Silver Wings Hawker Demon 1:32

Foiling the nose

Following several experiments over the years to achieve the best “metal” look on my models I’ve found that nothing beats “metal”! So Bare Metal Foil, a self adhesive sheet of very thin foil is cut into sections and applied.

I cut sections which are slightly larger than each panel, carefully position and then embellish initially with a cotton bud to ease out any air bubbles. BMF is pretty tolerant stuff and will take a bit of stretching to get round the awkward contours but for areas where an inevitable crease appears I find the best tool to embellish is the handle of a small pair of scissors.

Undercarriage

The Demon’s undercarriage is well represented in the kit, the wheels being particularly detailed.

It’s quite tricky getting the five pieces that comprise the undercarriage legs, rear supports and axle all aligned and securely positioned especially since there is no obvious location for the forward ends of the support legs on the axle. I cut a strip of card with holes at the right width in order to fix the main oleos.

…and without too much trouble everything was installed.

Gunsights

The Silver Wings kit has a rather flimsy unconvincing ring and bead sight which is positioned on the nose. But fighters of this generation were fitted with two types; the ring and bead and the Aldis sight which are installed on a common mount.

I made both sights from scratch using a length of brass tube for the Aldis sight and some thinner nickel silver for the ring and bead. The bottom item in the picture is the Silver Wings one.

Struts and Exhausts…