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Revell 1/32 Hawker Hunter FGA9 79 Sqd


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Hi Folks

 

So here is the final build and as I said in the build post Im not really that pleased with it (all my own doing).  If you take a closer look you will see what I mean. Having said that it is a superb kit and I thoroughly enjoyed building it and looking at it now from a small distance brings back some very enjoyable memories, so not all bad for me.

 

Thought I would give a couple of bits of info on this beautiful aircraft that you may be interested in.

 

Single seat Hunters were started by a fuel system, two seat versions with a large cartridge, 3 in total, if the first failed there were two back ups (they were an absolute bugger to fit and remove).  The liquid start for the single seater was a fuel called AVPIN (ISO Propyl Nitrate, as close as you can get to rocket fuel) & very volatile. This was a particularly nasty substance, being a mono fuel could burn without oxygen. If you got this in your eyes in any sort of quantity there would be a good chance of blindness.  Ive had some in my eye and its painful & very uncomfortable.  Also when the fuel is ignited it gives off a thick black acrid smoke containing Hydrocyanic Acid (I will leave that to your imagination). You will also notice on some of the pics on the underside an engine bay door open.  Reason, when the aircraft had started and the black smoke had gone we had to go up into this bay to disperse any flames around the AVPIN pipe joints (common).  Armed with just a large asbestos mitten we had to tap around the flames (could not put them out but just hoped that patting them would help it burn itself out).  Had a very frightening experience with this but thats another story.

 

White intakes you wonder. When I worked on these aircraft they were 30 odd years old then.  From many hours of hard flying there was obviously a considerable amount of stress on the air-frame.  Cracks appeared and rivetts became loose. An absolute disaster in an air intake.  Anything ingested into the engine could be catastrophic.  So they were all sprayed with a white rubberised paint to prevent this from happening, clever huh.

 

I hope you have found this of interest and that Ive not bored the life out of you.

 

 

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I have really enjoyed this (which is the main purpose) but Im sure you will agree that some builds in the end you just cannot wait to put to bed.

 

Next on the bench and unusual for me is going to be a two on the go job, Trumpeter 1/48 Wellington MkIII (one of my favourites) and a Tamiya 1/48 P51B Mustang (another of my favourites).  I am going to be very focused on these builds because the Wellington was given to me with lots of AM stuff by a very dear friend who is very kind and generous Laurie Stewart.  The P51B was given to me with AM stuff by Murfie from another forum, again a very kind & generous person.

 

Thank you Laurie and thank you Murfie very much.  You have stopped the men in the white coats from taking me away.  I appreciate it very much.

 

Take care and safe all

 

Si

 

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Well I love it Si!  I enjoyed your build right from the start

 

And dont be too hard on yourself....maybe you are just looking at the things you dont like. not the kit as a whole?  The reason I say that is because it looks superb from where I am sitting, truly mean that!  I get the same feelings with my 1/32 Brit Toom conversion, but then I give it a break and come back and go 'oh thats pretty cool' and it didnt looks so bad after all.

 

I'd be proud to have that on my shelf!  Send it my way LOL

 

Cheers Anthony

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11 minutes ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Well I love it Si!  I enjoyed your build right from the start

 

And dont be too hard on yourself....maybe you are just looking at the things you dont like. not the kit as a whole?  The reason I say that is because it looks superb from where I am sitting, truly mean that!  I get the same feelings with my 1/32 Brit Toom conversion, but then I give it a break and come back and go 'oh thats pretty cool' and it didnt looks so bad after all.

 

I'd be proud to have that on my shelf!  Send it my way LOL

 

Cheers Anthony

Thank you very much Anthony for your kind words. I think working on the aircraft and knowing it very well I was very critical of myself. Like you say though taking a break and looking at it now I'm pretty chuffed with it.

 

Thanks again for your kind comments 

 

Si

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Wow your Hunter looks great and very nicely photographed too - thanks for adding the interesting background story too -  I have this kit in the stash with a 79 SQDN decal sheet so your model is inspiring me to move it up the to do list.

CJP

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17 minutes ago, CJP said:

Wow your Hunter looks great and very nicely photographed too - thanks for adding the interesting background story too -  I have this kit in the stash with a 79 SQDN decal sheet so your model is inspiring me to move it up the to do list.

CJP

Thank you CJP very much appreciated.

It is a lovely kit and I'm sure you will enjoy the build. I am by no means an expert but if you need any info Hunter/79 sqd I would be happy to help in any way I can 

 

Si

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14 minutes ago, Simon Dyer said:

Thank you CJP very much appreciated.

It is a lovely kit and I'm sure you will enjoy the build. I am by no means an expert but if you need any info Hunter/79 sqd I would be happy to help in any way I can 

 

Si

thanks Simon I will keep that in mind

CJP

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Really nice looking build there. 
I have the same kit in my stash but am making the 1/48 first. Any big issues to be aware of when I get round to it?

Really interesting little bit of info with the engine start and intake. We do the same when starting the EE lightning which we still use AVPIN for (when we can get it)

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A great job on one of my favourite aeroplanes. The CAC Sabre also used AVPIN for its starter (it had an Avon Mk26); the fuel is so hard to get now the RAAF Museum/100SQN/Temora Air Museum version, A94-983, has been modified to use an electric starter instead.

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8 hours ago, Simon Dyer said:

Apologies Alan, seems to be ok elsewhere so not sure what is going on

Si 

All okay now, beautiful Hunter. Looks very realistic how you've done it, one to be proud of 👍

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11 hours ago, Simon Dyer said:

Thank you CJP very much appreciated.

It is a lovely kit and I'm sure you will enjoy the build. I am by no means an expert but if you need any info Hunter/79 sqd I would be happy to help in any way I can 

 

Si

Hi Simon - can you advised if the 79 Sqdn Hunters ever flew with the four under wing fuel tanks - I can only find photos of them with the tanks on the inner pylons?

Also what are the red fittings on the pylons?

Thanks

CJP

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14 hours ago, aerotechi said:

Really nice looking build there. 
I have the same kit in my stash but am making the 1/48 first. Any big issues to be aware of when I get round to it?

Really interesting little bit of info with the engine start and intake. We do the same when starting the EE lightning which we still use AVPIN for (when we can get it)

Thanks aerotechi much appreciated

 

I has tree problems with mine but Im certain the reason for that was it was stored in my loft for 20 years

  1. The fit of the nose to the intake section was a bit fiddly with large gaps however they closed up nicely with some clamps
  2. The kit decal sheet was awful so I had to ditch most of the stencils.  The rest of them were OK but needed extra long soaking in water with a few drops of vinegar.  The only two that didnt fair too well were the underside roundels which I masked and sprayed
  3. The fit of the front windscreen on mine was not too good and I made the mistake of fitting it after I had painted it.  I would recommend fitting this as early as possible before paint as filler maybe required. It also makes it easier to mask the cockpit

If your kit has been stored correctly I dont see you having any big issues, its a lovely kit.

 

Interesting about the lightning, another favourite of mine.  You have said it in the present tense are there still some flying in the UK?  I thought that to see one flying again you would have to go to South Africa

 

Thanks again

 

Si

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10 hours ago, Bell209 said:

A great job on one of my favourite aeroplanes. The CAC Sabre also used AVPIN for its starter (it had an Avon Mk26); the fuel is so hard to get now the RAAF Museum/100SQN/Temora Air Museum version, A94-983, has been modified to use an electric starter instead.

Thanks very much Bell209 much appreciated.

I did read that a short while ago regarding the conversion to electric start, certainly a lot safer for the ground crew😱

 

Si

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