Revell's 1/32 scale
Hawker Hunter FGA.9

by Mike Prince

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This is Revell’s magnificent Hawker Hunter FGA.9.

The kit was built substantially out of the box with only an Aeroclub aftermarket resin seat added.

The kit is very well engineered, features subdued but crisp engraved panel lines, a beautifully thin and clear canopy and a well detailed cockpit.   I tend to use very dark grey in these “black” cockpits as it allows a little more detail to remain visible.   Detail was highlighted with light grey dry-brushing and a few knobs and switches then picked out in silver, red and yellow.

The model is was sprayed freehand using Humbrol enamels for the lower surfaces and Gunze on the uppers.   All colours were faded to help achieve a weathered look.  

Markings are from the kit and, although a little thick, responded well to Micro Set and Sol when laid down over a gloss base coat.   The underwing serials are multi-part decals that go across both the three piece undercarriage doors and the wing’s lower surface – don’t place too much faith in the shape of these decals around the wheel wells; use a piece of tape stretched across both wings and perpendicular to the aircraft centreline as a reference to make sure all the decal parts end up square, even if it means touching up a few edges later.   For me, this was a lesson learnt the hard way.  

Finally, beware of the kit instructions with regard to placement of the upper wing roundels - make absolutely sure that the blue section of the roundel completely encompasses the area of the outer stores pylon ejector (the bulge on the top of the wing), as the relationship between the roundel and some panel lines on the diagram don’t quite match the kit.   I didn’t notice until too late so had to do a bit of fiddly painting where these fairings crossed into the red area.

After an initial clear finish weathering was achieved using pencil graphite, a Windsor and Newton Burnt Umber oil wash for the panel lines and a tinted clear finish to blend it all together.   The latter works very well as it is quite controllable – one or two drops of paint into the airbrush’s paint cup mixed with the clear finish is sufficient to build up the effect quite quickly.  

A medium brown / grey was used to weather the lower surfaces while a lighter brown / grey was used more sparingly on the upper surfaces.   The final finish was achieved with a 50/50 mix of Humbrol matt and satin clear.

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Model and Text Copyright © 2009 by Mike Prince
Images of Completed Model Copyright © 2009 by Brett Green
Page Created 15 October, 2009
Last Updated 15 October, 2009

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