A Hornet's Tale...

[Claymore]

Well, this is an odd place... Aircraft - who would have thought! 

Seriously though, I am not lost but rather decided to have a wee visit to the dark side to fulfil a 15-year-old musing about one of the sleekest aircraft evert built (IMHO).  This project also allows me to relive my childhood and delve into the world of Frog Models - somewhere I haven't been in over 50 years!

What I will be building is one of these and, more specifically, this particular aircraft 'DH 103 Hornet F3 (PX393).'

 

So, before I get into the full story (A Hornet's Tale - see what I did there!) a little bit about the DH Hornet F3...

The de Havilland DH 103 Hornet, developed by de Havilland, was a fighter aircraft driven by two piston engines.  It further exploited the wooden construction techniques that had been pioneered by the de Havilland Mosquito.  Development of the Hornet had started during the Second World War as a private venture, before a bespoke air specification was written up to bring it into government service.  The aircraft was to conduct long-range fighter operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan, but the war ended before the Hornet reached operational squadron status.

The Hornet F1 entered service with RAF Fighter Command in 1946 where it equipped several day fighter units (19 Sqn, 41 Sqn, 64 Sqn, 65 Sqn and 266 OCU) and was commonly stationed in the British mainland and the F1 variant was, relatively quickly, superseded by the improved F3 from 1948 onwards.  With the transition of most UK-based fighter squadrons to early jet aircraft in 1951, many new and older Hornet F3 were transferred to the Far East to equip 33 Sqn, 45 Sqn, 80 Sqn and the Far East Training Sqn.  This is where the Hornet saw its only combat action, being used as a strike fighter as part of the British military operations taken during the Malayan Emergency.

A naval carrier-capable version, the Sea Hornet, had been envisaged early on and was precured by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy but the heavy fighter proved too unwieldy on the light fleet carriers then in use and so most ended up operating from fixed shore establishments. [1]

My subject aircraft (PX393) was operated by 64 Sqn (code letters SH) at RAF Linton-on-Ouse after some unspecified service with Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at RAF Boscombe Down. [2]

Watch this space...

Notes:
1. Wikipedia.
2. www.gruppofalchi.com

[apophenia]

Welcome to the Dark Side! 

Agreed on "one of the sleekest aircraft ever built" and looking forward to seeing where you go with this 

[Buzzbomb]

Gaaah, Claymore in the Aircraft area... move away quickly, you still have time 

I have fond memories of the Frog Hornet during my early building days, so eagerly awaiting you take on this great bit of nostalgia.

[galvinfreeman]

Good luck! 

[Old Wombat]

Just remember that it's much harder to hide any mistakes (not that you actually make any) under weathering when building aircraft. 

[Claymore]

Mwah ha ha… I have a razor saw and I’m not afraid to use it! 

[GTX_Admin]

 

[robunos]

Mwah ha ha… I have a razor saw and I’m not afraid to use it!

Pssht, Shandy Drinker . . . come back when you've got a Dremel . . .   

cheers,
Robin.

[Claymore]

Pssht, Shandy Drinker . . . come back when you've got a Dremel . . .   

cheers,
Robin.

 

[Claymore]

Well, so far the simplicity of this kit is refreshing beyond belief.  The fit is OK-ish but the detail is somewhat lacking - having said that, this is going to be quite a long story, so… So far, so good!

[Buzzbomb]

Ah yes.. the days of minimal parts, raised panel lines and two hours giving you a complete model 

I have a hunch that this build might be raise control column, rebuild entire aircraft kit, lower control column, after replacing Control Column.
Along for the ride 

[Kerick]

Are those opposite handed props? I’m going to a show in June and if I see one I might pick it up. Then I could mold another set of props and combine them for contra props. I haven’t had a good dig in the stash and spare parts box to see what possibilities there could be.

[Old Wombat]

Ah yes.. the days of minimal parts, raised panel lines and two hours giving you a complete model 

I have a hunch that this build might be raise control column, rebuild entire aircraft kit, lower control column, after replacing Control Column.
Along for the ride 

Given Claymore's response to my earlier comment (below), I'm not sure this isn't going to turn into an ICV*!

Just remember that it's much harder to hide any mistakes (not that you actually make any) under weathering when building aircraft. 

Mwah ha ha… I have a razor saw and I’m not afraid to use it! 

[*: Individual Combat Vehicle ]

[robunos]

Are those opposite handed props? I’m going to a show in June and if I see one I might pick it up. Then I could mold another set of props and combine them for contra props. I haven’t had a good dig in the stash and spare parts box to see what possibilities there could be.

Yes, they are, the blades travel towards the cockpit at the top. If you can't get a FROG one, these are now available . . .

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/azmodel-az7651-havilland-dh-103-hornet-f-mki-f1--1285311


cheers,
Robin.

[Claymore]

Ah yes.. the days of minimal parts, raised panel lines and two hours giving you a complete model 

I have a hunch that this build might be raise control column, rebuild entire aircraft kit, lower control column, after replacing Control Column.
Along for the ride 

Now, there’s an idea! 

[Claymore]

Are those opposite handed props? I’m going to a show in June and if I see one I might pick it up. Then I could mold another set of props and combine them for contra props. I haven’t had a good dig in the stash and spare parts box to see what possibilities there could be.

Yup, as robunos says, they are indeed ‘handed’ or counter-rotating in order to eliminate torque induced yawning and thus improve handling. The engines were the same but one had an additional final gear to reverse the prop turning direction.

[Claymore]

Given Claymore's response to my earlier comment (below), I'm not sure this isn't going to turn into an ICV*!

[*: Individual Combat Vehicle ]

So many good ideas! 

[Claymore]

If you can't get a FROG one, these are now available . . .

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/azmodel-az7651-havilland-dh-103-hornet-f-mki-f1--1285311

cheers,
Robin.

Indeed it is!

[Claymore]

As you have probably gathered by now, I rarely take the easy option when I settle on a new build project - indeed, the more complex it is, the more fun I have.  And so it is here. 

My concept Hornet variant uses an azmodels kit (a much nicer rendition of then F3) and is already at least 90% built - but then I got to thinking that it might be cool to show the comparison with the original aircraft.  My brain then went into overload and I realised that if I was going to do that, I really ought to show the developmental stages in between too! Well, this had me up to 4 x potential aircraft builds.  I will be using the azmodels kits for the two most heavily modified builds and, the much less expensive, Frog kits for the early, more or less, out of the box builds.

So, there you go - four for the price of one (well four for the price of four actually!) 

[Old Wombat]

Well, I'll be watching on BtS's free-to-air service, so it'll cost me nothing, not even a grey hair*!




[*: Although that would actually darken the Wombat locks, pretty much white these days.    ]

[Claymore]

As stated before, the Frog kit is a little on the basic side and what detail there is, such as the weapons load out and the cannon fairings, is a bit pants.  So, the first (and only) bit of chop and swap for this rendition of Hornet PX393 sees the Frog weapons and the chin cannon fairing replaced with those from the AZmodels kit. 

WIP pics before and after the wee lady's undercoat...

[raafif]

Maybe larger cannon ?

[Buzzbomb]

And... almost done.. see a couple of hours and you have a model 

So we get a four for.. build. Excellent


Pretty sure I can rummage around in one of my boxes of stored aircraft and in the Fleet Air Arm box/s I should find a Frog Hornet that is now a Sea Hornet. Well most of it anyway, these boxes have moved 4 times recently so being in one piece would be a minor miracle.

[Claymore]

Maybe larger cannon ?

Not quite… 

[Claymore]

Pretty sure I can rummage around in one of my boxes of stored aircraft and in the Fleet Air Arm box/s I should find a Frog Hornet that is now a Sea Hornet. Well most of it anyway, these boxes have moved 4 times recently so being in one piece would be a minor miracle.

Apart from the obligatory stash and the usual spares boxes of odds and sods, I also have two large, crypt-like tubs of old AFV models spanning across the decades.  These relics are slowly but surely decomposing back to the crude oil from which they came and I often wonder if it really is still worth while holding on to them.  I guess the day will come when they will get the boot but not quite yet….