Hawker Henley Mk IV Divebomber

[sequoiaranger]

SSB, Van883, NARSES---thanks!

>As you say, it looks right on the money for an extended Tornado.<

As I might have mentioned, I really like the "dualies" exhaust look of the Tornado, and I long ago had wanted to do a "Sea Tornado" and call it a "Waterspout". In the "revised" Henley I have my "Tornado" elements, so I am happy. I wanted a "state-of-the-art early-war" aircraft, not a mid-late warbird like a Firebrand or something, so I had to "dumb-down" the Tempest elements. BTW, I have replaced the two-tube straw "pignose" carb intake with...two tube straws. The original pignose was asymmetrical, i.e., the tubes formed more of an OD rather than an OO, and was slightly off-kilter. I found that the spraying tubes of WD-40 lube cans could be reamed out to the right look, so....!!

>This is coming along nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing this completed.<

One of the joys of whiffing is seeing a concept incarnate. I have had this project in my head for decades, and though it has been "massaged" into its present form, I like the form it's taking.

>Must admit this type of surgery scares the crap out of me<

I have learned that boldness almost always pays off. Decades ago I was doing whiffs with a hand "razor saw" and was very limited. My brother bought me a Dremel moto-tool, and that launched me on a huge quantum leap of realized imagination. I think "surgery" is a good and necessary skill for a whiffer, so I encourage anyone who is daunted by "surgery" to try it in small increments: IMAGINE, PLAN, MEASURE, and CUT! Success will embolden you!

[thedarkmaster]

Loving the progress on this one, coming along so well from a disparate list of bits, top class work here. Loving it 

[sequoiaranger]

>Loving the progress on this one, coming along so well from a disparate list of bits, top class work here. Loving it<

Thanks, but the "bits" aren't really so disparate (except for the Fw-190 tail and the rescue-boat turret!). The Hurricane, Henley, Hotspur, Tornado, Typhoon, and Tempest were all Hawker products, and all designed within a few years of each other by one person, the late Sydney Camm, so there is a lot of commonality there. I just integrated them into yet another form by "kitbashing". I was able to match up things quite well, so there is a limited amount of PSR work needed considering the extensive fragmentation. If only the Air Ministry had insisted Hawker do the same, there might have been a British "Midway" off Ceylon in April of 1942!

[sequoiaranger]

More Progress: The Henley had a bit of a "belly"; the Tempest did not--the Henley wing was "low-mid" fuselage rather than the Tempest "low" wing, so to keep the Henley look, I cut out and glued the Vac-form Henley fuselage together, and cut off the bottom:



Then, here is the "Tempest"-looking Henley with the radiator "protruding" below the fuselage line (odd color):



Then here is the Henley underside matched up, looking more like the original pic (Formaplane box) on the seventh post of this thread ("James et.al...."):



The basics are all there. Now comes the hard part to finish the look off with lots of PSR. Here, also, is the finished turret with the over-and-under guns and gunner inside. Pilot is shown, too.



Coming Along!

[Pablo1965]

Good step

[buzzbomb]

Certainly looking "da biz"

Is  ventral fuselage extension going to include a bomb bay ?

[sequoiaranger]

>Is ventral fuselage extension going to include a bomb bay?<

Yes and no. My original plan was to have a "well" for a bomb, but not a "bomb bay" as in doors opening, etc. The bomb will be partially exposed. I painted the white vac-form Henley underside gray to match the main color of plastic and it looks SO GOOD I hate to carve a well for it, but I'm gonna stick to may plan. I may have trouble with the oversized bomb crutch, but it will "evolve", I am sure (a WHOLE LOT of this project was just roughed-out, and I figured I could "massage" the results afterwards).

I liken this to the Japanese "Judy" that originally had a bomb bay, but the bay could not take the larger bombs, so they eliminated the doors and re-configured the area with a "well" that could fit a large bomb or extra fuel tank.

I'm also "conflicted" as to where to put the arrestor hook. The early FAA aircraft, like the Sea Gladiator and Sea Hurricane, had "Y"-shaped hooks that retracted into a small well in the under-fuselage. Later (like the Sea Fury), they stuck out the very back of the aircraft. I have a convenient place just in front of the rudder if I wanted the later version, but I want the early look, so.....(?).

I have also gouged out the wing-leading-edge oil-coolers. That gives a slighly "modern" look (again, like the Sea Furys), but 1940 Whirlwinds and Mossies had them, too, so I can still claim that "early-war" look.

I glued the two fuselage sections together, and put the main wing on. HOW EXCITING! Previously they were just "matched-up" loose parts, HOPEFULLY engineered to mate together properly. THEY DID!

[sideshowbob9]

Looks great with the belly in place!

[sequoiaranger]

I gouged out my bomb cavity, with much trepidation and after-bungling improvisation. It looks UGLY, but it will work. When I gouged out the vac-form bottom, there wasn't enough room for the bomb to be half-recessed as I wanted, so I wondered how I could saw through the wing and still keep the structure sound. I crossed my fingers and just liberally applied CA glue to the vac/wing joint to make a fillet, and proceeded to break up the "spar" between them. It worked! I carved notches in the Tempest radiator to fit the prongs of the bomb crutch, then back-filled (MUCH left to do) the bomb cavity with some spare parts.



With some more gouging and shaping, the bomb and cavity did indeed "fit" the vision I had in mind of a semi-recessed bomb slung under the Henley. Lots to do to smooth out the rough edges, but all the "major" construction work is now done. Only "fiddly bits" are left, and many of those will go on post-paint. All I need is to fine-tune the PSR that connects everything up, load up my crew and canopy, and begin to PAINT!!

[Pablo1965]

I think this would be the envy of the RAF light bombers.

[sideshowbob9]

^ Does make a change doesn't it? The FAA getting better equipment than the RAF.

Looks good with the semi-recessed bomb. It's become very much it's own aircraft.

[sequoiaranger]

I finally decided to put a primer coat on the plane to "unify" the various colors and to pinpoint needed work. Whew---LOTS more work left to go than I thought, so the PSR, wait, PSR cycle drones on. Snafu's galore. I am confident that the "core" values will shine forth, but for now I am just "spinning my wheels". Regarding wheels, I have decided to use some aftermarket resin wheels slightly bigger than the Tempest's, and have the "weighted" bulge, as well. The Typhoon/Tempest wheels have a LOT of "wiggle room" in the landing gear bay (why?), but the Henley's will not.

I wish I had more to report and/or show, but it's slow going, boring, and aggravating. I wanna PAINT and DECORATE, but there is currently too much "cottage cheese" skin to smooth out! I had also thought that the close match-ups of parts would allow the raised paneling to remain with minimal PSR, but I have had to sand down almost everything to get the contours right.

[upnorth]

Hmmmm. I do like where you're taking this.

[buzzbomb]

great stuff.. this is really taking shape.

Liking the recessed bomb bay as well.... it makes a lot of sense

[sotoolslinger]

Your putty fu is fight