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Silver Wings Hawker Hart Review Build

Upper Wing

This seems to be the part that most modelers, in particular those who have not built a biplane, dread. It is really not that difficult to do, provided you plan ahead a bit. There are many different ways to go about attaching the upper wings, but I will just review the way I did it for this model.

■ First, I drilled out the holes for the cabane (fuselage to wing center) struts in the wing center piece. Although the kit appears to be designed for you to remove the copper wire pins on the parts of the struts that attach to the fuselage, I wanted to keep a bit of the pin for added strength, so I drilled out holes in the attachment slots (photo 24). I then trimmed the pins on the cabane struts to fit. I then test fit the center wing and cabane struts to the fuselage. After a small amount of tweaking, the fit was good.
■ I then removed the center wing section (and cabane struts) and cleaned up the mating surfaces of the center and outer wing sections. I then used an angle template to drill the appropriate holes in the outer wing section for the interplane struts. This would also be a good time to drill the appropriate holes for the rigging method of your choice (don’t forget the holes in the fuselage and bottom of the upper wing for the aileron control cables!). The instructions provide that there should be 3mm of dihedral at the tip, so, like with the lower wing, I made some cardboard strip templates and used them to ensure the proper position.
■ At this point, you can attach all the PE inspection panels to the top side of the upper wing (and the two on the lower wing) per the instructions.
■ Once dry, I again test fit the upper wing assembly to the fuselage using the cabane struts only. They are so strong that they easily support the very heavy (100 grams/almost ¼ lb) wing (photo 25).
■ I then removed the wing, installed the model in my wing jig* and using some slow-setting superglue gel (or epoxy) to give myself time to position them, attached the cabane struts to the upper wing, and then the wing and struts to the fuselage. I checked the alignment and then let the assembly dry overnight.
*you can use an actual jig; Legos; or cardboard, etc. to make your wing jig – it does not need to be fancy, as it’s only purpose is to ensure the same distance on both sides between the upper and lower wings, and that the upper and lower wings are aligned with each other. ■ I then test fit the interplane struts and using the same slow-setting superglue gel, attached them to the upper and lower wings and once I was happy with their position, left everything to dry overnight.
■ Attach the 3 slat actuators to the port and starboard underside leading edge of the upper wing. The end with the post goes towards the rear, and fits in the hole provided.
■ I then attached the control rods to the ailerons and attached them to the upper wing (they fit snuggly in position with no glue needed).

Final Assembly

Now we just have to attach the remaining small bits, and the model should be done. I would recommend painting decaling and rigging your model (if you prefer to rig after painting/decaling) at this point (don’t forget the control lines for the ailerons, elevators and rudder). Once completed, attach the final parts as follows:

■ Attach the acetate window to the pilot’s windscreen using your favorite clear parts glue. If you have not yet attached the acetate side window, do so now.
■ You can now attach the Pott’s oil cooler, venturi tube and boarding step to the bottom of the fuselage.
■ Glue the radiator and its brackets into position.
■ Attach your bomb racks (and bombs if you wish) to the bottom of the wings.
■ If you have not already done so, attach your radio antennae posts if appropriate for the airframe you are modeling. Also attach the radio insulator to the upper fuselage.
■ The kit provides a PE pitot tube assembly, and you can attach this to the forward strut on the port side of the aircraft. I would recommend building up the shape of the flat “tube” sections to a round shape, or replace them with styrene or metal tubing.
■ Fold the PE gas tank vent (PE9) in half, or preferably create your own from metal or styrene tube/rod, and attach to the upper wing tank per the instructions.
■ Attach the gunner’s scarf ring assembly to the model.
■ Finally, attach your main wheels and propeller to the model.

Photos 26 through 35 are of the completed model. I hope that you have found this review/build guide helpful. Look for a review/build guide on the Silver Wings 1/32 Gloster Gladiator I/II in the near future!