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Hobbycraft Sea Fury Hawker Company demonstrator G-AKRY


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Guest Peterpools

Peter

Awesome work. Makes me want to take up snap tite kits, knowing I'll never be able to reach your level of precision scratch building.

All kidding aside, fantastic work.

Peter

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wow, thanks all - I am glad you like this build enough to say so! ...thank you

 

I keep pressing on - today was all about a bit of engineering and lots, and lots (and lots) of hacking & sanding

 

This Sea Fury is actually a Fury Mk 1 - the first prototype of the Sea Fury. As such it has a different tail, much lower in profile and with no Arrestor Hook arrangement. This is the aircraft I am building NX798 before she became G-AKRY (posted under fair use policy and credited to 'Sea Fury: In British, Australian, Canadian & Dutch Service' )

 

WIP109.jpg

 

I thought it as well to get this done now, before I detail the fuselage as I knew it would be a chop job with lots of dust & handling. I scaled up an outline from the Squadron book for guidance...

 

WIP110.jpg

 

Not only did it need reshaping but the kit parts are VERY thick in profile so the whole lot needed thinning. Out with the razor saw and the most harsh sanding stick I have. The insulation tape protects the other areas from damage...

 

WIP118.jpg

 

Also the flat, solid Rudder post needed hollowing out - dremel, dust, dremel, more dust, dremel...... you get the picture...

 

WIP115.jpg

 

On to the rudder - I could use the kit part it just needed re-shaping...

 

WIP111.jpg

 

...and it needed thinning... more dust - my bench looks like an Egyptian Tomb...

 

WIP112.jpg

 

then the rudder was re-shaped to the profile on the plan - I used the offcut to fill the hole...

 

WIP113.jpg

 

Some rectangular plastic stock was used to build up the rudder fairing, and the trim tab was cut out...

 

WIP114.jpg

 

After a lot of work, I finished off by rivetting and building up the trim tab mechanism and the cover from some heated sheet draped over a pin...

 

WIP116.jpg

 

finally the tailfeathers were just about done..

 

WIP117.jpg

 

loving every minute of this Group Build, and watching everyone's kits come to life with just effort and imagination :piliot:

 

until next time..

 

Peter

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Peter,

I don't want to be annoying, but I'm not sure that G-AKRY still had the low tail when it was civil registered and flown to Egypt.

In the first picture you posted with civil registration, the top part of the tail and rudder looks like a regular Sea Fury to me. Moreover, there are pictures of NX798 in military "P" markings in Profile 126, Squadron Signal in Action and Warbirdtech, and in my view all show a regular tail. (I can send you these pictures offlist if you want.)

In fact, I always had doubts about the low tail described on prototype Furies until I saw the picture you just posted. It's possible that the tail was lengthened after the first trials for stability reasons and the books forget to mention that.

Or maybe I'm wrong and abused by perspective effects. In fact I would prefer being wrong because I feel very guilty pointing at this after all this amazing work was done.

Adrien

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Peter,

I don't want to be annoying, but I'm not sure that G-AKRY still had the low tail when it was civil registered and flown to Egypt.

In the first picture you posted with civil registration, the top part of the tail and rudder looks like a regular Sea Fury to me. Moreover, there are pictures of NX798 in military "P" markings in Profile 126, Squadron Signal in Action and Warbirdtech, and in my view all show a regular tail. (I can send you these pictures offlist if you want.)

In fact, I always had doubts about the low tail described on prototype Furies until I saw the picture you just posted. It's possible that the tail was lengthened after the first trials for stability reasons and the books forget to mention that.

Or maybe I'm wrong and abused by perspective effects. In fact I would prefer being wrong because I feel very guilty pointing at this after all this amazing work was done.

Adrien

 

If Peter is "wrong" :) on the Sea Fury tail, his time hasn't been wasted because he's given us all a valuble lesson on control surface modification. I'll eventually use the same technique in building a prototype Tigercat which has a smaller vert stab than production models.

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Hi Adrien – I had another goooood look and I am inclined to agree with you, just goes to show not to assume anything when researching.

 

Would love to see any other pics you have – please email info@airscale.co.uk if thats ok

 

Not much I can do about it now though... that dull thudding sound you can hear is my head repeatedly hitting my desk.... :doh:

 

anyone got a spare rudder?

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Hi Peter,

 

I've done similar things myself in the past, so don't sweat it! :) (I know how bad it feels after all of that work, but once you re-group and grasp the bull by the horns, you'll feel that your efforts were worth it in the end as they will invariably be an improvement on the original kit parts and shape anyhow!). With your scratch building talents, I expect that you will correct the problem very quickly indeed.

 

As an aside, is it just me, or does anyone else think that Peter's shortened fin and rudder looks very like that of an Fw 190? :unsure:

 

Cheers

 

Derek

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Thanks Derek your post got me back to the bench :tumble:

 

Adrien sent me the pics (thanks :) and please don't feel bad, I really would rather know now while I can correct it..) - the tail is definately the height of the production version so the whole lot needs re-doing.... I can't face doing it right away so will move on to the exhausts. Just been looking at the big holes I cut in the fuselage and reference pics for a couple of hours as the geometery of all the panels and the cooling vent is actually pretty complex. I have been trying templates made from wine bottle foil (hmmmm seem to have lots of those) so will see how it goes..

 

12HawkerSeaFuryCowling.jpg

 

The panel behind the silver exhaust heatshield slides forward to cool the engine (which is open in the pic I am working from of G-AKRY in Malta) and all the innards are exposed - I am clearly a glutton for punishment so have chosen to show this open..

 

Anyways the big news for today was the arrival of the sample etch work I designed to compliment airscale cockpit decals - I only got the cockpit detail set rather than the bezel set but really it was to prove out the artwork and the etch quality - seems to look ok and given the artwork has been refined since, I expect the detail to pop (and the bezels to be even better!)

 

WIP120.jpg

 

Hope they look ok?

 

Now then, one for the Mods - can I use any of it in this build or are they considered after market and not OOB? I did make them (to a degree), much in the way I made the engine from resin so I hope it's ok. I guess I could gracefully pull out as I have to use the bezels - this sort of build is exactly what I wanted them for!

 

TTFN and hope to be back soon when I get my mojo back :coolio:

 

Peter

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