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Martin Dytrych
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Hawker Sea Fury in Korean War

March 18, 2023 · in Aviation · · 19 · 0.7K

Too late for second world war, but ready to be leading Royal Navy's fighter in Korea. Hawker was pinnacle of Hawker's piston-engine fighter development.

The type served throughout the conflict with distinction in both FAA and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) service, the latter having acquired ex-Royal Navy examples during 1949–50, as had the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).

In Korea, the Hawker Sea Fury saw its share of air combat against Soviet-built jet fighters with the Hawker fighter accounting for the loss of one jet in August 1952. This would prove ironic as the Hawker Sea Fury was eventually replaced in front-line service by the Hawker Sea Hawk jet fighter from 1953.

THE KIT
kit is very good. Really good. It was a pleasure to build it all the time.
I only found minor mistakes - missing rear camera in tank pod, wrong type of main gear covers and wrong shape of spinner (barely visible).
I added camera and cut off the tank at the rear, then corrected gear covers (the most of work is to sand off the bulge) and detailed the main wheel bay.
Then i drew new spinner for 3D printer and let it print from resin.
The surface is rivetted... and this is the most of changes I made. So, I can say it is not so far from out-of-box state.

Weathering is done with oil and pencils, for chipping I used hairspray and then sanded off the base colour very gently.

Final touch I gave this beauty were homemade RBF stripes.

Reader reactions:
22Β  Awesome 1Β 

11 additional images. Click to enlarge.


19 responses

  1. Mooooltoooo bello...bravissimo πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘

  2. Beautiful build of a beautiful plane. Top notch result- the weathering and finish looks fantastic!

  3. Great job, Martin. This is a nice kit and you brought it to another level.

  4. Lots of great work on the model, topped off with a superb paint job. What's not to like a lot here?

  5. Excellent all over, Martin!
    Well done!

  6. Simply beautiful. You've managed to make it look restrained and dramatic at the same time. The level of surface detail - from rivets to paint - is inspiring.

  7. Well done Martin, this is the best Airfix Sea Fury I’ve seen built so far. Excellent work overall, thumbs up!

  8. Excellent build and finish. The warning flags are a nice touch.

  9. I see nothing but " Gold" in this build Martin. Neat to have the bar raised on this kit and give the viewer the impression of what a elegant brute the Sea Fury is. Clapping, standing and whistling in the nose bleed seats of iModeler stadium.

  10. Absolutely wonderful, Martin @naviatik
    Everything on this build stands out perfectly.

  11. Superb modelling Martin. Detail and execution perfect πŸ‘

  12. Great work, Martin.

  13. Wow! @naviatik, Martin, that is a beautiful model! 🍻 The detail and construction are first class; this build makes my old Hobbycraft Sea Fury look like a push toy. 😁 Superb work in every regards sir! πŸ‘

    • Hobbycraft and this new Airfix are not comparable at all.
      Recently I built F8F from Hobbycraft and I was really close to put the kit away and buying Trumpeter instead.
      In the end, I finished it, but there was ton of scratchbuild.
      So, I fully understand what you are talking about. πŸ™‚
      But, still this means a lot of memories, doesn't it?

  14. Thank you all, guys!
    I plan to build more RNAF aircrafts this year - stay tuned :).

  15. Martin, Really nice work, I always thought the Sea Fury was one of the coolest looking prop aircraft ever made. Therefore, I really enjoy seeing one well made.

  16. That's a real beauty Martin! Your work is always fantastic, and the photography shows it off so well.

  17. I always like to see Airfix kits built up and this one’s a beauty.

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