Fisher Model's 1/32 scale conversion
Hawker Hunter T.7

by Mark Lynch

Hawker Hunter T.7

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In the Box

Once again one of my favorite aftermarket companies, Fisher Model & Pattern, has produced a conversion for an aircraft I’ve wanted to build for a while.  This time resin guru Paul Fisher has skillfully crafted a collection of parts that will allow the modeler to convert one of the lovely, in its own right, Revell 1/32 Hawker Hunters.

I was fortunate enough to receive one of the early test shots of this conversion a little while back. The set arrived in a small rigid cardboard box protecting the contents during shipping. Upon opening the box, the modeler is met with the contents including, but not limited to;

• resin nose with instrument panel and nose landing gear bay cast in situ,

• spine fairing with aft cockpit bulkhead details,

• windscreen and canopy cast in crystal clear resin,

• two MB Mk.4 ejection seats,

• resin tail cone and fairing for the para-brake housing,

• resin gun fairing,

• a resin strut to allow the canopy to be posed in the open position,

• resin cockpit details to include control columns, rudder pedals, oxygen hoses,

• interior canopy details in resin and photo etch,

• white metal landing gear more the main and nose mounts,

• many more parts contained on the photo etch fret including throttles, rear view mirrors, canopy bows etc, &

• one decal sheet containing three marking options.

• A six page instruction sheet.

I wasted little time getting started with this one. I retrieved one of my Revell™ Hunters from the stash and started to review the instructions. While this was happening, the resin parts were taking a bath in some household bleach in preparation for the coming build.

At this point, I should mention a very important fact that I missed. Revell initially released the Hawker Hunter FGA.9 in the 1990’s. It is this version that I have used as the basis for this conversion. I should have used the later issued kit of the Hunter, the F.6. You might ask, what is the difference? Well, I was unaware, but I had some astute modelers point out a couple of small differences that are worthy of mention.

The FGA. 9 kit has ailerons that have some taper when viewed from above, the F.6 has ailerons that  have no taper i.e. the leading edge of the aileron is parallel to the trailing edge. Additionally, the FGA.9 kit has flaps that have a small cutout to provide clearance for the larger drop tanks, the F.6 kit has flaps that do not have the cut outs. In both cases, the F.6 kit is the more ‘correct’ kit to use for the conversion. The T.7 and the F.6 have the same flaps and aileron arrangement.

I incorrectly used the FGA.9 kit for the conversion. I was made aware of the differences as my build was coming to a conclusion, so I did not bother making the changes. Should you wish to use the FGA.9 as the basis for this conversion as I did, please allow another half hour to correct the flaps and ailerons. The ailerons will need to have hinge line filled and a new one scribed, and the flaps will need a small piece of plastic card glued in.  

Right, now I have that out of the way, let’s get on with the build.

The build is straightforward. The modeler needs only to make one cut for this conversion. This cut removes a portion of the spine on the aft fuselage half to allow the resin spine to take its place.

I painted the cockpit using a number of different brands of paint and a few techniques that seem to work for me. I did add a couple of extra details, including a couple of Mike Grant Decals instrument placards on the cockpit tub. Otherwise, the resin nose and spine builds up quickly into one unit that mates up with the Revell aft fuselage half. The joining of these two sub assemblies area can be a little tricky, so I have a few words of advice here.

In step 19 of the Revell instructions, when you glue part 26 (upper intake) to the other parts of the intake assembly do not glue part 26 (upper intake) to the intake splitter plates that are already glued to the lower intake part. Just place glue on the outside of the intakes and at the compressor face. The reason for this is that the resin nose (like the plastic nose in the Revell™ kit) has a recess cut out to take the intake parts and wing roots. By not gluing part 26 to the splitter plates, part 26 will be able to move when the nose and intake parts mate. It may sound a little confusing now, but it will make sense when you get to that step. I learnt the hard way!

The mating of the nose to aft fuselage is straightforward with just a small amount of sanding and trimming to get a nice fit. The wings will require a little more work though. I found that I had to trim some of the plastic away from the leading edge of the wing where the wings slot into the recess in the fuselage. Once the wings are mated to the fuselage, they will apply downwards pressure to the upper intake (part 26) so as to get mate with the intake splitter plate. I used a little Mr. Surfacer™ on the wing roots and they came out really nicely, so well in fact I had no problem later with the dreaded high speed silver finish.

While I’m at it, steps 14 and 16 in the Revell™ instructions mistakenly reversed the colours of the wing tip nav lights so be sure to make the port light red and the starboard one green.

With the construction completed I primed my model to check for any areas that required further attention. Once this was done, I sprayed the model using Tamiya spray cans. I’m really pleased with the results. Following this I sprayed a gloss coat, applied the decals and added the landing gear, antennas and canopy and called this one done.

I have said it before; this really is a great time to be a modeler. I pestered Paul Fisher with emails and phone calls for over a year, and finally he has come up with the goods, as he always does. Paul is not a computer whiz kid, designing models with the use of CAD and other such technology. He is a classically trained model maker with a keen eye for detail and love of aircraft and racing cars. His love of aircraft and ample skill comes through in all of the kits he makes. Paul indicates in the T.7 instructions that he plans on marketing at least two more versions of the two seat Hunter in the future, to include the T.8 and T.66 export versions. Those along with the impending release of the 1/32 Cutlass will see me busy with resin for quite some time.

The Revell Hunter really is a beautiful model, the Fisher T.7 conversion enhances that beauty!

This set is highly recommended.

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Thanks to Fisher Model & Pattern for the review sample

Image and Text Copyright © 2010 by Mark Lynch
Page Created 16 June, 2010
Last Updated 16 June, 2010

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