Hawker Hunter FR10 1/72

[Bedders]

Morning All,

 

A few photos of my recently-completed Hunter FR10 in 1/72. It's the well-known but sometimes hard-to-get Revell kit, which goes together very easily and looks pretty accurate too, with good fit and excellent surface detailing. This one started off with the intention of being an FGA9/F6A, but I quite like investigating the less numerous variants and it turns out that the FR 10 was very successful at what it did, so I changed tack and went down the conversion route. I liked the 2 Squadron markings too. Not huge surgery required but as well as the nose job it meant rejigging the cockpit a bit to move the gunsight to the right and reprofile the coaming to incorporate a camera control box on the left. I didn't reorganise the instrument panel which by rights one should, as the kit panel is pretty good and whatever I would have done would not have been an improvement. 

 

Other than that I used a set of SBS resin wheels which are great, and a Master brass pitot. I bought a Rob Taurus canopy but in the end didn't use it, as the shape is the same as that of the kit and in fact the thicker frames look better. The seat is the kit part, embellished with plastic card and wire and has come out quite nicely. I also quarried some other great BM Hunter builds e.g that of https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/profile/16207-tomoshenko/, as sources of guidance and strength in the detailing/scratchbuilding department. So thanks to them. Pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the original, taken in 1970, as the 2 Sqn Hunters were about to give way to Phantoms:

 

There's a build thread (though not a very thorough one I'm afraid) at:

 

Thanks for looking, and take good care in these strange times.

 

Justin

[Luka]

That's one smart looking Hunter there, I like it!

[Meatbox8]

A very smart looking Hunter with a great paint finish.  Have to agree, it's a very nice kit this and is readily avaialble again after a bit of a hiatus.  There's quite a few variants I'd like to use the kit as a basis for.  The Navy's GA.11 is a type which appeals to me.

 

[canberraman]

A lovely build and finish. Hard to believe its 1/72. 

 

Mark

[David Womby]

I agree that looks bigger than 1/72.  Well done.  Don't see many built as the FR10 or GA11.

 

David

[typhoon1]

That's a lovely build there.

[Cookenbacher]

Another immaculate build Justin, now I must try to resist spending the next year and a half building Hunters, as has happened after seeing your Spitfire and Mustang builds.

[Unfinished project]

Very handsome Hunter 👏👏👏

[scottyphbeta]

Really Nice job.

Was the nose created from the original or did you buy and aftermarket item?

[SAT69]

Beautiful Hunter

[Wulfman]

Handsome Hunter! Great stuff.

 

Wulfman

[Sky Keg]

This is a LOVELY Hunter!!!!!  Like the Spitfire, the Hunter is perfectly shaped and your`s is perfectly done.  

 

Mike

[F-32]

Very cool, that really looks good

[klubman01]

Great result.  Well done.

[Mountain goat]

Wonderful job! The nose profile especially looks very good - immediately recognisable as an FR nose. I had no idea SBS made wheels for the kit but having inspected pics of the set just now I must say I  admire the job you did drilling out the holes in the nose wheel. Gives the model some more personality somehow. I also like the work you did with Martin Baker's contraption. Great stuff

 

Jay

[Bedders]

Thanks for the kind comments folks.

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/profile/11612-scottyphbeta/: The nose was s ratchbuilt - tthere os an aftermarket one out there but I'm led to believe it's the wrond shape.

 

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/profile/16114-mountain-goat/: The SBS wheels need a bit of work to make them fit, but it's worth it. The nksewheel is slightly larger tban the kit item so the front fkrk needs to be trimmed a touch to accommodate it. The holes are just a thin film of resin so can be popped out very easily. For the main wheels I sulerglued a bit of plastic into the sligntly oversized axle hole and then drilled it out to the required diamete that meant I could use normal glue rather than CA which gave me time to get the angles right.

 

Now I've got my head round how the Revell kit goes together I've started work on a PJ Productions/Revell T7 conversion. It's too far advanced to do a WIP thread but I hope to have it in RFI before long. Colour scheme still to be decided but ideally something not too common.

 

Justin

 

[Guy H]

Looking really good. My father flew these for 2 SQN and I notice the 'sierra' on the nose wheel cover. Somewhere at mums house there is a picture of 4 Hunters parked spelling Sierra Hotel ***** Tango!. Having recently returned to the hobby courtesy of lockdown i have just completed a /124 model of a car I own and am now starting on 1/72 spitfire (we all started there) a Revell 109 and an Arma hobby Hurricane. Once the skills are up to scratch I aim to do a 2 Sqn FR 10 Hunter in 1/48 using the new Airfix kit and various aftermarket parts. 

 

Research tells me the airframe was Mk6 converted to FR10, so i need to address nose shape, offset gunsight, camera controls, camera windows and extra fuel tanks, correct decals.... Anything else? Not sure if the kit MB seat will be right but loads of those out there.....

[Bedders]

Thanks Guy. I bet you've got an interesting stash of photos from that time - potentially great reference material too.  In terms of mods to the F6 there's also the tailpipe extension for the brake chute, which may or may not be in the Airfix kit. And the flaps need doctoring to accommodate the big fuel tanks. Both were mods that the FGA9 got, though the 10s missed out on the bumps above the outer hardpoints that housed the explosive release gubbins. So that's one headache less.  Look forward to seeing it when you get round to building it.

 

Justin

[Guy H]

Thanks Justin. Yep, unfortunately at mums house who is in isolation. But in the meantime I have the 1/72 kits to practise on.