Airfix Hawker Hunter F.4/F.5/J34 (A09189) 1:48

[Mike]

Hawker Hunter F.4/F.5/J34 (A09189)

1:48 Airfix

 

 

Arising from a post war specification during a period where the prevailing government thought there wouldn’t be another conflict for a decade or more, the Hunter took some time to develop into the aircraft we know and love due to the rapid development of aviation at the time and a constant search for better performance.  Eventually, the Hunter F.1 reached prototype during the scramble for capable jet aircraft at the time of the Korean war.  The F.1 morphed into a single F.3 whilst still developing rapidly until the F.4 came along with additional fuel tanks in the wings and a more powerful variant of the Sapphire engine.  Development continued apace with the F.5 following on with another variant of the engine, and so it went on into the F.6, but that's another model entirely.  Also by Airfix of course

 

The J34 was an export version of the F.4 in Swedish service where it flew as a replacement to the Tunnan and was in turn replaced by the Draken later on.  There were 120 of them carrying a four 30mm cannons and a pair of early Sidewinders, with the task of defending Stockholm if hostilities were to break out.  Thankfully the Red Menace never rolled over Europe.

 

 

The Kit

This is an additive re-tooling of the initial F.6 kit (A09185) and arrives in Airfix’s red themed box with five sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, a large decal sheet, instruction booklet in spot colour and two colour sheets of glossy A3 with painting and decaling guides.  If you’ve seen or already own the F.6 kit you’ll know what to expect in terms of detail, which is good, and extends to all the usual places of interest within the airframe.  The three main sprues are unchanged, but two additional small sprues have been added to this boxing with a pair of new exhaust fairings, inserts for the wingtips to transform the wing to the earlier dog-tooth free wings, as well as some nose, air-brake and other sundry parts.  Should be fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the seat, which has an alternative cushion with moulded-in belts and without for those wanting to use after market.  Thoughtful!  A new headbox top is fitted, and then the cockpit tub is made up from a rear bulkhead with seat-rail, lower tub, control column, instrument panel with decal and a gunsight.  The coaming is moulded into the fuselage, but the beginnings of the nose gear bay is attached to the underside of the cockpit tub beforehand.  To prepare the fuselage for closure you need to add a small insert in the rear, add a couple of exhausts under the wing root, and drill a 1mm hole nearby.  The remainder of the nose gear bay is fitted after the cockpit is inserted, consisting of two parts within the ribbed nose.  Aft of the wing root cut-out a bulkhead with a representation of the first compressor blade of the Sapphire engine is fitted after being painted a silvery colour, and then it’s a case of making up the two trunking halves that form a Y-shape inside and funnel the air from the wing roots to the engine for squashing and igniting.  The little exhausts and opening of holes is repeated on the starboard fuselage half, and a pair of cylinders are attached to the nose gear sidewall after which you can close the fuselage.  If you’re going for in-flight, there are two small holes on the underside that should be opened up before you apply the glue.  You’re advised to place 20g/1oz of nose weight behind the cockpit before you close up, so don’t forget like I’ve done in the past.  There’s a new jetpipe on the new sprues and a new rear engine face, all of which fits handily within the rear fuselage insert, which is to cater for the differing exhaust and cowling sizes between the marks.  The insert is glued in place under the tail, and it’s time to get out your razor saw.

 

The later hunters had an outer section of the wings with an increased chord that garnered the name dog-tooth for obvious reasons when you look at it.  Earlier marks didn’t have this, and with some foresight Airfix have pre-moulded the wings with a cut line inside and a set of supports that prevent the wings from being compressed when that section is removed.  Another thoughtful addition.  You can cut them from the single-piece upper wing with a scalpel or razor saw as per the diagram and repeat the process for the two lower wing halves.  The upper wings are then glued to the fuselage from above, covering the recess that supports the wing panels and stops flexing causing problems with any making good.  For in-flight posing, the lower wing panels are joined next along with the optional wheel bay cover inserts, covering up the intak trunks and leading to a nice smooth set of lower wings with closed doors.  A single door piece covers up the nose bay too.  For the wheels-down model, the three main bay walls are arranged round the moulded-in detail, and a small vane is inserted into a slot in the upper intake lip.  For both options, there are a couple of pre-marked holes to drill out if you are fitting the drop-tanks before you close up the lower wings.  The new wing inserts can be made up from their halves and inserted into the gaps made earlier, although some modellers may elect to fit them earlier, and at this point I don’t foresee a problem with the prescribed method, especially as there is a nice neat lip on the new parts.  With the nose cone fitted earlier it’s on to the tail-feathers with the separate rudder able to be deflected 20^o to port and 30^o to starboard, while the elevators are each single parts that slot into the tail fin with no options for movement.  You can however deflect the ailerons and drop the flaps by 13^o either way and 80^o down respectively, and add the triangular insert between them, repeated on each side.

 

Providing you’ve not elected to close up the gear bays, it’s now time for the landing gear struts, beginning with the main legs fitting into a recess in the outboard wall of the bay, and adding retraction jack and a prominent rib at the same time in each bay.  There is an additional scrap diagram showing where the retraction jack and rib sit within the bay to assist you in getting it right.  The lower bay door is captive to the leg, and the two additional doors fit into the bay edge two deep, while the inner bay door is slotted into the centre-line side on two sturdy hinges.  The tyres are separate from the hubs and flat-spots are moulded in that will automatically fall into the correct spot on the ground due to the keyed axle on the leg – another nice touch.  At the front the yoke is formed from two parts trapping the single piece wheel in place, with bay doors and a retraction jack fitted to the front and rear of the bay.  While we’re in the vicinity of the nose, the two “Sabrinas” that collect the spent cannon shells to avoid them being ingested by the engines are clicked into position on their two holes, one each side behind the gun troughs.  Moving further back, the conformal air-brake has its hinge fairing added first, then you can either lay it flat for retracted, or add the jack and deploy it for extra visual interest.

 

At this stage the airframe is looking very Hunter-like, and the task list is dwindling.  If you are fitting the drop tanks, they are made up from two halves plus a separate pylon each and they fit into the holes you drilled in the lower wing earlier.  The wings are finished off by adding the tip lights, with the port one having the pitot probe shimmed between it and the wing, so be sure to fit that first.  A blade antenna is fitted behind the cockpit on the spine, but it is only there to be sliced off and sanded back flush once the glue is dried.  You then have a choice of a single-piece closed canopy, or a two-piece open canopy, which slides back as far as the antenna location, and remember – there’s no frame at the rear of the canopy, so don't paint one or the purists will lynch you.

 

Markings

There are three decal options in the box, one from three of the type's operators and each one is allocated a full page of A3 in colour to assist you with painting and decaling.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Hunter F.5 No.1 Sq. Operation ‘Musketeer’, RAF Station Nicosia, Cyprus, Sept-Nov 1956
• No.3 Sq. Södertörns Flygflottilj F18, Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force), Tullinge, Stockholm, Sweden 1959
• No.7 Escadrille, No.7 Wing, Chièvres, Belgium, June 1956

 

 

 

 

Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.  The stencils are dealt with briefly on a page in the instruction, but are covered more comprehensively on the remaining page of the glossy painting guide where the text and orientation is shown in detail.

 

 

Conclusion

A modern Hunter F.4.  What could be sweeter?  The regressions from the F.6 have been handled very sensibly and shouldn’t tax even the novice modeller, further consigning the old Academy kit to the back of the stash.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Shaun]

Oh, it that a GA11 nose and an arrestor hook?

Looks a more versatile kit than the F6, will all those spare bits..

[coneheadff]

2 hours ago, Shaun said:

Oh, it that a GA11 nose and an arrestor hook?

Looks a more versatile kit than the F6, will all those spare bits..

You're right....niiiiice!

So wait for the GA11 release or try to find some decals? 😁

[Shaun]

4 hours ago, coneheadff said:

You're right....niiiiice!

So wait for the GA11 release or try to find some decals? 😁

Decals are not hard for the FRADU. Just maybe dark roundels and black Royal navy titles and a few numbers..👍

[Marlin]

Thanks for the review Mike. 

Looks like a great kit.

And it better be since I got two on order that hopefully will be delivered this or maybe next week.   

/Bosse

 

[SAT69]

From what I can see, you get the FGA.9 tail cone. That suggests an FGA.9 and/or other late single-seat Hunters in the not too distant future. I have to wonder if a late or even early Hunter two-seater might also be planned. Perhaps an FR.10? Wouldn't think it would be hard to capitalize the the huge potential offered by the F.4 and F.6 kits.

[YK GOH]

Love the new release 1/48 Hunter F.6 and now the F.4. Look forward to the FGA.9 + FR.10 ?

Was hoping Airfix would take the opportunity to correct the height of the pylons, as deliberated in another post. Would they for the FGA.9 ?

 

The other minor issue was a missing strut for the nosewheel door.

 

 

Glad that Aerocraft came to the rescue.

 

YK

Singapore

[Emilio Gonzalez]

Thanks for the review. It seems like this is a more versatile option than the F.6.