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Tom Cleaver
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Montex (now Alley Cat) 1/32 Hawker Fury I

February 17, 2014 · in Aviation · · 8 · 2.1K

This is the resin I, originally released five years ago by . The kit designer now has his own company, Silver Wings. Montex sold their kits a year ago to , where they are now available. This is the most accurate Hawker Fury in any scale; if you like the most beautiful biplane fighter of the Golden Age, it's well worth every penny.

I don't know why the decals didn't include marking for 43 Squadron, perhaps the most well-known of the three squadrons to fly the Fury between 1931-38, but I managed to create the Squadron Leader's airplane using the Montex masks for the serials and some Blue Max Type A decals for the national insignia, and piecing together the checkerboards with an old 1/32 sheet for the 1/32 Mustang to do a 325th "Checkertai Clan" airplane.

The Fury I was the most advanced fighter in the world when it appeared in prototype form in 1930, as the "Hornet." Powered by the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine - the predecessor to the Merlin - the Fury was the first fighter to best 200mph in level flight. It was supremely maneuverable and 43 Squadron used to wow the crowds at the Farnborough displays of the 1930s flying a three-plane formation roped together.

Reader reactions:
3  Awesome

10 additional images. Click to enlarge.


8 responses

  1. great subject and build

  2. Tom,
    Very nice. It sure does have great lines and is a definite classic.

  3. Yes a seriously pretty aeroplane, interesting build. Would be good if Airfix re-issued their 1/48th kit with some nice upgrades.

  4. These aluminium aircraft of the 1930s always get my vote. I've seen a few 'specialist' builds of this kit, and yours is certainly 'up there'.

    Great job.

  5. A classic as pointed out.
    Great build Tom as always, your finishing is to it`s normal standard, superb.
    Well done Tom.

  6. Nice clean build, simple silver paint application, always a classic scheme.

  7. Tom, beautiful job on a beautiful airplane, those 1930s RAF fighter squadron markings were sure attractive, and that must have been something to watch, with 3 of them tied together! Sounds like a pretty esoteric kit, and a nice size in 1/32. Thanks for showing.

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