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Airfix 1/48 Hunter F.6A


Rich F

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Morning All!

Thought I’d share my latest project, its going to be a Hunter F.6A from 234 sqn/tactical weapons unit. I think they were based out of Chivenor but may have been Brawdy due to Chivenor’s runway being resurfaced at the time?

 

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Incidentally I have a tenuous link with Brawdy as I was based there in the 90’s with the Army when it was named Cawdor Barracks. I vaguely remember a Hunter gate guardian being there, I wish I’d taken a pic of it now.

Anyway, I digress, back to the Hunter. I have both the Academy offering and of course this one from Airfix. I wish the Airfix kit had the same surface detail as the Academy as it’s panel engraving and rivet detail is much better than the Airfix kit, that said the overall shape is much better than Academy’s and that is why I using this kit.

Here’s what I’m starting with…

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I’ve made a start with the cockpit, since I’m using Eduard’s P.E for the pit I’ve removed all the detail from the IP and consoles. I’ve also added a few bits and pieces to the side walls, bulkhead and IP to busy it up a bit

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I was going to use the kit’s control column but I decided it looked a bit skinny so I’ve pinched one from the Neomega set I’ve got for the Academy kit which has the chunky look of the real thing, much better!

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.I’ve also gone a bit further and fashioned a standby compass which sits on the coaming, this was a real test for my eyesight, it maybe a bit overscale so I may not use it, we’ll see once I’ve painted it.

 

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Seat is from CMK, which is nicely detailed, however i am managed to break off the knee guards and lose them to the dreaded carpet monster, luckily the kit seat is not bad so i transplanted the offending said parts over to the cmk seat. Next headache was the firing handles, these were so fine that in my haste to remove it from the casting block I destroyed it. So, after an hour of head scratching and 2 failed attempts trying to whittle a new one I managed to come up with this, not as nice as Mr CMK’s offering but it will pass muster methinks! I also decided to add an oxygen hose using twisted copper wire.

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Next up is painting and adding the PE. Being a black cockpit not sure how much of this will be seen but I know it’s there!

Cheers

Edited by Rich F
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The Hunter gate guard was still there in 1998 when I was there Rich, I think it was moved - sold for scrap soon after, I left in 2001 and seem to remember that it was gone but no explanation? 
 

Nice little project fella, shaping up well :thumbsup:

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Evening All,

Managed to finish the cockpit, well almost I've still got the gunsight to add once i have the fuselage is in one piece.

 

I used an undercoat of gloss black enamel then a dusting of tyre black to tone it down a bit, finally i dry brushed the whole lot with silver to bring out the raised detail. The seat frame is just gloss black and dry brushing as my reference pics show it as very shiny black, i liked the way the rivet detail really stands out. Once it was dry i added eduards pe set for the dials switches etc. Anyway onto the pics...

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Oops, forgot to add the ejection seat firing handles...

 

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Thats better, the black stripes were added using a fine sharpie pen, it wont stand up to a close inspection, my eyes ain't what they used to be!

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I added some weight to the rear of the cockpit bulkhead using a large washer and lead shot held firmly with a shot of zap ca, the nose cone received the same treatment, hope its going to be enough!

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Finally I've been playing with the underwing stores, I have Aerocraft's  230gal big tanks and the corrected pylons. Using a drill i carefully hollowed out the tank sections to reduce the weight. A collar is supplied to join the front & rear sections together. Sofar dry fitting has shown that they maybe a bit well, 'wonky' as the tolerances are a bit loose. I'll let you how it goes.

The SNEB rocket pods are from flightpath and look the biz, the kit offerings look to pointy for my liking...

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Next up is getting the fuselage in one piece and the joins cleaned up. Then I'll be working on the wings and adding the flap set i have as Airfix looked like they ran out of steam here as they have zero detail on them. Anyhow that's all for now.

 

Cheers

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I'll second that. The seat should be a semi gloss black, so well done. nicely weathered too.

An easy tip for the faceblind/firing handles in this scale is to twist black & yellow cotton threads together. Then add a drop of superglue.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the interest folks, much appreciated 😊

 

As for progress, I’m pleased to report some has been made but not much to look at unfortunately.

 

Good news is that the fuselage and wings are now joined, I’m in the process of blending the seams, so a bit sanding and filling to do. Nothing to drastic as Airfix has done a good job with the parts breakdown, I especially like the way the upper wings fit onto the fuselage, it stops any wing misalignment. I’ve also added some rivet detail to break up the panels and add some interest.

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I’ve fitted the PE for flap housing and checked that the resin flaps for fit. The set requires you to fill some of the existing attachment points and cut new one. All looks good here.

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I was a bit concerned that the center of gravity was still a tad rear of the main wheels so i filled the Sabrinas with lead shot to move it forward.

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And fitted them, note I've drilled out the cartridge chutes

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Wing tanks required some Mr surfacer but should be good once sanded down.

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Fuselage cooling vents drilled and a small piece of PE added.

 

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Another weak point of this kit for me is the undercarriage doors, no detail whatsoever. Good thing is Quickboost do a replacement set, well worth it for a fiver…

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Airfix offerings, oh dear!

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This nose gear door detail is much better.

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Hopefully I can get some primer on it in the next week or two if the day job doesn’t impinge too much!

 

Cheers

Edited by Rich F
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On 10/19/2021 at 1:26 AM, Rich F said:

i liked the way the rivet detail really stands out.

 

I'm pretty sure that the rivets on the seat were all flush but its a trademark kind of thing for them to be silver on black. I think your seat looks absolutely brilliant and I'd say the manufacturer's decision to make them dry-brushable was an excellent idea. As soon as I saw them I was going to ask how you painted them so accurately!

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7 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

 

I'm pretty sure that the rivets on the seat were all flush but its a trademark kind of thing for them to be silver on black. I think your seat looks absolutely brilliant and I'd say the manufacturer's decision to make them dry-brushable was an excellent idea. As soon as I saw them I was going to ask how you painted them so accurately!

 

Thanks Bertie, Yes i thought the rivet detail on the CMK seat was a bit OTT, then i saw this 

 

Look like they got it about right ;) 

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I can't think of a better way to simulate that flush riveting than by moulding them as raised. I love the elegant paradox involved.

 

The whole cockpit is rather fab actually. There ain't going to be a good view of it with the canopy and windscreen on though.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My aim of finishing this before the end of the year might have been a bit ambitious due to working away from home in the last couple of weeks. Anyhow this week is better and I’m slowly moving forward.

 

Gun sight added

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Nice little PE ladder

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Archer rivets added to tanks

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I’ve given the fuselage a black wash to make sure my rivet detail is good, not looking to bad. Just need to give it a final fine sanding to smooth away some of the surface scratches.

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Metal pitot added and ailerons tips rounded and slightly tapered.

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Fuel drain added, ouch some nasty scratches here, more sanding needed!

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I should, fingers crossed, be able to get some primer on in the next day or two.

 

Cheers

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