Pioneer 2 1/72 Hawker Sea Fury

PIONEER 2 1:72 HAWKER SEA FURY

Reviewer: Carlos Giani (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 21 January 2006
With thanks to David Byrden - shots of the identical PM kit are also supplied at the bottom of this review

Kit Details:

Pioneer 2 1/72^nd scale Hawker Sea Fury (Kit N° 4002 ). Produced in Turkey.

Aircraft History:

In 1943, responding to Specification F.2/43, Hawker commenced two prototypes of a land-based fighter using Bristol Centaurus XXII engines. Early in 1944, three prototypes of a navalised version were ordered and thus began the history of the Sea Fury, the maiden flight having been on 21st February 1945.

The Sea Fury was faced with the impossible task of competing with the new jet powered aircraft and it became the Fleet Air Army's last piston engined aircraft, gradually being replaced by the new jet Hawker Sea Hawk, from 1953 onwards.

Sea Furies served not only with the FAA, but also with the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, and in its land-based role, with the Iraqi, Pakistan, Burma, Cuba and Egypt Air Forces

The Kit:

Well, against my initial expectations, I think that this is not a Frog-reboxing. Panel lines are engraved, surface quality is excellent and parts are well molded (43 in light blue and 3 clear ones). Detail is, on the other hand, sparse and a bit strange; i.e.: the wheel wells are enclosed, but just a couple of millimetres deep and it's ribbing looks like wafers.

You get parts to build a Royal Navy version with drop tanks and rockets, the later parts being very crude. The cockpit just offers a floor, a rear wall and a simple seat; no control stick is supplied. You get no engine, since the propeller hub would cover any detail. The undercarriage is just acceptable, the wheel well doors being thin but without structure. The canopy is not very clear, so that any detailing work in the cockpit won't be seen. I can't say anything about the origins of the mold; it is in someway the same kind as the MiG-3 marketed by Italeri.

Instructions:

One paper sheet folded in three pages, one side showing the building steps in some exploded diagrams, the other side containing a rather extensive history plus technical data and a few details related to the producer. Absolutely no detail painting information; external colouring can be seen on the boxes bottom, names being given in the plane's technical data section (these are stated as „gloss“, but I finished them in Satin).

Construction:

Parts breakdown is conventional, so I started (what else?) with the cockpit, to which I just added an instrument panel painted black, with white dials and black „lettering“. For the interior I used Humbrol 78 (which may be wrong) and fit of cockpit floor between the fuselage halves was straight on. The wings consists of a one-piece underwing (with embodied wells) and two upper wing halves, all getting together without trouble. The fit of the wings to the fuselage was another story: large gaps that required lots of filling, sanding and, of course, panel rescribing. The tailplanes fitted without trouble, and the one-piece motor cowling was glued to the body. I used short pieces of 040" half-round styrene rod to represent the exhaust pipes, since there is no detail molded concerning this matter.

Having grounded the gaps with Mr. Surfacer, rescribed the panel lines and smoothed all with N°800 sand paper, I masked the canopy with Tamiya tape and gave the hole subject two coats of Humbrol N°90. Next day I masked properly and applied one coat of Humbrol N°27, sealing it all later with Klear. I painted the landing gear struts gun metal with silver detail, the wheels black with silver rims. The struts are conceived to get the right angle by passing tight in a hole, but the result is definitely to far forwards, so I drilled the positioning holes wider and super glued the struts; the rear wheel fitted without troubles. Finally I added the well's doors, the pitot tube and the arrestor hook. The exhaust pipes were painted Humbrol 171. Since I was building the Canadian version, I didn't used the fuel tanks nor the rockets, the later being better replaced if you build the British version.

After a rather precarious applying of the decals (with help of some Micro Sol), everything got a final coat of Humbrol 135 (satin varnish).

Versions:

Royal Navy Historic Flight, Yeovilton 1989; Royal Canadian Navy 1953, Squadron 871; both in two-tone camouflage: under surfaces and fuselage sides in Sky S and upper surfaces dark grey. The British version shows black & white invasion stripes.

Decals:

This part of the kit does remind me of Frog, that means the carrier film is of the „yellowish“ type, which distorts the underlaying colour. The decal sheet is basic (no stencilling), and the decals are thin and brittle. Since I was building this kit mainly „out of the box“ I've used the decals supplied, but I should have known better and used some aftermarket set.

Overall:

I bought this kit some 14 years ago, and at that time (as far as I'm concerned) it was the only „game in town“, now there is a release from Special Hobby on the market. I've not seen this kit „box-inside“, but it surely will be the better contender. The kit from Pioneer 2 is not as bad as a Frog re-re-re-release, but you better look at it as an „AMS-cure“ subject or the kind of model some modellers like to place on top of junior's PC!

References:

I've just used a couple of photos from airliners.net (I unfortunately really owe very few books about airplanes -> a big mistake, I know!).

ADDENDUM BY DAVID BYRDEN

Here is the identical kit in a PM box:

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