Collins]

This is a work in progress update on the port side engine installation. This used a resin Mustang Merlin engine as a basis, with a few tweeks to make it resemble the 130 series.

With the upper cowling removed you can see the main cylinder heads of this V12. I have added the two pipes/wires, and the header tank just behind the spinner. For this piece I used a 1/72 Meteor wheel mudguard to form the basic shape, and added the filler point and three manifolds. The Merlin is black, and the header tank is aluminium in colour.

The underside is currently unfinished, but before I clutter it with more pipes, here are a few images showing the scratch built engine frame. While the insides of the cowlings are aluminium, all of the support arches and the engine frames are cockpit green.

[Martian]

More great stuff! Don't worry about posting too many pictures, they are all educational and helpful no matter whose Hornet kit you are building.

The excellent Kevin67 sent me a spare Hornet canopy and I have managed to club the Trumpeter kit's nose into a better resemblance of a Hornet NF21.

Martin

[David A Collins]

The following two pictures show the finished Merlin installation. I've added the lower half of the header tank, associated piping and some further harness and electrical equipment.

And finally for today, here is a quick assembly showing how I'd like the finished diorama to look like. I have a trolley-acc, a trestle, and some tools to add. Possibly even some ground crew if I can find some good references showing the colour of their overalls - land based in the mid 50's. I presume the trolley-acc would have been yellow in this post-WW2 era?