Building the 1/72 AZ models DH Hornet

[ththtttu7]

Exhausts can be added from outside. I'd left these off as it was easier to align and hold the halves of the nacelle together without them in place.

 

 

 

Also, these are all of the main leg components ready for assembly. I'll upload an image showing their correct angle relative to the wing and mounts.

Edited November 17, 2020 by David A Collins

[Learstang]

That is coming along very nicely - great to see the dimensions are accurate! I have this kit so I'm following quite closely.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Edited November 18, 2020 by Learstang
Small change.

[ththtttu7]

Hopefully this mark-up will help you position the undercarriage legs accurately.

 

The red line is the engine firewall.

 

The purple line is the main leg.

 

The blue line represents the "goal post" links. It's crossbar is positioned uppermost.

 

The green line is the long diagonal brace.

 

 

 

In reality the Hornet has a few more links to this mechanism, but these are smaller and mostly hidden from view. You can make these from sprue or rod if desired as the kit doesn't come with all of them. (I'm not going to here). The Valiant Wings book has some good photos of this area for reference.

 

This photo shows the undercarriage legs correctly aligned. The leg itself is not quite parallel with the engine firewall it mounts to. Hopefully you can see why I left the nacelles off until last now, as it makes it a much simpler process of aligning all of the parts accurately.

 

 

 

After the main legs are fitted, the "goal post" links can now be added. The simplest way to do this is to temporarily place some plastic card on the wing and sit the link onto it, while glueing the ends to the rear of the leg cross-shaft. This will ensure it is parallel and set at the correct angle.

 

 

And finally with the long diagonal brace fitted.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2020 by David A Collins

[ththtttu7]

These ten parts assemble into the propellers and main wheels.

 

 

 

At this point it's worth mentioning some further kit dimensions:

 

On all previous kits there have been some significant dimensional errors. I'm pleased to say that with this AZ kit, I've only found two minor ones.

 

To name but a few, the length, span, undercarriage position, canopy, engine pitch, fin, wing chord, nacelle and spinner length are all correct.

 

The two errors are: the spinner diameter and F1/PR2 tailplane span.

The spinner is just under 1mm below diameter and; the tailplane span is about 4mm undersize.

 

Visually the spinner doesn't look wrong as the curved lines of the Hornet disguise it well. The tailplane span proportionally looks ok too, as it's wider than the prototype one, and just under the F1/PR2 width. 

 

Obviously if you want to modify this, the kit comes with the correct width later type tailplane, so you could always reduce this one in width by 2mm per side to create one suitable for the earlier marks.

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by David A Collins

[ththtttu7]

With the undercarriage legs and linkages dry the nacelles can be permanently glued in place.

 

These slide easily over the assembled framework. When they are in position you can now glue the ends of the "goal post" links to the inner sides of the nacelles.

 

 

 

And there she is, looking very Hornet like 😎

 

 

 

[gunzo]

Hi David

 

Photos of the aircraft suggest the fillet of  nacelle rear and  the  triangular capping are full width between the flaps and like CA kit the AZ is noticably narrower than this, Do you have any thoughts (eg a broader triangle or shorter gap between the flaps) ?

 

Les

 

 

[bigbadbadge]

Oh wow this has progressed well and looks good, the information you are providing is very useful and interesting too, great work , it does look like a nice kit.

Chris

[ththtttu7]

3 hours ago, gunzo said:

Hi David

 

Photos of the aircraft suggest the fillet of  nacelle rear and  the  triangular capping are full width between the flaps and like CA kit the AZ is noticably narrower than this, Do you have any thoughts (eg a broader triangle or shorter gap between the flaps) ?

 

Les

 

 

 

Hi Les,

I'll look into the shape of rear fairings deeper as I do have the original lofting lines (coordinate plots) for every surface of the airframe.

 

However in this thread, I'm just building this kit with what's there. If you wish to modify anything I'm sure there will always be opportunities to improve any kit further with resin, filler and re-scribing.

[gunzo]

50 minutes ago, David A Collins said:

the original lofting lines

I can imagine the lines between you and New Zealand are rather busy!

[ththtttu7]

1 hour ago, bigbadbadge said:

Oh wow this has progressed well and looks good, the information you are providing is very useful and interesting too, great work , it does look like a nice kit.

Chris

 

Thanks Chris, just ask if anything is unclear.

[ththtttu7]

So here we are, warts and all. It's had a dusting of filler and a light sand prior to the primer going on. 

 

This will be painted in the Medium sea grey and PRU blue day fighter scheme that the Hornet entered  RAF service with in 1946.

 

The canopy and fuselage nose shape ahead of it are a real triumph on this kit. 10/10 for accuracy 👍

 

 

 

 

Undercarriage doors are on. They only fit one way round. Best to dry fit them in the nacelles before the leg is in place.

 

Next step will be to paint all of the detail parts such as the propellers, wheels and canopy.

Edited November 19, 2020 by David A Collins

[ththtttu7]

On 11/18/2020 at 2:04 PM, gunzo said:

Hi David

 

Photos of the aircraft suggest the fillet of  nacelle rear and  the  triangular capping are full width between the flaps and like CA kit the AZ is noticably narrower than this, Do you have any thoughts (eg a broader triangle or shorter gap between the flaps) ?

 

Les

 

 

 

Hi Les,

 

I've looked at the drawings of the fillet on the rear of the nacelles. You are correct, when viewed from directly underneath, the triangular capping fills the gap between the flaps.

 

My suggestion for correcting any of these kits you mention, would be to file the top of each triangular capping down and place a broader triangular piece of plastic card on the top of each one. You could then place some filler in the angle between the nacelle side and fillet/wing underside, then run a suitably sized ball bearing along the intersection to create the perfect fillet radius.

[ththtttu7]

The fuselage has been primed now after adding the small fairings sometimes visible under F.1 wings. These were part of the long range tank attachments. 

 

The eagle-eyed among you will note I haven't fitted a gunsite. For the F.1 this was a deliberate omission, as when the Hornet came into service in May 1946 there were unresolved vibration issues with the gyro gunsite mount at the base of the windscreen. This made accurate aiming of the four cannon impossible, until a strengthened mounting was designed and supplied to the squadrons. This is why much if the initial squadron flying took the form of navigation exercises.

 

 

 

 

 

The props and wheels have been painted black, tips of the blades yellow, and the castings aluminium.

 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by David A Collins

[bigbadbadge]

Looks lovely all together and appears a fine representation of this lovely looking aircraft in my lay opinion .

Great work 

Chris

[ththtttu7]

Like with many aspects of the Hornet, a lot of published artwork is incorrect due to lack of physical aircraft to inspect. Here are a few tips for painting a Hornet F.1 correctly.

 

Windscreen assembly.

The Hornets windscreen is made from three slabs of armoured glass. It has a 1" steel A-frame at the rear and is capped top and bottom with aluminium castings.

At the front, in between each slab of glass is a steel tie rod that pulls the upper and lower castings together, encapsulating the glass. The only trace of this you can see on the outside is black rubber sealant.

The A-frame at the rear of the windscreen assembly and top casting generally take the colour of the upper airframe surfaces, although these are often black on Sea Hornets too. 

Everyone paints these tie rods grey/aluminium/green, etc. This is incorrect as they are always a thin black line.

 

 

Canopy release button below the RH cockpit window can be seen. It is a yellow push button. This disengages the winding mechanism from the latch to allow the canopy to be slid back from the outside.

 

Tail cone.

This is a bolt on aluminium part. When the Hornet F1 and F3's left the factory, the PRU Blue/Medium sea grey demarcation line simply ended at the joint to the tail cone.

The join is located just forward of the rudder hinge.

The tail cone itself is painted PRU Blue underside and Medium sea grey on top.

I have yet to see another profile artwork correct (other than Mark Gauntlets) that gets this right.

 

Of course, there are some anomalies where some modifications must have happened. These take the form of a horizontal line to the end of the tail cone, or a sweeping curve in later schemes ending at the tailplane leading edge. Its always best to check a photo of the specific serial airframe. With just under 400 Hornets and Sea Hornets being made, its surprising that most have photo's that can now be found in at least 5 books to date.

 

 

Fire extinguisher rectangular sprung doors in the cowlings just above the front of each undercarriage door are painted red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2020 by David A Collins

[manuel]

The most beautiful plane ever, never has a design been able or will be able to exceed this one.

 

Thanks you to share.

Edited November 23, 2020 by manuel
add

[ththtttu7]

I'm just waiting for the PRU Blue and Medium sea grey paint to arrive in the post at the weekend and progress will recommence.

[ththtttu7]

Here's the basic colours for the Hornet F1.

 

Medium Sea Grey upper surfaces.

PRU Blue undersides.

 

In addition to the previously mentioned painting details, I've also added the gun camera hole on the nose ahead of the windscreen.

 

Still to add is a pitot tube at the end of the port wing. I've drilled a hole for it, but need to source something suitable as the kit doesn't come with one.

 

This has been painted in satin paint to provide a better surface for the decal application. Once these are applied I'll go over the whole lot with a matt varnish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2020 by David A Collins

[ththtttu7]

Nearly there with the finishing touches.

 

I've chosen the markings for PX251, SH-M of 64Sqn circa 1947.

All Hornet F1's entered service with B type markings, but after a short period of around six months the four Squadrons applied the C and C1-type roundels.

 

 

Here's an update for the decals. All of the serials and major markings are completed. I just have to source some correct font white letters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2020 by David A Collins

[stevehnz]

I'm liking the look of this a lot David, another kit I "need". Your tips will be invaluable, thanks.

Steve.

[ththtttu7]

6 hours ago, stevehnz said:

I'm liking the look of this a lot David, another kit I "need". Your tips will be invaluable, thanks.

Steve.

 

Thanks Steve,

 

I'm looking forward to seeing a good variety of them built. With four RAF marks to choose from, plus the prototypes, seven front line squadrons, three different colour schemes and several second line operators, there are lots of potential options.

[ththtttu7]

Not forgetting the landing light that is located under the port wing. This is only present on RAF versions as the Sea Hornet wing fold break went through here.

 

 

The kit doesn't come with a lens so I've just drawn a circle in pencil and infilled it with silver paint. If you have a lens available in the spares box, drilling a hole to accept it would be another solution.

 

In addition to this, for the 'completest' you could add: the belly door; underwing vents; and cannon shell ejector slots as scribed surface lines.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2020 by David A Collins

[ththtttu7]

Ok, so now this is the F.1 Hornet finished. I'll make a start on the PR.2 version next and most likely paint it as PX216, R.

 

 

 

 

RFI here:

 

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by David A Collins

[ththtttu7]

Some more nicely produced box art and colour options for the PR.2 version.

 

 

 

The first thing to note about the underside profile artwork, is that it should show the two underside camera apertures in place of the cannon shell ejector slots. I'll provide a drawing in this thread showing the correct size and location in the fuselage.

 

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by David A Collins

[bigbadbadge]

The F1 looks absolutely gorgeous David great work and great Tutorial too, thank you. Although as Steve said you have shown us a kit we now need!!! SWMBO will be annoyed!!! 

 

I am looking forward to the PR mkit too. 

Chris