Fisher Model and Pattern 1/32 Hunter T.7 Conversion First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Resin guru Paul Fisher of Fisher Model and Pattern has released another interesting conversion set, this time transforming the Revell 1/32 Hawker Hunter F.6 or FGA.9 kits into the two-seat Hunter T.7. When Hawker developed their two-seat trainer, they opted for side-by-side seating to make instruction and observation much easier than tandem-seat trainers. This resulted in a much wider nose section to accommodate the seating arrangement which created a rather distinctive shape out of the overall aircraft.

This set is a really straightforward conversion of the Hunter kit, which in itself is one of my favorite builds. The kit has some flex to it since it is molded from a softer styrene, but I never had a problem with seams popping loose when I used liquid cement. You can read about that build here.

The stock Revell kit broke the fuselage into three subassemblies - the forward fuselage, the intake duct that interconnects with the front and rear fuselage subassemblies, and the rear fuselage assembly. This conversion replaces the single-seat nose with a hollow cast one-piece resin beauty. The rear bulkhead for the cockpit is cast into the dorsal spine section that drops onto the resin nose. The cockpit floor has the side consoles cast in place and this all sets up the new forward fuselage subassembly.

You can see the grooves cast into the sides of the dorsal spine behind the lower portion of the cockpit. This provides the same join interface for the intake ducts that is provided on the standard single-seat kit.

This kit has the distinctive tail cone that replaces the kit part, and resin fairings are provided to create the distinctive bulges at the rear of the airframe.

With the basis airframe ready, the rest of the cockpit goes together with some nice details. The sidewalls are cast with some nice detailing as are the throttle, control sticks, and center console.

The instrument panel is rendered in photo-etch with printed instrument faces provided to sandwich between each sub-panel and the main panel backplate.

The Martin Baker ejection seats are really nicely done and will add some great eye-catching detail to view in that huge front office.

The real stars of this show are the clear parts. When I first unwrapped the windscreen and canopy, I was surprised to see how thin this parts are! They're almost too thin to be styrene parts! Of course these are cast resin and are crystal clear (as usual).

The conversion wouldn't be complete without a set of Scale Aircraft Conversions Hunter landing gear to help hold up this model. This will be especially handy as I had to add 21 grams of ballast in the nose of the stock kit to allow the kit to sit on its nose gear. This resin conversion will definitely provide some of the ballast, but I'm not going to be surprised if I have to add at least 7 grams up into the hollow nose cavity.

This conversion is yet another fine example of Fisher Models' excellent craftsmanship and eye for detail. I've already set aside a Revell kit so I can give this bird a test flight!

My sincere thanks to Fisher Model and Pattern for this review sample!