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Recently I've bought Gamecock by Broplan in 1/72 - It is full injection kit, the first one of Broplan with this technique. Definitly a short run style.  I am going to do a Finnish one from winter war, but the UK one could a tasty choice as well. It is of early thirties if even not rather out of twenties .

However for me the best choice of British style of 1930. is HP 42. But it is civvie. So instead of it - Heyford?  

Cheers

J-W

 

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On 30/01/2018 at 21:05, Admiral Puff said:

My only problem with the Airfix Bulldog is that the prop has been moulded the wrong way round - the backs of the blades face forward - and I haven't been able to come up with a satisfactory substitute.

 

Put it on back to front!?

 

Or, more seriously, could you cut off the blades at the roots and glue them on the right way round?

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  • 10 months later...
On 1/11/2018 at 7:07 AM, e8n2 said:

I have the AZ Swedish Hart and a couple of the Gauntlets.  The Swedish Hart in the box looks much better than the A Model kits, especially now that I have built a few.  The Avis Hart and A Model Hector, except for the differently shaped nose on the Hector, are from the same original set of molds.  Again, except for the nose on the Hector, the sprues are laid out exactly the same. 

Later,

Dave

Thus what's the definite statement: which kit is a better base for building the 1/72 Audax - AZ or Avis?

Cheers

Michael

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10 minutes ago, KRK4m said:

Thus what's the definite statement: which kit is a better base for building the 1/72 Audax - AZ or Avis?

 

Avis/A-Model are currently the best Hawker biplane kits in 1/72. But if AMG hopefully scale down their excellent new 1/48th one, it will be the best. Flying surfaces are poor on the AZ kits and they are inferior to Avis, although both kits are firmly in the limited-run category.  

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The Revell re-box of the Matchbox Hawker Fury is a great little kit with some key advantages: it is not expensive, it is quite easy to find (unlike, say, the Airfix Demon or Matchbox Siskin), it is easy to build and has lots of colour scheme options . There are plenty of good suggestions in the previous posts, but many are either quite expensive or difficult to find ,or both. The Revell/Matchbox Fury gets my vote. (Note to self: must get another when I next see one!)

Jon

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FYI, Graham, and FWIW

AZ did make a Demon.  Kit #AZS7201, in their "Silver" series (500 kit Limited Edition).  Can't tell you what it is like, other than it looks good in the box.  Also note that Kora makes corrected fuselages for AZ Demon, and Amodel (?) Hart/Audax.  All in resin, all about $15 +/-,  I just ordered WAY too much stuff (like that) from GDKits in Switzerland.

Dennis, all the choices suggested above are really nice ones, but I would vote for that Airfix Bulldog, if you can find a corrected prop.  Here is a photo of mine from a couple years ago, if I can do it.  If not, I still have your email address, so I'll send it on. 

 OK, Not working.  I just inserted a photo on Hyperscale, so I guess I need to again try to understand the tutorial on this site.  Fortunately I do models better than computers.

 

Bob C,  

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1 hour ago, Bob C. said:

I would vote for that Airfix Bulldog, if you can find a corrected prop

I agree! The prop that comes with the 1/72 Matchbox Siskin III looks close to the prop/spinner on the Bulldog kit, and the one that comes with the Matchbox Fury looks even better. If you can find a Bulldog, Dennis, I have an extra prop from either kit I could spare. I sure wish we could have a new-tool Bulldog, Fury, Gamecock, Flycatcher, Fairey III,  and Shark.

Mike

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1 hour ago, Bob C. said:

FYI, Graham, and FWIW

AZ did make a Demon.  Kit #AZS7201, in their "Silver" series (500 kit Limited Edition).  Can't tell you what it is like, other than it looks good in the box.  Also note that Kora makes corrected fuselages for AZ Demon, and Amodel (?) Hart/Audax.  All in resin, all about $15 +/-,  I just ordered WAY too much stuff (like that) from GDKits in Switzerland.

 

 That I didn't know, or I'd have had one.  I sent Jan some information on 607 Sq Demons, and he said he'd send a set of transfers when the kit came out.  You are now going to tell me, I hope, that the kit does not include 607 Sq transfers.  (Edit: it doesn't.) I'd be interested in knowing just what changes Kora thought necessary to the fuselage - hopefully the dropped rear fuselage?

 

PS.  Hannants has some Kora Demons if very pricey, but does sell the replacement fuselage.  However looking at it in the view, it doesn't look to have the correct rear fuselage.  Any comments please?

 

PPS Sorry Mike, I've just realised that you did tell me about the AZS kit.

Edited by Graham Boak
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Hi Graham, 

Just checked my copy.  There are markings for 2 camo'd machines -- RAAF and 608 Sq, and a silver 64 Sq.  Also found in the box a printout I had enclosed from a Britmodeller thread from 2011 titled "AZ Silver Demon Mk 1, It isn't a Demon", so that might say a lot about the kit.  So you can search "AZ Silver Demon" on the site and be disappointed  (or not, since you were lucky enough not to spend the money on it). 

 

I will try to remember to maybe post some pictures when I get my GDKits order, but I won't really know what I'm seeing re accuracy -- will rely on others for that.  Assuming I can work  out how to post pictures by then.

 

Best wishes for the New Year, 

Bob C 

 

 

    

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Thanks Mike, but my search didn't bring any results.  I suspect that the key complaint will be that the kit doesn't have the step-down to the rear fuselage, which is lower on the Demon than on the Hart.  On the Hart variants with the flat gun ring, the fuselage top is a smooth line from nose to tail.  On the Demon with the angled gun ring, the rear fuselage is lower.  It's a pretty safe bet that AZ missed this.  The important question to me is whether Kora caught that.  Just looking at photos I'd guess not.

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Hi Graham,

AZ produced originally the Swedish Hart B4 and later added what is basically Hind fuselage + vertical fin and rudder + radiator + wrong-way-rotating-propeller. I have both the Swedish Hart and the Hind, both kits look quite decent in the box, however, I have never compared them seriously with references in order to get an opinion on their accuracy. Nevertheless, the number of corrections offered by Kora serves probably as a kind of hint.

All the remaining derivatives (Hart, Audax, Demon,..) are just a combination of both kits mentioned above + some resin extras, like different exhausts and such, with inevitable awkward compromises and inaccuracies. I made a mistake of purchasing their Hart/Hart Fighter boxing, which - in the very best AZ/KP tool-once-box-many-times-no-matter-if-suitable-or-not manner - suggests mating the B4 top fuselage decking (containing the cockpit openings) with the Hind fuselage in order to get a Hart. And in the same way their Demon is just Hind that (as I read) requires you to file out the gun through on the starboard side, and voila, here comes the Demon.

In my opinion the Avis/Amodel Hart family is much better base for an accurate kit.

Patrik

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Yes, I went a bit overboard with the AZ/Avis series and had more than I was ever going to make, but have retained the Hind, Hart Fighter and Hector.  They never did (or at least so I thought) the two I really wanted, a Demon and a Hart Trainer.  Avis have still done neither.  I remember cutting the groove for the starboard gun into a "Hart Fighter" fuselage, which was easy enough, but I don't think that I've got a Hart top.   I don't think that I was aware of the dropped top decking at the time I stopped work on it - else I presume I'd have attempted it there and then.

 

I think I need to go digging: I think I've got the Hind and an Airfix Hart somewhere.  I know I have at least one Airfix Demon, plus a set or two of Aeroclub bits.  Time to get them all together and check propellers etc., perhaps.  Thanks to SAS Jeep modelling, I do have some nice aftermarket Lewis guns needing a home or three.

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On 03/02/2018 at 21:17, Lord Riot said:

 

Put it on back to front!?

 

Or, more seriously, could you cut off the blades at the roots and glue them on the right way round?

The Bulldog kit prop is moulded intregal with the spinner so just putting it on reversed is not an option. The front side of the prop is hollow. I fillered it and reprofiled it on mine,

 

afair the rear deck on the Hawker Demon is 4 inches lower than the Hart at the rear of the gunner's cockpit, but the same height at the fin base. That is 1.4mm in 1/72. A couple of layers of plasticard faired in will build it up if going Demon to Hart

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Yes but the problem lies in going the other way, as all kits have high rear decking.  Additionally there is the problem of deepening the gunner's position (fairly easy) or levelling it up (less so to do neatly).

 

It would have been so easy to provide alternative top deckings in the tooling.

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On 12/29/2018 at 3:11 PM, Graham Boak said:

 I remember cutting the groove for the starboard gun into a "Hart Fighter" fuselage, which was easy enough

 

Post some pictures of your build as that's one solution I've considered myself and I'm interested in seeing how it turned out as I've been a bit loathe to try it. I had a look via your profile but wasn't able to find pics of the build (actually I couldn't find pics of any builds but I might be looking in the wrong place!).

 

 

Edited by Smithy
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2 hours ago, Black Knight said:

The Bulldog kit prop is moulded intregal with the spinner so just putting it on reversed is not an option. The front side of the prop is hollow. I fillered it and reprofiled it on mine,

 

That's probably what I'll end up doing with the one I've got on the go. It's a pain, though, and degrades what was otherwise a great little kit for its day.

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You won't find any build photos it because I haven't posted any, and the kit is barely started anyway (one of many...).  There really is no problem: all the job requires is a fine pointed file, stroked along the desired line until the desired groove appears.  Just take it slowly and carefully to avoid slipping too far or off to the side.  It might help to use a ruler and  sharp knife tip to scratch a line to work on: I don't remember doing anything like that but good ideas always appear too late.  Presumably it will also require a cartridge ejection slot, although I don't know whether there is one for the other gun anyway.

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On 1/30/2018 at 9:05 PM, Admiral Puff said:

My only problem with the Airfix Bulldog is that the prop has been moulded the wrong way round - the backs of the blades face forward - and I haven't been able to come up with a satisfactory substitute.

Any suggestions about dealing with this, are most welcome

Someone did a run of replacement props, but I lost the link when e-mail provider closed my account.

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1 minute ago, MigModeller said:

Any suggestions about dealing with this, are most welcome

Someone did a run of replacement props, but I lost the link when e-mail provider closed my account.

See Black Knight's post above - I can't think of another way, short of scratchbuilding a new prop.

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37 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

You won't find any build photos it because I haven't posted any, and the kit is barely started anyway (one of many...).  There really is no problem: all the job requires is a fine pointed file, stroked along the desired line until the desired groove appears.  Just take it slowly and carefully to avoid slipping too far or off to the side.  It might help to use a ruler and  sharp knife tip to scratch a line to work on: I don't remember doing anything like that but good ideas always appear too late.  Presumably it will also require a cartridge ejection slot, although I don't know whether there is one for the other gun anyway.

 

Not just the Hawker Graham, it piqued my interest and I was interested in seeing some of your builds as you seem to have a lot of knowledge and contribute a great deal of advice and tips here. I did a quick search via your profile but strangely couldn't find any of your model pictures. Post some links to your builds as It would be great to see this knowledge "in action" as it were. I'm sure I'm not the only member who would enjoy it!

Edited by Smithy
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4 hours ago, Black Knight said:

The Bulldog kit prop is moulded intregal with the spinner so just putting it on reversed is not an option. The front side of the prop is hollow. I fillered it and reprofiled it on mine,

 

2 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

That's probably what I'll end up doing with the one I've got on the go. It's a pain, though, and degrades what was otherwise a great little kit for its day.

On the left the kit prop, on the right, it fillered

Bristol%20Bulldog%2C%2003s-S.jpg

It doesn't turn out too bad after a bit of filing and smoothing. It didn't take too long to do

Bristol%20Bulldog%20IIa%2C%2023%20sqd%2C

Its a lot more effort to cut the blades away and either remount or fit a new pair

 

Aeroclub did replacement props, 2 per bag, number P080

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