discussion Contrail 1/72 Hawker Horsley vacform

[Steve-the-Duck]

The Horsley was a large day bomber, entering service in 1926 to replace the Fairey Fawn. It was later adapted to carry torpedoes, and even served out in the Far East until replaced by Vildbeests in 1935. It could be said to be the 'uncle' f the Hawker Hart series of light bombers

This is an OLD Contrail vacform, actually the first vac I've ever completed. Observant viewers may have noticed the finished beast with pics of my scratchbuilt Aldershot
I thought I'd post a quick build thread separately




All the kit parts, including the strut material. No transfers were included in the kit, but that was no real loss

These are all the small injection parts, of which I think I only used the prop

Wings cut out. I must have sanded them thin four or five times before I was happy with the thickness

These are all the vac parts I ended up not using. The wheels were too small, the seats the wrong shape, the torpedo pointless as I had a couple of later marks from two different Beaufighters.
The radiator piece was too damaged to even think about using
Missed this one. The tail and rudder finished to the right thickness. The prop was usable, but the undercarriage legs were no use as they were too flat

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Always start with the fuselage interior. The layout is inspired by my Montex resin Fairey Fawn, as there are precisely NO cockpit pics of the Horsley I can find
The radio set is out of an AModel Hart, which will eventually mutate into a Hart trainer

The pilot seat is asymetric, mounted on the starboard side. Once it was actually in place, it still wasn't far enough over. Inspiration this time is the Hawker Fury cockpit, and the seat is out of ubiquitous Airfix Ju.88s. I must get another Ju.88 A4 to do an Italian one...

And paint on, with seat belts from Tamiya masking tape. I always do the insides red, as per Swordfishes and Harts

I found an online build, where the used micro rod in indented rib detail to make them stand out m ore. Labourious, to say the least. But it did paint well
After having to peel off the first pass of grey undercoat

Next time I do something like this, I'm going to go with the scribed 10 thou sheet for skinning. Not that I've got anything else this big in the offing

 

[yak face]

Fabulous stuff steve ,its a very brave man who takes on a vac form ( something I’ve yet to do )
Great progress so far , cockpit and wings are looking excellent

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Fabulous stuff steve ,its a very brave man who takes on a vac form ( something I’ve yet to do )
Great progress so far , cockpit and wings are looking excellent

Well, technically, the Horsley was finished before the Aldershot, but I will get around to the finished pics once I'm done here

So this was about the time things went a little astray.
I added bomb racks, even though it was going to be carrying a torpedo. The bomb-aimer's hatch was an easy addition, but I didn't take any pics of the radiator in construction. Soon after this, I discovered the wing wasn't central, so it had to come off and be re-positioned 3 mil to the right
On with the paint, rattle can silver, and all markings on. Roundels are Xtradecal, numbers are Ventura. I left it until this stage before opening up the gunners position, to save a bit of masking, and then had to shove the pilot's seat over a couple of mil just to be in the right place The squadron badge is a modified Modeldecal piece from the Harts/Hinds set. The squadron numbers are black, painted over with an appropriate blue
Usually, it's the top wing that gets fully finished first. Lots of little details added here, the gun sight out of a Hart, exhaust pipes from rod, header tank from strut stuff

The upper wing tanks had a few catches and vent pipes added



And this was the underside finished. Note the roundels are a bit damaged, which keeps happening to a smaller and smaller degree, but they touch up well with paint

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

So, finally, the top wing went on fine. The kit includes two card formers for strut placement, which is a damn good idea. If you don't have a jig. Which I do doubly so now

Tail skids are always fun on these things, as the photos never quite show them in enough detail

So, the wheels in the kit are way undersized. So, off to the Ju.88 bits stash again, bit of shaping and thinning, and we're there

The step is just a loop of brass rod and a strip of plastic. Of course, it's a disaster waiting to happen that the 'plane is already rigged by this stage!

Then there's the auxiliary generator in it's stowed position


And finally, the torpedo
I had a torp out of an old Airfix Beaufighter TF.X, but I went with one from the Hobby 2000 ex-Hasegawa Beaufighter I. That 'plane will appear sometime, in Italian war-prize scheme
Fortunately, one of the photos I have of the Horsley shows the torp and cradle in great detail. Took a while getting the brass bits for the cradle to fit right

Speaking of that photo, after the 'plane was practically done, I found my Bookazine on Interwar bombers, which showed all sorts of little details, like windows and vents, that I just had to add
Research first, then build!

The finished article pics will post later in the completed section

 

[flyjoe180]

Another unique beauty Chris.

 

[John Race]

That's nice mate.