August's Demonic Classic

[K5083]

I broke out an old Hawker Demon for this build. I have read that this kit was a 1968 revamp of a 1957 Hart mold. That ought to be classic enough.

Luckily my example is a 1990s issue so the decals appear pretty usable. I see no reason to deviate from the attractive markings provided on the sheet.

The build will be straight up. My only changes will be some cockpit detail and probably a new fin and rudder. Airfix totally missed the attractive shape of this surface.

And rigging. This should be a good kit for the novice rigger, being rather large for a 1/72 biplane but with a straightforward single-bay rig.

Virgin sprue shots below, just before I spent a few minutes before work this morning hacking away the shelves on which the crew are supposed to sit.



August

[DavidWomby]

That's a great choice! I look forward to watching this one.

David

[Purplethistle]

Oh good show! I've got one of these that I'm planning to convert to a Hind, I'll be able to follow your footsteps through the rigging minefield!

[Stuart]

Lovely choice! Can't wait to see it come together!

[K5083]

Progress has been steady. For the office, I started with some sprue tubing, then added some vaguely shaped throttle quadrant, trim wheels etc., with a very thin wash just to bring out the relief.



Front cockpit is a typical seat -- I've grown tired of scratchbuilding these, so have done molds to make quick resin clones of two or three of the more common shapes. There didn't seem to be a complete floor in Demons, so I tried to make the partial one that I've seen in photos.



Here it is installed behind the instrument panel. For the gunner's seat there is just a stool. He could swivel to face fore or aft. I assume he was strapped in with some sort of lap belt. He couldn't have enjoyed aerobatics very much.



With that done the fuselage was joined and lower wing attached. Fit of the fuselage halves was good. The wing didn't fit as well. It helped when I sanded the inaccurate ribbing detail off of the center section, but will still need a little filler. That's next, along with drilling some holes for rigging. Then time to start fiddling with struts.



August

[DavidWomby]

Wow - this one is really getting spiffed up.

David

[Martin R]

Yep! Don't do bipes, but I recognise good modelling skills when I see them.

regards,

Martin

[Stuart]

Very nice work on that interior!

[TimJ]

Great job on the interior.

[despondman]

The cockpit is very nicely done.

[TobyC]

Nice work so far. Don't see many Demons these days

[fredk]

Coming on nicely

[K5083]

Satisfactory progress this weekend. Built the tail feathers including the replacement rudder and did most of the strut work. I will add the rest of the wing struts and possibly the undercarriage before painting. Everything is crude and vague fitting and the plastic is brittle and unpleasant to work with, but otherwise no major issues.



August

[DavidWomby]

Yes, it seems Airfix kits of a certain era had that brittle plastic. Was it when they were being moulded in France?

David

[K5083]

Yes, I think so. The "white box" era of the 1990s.

August