Killingholme Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 (edited) Hi all, I'm going to build my ancient Merlin Models Hawker Woodcock Mk.II Appearing in 1923 the Woodcock was the first fighter designed by Hawker, meeting the 1922 air ministry specification 25/22 for a night fighter. The general layout bore strong resemblance to Sopwith's Snipe that went before. The Woodcock I was powered by an AS Jaguar 14 cylinder radial, and was a twin-bay biplane. It proved unacceptably prone to wing flutter and lacked manoeuvrability. However the basic design was pursued. In 1923, after W.G. Carter took over Hawkers' design office, and after the arrival of a young Sydney Camm, the design was re-drawn as a single-bay aircraft, powered by a Jupiter IV. The aircraft was tested throughout 1924 where it performed well, but the Jupiter suffered from icing. Initially metal covers were fitted over the cylinders, but later the Bristol exhaust ring solved the problem. The RAF accepted 10 aircraft in 1924, and went on to order a further 62. A derivative of the design (featuring unequal span bays, and a fuselage modified to accept an Jaguar 14-cylinder engine) was sold to the Danish Airforce- which were subsequently licence built in Denmark as the 'Danecock' The kit: Merlin Models 1/72 Hawker Woodcock MkII IMG_20180323_202158 by will.fenton, on Flickr IMG_20180323_202321 by will.fenton, on Flickr This kit has sat in my stash since the early 2000s. It currently rests in a very special box alongside a number of its rare kit friends, all safely knowing I would sooner not build them than make a mess of the kit knowing I would probably never find another. But what is a kit if you don't build it? So here goes... Edited April 1, 2018 by Killingholme 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Killingholme said: But what is a kit if you don't build it? Nothing more than a waste of space. Build on, good sir, build on! We'll be watching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 A drawing: Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 An unusual choice and all the better for it Welcome to the GB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Excellent, I wish you the best of luck! I went the Danecock route, and I think it turned out ok. Merlin kits are buildable! Cheers, Herb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 On 10/04/2018 at 1:35 AM, Herb said: Excellent, I wish you the best of luck! I went the Danecock route, and I think it turned out ok. Merlin kits are buildable! Cheers, Herb Wow, that's special. I know I won't be approaching that, but it's certainly making me think about converting to a Danecock. No progress to report as yet, but comparing the parts to the Grainger plans shows that the kit is pretty much spot on dimensionally. I don't suppose you found any photos of the cockpit when you made your model? Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 I didn't find any good cockpit photos, but the instruction sheet for the 1/32 Silver Wings Hawker Woodcock was useful... http://www.silverwings.pl/hawker-woodcock.html Cheers, Herb 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Hi Will, Did you ever build the Merlin Woodcock? Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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