Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Watcha me old cock sparrows, well I've had the Academy F6/FGA9 thing in the stash for a while ( actually its the italeri boxing, but you get the idea). Now the thing is with 'unters, once you add dog's teeth and sabrinas, the whole smooth grace of the aircraft rather vanishes to my eye. So the obvious thing is to back date to either an F1 or F2. I haven't ruled out an F1, but the F2 seems more interesting - purely because it seems to be the better of the two; and lets face it, anything powered by a bottle of Bombay's finest botanical-infused spirt rather than a bilingually confused river ( work it out) is just more me So - armed with Aeroclub's excellent correction set, Neomega's "interesting" cockpit (qv), some plastic card, CA/talc filler, a decent tweed jacket, brogues and pack of Players Navy Cut, I am venturing forth. I suppose the build can be split into a few sections: un-dogging the wings ( no sniggering), Twiggying the Sabrinas ( if you get my drift), correcting the fin/rudder/tailplanes, sorting out the jet pipe, sorting out the intakes and wing fit ( I have a cunning plan...), vents, nose and cannon troughs, and finally cockpit. Aeroclub takes care of several of these of course, but I do like to fiddle..... The last Hunter I built was Nichimo's one a long, long time ago, so this is a nice refreshing change for me. Onwards and downwards! Cheers, Jonners, in a very Nero mood 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Jonners, be sure to fit the completed wings to the individual fuselage halves then loosely add the intake unit into one half and then glue the two halves together. That way you can wiggle the intake into place and it stays in place once the glue has dried. On the first Academy Hunter I made, I followed the instructions and the intakes cause me to have one wing with dihedral the other with anhedral. I've since made five more and the trick has always worked. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blogs On Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I will be following with much interest. I have a similar collection of bits in the stash but I have yet to clear a slot in my busy build schedule - NOT !!!!!!!!!!! So I will be cribbing desperately. Whilst I agree that early birds had a certain willowy grace, I am drawn to the rather more shapely figure of the late mark "Tomcat molesting" Omani FGAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Good choice of subject Jon. Are you going with an overall silver machine to accentuate those fine lines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Col. if I do go Mk 1 then yes - the overall HSS of WT555 would seem apt. But Im still leaning on a Mk 2 ( Oi you - stop slouching against that Hunter you 'orrid little man!) Anyhow- wings. Hopefully these pics are self explanatory.... Jonners...a la Harold Lloyd 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 What a great conversion so far,.........brilliant work on the wings, a bit of intelligent modelling there! Good luck with the rest,...I`m following with great interest, Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Col. if I do go Mk 1 then yes - the overall HSS of WT555 would seem apt. But Im still leaning on a Mk 2 ( Oi you - stop slouching against that Hunter you 'orrid little man!) Anyhow- wings. Hopefully these pics are self explanatory.... I picked WT557 as the cleanest airframe I could find for a previous project - no collector tanks, airbrake, dogtooth. Same with WB202 as the F.2 prototype P.1067 although I did hang a quad of dummy Firestreaks under it. Nice work on the wings Jon. I take it the intakes are next to get some love and abuse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) Now the thing is with 'unters, once you add dog's teeth and sabrinas, the whole smooth grace of the aircraft rather vanishes to my eye. I can't seem to make my mind up about sabrinas (in other respects I'm more of a Twiggy kind of guy), but I actually prefer a good set of canines- lends a bit of character to an otherwise somewhat blah wing planform. brilliant work on the wings, a bit of intelligent modelling there! And from Jonners, no less... who'd a thunk it? Yes, I'm always happy to find a new WIP from Kunac, Tabinor, and Associates! It isn't just for the witty repartee. bob Edited November 11, 2015 by gingerbob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 I picked WT557 as the cleanest airframe I could find for a previous project - no collector tanks, airbrake, dogtooth. Same with WB202 as the F.2 prototype P.1067 although I did hang a quad of dummy Firestreaks under it. Nice work on the wings Jon. I take it the intakes are next to get some love and abuse? Cheers Col - the overall HSS Hunters really do look cool don't they ! The intakes are next - plus I'm working on a way to solve the "famous" wing fit..... I can't seem to make my mind up about sabrinas (in other respects I'm more of a Twiggy kind of guy), but I actually prefer a good set of canines- lends a bit of character to an otherwise somewhat blah wing planform. And from Jonners, no less... who'd a thunk it? Yes, I'm always happy to find a new WIP from Kunac, Tabinor, and Associates! It isn't just for the witty repartee. bob Just occasionally Bob!! LOL I didn't go to Oxford for nothing you know ( it was at the expense of the Taxpayer, and I have a nagging feeling they want a refund...) I can live with dog-dentures OR Double Ds, but not both - and that should be a maxim for life!!! LOL Jonners 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) Nice one Jonners....the Academy wing tip is also the wrong shape. Its too rounded in profile. I'd recommend Mark's (StephenMG's) drawings in the SAM publication....they will show you a whole host of 'improvement opportunities" to the kit's overall shape..... EDIT: Here's my "Shelf of Doom/KUTA candidate" FGA9 wing....with wing tip modification Edited November 11, 2015 by Bill Clark 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 And another thing....looking at photo's of my Academy Hunter's, I think that the nose cone looks a bit too blunt, a bit too rounded maybe. I've tried to gently re-profile that shape on my FGA9...don't worry I shan't add any more pic's!! But do check that out and see what you think Jonners... You are obviously aware of all of the other collection of "Improvement Opportunities" with the kit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 And another thing....looking at photo's of my Academy Hunter's, I think that the nose cone looks a bit too blunt, a bit too rounded maybe. I've tried to gently re-profile that shape on my FGA9...don't worry I shan't add any more pic's!! But do check that out and see what you think Jonners... You are obviously aware of all of the other collection of "Improvement Opportunities" with the kit? Now thats interesting - I was staring at photos of the real thing, thinking much along those lines! To my eye the nose looks too symmetrical, and a bit blunt Jonners - and cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) Now thats interesting - I was staring at photos of the real thing, thinking much along those lines! To my eye the nose looks too symmetrical, and a bit blunt Jonners - and cheers! It was this one of my FGA9..now a lot of this could be due to the positioning of the windscreen..or the proximity of the camera and distortion, but it looks too blunt to me.... On my KUTA FGA9, I started to reprofile the nose. I've more or less removed a chunk of plastic from in front of where the windscreen will eventually go... not sure how much difference it'll make? Edited November 11, 2015 by Bill Clark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Cheers Col - the overall HSS Hunters really do look cool don't they ! The intakes are next - plus I'm working on a way to solve the "famous" wing fit..... To my eye the early silver painted machines free from the lumps and bumps that grew as they aged are the loveliest of them all From what I understand fitting the wings to each fuselage half before they are matted gives the best chance to gain a secure fit. It was this one of my FGA9..now a lot of this could be due to the positioning of the windscreen..or the proximity of the camera and distortion, but it looks too blunt to me.... On my KUTA FGA9, I started to reprofile the nose. I've more or less removed a chunk of plastic from in front of where the windscreen will eventually go... not sure how much difference it'll make? I've always felt the nose doesn't taper down away from the windscreen sharply enough. On the kit it comes away horizontal where on the actual aircraft it's already sloping down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 I've 2 of the Academy Hunters in the stash (despite Col's pleading lol) so am watching with interest as this is supposed to be my year of the 1/48 kit builds, might have to stretch that into next year too. Duncan B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Watching this with interest myself even if I'm more of a 1/72 modeller. Which variation looks best ? Not sure, I've always preferred the Twiggy types but the latest would have made Sabrina look like a surfboard.... it's a bit like the Hunter, they all looked good regardless of the "style". For an early example of Hawker's finest jet I'd probably go back to my Twiggy roots, leaving the Sabrinas for a later, more muscular F.6 or even better FGA.9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Watcha? I haven't heard that since the playground of my secondary school in the early 1980s! I'm following this with keen interest as my own 'Shelf of Doom' Hunters are staring at me right now. But I know as soon as I restart one of them, Airfix will come out with a new mould 1/48 series of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Watcha? I haven't heard that since the playground of my secondary school in the early 1980s! I'm following this with keen interest as my own 'Shelf of Doom' Hunters are staring at me right now. But I know as soon as I restart one of them, Airfix will come out with a new mould 1/48 series of them... My secondary school predates the early 1980's by a decade or so...good to know you younger sprogs were still using it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Hmm intake shape..... it seems a bit big - especially on the outer smaller semi circular shaped edge. PS Spent hours looking at pics of Hunter noses last night - to get a feel for it. My gut feeling is that the kit nose needs to be a little pointier and "slimmer" - and the top profile defo needs a bit more taper as per Bill's. Again- its one of those things where photos will show you something 'different' in almost every angle, but as you look at more & more pics you get a feel for the shape ( well i do). Jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Good luck with this. I like a good Hunter me! It's my understanding that the Sapphire engine Hunters had a vent somewhere on the underside to accommodate the total loss oil system which was a feature of said engine. The consequence of this is that there would be a ruddy great oil streak running along the belly. I've seen photos in the dim and distant but googling comes up with nowt. Typing in "Hunter F.2 underside" only seems to conjure up something very different. I'll keep trying...... Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Good luck with this. I like a good Hunter me! It's my understanding that the Sapphire engine Hunters had a vent somewhere on the underside to accommodate the total loss oil system which was a feature of said engine. The consequence of this is that there would be a ruddy great oil streak running along the belly. I've seen photos in the dim and distant but googling comes up with nowt. Typing in "Hunter F.2 underside" only seems to conjure up something very different. I'll keep trying...... Trevor Hi Trevor - yes its one of the features of the F2 & F5 - I've seen a really good pic somewhere too..... Jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Here's a decent side view to show the nose shape - and its just a lovely pic too. Credit to the photographer as named and used for critical purposes to debate nose shape. Jonners 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Here's one thread that could be overlooked- not sure how much it helps this build, but seems like a good jumping off point for Hunter hunters. I know there's info about holes in the belly and such somewhere, but where? bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I've 2 of the Academy Hunters in the stash (despite Col's pleading lol) so am watching with interest as this is supposed to be my year of the 1/48 kit builds, might have to stretch that into next year too. Duncan B Well get them out of the stash and into the display cabinet via your workbench! I'm following this with keen interest as my own 'Shelf of Doom' Hunters are staring at me right now. But I know as soon as I restart one of them, Airfix will come out with a new mould 1/48 series of them... Sounds as good a reason as any to restart them Mark. Before Monday's big announcement if you could please 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Sounds as good a reason as any to restart them Mark. Before Monday's big announcement if you could please We can dream! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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