Profile Photo
Pip Moss
18 articles

Airfix 1:48 Hawker Hunter F.6

March 18, 2024 · in Aviation · · 13 · 268

Not a long story to tell for this one. The 1:48 Hunters are pretty nice kits; they've got some clever engineering, especially in the intake area, although it's not done with the finesse one would find in a recent Tamiya kit. I added a Quinta Studio 3D decal cockpit set and a Quickboost resin MB Mk. 3H ejection seat. I also added some scratchbuilt detail (wiring, a conduit and some sort of cylindrical housing) behind the seat. I used Alclad RAF High Speed Silver for the under surfaces and Mr. Color acrylic lacquers for the uppers. I faded the top colors with lightened versions of the Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green. Once the decals were on I applied a light black/burnt umber oil wash and Tamiya Black Panel Line Accent to everything. I finished with a coat of Mr. Color Semigloss Clear and GX114 Flat mixed 1-to-1. I was very happy with the way it cut the sheen on the High Speed Silver without killing the metallic look. Individual plane markings are from an Xtradecal sheet, and I used the kit decals for the upper wing roundels and the roughly 140 stencils. They worked fine. I added some extra work for myself by not reading the instructions carefully enough to notice that they had three different pages of stencil instructions for planes from varying years. Of course I used the last (wrong) page and then had to remove a bunch of tiny yellow stencils that weren't applied on the plane I depicted: RAF 92 (East India) Squadron, RAF Middleton St. George, January 1960.

Cheers, Pip

Reader reactions:
14  Awesome 2  1 

6 additional images. Click to enlarge.


13 responses

  1. A beautiful Hunter, Pip @seawinder
    140 stencils is a lot, glad you were still able to correct the ones that should not be there.

  2. Lovely build Pip.
    The Hunter is a wonderful plane to look at.
    Nice work with all those stencils sir.

    Simon.

  3. Gorgeous Hunter. Flawless build and paintwork. It inspires me to work on my 1/32 Revell version. I don't think I have seen a build with RAF 92 (East India) Squadron markings before. Very nice colours for that unit.

  4. Another picture perfect model Pip. Wonderful build & and finish.

  5. Great looking Hunter! Nicely done!

  6. Excellent Hunter, Pip!
    Congratulations!

  7. The Hunter must be one of the most beautiful designs ever, its proportions are pretty much perfect, Pip, and your model certainly does it justice.

  8. Beautiful. Excellent work turning a nice kit into a great model.

  9. Very nice looking piece of work, this Hunter.
    Congrats!

  10. Nice work, Pip. I need to finally build mine.

  11. That Airfix kit does turn into a great model, under talented hands, as you have shown! I need to get more disciplined at reviewing ALL instructions before I start - including those that are included with aftermarket decals - I just made a similar goof that I can't fix... Live and learn!

  12. Gorgeous work! Love the faded colors, that looks amazing!

  13. Many thanks, everybody, for your comments -- they're really appreciated.
    Pip

Leave a Reply