Gary Brantley Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) Many long years ago (or short years as time goes by 😉) I built my second biplane model. It was the old Impact kit of the Hawker Fury, first released in '68 or '69 I believe. It sat finished in the display for a long time but I was never happy with the radio aerials. The stretched sprue was too thick for scale and I finally took her out to modify those. I worked on it a couple times and almost got them back intact, with much finer pieces. But, almost is the operative word here and I tired of messing with it and set it aside for a calmer approach later on (you know what I mean here, right?). Stupidly, I didn't put her back in the cabinet but instead sat it on an open shelf while awaiting more attention. A couple weeks later, I was reaching for something on a shelf two levels up when somehow I knocked off a Fernando Pinto 1/24 resin car kit. It landed squarely on top of the upper wing of the Fury. The heavy impact knocked loose every single piece of rigging. The only structural damage was one leg of a starboard strut broken. I couldn't believe there was no more serious damage. I did find all the fine wire rigging at the bottom of the box upon which she sat though. While certainly no prize winning model, I was quite despondent and disappointed in myself for allowing it to happen. Someday, I told myself, I would put all that back and repair the strut and put her back right as before. One problem with that is that I was 25 years younger when I built it with better eyes and steadier hands. I believe I can still pull it off though with some planning and effort. The rigging fit into pre-drilled holes so there is that too. What would you guys do? Is it worth the time to restore? Any advice or suggestions are welcomed. The model was never properly photographed back then but I used to have a few fairly good shots of her at the airport that got lost. I'll show the ones I have to give you an idea of how she once looked and also some of the damage. The box that did the deed: It fell from here, two shelves above the model: Damage: dislodged rigging pieces: Edited February 27, 2020 by Gary Brantley spelling error 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Like a Phoenix, she is reborn! Nice! Nice collection of the old Lindberg 1/48 biplanes, I see! Brought back some nice memories of building them and the Aurora biplane kits back when I was 10-12! Ah, the heady aroma of Revell 'S' cement and Testors enamels in the little glass bottles! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorby Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Certainly looks worth bringing back to life to me. The photos at the start of your post look excellent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Thanks gents! The broken strut doesn't seem to be too hard to repair, as I do have the broken off piece. I think my challenge (other than eyesight issues) will be securing the model in a position that allows access to the rigging points that then allows me two hands on the work. The pre-drilled holes will make it easier. I collected all the rigging pieces and would just need to measure them and sort of pair them up for reinstalling between the wings. Of course, I would still need to deal with the radio aerials, the darned issue that started the entire train wreck. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackem01 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 So the Fury was built 25 years ago - that's 25 years worth of experience that will serve you well putting her back together. How many more tricks do you have up your sleeve now? Go on do it - I for one would like to see her reborn, and besides it's a great little kit - too good to throw away! One last thing. Why are you wasting time reading this, you have a Fury to crack on with!!😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 23 minutes ago, mackem01 said: So the Fury was built 25 years ago - that's 25 years worth of experience that will serve you well putting her back together. How many more tricks do you have up your sleeve now? Go on do it - I for one would like to see her reborn, and besides it's a great little kit - too good to throw away! One last thing. Why are you wasting time reading this, you have a Fury to crack on with!!😉 You are quite right! I think I'm a better modeler now than then. I think I can, I think I can...😀 Thanks for the good words! The bolded above literally made me laugh out loud! Thanks for that! I need all the laughs I can muster; central heat and air repairmen have been here all day and still aren't done. I dread getting that bill! But I won't complain when the temperature tops 100* F in a few months. 😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 I have the Lindberg boxing of this kit on the Shelf of Shame sitting half finished. It's a jolly nice kit and I really must pull my finger out and finish it! Definitely worth devoting a weekend to that and sorting out the damage. It actually shouldn't be too much kerfuffle to do it, just will take a little time. Perfect for a rainy weekend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackem01 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 OOH Two Furies to look forward to! PM each other to make sure they'll be in different markings FYI - It's supposed to be raining this weekend Smithy......................just saying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 2 minutes ago, mackem01 said: FYI - It's supposed to be raining this weekend Smithy......................just saying. More likely to be snow here old boy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackem01 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Build fast, it'll keep you warm!😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 2 minutes ago, mackem01 said: Build fast, it'll keep you warm!😉 Using that logic, here it would have to be a super speed build to keep the chill at bay! I was actually looking at the Fury the other day and thinking I must pull it off the shelf. It's a great kit and it's gone together well. I used an aftermarket decal set and they don't quite fit so there's quite a bit of touching up with them. Pretty sure I've posted this here on BM before but here she is again anyway as she stands... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackem01 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 That's fantastic work and your quite a way along - look forward to it getting off that shelf when your ready. Lovely work by the way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Smithy, you're half way there mate! 👍 Great start, it would be a shame to leave her like that. 😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Thanks guys, much appreciated! I have Airfix's old mould 1/48 Hurricane on the go at the moment but you're seriously on the way to convincing me to make the Fury my next "to do" afterwards 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackem01 Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Smithy said: Thanks guys, much appreciated! I have Airfix's old mould 1/48 Hurricane on the go at the moment but you're seriously on the way to convincing me to make the Fury my next "to do" afterwards Great. I have a thing about interwar biplanes that comes round on a regular basis. Think I'm into the start of the next cycle! Edited February 27, 2020 by mackem01 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Puff Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 10 hours ago, Smithy said: Using that logic, here it would have to be a super speed build to keep the chill at bay! I was actually looking at the Fury the other day and thinking I must pull it off the shelf. It's a great kit and it's gone together well. I used an aftermarket decal set and they don't quite fit so there's quite a bit of touching up with them. Pretty sure I've posted this here on BM before but here she is again anyway as she stands... You have, but it's more than worth another look! And yes, you should crack on and finish it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 Very nice recovery. As it turns out I am currently building the Airfix Fury to get some practice at rigging but can't find any decent references or drawings for the rigging. Duncan B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted February 28, 2020 Author Share Posted February 28, 2020 55 minutes ago, Duncan B said: Very nice recovery. As it turns out I am currently building the Airfix Fury to get some practice at rigging but can't find any decent references or drawings for the rigging. Duncan B Thanks Duncan! I've been looking for the same things recently (again 😉) and this is about the best I've found. I noted that the service number on the flying Fury isn't that far from that on my model. 😀 You may have already seen this site but if not, here ya go: https://vintageaviationecho.com/flying-the-hawker-fury/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now