Hawker Hunter T.68 Project

Typical Matchbox sprues in colors of those years. For the homesickness. Very wide and sparse panel lines, but I guess in this paint scheme I can live with it. 

Typical Matchbox sprues in colors of those years. For the homesickness. Very wide and sparse panel lines, but I guess in this paint scheme I can live with it. 

Typical Matchbox sprues in colors of those years. For the homesickness. 

Transparent parts for single-seater and two-seater versions. 

Decals from Matchbox which I will don't use (maybe just the ones on the control panel). 

I will be using some parts of the decals from the Revell kit. Other parts will be made with laser printer. 

The interiors have no detail. The side numbers of pieces 10 and 11 must be sanded (I will do with a fiberglass pencil). 

The kit only includes the seats that are placed floating in the cockpit. 

I have made a floor to the cabin with a piece of plastic card, where can the floating seats support. 

The floor fits well. 

The model has practically perfect fits. It is unfastened, but despite how old it is, it fits very well (for now). 

The front bay wheels is barely deep and without details. 

Bay wheels made from scratch. I had to leave a small support where the landing gear is housed to gain the lost height after surgery. 

You now have the depth for the train set to fit. 

Bay wheels, cockpit floor and other elements. 

More plastic strips added. 

More plastic strips and metal sheet added. 

I have made the buttons by puncturing the metal sheets with a sewing needle without drilling completely. Other elements are made with small pieces of copper wire. 

I have made the buttons by puncturing the metal sheets with a sewing needle without drilling completely. Other elements are made with small pieces of copper wire.

I will continue with the cockpit later. 

The kit does not include the exhaust (it is hollow inside). So I've put one that fits. In this case it is the exhaust of an Airfix Folland Gnat. It may not be very real, but it's better than nothing. 

I think this is the most difficult part to improve the austere interiors of this kit because both the air intakes and the bay wheels are totally empty. 

I think this is the most difficult part to improve the austere interiors of this kit because both the air intakes and the bay wheels are totally empty. 

Empty interiors communicates through all the gaps. This could damage eyesight if your eyes are sensitive to extreme lack of detail and should to be fixed somehow if you don't want the air from your aircraft to enter through the air intakes and exit through the bay wheels. 

So we started working on the bay wheels, piece by piece, chunk by chunk, cutting here, sanding there, leveling everywhere, continually testing fit... and with a good dose of patience. 

The joints will be filled with putty and sanded later. 

Testing fit. 

Testing fit. 

Detailing the bottom of the bay wheels (yes, they are the plastic strips used to hang clothing tags in stores). 

Bay wheels interiors completed. 

To fill and simulate the duct of the air intakes I use more pieces of plastic card (the work of this piece continues in pic 58). 

Trying to adapt the shape so that the wings can fit the fuselage (sadly this will make the excellent fit of the kit disappear). 

Continuing with the cockpit. First I try to improve the seats somewhat with metal strips. 

Seat pads... 

... and other elements. I haven't been able to improve the headrests because the canopy would not close properly. I will only be able to make the ejection rings on them. 

Placing a counterweight for avoid a tail drop and painting the cockpit's interior... 

... and the seats. 

Belts made with 0.7mm masking tape. 

Buckles made from small cut-out pieces of metal sheet. 

Almost finished seats. 

Control levers and ejection rings (made with a pair of fine copper wires each painted yellow and black, and twisted together). 

The control panel is still missing. Area previously putty, sanded and painted. 

This is the horrible Matchbox decal, but there isn't anything else. 

Decal break ups in water. Irretrievably I have to make one from scratch. 

I use the following pic as a reference. 

Punched thin styrene sheet. 

Added sheet metal parts with small bits of copper wire to simulate some buttons. 

Control panel painted and fitted (not glued yet to check fit). 

After gluing it, I try to paint the dials and put a couple of drops of gloss varnish on them (Future type). 

After gluing it, I try to paint the dials and put a couple of drops of gloss varnish on them (Future type). 

Finally I add the HUDs with a couple of pieces of acetate cut more or less to size. 

Finally I add the HUDs with a couple of pieces of acetate cut more or less to size. 

Improving the air intakes interiors. 

Improving the air intakes interiors. 

Improving the air intakes interiors. 

Improving the air intakes interiors. 

Improving the air intakes interiors. 

Improving the air intakes interiors (resuming the work of pic 30). Filling the piece with Green Putty from Squadron, making the curvature with sandpaper. 

Improving the air intakes interiors (resuming the work of pic 30). Filling the piece with Green Putty from Squadron, making the curvature with sandpaper. 

Testing the result. 

Testing the result. 

Painting and slightly dirtying the inside of the air intakes. 

Wings attached to fuselage (seams required to be filled and sanded due to previous surgery on air intakes and bay wheels). 

Interiors air intakes job finished. 

Interiors air intakes job finished. 

Filled and sanded due to previous surgery on air intakes and bay wheels. 

Filled and sanded due to previous surgery on air intakes and bay wheels. 

Filled and sanded due to previous surgery on air intakes and bay wheels. 

Matchbox kit does not include these wings parts. 

Used Revell's Kit Parts. 

Matchbox kit does not include these nose parts. 

Used Revell's Kit Parts. 

Matchbox kit does not include these tail parts. 

Used Revell's Kit Parts. 

Revell kit parts put on. 

The tail bulge that houses the drag chute is also not reproduced in the Matchbox kit. 

I use the part from the Revell's kit to reproduce the tail bulge with a metal sheet. 

I use the part from the Revell's kit to reproduce the tail bulge with a metal sheet. 

Reproduced piece placed in its place. Finally I fill with putty the seam that separates both sides. 

I have to make the bays where the cannons are housed. 

Matchbox kit lacks them. 

I also don't have proper tools to do this. But I'll try to do what I can. 

I couldn't get them straight, so I had to use putty to correct the curves a bit. Another problem is that the Matchbox kit only includes one of the two barrel fairings that I need, so i had to build a copy of it. 

Somewhere I read someone how he made the copy of a piece using tube silicone to make the mold. This method only works for making one face of the part. To reproduce the three dimensions of a part, other more complex methods must be used.

It is convenient to use a transparent film where to apply the silicone (so that after drying it does not stick to the surface where it is applied, and thus easily detach it from the film). Also it's advisable to first apply a thin film of some lubricant to the piece (for example, Vaseline, some oil, etc...) so that the piece no sticks to the silicone so that the piece can be detached later without any problem.

After carefully positioning the piece, wait a few hours for the silicone to dry completely. 

Meanwhile, I put a bit pieces of trees and a few nitro solvent in a jar (this takes a few hours to melt). Close the jar's lid well. 

Once the silicone dries and the bits of the trees have melted, I carefully remove the original piece from the resulting mold (sometimes silicone remains stuck to the piece) and pour the melted plastic into it. When it dries, it tends to shrink on the outside (I guess due to solvent evaporation), but the shape of the mold keeps it. 

Flash usually come out, but they are very easily removed with the blade and with sandpaper, since the plastic is somewhat soft at first, but it hardens completely over the days (I suppose it will be when the solvent has completely evaporated). 

I cut the hypodermic needles to the necessary size, which will replace the plastic cannons. As the muzzle are diagonal in the original model, I have taken advantage of the inclination that the standard needles bring, but sanding the edge a bit. 

Cannon muzzle are diagonal. 

This could be the end result, but there is still a few work ahead. 

The copied part may have bubbles, but this is fixed with putty and sandpaper. 

Finished barrel fairings. The cannons will be placed later, after painting the aircraft's belly. 

The Matchbox fuel tanks don't have the fins, so I make them out of metal sheet. 

Nor do they have those longitudinal reliefs of the lower part. 

The longitudinal reliefs of the lower part are made with staples cut. 

Masking the cockpit and applying a previous coat with the paint used for the interior. 

After placing small antennas or probes and making some small adjustments, I paint the bottom of the plane with Mr. Hobby H-315  

Masking the lower part to paint the upper part later. 

Masking the lower part to paint the upper part later. 

First I apply Mr. Hobby H-401 Dark Gray. 

Then I apply Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black to the inside of panels. 

Then I apply Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black to the inside of panels. 

To mask I tried with paper to cover books, because being transparent you can see where to make the lines to cut later and because this could be a method to save masking tape. 

After the masking, I apply a layer of sand color so that it catches the yellow that I will apply later. 

And later I use the yellow H329 from Mr. Hobby (several layers until well covered). 

Upper masks removed. Paint flaws need to be corrected. 

Upper masks removed. Paint flaws need to be corrected. 

Upper masks removed. Paint flaws need to be corrected. 

Upper masks removed. Paint flaws need to be corrected. 

When I started building this kit I saw this diecast in a famous swiss toy store holding, in Geneva. 

When I started building this kit I saw this diecast in a famous swiss toy store holding, in Geneva.