Trumpeter Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 By Will Riepl

Overview

September 7, 1946 saw the first flight of the production Mk X Sea Fury, introducing the fighter to the British FAA. Service continued with the Fleet Air Arm through the late fifties, including Korea and the Suez Crisis. Eventually the Sea Fury was phased out in favor of newer jet aircraft. A number of foreign countries also flew the Fury, including the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, the Union of Burma air Force, Iraq and Cuba.

The Kit

Molded in grey plastic with a total of 96 pieces, the Trumpeter kit is an improvement over the previous 1/48 kits. You have the option of folded wings, positional control surfaces and an open or closed canopy.

One interesting note, there are pieces for both an open and a closed cowling, but there is no engine included in this kit. Perhaps in a later issue we’ll see a detailed engine.

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The cockpit is very basic. A resin cockpit tub would be a nice addition. There is some debate on the prop spinner, but to my eye, it looks good. There are finely detailed recessed panel lines. And, typical with Trumpeter, there plenty of recessed rivets.

The kit markings are for the Korean War aircraft with black and white stripes and an all dark grey Royal Navy version.

I plan on doing an all red German Sea Fury used for target tugs, under private contract. Most of these were Sea Fury T.Mk 20, two-seater models. However there was one single-seater FB.11 in use. Delivery of these aircraft occurred between 1958 and 1960. These were flown into the 1970s when they were replaced with OV 10 Broncos. When I was in Bonn in September of 1968, a bright red Sea Fury flew overhead at low level. The sound is something you won’t forget!

I’m looking forward to adding this build to my collection of Sea Hawk and Wyvern from that time period. My thanks to Stevens International for the review kit.