trumpeter Seahawk Mk.100/101 Updates - 1:48 Eduard

[Mike]

Seahawk Mk.100/101 Updates
1:48 Eduard

The Trumpeter kit has been available for some time now in the FGA.6 and latter the Mk.100/101 export version. They are fairly simple kits with much to commend them, but if you want to improve on the basics that are included, these sets could well be right up your street.

Seahawk Mk.100/101 (49608)
This set is targeted at the airframe in general, rather than internal or external details only, as there's not much other than the cockpit and wheel bays that needs addressing. It arrives in Eduard's usual flat package, and includes two frets of Photo-Etch (PE), one pre-painted and self-adhesive measuring 7.2cm x 5.4cm and the other of bare brass, measuring 7.2cm x 10cm. A small sheet of acetate is supplied with shapes printed on it for the HUD glazing.

The cockpit received upgrades to the ejection seat, the instrument panel with a two layer pre-painted part, the side consoles are replaced on the starboard side, whilst the individual parts are removed and replaced on the port. The side-walls are covered with ribbing detail as well as additional instrumentation, and the cockpit tub gets scuff plates on the floor and a new set of rudder pedals. In the main gear bays, lots of additional structural detail is added, and the nose gear bay is given a set of skins to cure the blank look to that area. The gear legs are given new inner skins to their doors, main leg oleo-scissors, with fine brake lines on the inner side.

On the outer airframe, the wing-folds are improved with added detail, the rockets are given retaining straps and a det-cord, while the exhaust wash plates are skinned with highly detailed parts on both sides. Finally, the arrestor hook is cut roughly a third of the way back, and the missing tubular form is replicated by a length of 1mm rod that you will need to source from your stock. This is then covered by a curved aerodynamic panel for extra realism, and the roof of the bay receives a short skin with a receiver for the hook.

Seahawk Mk.100/101 Landing Flaps (48757)
This is a larger single fret in bare brass that measures 14.5cm x 7cm. It includes all the parts you'll need to replace the over-scale kit flap parts, and give you an insert for the additional section on the underside inboard of the main flaps, should you decide to put both the upper and lower flaps in the deployed position. Each flap is made either one piece that is folded twice to create the outer skin and inverted T-shaped ribs, or as on the upper portion, the flap skin and head of the T are in one piece, with separate wedge-shaped ribs that are twisted on their carrier rod and installed on the folded skin.

The very tip of the rear corner of the landing gear bay will need to be removed, as will the trailing edge of the inner wing-fold rib to give a more realistic appearance, and the clumsy kit hinge points will need to be removed and replaced by more scale parts from the etch set. For the two deployment types there are a pair of different braces that hold the two flaps in either fully opened position, or alternatively just the lower flap deployed for landing on-deck.

Review sample courtesy of