Hawker Hunter F.6

Airfix’s 1/48 scale Hawker Hunter F.6 with a couple of aftermarket bits; resin wheels and wheel bay doors plus an aftermarket decal sheet from Xtradecal. There’s a few aerials added made from stretched sprue.

Normally I build WWII era British aircraft. They are usually portrayed as well used and have a matt finish. The Hunter, even when in service, had a smooth surface and a natural sheen about it. Glossy when new, less so once in service. I wanted to create this smooth sheen finish and avoid a thick gloss varnish look. I also wanted to try out a colour for ‘High Speed Silver’. This was the RAF’s go-to colour for both pre-war biplanes and post-war jets. The Hunter is supposed to have High Speed Silver undersides in this scheme. Later this was changed to light grey. My plan was to practice both the shine and the High Speed Silver on this kit.

It didn’t go well. I tried using Alclad2’s Klear Kote Gloss thinned with lacquer thinners. After several attempts I kept getting either a rough surface splodged with random very shinny bits, or an orange peel effect. Clearly I’m missing something in how best to spray this paint. I sanded and polished this back after each failed coat. In the end I resorted to Johnson’s Klear and a light polish after that. Unfortunately I still have the remains of the orange peel in the paint surface.

I used Humbrol’s 11 Silver for the undersides. I ignored my own better judgement to use of the Alclad2 metallic lacquers. The main reason is that I didn’t think I had one of the right colour. So instead of waiting and buying the right stuff, I pressed ahead. Oh dear.

I used preshading on panel lines and post shading with oils. White oil paint was used to give the roundels a faded look as well as panels painted grey. I used yellow oil paint on those painted dark green. There are also oils used for the black oil staining and streaking as well as some light Tamiya Smoke in places. Chipping was kept light and limited to areas on the leading edges and around the intakes. The chipping was done with a lighter grey and lighter green paint rather than bright silver/aluminium.

I have another Airfix Hunter in the stash. The kit is good, I just need not to be so lazy with my modelling – I need to do my research and do some practice paint shots first before moving to the model!

Manufacturer

Airfix

Scale

1/48

Links

Scalemates – Hawker Hunter F.6 Airfix kit No. A09185

Colour Images

(click on images to enlarge)

Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 in 1/48th scale from Airfix
Hawker Hunter F.6 in 1/48th scale from Airfix
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958
Hawker Hunter F.6 of 19 Squadron at Church Fenton in May 1958

Taking the Shot

Hawker Hunter F.6 1/48th scale photo shoot setup
Hawker Hunter F.6 1/48th scale photoshoot setup

Here’s how I took the shots. It’s my usual ‘grass’ wargaming play mat (actually, it’s my son’s!). With a bit of card and a backdrop image printed on 3 sheets of A4. As ever, the important trick is to not be too close to the subject with the camera, and to use an f stop giving a wide focal depth. I think I used f/32.