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A pair of Airfix Hawks in 1/72. Finished.


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I like the results you're getting with that dissolved sprue putty. The filled lines are vitually imperceptible as far as I can see. Good stuff.

Not really got back to them Guy :weep:


They've been mostly losing the competition for leisure time with other things at the mo'. We've been trying to get out into the Dales or the Moors on the bikes as much as possible when the weather's been fine - what's the point of living in 'God's own Country' unless you make the most of it?


So - one way or t'other the poor old boy's been a bit kn*ckered in the evenings......

Absolutely. I can understand that Steve. I was up at Summerbridge in April and enjoyed some r+r along the Nidd valley so know just how beautiful it is around your neck of the woods.

That's the great thing about this pastime, it's there when there's a bit of spare time. It does n't go off and so long as you can remember where you left your progress in the project, it's easy to pick back up again when the time is right.

Enjoy the outdoors while you can.

Cheers

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  • 1 month later...

I dunno - you just blink and a couple of months has passed without doing any model making.......... :(

Combination of holiday (Norwegian fjords - Awesome ) - summer evening outdoor activities - and if I'm honest a bit of a disinclination to get to grips with the Airfix trench like panels and generally poor surface detail. I woz hoping (the naivety of youth middle age) to avoid the sort of work that went into the surface detailing chipmunk and JP. :)

Anyways - I am now slowly getting back into it - thanks in good part to sitting own to watch the tour de france highlights in the evening....I wasn't gonna post until I'd got something of proper interest to show - but I'll trespass on your patience...

The tailplane defector plates are poorly represented - being both the wrong shape and the moulding is soft.

d916a906-0bd9-4320-b495-0f7e4f61b588_zps

Easy enough job to carve them off and it should be straightforward to create new ones out of 0.1mm card or perhaps foil.

IMG_3867_zpswfw1k2cv.jpg

You can also see I've opened up a couple of vents/holes that were moulded as circles on the kit.

There should be a NACA duct (tailplane cooling for the use of....) above the rear of the two holes, one either side near the base of the fin. I'll add them - once I've figures out the neatest way to reproduce a NACA duct in 1/72. I made a bit of a mess of the one and only NACA duct on the chipmunk.....

My plan for dealing with the way overscale panel lines is a combination of sanding back the surface a little, an overall coat of Halfords primer vigorously cut back - and local application of Mr Surfacer. Bit more work to be done yet:

IMG_3866_zpsj19lq5af.jpg

I've completely filled the strange and inaccurate detail moulded on the top of the rear fuselage and underneath the front fuselage - and the horribly over prominent nose avionic bay doors - with dissolved sprue (as I posted earlier).

That all worked out ok after rubbing down and priming and cutting back. I'll probably finely scribe in the nose avionic bay doors later on as they can generally be seen on photos.

Those that have built the Airfix Hawk will spot that I've removed from the nose the moulded in fairing for the pitot probe - it's clunky and overscale.

I haven't yet removed the front coaming from this fuselage half - but it's been scored and is ready to snap off:

IMG_3861_zpsju5offjs.jpg

The gas turbine starter exhaust on the top of the fuselage is crudely moulded - and also incorrect in that it is moulded-in centrally when it is in fact slightly offset to one side (credit for spotting that goes to geedubelyer - his 1/32 scale build is a must-use reference and I'm shamelessly gonna crib from it):

IMG_3872_zpswkmolln8.jpg

A sliver of plastic rod is a decent filler for the present. It's glued to just one of the fuselage half as yet. I'll drill it out and detail it later.

This is also a good photo to show how the dissolved sprue filler worked out on upper fuselage. It's not as convenient as conventional filler - but it should provide a consistent surface for painting/rescribing and that's what I was after:

IMG_3874_zpspemklxsw.jpg

Lastly for now. Airfix haven't done a very good job of reproducing the ram air intakes and exhaust vents on the top of the fuselage. I've got resin replacements for the intakes so I'm in the process of carving off the Airfix ones; and I'm working on elongating and correcting the exhaust vents at the mo:

IMG_3875_zpskjwvuvjd.jpg

There. Not so much to show for a couple of months of silence. But at least I haven't chucked em in the bin yet......

Oh and just by way of a distraction.

I scanned in my old Valley (4fts) squadron and Hawk course badges. Each course had to design their own badges. We combined or two principal preoccupations - progressing to a fast jet squadron - and running up unaffordable bar bills.....Hugely presumptuous of us to label ourselves as a 'Fighter' course - but hey ho - the arrogance (and desperate hopefulness) of youf.........

ArmPatches_zpsfeeedfb3-1.jpg

Actually. We had a high percentage of ex-lightning pilots as our QFI's at Valley - and I rather think we were trying to appeal to their prejudices and elicit their sympathy...........QFI's sympathetic? Fat chance.........But I did end up getting selected for the Lightning after TWU - so I guess the badge was sort of prophetic.

Added by Edit:

Just found contemporaneous proof that the badges are mine :)

Southendairshow_zps41115599-1_zpscsq8rr2

This must have been taken between Valley and Chivenor. I've finished Valley cos I'm wearing the flying badge (wings) but not yet started TWU at Chivenor as I'm still wearing my Valley squadron and course badges on my flying suit.

All of 20 years old - bless.

IIRC this is me at the Southend-on-Sea airshow doing the RAF PR thing of standing next to a fibreglass model of a Hawk. The photo was taken by a press photographer and used in the local paper (there's quite a pretty young blonde girl sat in the drivers seat.......)

Edited by Fritag
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Hoorah! He's back. Top work, as ever - but the badges and the baby photos are the jewels in the crown.

Our course badge was much less steely-eyed, but rather ruder. It showed Danger Mouse & Penfold in a Bulldog flying up a valley that had a suspiciously female shape. Ahem. Happy Valley, if you will. The initial version was promptly banned (I'm not even sure I have my priceless original version any more): the Officially Approved version had them blundering around the skies of Yorkshire - which pretty neatly summed up what we proceeded to do for the next few months. Many years later I was chuffed to see one of our 6 tame Crabs, Andy Offer (by then leading the Dead Sparrows) still with his 28 Course RNEFTS badge prominently displayed on at least one set of overalls - not the red ones; no doubt that would have resulted in our badge being banned for the second time!

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Wait a minute

there's quite a pretty young blonde girl sat in the drivers seat.......

Are we supposed to believe that?

Bet it was really some pimply youth trying to impress his mates

(I like the course badges, my kinda courses they were) ;)

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Hi Steve, good to see you back on these two and a neat little update to whet everyone's appetite for the journey to come when the weather encourages more indoorsie adventures.

Thanks for the mention in dispatches as it is always a proper buzz but I can't take the credit in this case. The slightly offset blowhole exhaust was mentioned to me by Gabe Pincelli who used to be an instructor on Goshawks. It was his help that helped me get that detail (amongst others) right on my 32nd scale build. ^_^

I'm thrilled that my build continues to offer some small assistance in your projects Steve.

Cheers.

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Bet it was really some pimply youth trying to impress his mates

How did you know I was still pimply?

there's quite a pretty young blonde girl sat in the drivers seat.......

Are we supposed to believe that?

Would I lie to you?

Southendairshow_zps41115599-1.jpg

Edited by Fritag
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great photo, look at all that accurate ejector seat detail on there

oh yes, THAT is not a pimply youth Steve, I'm happy to note

Wonder if you influenced her to join the Ladies Royal Air Force?

cheers

;)

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"I'm not quite sure whether she's impressed or not" semi-confident smiles (you, not her).

She weren't.

I meant to post this earlier but photo bucket had a hissy fit.....

Proof of concept on the Ram Air Exhaust Vents improvement.

Co'rse I never had the phrase 'proof of concept' in my modelling lexicon before I started to follow CT's threads :)

Just a little improvement - and yes I know little things please little minds.....

C0760294-5115-4FFA-8A6C-2444EDEA4F95_zps

EE1F39C6-6980-443D-90FB-CD3B3C39FA7B_zps

Edited by Fritag
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great photo, look at all that accurate ejector seat detail on there

Only a true Britmodeller could look at a photo like that and comment on... the ejector seat detail.

Bill, you are a legend; I salute you

She weren't.

I meant to post this earlier but photo bucket had a hissy fit.....

Proof of concept on the Ram Air Exhaust Vents improvement.

Co'rse I never had the phrase 'proof of concept' in my modelling lexicon before I started to follow CT's threads :)

Just a little improvement - and yes I know little things please little minds.....

C0760294-5115-4FFA-8A6C-2444EDEA4F95_zps

EE1F39C6-6980-443D-90FB-CD3B3C39FA7B_zps

BIG improvement. Concept duly proved, I'd say

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Welcome back Steve. Glad these are back on the go again. Yes those "little improvements" are adding up to make a big difference alright. Nice use of the gloop too.

Oh yeh, I had a brief look at the thread earlier today at work (in my lunch break honest), and what did I see: young blokes in fast jets with beautiful girls running up "unaffordable bar bills". I wasn't the least bit jealous, no honestly ...honest no... :whistle:

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Hi Fritag,

Well Mr.Airfix should rework their Hawks....all considering. Been working their 1/48 T2 for some time and it's a chore. But thats being a modeller isn't it?

Use the mirror tech for the vents...its easy to make copies if multi are needed...

PHIL..

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Good to see these on the go again Steve.

As for your time at Valley, you may well have been one of the 'young erberts' responsible for disturbing my morning ablute when we were on holiday at Plans Hen farm near Llanystumdwy.

Happy days .

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