Airfix 1/72 Hawker Demon

AIRFIX 1:72 HAWKER DEMON

Reviewer: Tim Beales (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 6 July 2002

The Aircraft

In the history of aircraft, the Hawker Hart has to be a record holder for spawning the most variants of a basic design. The proliferation of variants stems from the profound psychological effect the Hart had when it first appeared in 1930: it was an elegant and highly streamlined single engine bomber with clean lines. It was much faster than any RAF fighter then in service, and sent shockwaves throughout the RAF.

The two-seat Hawker Demon fighter was one of the last of the Hart variants and some 234 Demons were built. It originally equipped No.23 Squadron in 1933, and a large number went to the Auxiliary Air Force. It remained in service until 1937, and was declared obsolete in 1939. The Demon had two fixed forward-firing Vickers guns, and a movable Lewis gun at the back. A Rolls Royce Kestrel engine powered it, and it could fly at 182 mph.

Kit Parts

This is an Airfix kit that dates from the late 1980s - first clue, it was made in France - and it may well be an adaptation of the much earlier Airfix Hawker Hart. However, I am not sure of this, as the Airfix Hart, dating from the early 1960s, is now a very expensive collectors item, and I do not have one. There are 31 parts packed loose in a small, side-opening cardboard box. The picture on the box cover by James Goulding is an airbrushed study of a Demon in flight, and is of the later Airfix style, i.e., limp-wristed when compared to the tremendously exciting paintings that Roy Cross produced only a few years earlier.

As you would expect from the distinguished company, the parts are well crafted in light grey plastic that is typical of Airfix: not too hard, and not too soft. Being a 30s biplane, there are no clear parts. A word of warning, there are nasty ejector marks on the bottom of the wings that will need to be dealt with first before you can go on to build the kit.

The instructions are on one side of a single A4 sheet, with the other side giving a few lines of history in nine languages in what looks like 6-point typeface to fit them all in. The painting guide is given in colour as a four view on the back of the box citing Humbrol numbers.

Construction of the kit

Assembly starts by gluing the pilots with their backs to one another to two seats moulded into the fuselage, constructing the propeller and shaft unit, and then gluing the two fuselage halves together. I painted the inside of the cockpit, the pilots, and propeller before assembly. The pilots are the same figures that seem to be in every Airfix kit irrespective of the proposed period, and they don't seem right to me. I ended up sculpting the Mae West, oxygen mask, and flight suit details away to get something more like the leather flying suit shown on the illustration. This was sloppy of Airfix, because I know that they have pilots more suited to this model from their various WW1 kits. I left the fitting the guns until after final painting, because they can easily break off when manipulating the model during construction.

The kit fuselages go together well, with only light sanding needed along the join. The tailplanes and rudder were also added at this point, and the fit was not so good here. The tailplanes are a single unit that lie flat on top of a recessed section in the fuselage, and they are pinned in place by the two pins from the rudder unit locating into the fuselage. With patience and Blu Tack I got them to stick all square, but I ended up using some filler around the tailplane join. Four rear support struts are located beneath the tailplanes, and were positioned in four locating holes on the bottom of the tailplanes and on the lower sides of the fuselage.

The next task was to attach the long exhausts, the central struts, and the one-piece bottom wing section. I found it best to attach the bottom wing first. Some filler and sanding was required here to get everything square and level, and to get smooth joints. Then I attached the exhausts - no problems there. The wings/struts of the all Hart family are a bit tricky. The top and the bottom wings of the Demon are set at a 30º angle, and the outer struts are in the form of a sloping "N" that when viewed from the front also lean outwards somewhat. I found it best to attach all the struts while slightly tacky with glue, and then complete the assembly by attaching the single-piece upper wing. Once everything was aligned, I left the model to set overnight. The wig/strut assembly was by far the trickiest bit to do on the model, and I'll bet a lot of modellers have to do it more than once to get it right.

The final bit of work is to fit the undercarriage unit, which consists of two handed undercarriage "V" legs with a crossbar and two wheels. I left attaching the rear tailskid part until after final painting, as this can easily be knocked off.

Decals

The model was painted overall with Humbrol 11 (silver). The propeller blades and tailskid were painted with Humbrol 110 (wood), and Humbrol 89 (black) was used on the back of the propeller blades and on the tyres. The centres of the wheel covers were painted with Humbrol 69 (gloss yellow). I rigged the aircraft according to the box art using stretch thread.

Decals are supplied for a Hawker Demon flown by the Commanding Officer of No. 604 Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force at Hendon in 1936 (whoever that was). They are a very colourful red and yellow design. I was tempted to use a Hawker biplanes Model Decal set that I have, because I have often found that the decals in Airfix kits are out of register and somewhat transparent. However, I plumped for the Airfix decals this time, and I am glad I did. They are the best decals I have used by Airfix. They are perfectly in register, and are easy to manipulate on the model with no silvering whatsoever. So, ten out of ten for these decals. One word of advice is to drill the central hole in the wheel decals while they are still on the sheet and dry, so that they will slip over the central shaft hub OK. (On tilting the decal sheet to the light before use, I noticed that mine did not have a hole for this purpose.)

Accuracy

Airfix give the dimensions of the Demon as span = 11.31 m, and length = 9 m. My model comes in at a span of 15.7 cm and a length of 12.2 cm (11.3 m and 8.8 m, respectively). Spot on.

Overall

Once finished, this looks a super model, and is a must for interwar aficionados. I think this kit is now out of production, but I have seen lots around in various aftermarket sources. The decal colour scheme is very attractive. The kit negatives are: (i) the wrong pilots, (ii) the horrible ejector pin marks on the bottom of the wings, and (iii) the need to correctly align the wings and struts. Achieving the correct wing/strut alignment might drive a biplane novice a bit crazy. One has to marvel at how Airfix can make such classics time after time at such a highly affordable price (about two cups of coffee in a typical tourist cafe). Highly recommended.

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