1:72 Aki Products Hawker Sea Fury FB.11

[Brandy]

What a fabulous kit, I'd not even heard of it before. I'll take a seat at the bar and await the arrival of our Bill, who will no doubt be along soon.

Beers ordered.

 

Ian

[Martian]

Has he started yet?

 

Impatient of Mars 👽

[JeffreyK]

19 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

I was quite surprised to see that Aki did not use the typical resin casting pour blocks, but instead actually made resin "sprues" that contain the parts. This is quite clever, and I wish all resin kits were like this.

It's a stunningly beautiful kit, but the result of a completely different production process. Parts like this are made in a vacuum casting machine where the resin prep, the resin mixing, the mould and the transfer of resin into the mould is done under constant vacuum. The resin is also pre-heated to reduce viscosity. As there's no air in the mould, the resin can flow quite easily down those runners towards and into the parts cavities. When the mould is filled the vacuum is released and atmospheric pressure will do the rest in squeezing resin into the last tiny spaces. A vacuum casting machine is large and expensive and the moulds need to be constructed accordingly. You can only fill one mould at a time so small parts need to be grouped together as much as possible on those runners, otherwise it would be highly uneconomical.

Most small and medium size resin casters on the other hand use pressure casting or a combination of quick vacuum (manually) and pressure casting requiring the casting block to get the resin in easily.

 

Jeffrey

 

[Paul J]

The greys for the RCN one are for the top Extra Dark Sea Grey or near equivalent and the lower a lighter shade of Medium sea grey . I'm sure some one will come along and verify or correct that.

But these are the colours I used for my builds  and look close enough for model purposes.

[Navy Bird]

14 hours ago, NAVY870 said:

There are only two unforgiven sins when building a Sea Fury young Bill

Leaving the footstep down with the first hand hold on the fuselage still closed and painting the interior yellow

bits Zinc Chromate.

 

Thanks, Steve. I heard there was this bloke in Oz who has his own personal Sea Fury in his garage, maybe he can snap me some pix if I need some.  

 

There are no painting instructions with the kit other than the exterior camo schemes. If I remember correctly, Hawker had some magic formulation of their own for the yellow primer - is that right? Is there a close FS or BS number that I can try and match? I'm in my beginning stages of research, gathering as much reference material as I can. The walkaround photos I have are all restored aircraft, the pit looks all black, and of course the wing folds and wheel wells are zinc chromate. Somewhere in the back of my mind (which is a very scary place) I'm thinking only the top half of the cockpit was black? Or was that something else?

 

OK for the flaps to be down when parked, particularly when the cannon covers are off?

 

9 hours ago, Courageous said:

Look at the crowd, something interesting must be about to happen. No seats, need a ladder, sorted...GO!

 

Yes, my goodness, Now I actually have to deliver!   

 

8 hours ago, limeypilot said:

What a fabulous kit, I'd not even heard of it before. I'll take a seat at the bar and await the arrival of our Bill, who will no doubt be along soon.

Beers ordered.

 

I'm here! All you have to do is order beer, and I typically show up. I need to get my respirator off though if I'll be quaffing.  

 

6 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

Has he started yet?

 

Impatient of Mars 👽

 

Yup he be separating the parts and cleaning them up. Patience, my son.

 

5 hours ago, JeffreyK said:

It's a stunningly beautiful kit, but the result of a completely different production process. Parts like this are made in a vacuum casting machine where the resin prep, the resin mixing, the mould and the transfer of resin into the mould is done under constant vacuum. The resin is also pre-heated to reduce viscosity. As there's no air in the mould, the resin can flow quite easily down those runners towards and into the parts cavities. When the mould is filled the vacuum is released and atmospheric pressure will do the rest in squeezing resin into the last tiny spaces. A vacuum casting machine is large and expensive and the moulds need to be constructed accordingly. You can only fill one mould at a time so small parts need to be grouped together as much as possible on those runners, otherwise it would be highly uneconomical.

Most small and medium size resin casters on the other hand use pressure casting or a combination of quick vacuum (manually) and pressure casting requiring the casting block to get the resin in easily.

 

Thanks, Jeffrey, I wondered how they did that. I notice that most of the small parts have a small nodule of resin at the end. So the resin flows through the runner, into the part, and then into this nodule. What is the reason for the nodules?

 

5 hours ago, Paul J said:

The greys for the RCN one are for the top Extra Dark Sea Grey or near equivalent and the lower a lighter shade of Medium sea grey . I'm sure some one will come along and verify or correct that. But these are the colours I used for my builds  and look close enough for model purposes.

 

Thanks, Paul. I have some contacts in the Toronto club, maybe they can provide some additional detail.

 

 

For those who asked, Aki also produced a Firebrand, as well as a Nakajima Ki-12, Kawanishi E15K1, and some small scale waterline ships. I never went looking for the Firebrand as I have the CMR kit.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Navy Bird]

23 hours ago, Paul Bradley said:

It is THE BEST 1/72 Sea Fury by a long chalk! Built one a few years ago for the book - lovely kit! 

 

 

 

Just remember to thoroughly wash the parts before assembly, otherwise the model might fall apart on you - ask me how I know....! The only thing I added was the cowling props. 

 

Beautiful work, Paul. Is there a WIP posted anywhere? Did you just use washing up soap to clean the parts, or is there some release agent on them that needs a stronger cleaner?

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Paul Bradley]

Hey, Bill - thanks!  The build can be found in my book:  https://www.scalemates.com/books/the-hawker-sea-fury-mdf-scaled-down-4-paul-bradley--112084 available from eBay. 

 

Although I tried it first, dish soap wasn't really strong enough, so I used rubbing alcohol. Seemed to work better. 

 

Oh, and a review of the book here - it has some thumbnails of the section on the kit:  http://www.detailandscale.com/scale_model_book_review_Hawker_Sea_Fury_by_Paul_Bradley_2016.html

 

 

Edited January 30, 2019 by Paul Bradley

[JosephLalor]

5 hours ago, Paul J said:

The greys for the RCN one are for the top Extra Dark Sea Grey or near equivalent and the lower a lighter shade of Medium sea grey . I'm sure some one will come along and verify or correct that.

But these are the colours I used for my builds  and look close enough for model purposes.

I believe some representation of FS 36314 would suit as well for the lighter grey.

[Navy Bird]

19 minutes ago, Paul Bradley said:

Hey, Bill - thanks!  The build can be found in my book:  https://www.scalemates.com/books/the-hawker-sea-fury-mdf-scaled-down-4-paul-bradley--112084 available from eBay.

 

Thanks - I have plenty of 91% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, as I use it for thinning Gunze, so we should be OK there. I took your hint and ordered your book - I hope it gets here before the model is finished!  

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Paul Bradley]

Take your time with the model - it's worth savouring! 

 

[NAVY870]

6 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

 

Thanks, Steve. I heard there was this bloke in Oz who has his own personal Sea Fury in his garage, maybe he can snap me some pix if I need some.  

Its not mine, I do have some standards you know

 

There are no painting instructions with the kit other than the exterior camo schemes. If I remember correctly, Hawker had some magic formulation of their own for the yellow primer - is that right? Is there a close FS or BS number that I can try and match? I'm in my beginning stages of research, gathering as much reference material as I can. The walkaround photos I have are all restored aircraft, the pit looks all black, and of course the wing folds and wheel wells are zinc chromate. Somewhere in the back of my mind (which is a very scary place) I'm thinking only the top half of the cockpit was black? Or was that something else?

Cockpit is black or very dark grey.

The interior colour is Hawkers own blend called Hawker yellow. Airfix stated Humbrol 74 on their 48th scale kit after discussions and some references I sent them

 

 

OK for the flaps to be down when parked, particularly when the cannon covers are off?

Sure can,

 

 

 

 

[Navy Bird]

This is a photo from the BM walkaround on the Sea Fury:

 

 

@NAVY870 - is this a good representation of the Hawker yellow primer? The online swatch for the Humbrol colour recommended by Airfix, 74 Linen, looks very similar but I don't have any and my LMS doesn't carry Humbrol. I have Gunze H34 Cream Yellow which looks like it would work.

 

The interior areas painted this colour would be the engine bulkhead/firewall, inside the cowling panels, wing fold area, wheel wells, etc. Does that sound right? My understanding is that the gear struts and doors (inside and out) would be the underside colour. How about the wheel hubs?

 

I'll be posting some progress pictures soon. The engine components have been painted and are now getting a wash followed by assembly. The cockpit pieces have also been painted and I'll be putting decals on for the instruments. Almost individually - it's crazy, but I like the way it usually comes out. Ah, that reminds me - which seat belt harness would be used?

 

Cheers,

Bill

[k5054nz]

The only bad/negative words I've ever heard about this kit are about the price. Everything else is praise upon praise.

 

I am very excited to see a WIP.

[Bedders]

Irealise that if I don't get my Trumpeter offering finished before you make much more headway on this Bill, I probably never will. So I'd better get moving...

 

Justin

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

I think your half-remembered cockpit that was only black at the top was some Seafires - the XVII was like this, I think, or instance.  But by Sea Fury era deffo all black.

 

That kit looks amazing.  I have the Fisher 1/32 resin equivalent in the stash, which is beautifully done - but the Aki looks right up there with it.  The flap thing is a jaw-dropping piece of work on Aki’s part.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[Navy Bird]

The kit is designed to have the small panel just aft of the exhausts open, and as can be seen in the following photo, the framework for the engine mount is visible.

 

 

I set out to look for some better photos of this, so I knew exactly what was there. Yikes!

 

 

Suffice to say that I will make some attempt to replicate portions of this, but it will in no way be as full of wotnots as the big Merlin for the Tamiya Spit!  

 

I made up a mixture of 50% Gunze H34 Cream Yellow and 50% H11 Flat White to stand in as Hawker Yellow primer. I sprayed the inside of the engine compartment, and the cockpit firewall - basically those areas that might be seen through the open engine panels and those small windows. I'm not sure what those small windows are - maybe part of the cooling airflow?

 

Cheers,

Bill

[NAVY870]

On 2/3/2019 at 7:03 AM, Navy Bird said:

 

@NAVY870 - is this a good representation of the Hawker yellow primer? - Its near enough for Government work

 

The interior areas painted this colour would be the engine bulkhead/firewall, inside the cowling panels, wing fold area, wheel wells, etc. Does that sound right? My understanding is that the gear struts and doors (inside and out) would be the underside colour. How about the wheel hubs? - Correct, wheel hubs were usually a dull aluminium colour though I have seen sky, dark grey and even blue ones (I suspect the blue ones were former training aids)

 

 

 

[Giorgio N]

Bill, seeing that you have this kit made me very envious ! It's one of those kits that were too expensive for me when they were issued and today that I may afford one it's long OOP...

Iooking forward to this build, one to watch for sure

[Terry1954]

A little late to this particular party but I can't miss a Sea Fury build in the one true scale! Also agree with you Bill that @Paul Bradley's build is beautiful. I have a Special Hobby Sea Fury in the stash which I always considered OK,  but this resin rendition looks superb.

 

Terry

[Martian]

On ‎04‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 19:20, Navy Bird said:

I set out to look for some better photos of this, so I knew exactly what was there. Yikes!

There's opening a can of worms for you!  (I've waited forever to find a use for that emoticon)

 

Martian 👽

[Navy Bird]

Speaking of worms in a can, I tried and tried and I just can't seem to learn Japanese on the quick so I could read what Aki has to say about painting. I got about as far as ichi ban and gave up. (I was supposed to start at the beginning, right?) So I figured a great idea was to download the instructions for the new Airfix 1:48 Sea Fury kit and see what they have to say about detail painting. At least I now have some Humbrol numbers.

 

In the Airfix kit, I notice a nice padded, quilted backrest on the pilot's seat - was this standard issue for the Sea Fury? I think so, but I want to make sure it isn't one of those warbird things that was mistakenly put into a kit. I hope it was, since I went ahead and made one out of sheet styrene and already put it on the seat...such cruel, wretched impulsiveness!  

 

And for those of you who are STILL waiting for me to show proof that I'm actually working on this model, and not just talking about it, here are a couple of photos of the engine. The designs of the castings are really quite clever, and the whole assembly pretty much snaps together. The entire engine is less than 2 cm diameter.

 

 

 

Now that this is assembled, I will go back and add a smackeral of superfluous glue to the beginning of the exhausts, and then align each one to the respective port on the cylinder head. Although I am scratching my head as to why I would bother with this, as it won't really be able to be seen once that big honking prop and spinner are in place.

 

(Gotta love that exhaust design - Bristol engineers really knew how to package five pounds of stuff into an aerodynamic three pounds of cowling.)

 

Captured in the middle of the two banks of cylinders is one of those poly-cap thingies, free to rotate (assuming I didn't put glue in the wrong place). The propeller shaft slides into this bushing with a pretty really tight fit; I'm glad I tested this before the model was together. I think the first time I inserted the prop shaft, there may have been some flash or something similar that had to be pushed out of the way.

 

After a lot of test fitting, followed by squinting with various combinations of Mk I and Mk II (mit bifocal) eyeballs, I think the only thing I will add between the engine and the cockpit firewall are two tubes of the engine mount framework (one each side). The only other stuff that would be visible in this scale are the brackets that hold the chain drive (dare I assume this is used to open/close these panels?). And those would be pretty small - as I've said before, I may be a Yank, but I'm not crazy.  

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Andwil]

That is a beautiful looking engine Bill, a proper little model in its own right.

 

AW

[72modeler]

Bill,

 

There is a free  application you can download onto a smart phone that allows you to point your device at written text on paper or on the side of a kit box, and it will translate it into Japanese or whichever language you have selected, to be read or printed. One of my modeling buddies came over the other day and pointed his phone at the side of a Tamiya ship and aircraft kit and the Japanese text was instantly translated as he moved the phone across the text on the box! I was amazed! You might want to research this to see if you have a phone that has the capability. Maybe now we can all read what's in all those Koku-Fans and FAOW's that we have sitting on our book shelves! I think the app can also be loaded onto a reader that has a built-in camera.

Mike

[crobinsonh]

Lovely progress on a truly outstanding model. I managed to buy the Sea Fury, Firebrand and the Gambier Bay in Tokyo. This was when the good old £ was trading >230yen to a GBP. The Sea Fury and Firebrand where both £35 and the Gambier Bay (which is also astounding) was about £75.

 

The app for real time translation is Google Translate.

Edited February 9, 2019 by crobinsonh

[crobinsonh]

The quilted cover was on the back seat as I checked this years ago with the FAA museum when building the Fisher Sea Fury. It should be green if I remember correctly.