Hunting 126 +++ Finished +++

[CliffB]

Hi all

Having withdrawn my unstarted An-14 from the Group Build (due to a lack of remaining time), here's my simpler/quicker alternative offering.  It's a 1/200 scale, white metal/PE kit by Shed Models of the Hunting 126, STOL research aircraft.

 

 

It's a delightful little kit (if you like that sort of thing), with a pleasingly comprehensive decal sheet.

 

 

The H126 was designed to allow the investigation of the 'jet flap' principle as an aid to STOL performance. It first flew in 1963 and operated from RAE Bedford.  In 1969 it went to the US for a period of wind tunnel testing at NASA, before being retired from service in 1972.  It currently resides in the RAF museum at Cosford.

 

 

As I understand it, the thrust from the aircraft's single gas turbine engine was ducted to various outlet nozzles.

55% of the thrust was blown over the wing flaps in order to provide additional lift.  30% of the thrust went to conventional fuselage jet pipes (to provide propulsion), whilst the remaining 15% was ducted to small nozzles on the wing tips and tail to provide roll, pitch and yaw control at slow speeds (as later copied in part, on the Harrier).  The net result of all this was a stall speed of just 32 mph.

 

Cheers

[Dave Swindell]

2 hours ago, CliffB said:

(as later copied in part, on the Harrier)

The Hawker P1127, precurser to the Harrier, flew 3 years before the Hunting 126, so it could be said that Hunting copied Hawkers.

[CliffB]

18 minutes ago, Dave Swindell said:

The Hawker P1127, precurser to the Harrier, flew 3 years before the Hunting 126, so it could be said that Hunting copied Hawkers.

 

Fair enough!

[CliffB]

Hi all,

 

I managed to get some time this afternoon on the Hunting.

 

Although the parts were pretty nicely cast, they nevertheless needed a little sanding and filling to get them 100%.  As usual, doing this with white metal is a very messy business .    The sanding also obliterated some of the panel lines, so some re-scribing was necessary.

 

The plane is yellow overall, but with bare metal areas wherever hot gases are discharged.  I thought I might as well use the kit material as the 'bare metal', so I polished the relevant areas and masked them off.

 

 

 

These macro photos suggest that there is still some surface roughness in the canopy/wing root area, so hopefully a coat or two of primer will address this .

You may also notice a small hole on the underside of the fuselage, between the jet pipes.  I've drilled this to accept a fine wire prop, as the model will otherwise be a mega tail sitter!

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

[CliffB]

Time for an update, as things are now looking a bit more colourful 

 

 

Gloss and decals next...

 

Cheers

[rob Lyttle]

Nice project, CliffB. This had me rummaging the book shelves for a book I haven't looked in for too long. My daughters got me "the X Planes of Europe" some years ago now, and your little H126 features on the front cover.

 

 

So much cool and crazy stuff in there! 

I had no idea this little model even existed. 

[CliffB]

7 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

Nice project, CliffB. This had me rummaging the book shelves for a book I haven't looked in for too long. My daughters got me "the X Planes of Europe" some years ago now, and your little H126 features on the front cover.

 

Thanks for this Rob.  That looks like a fascinating book, with a couple of B&W photos there that I hadn't seen before 

I typically build a couple of little 1/200 scale kits each year, mainly as a bit of light relief from more involved projects.  This one caught my eye when it came up on eBay as I regularly see the original at Cosford.

 

Cheers

[CliffB]

Coming to life now with the decals in place..

 

 

Just the u/c and PE struts to paint and place now!

 

Cheers

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Looking good cliff, its so tiny though. 

[CliffB]

On 11/26/2021 at 8:45 AM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Looking good cliff, its so tiny though. 

 

Thanks Dennis.  It is indeed small, but probably weighs more than several of my plastic kits put together!

 

Anyway, I'm pleased to say that it's finished now (although I've struggled to get clear photos ).

 

 

Thanks to all of you who have supported this brief build 

 

Cheers

[srkirad]

Pretty cute miniature one  I like that "Danger" box decal behind wing  

[Natter]

From a rough metal finish to a finished gem. 'Magic our Maurice'.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Thats pretty clear to me I can read the decals. 

[rob Lyttle]

Hmmm, I see you are now buying your Humbrol enamel in 2.5l tins. Is that for the front door?? 😁

 

Excellent little gem you have crafted here, Cliff. Love it!