JimmyZ Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Hi all, my first post here. I have seen plenty SAAF Harvard kits painted bright orange, but not a lot of "sunfaded yellow" ones, so I gave it a go. This was one of my main reference photos It's a bit of a snap kit, with only 21 parts and no instructions on how to put it together. However no instructions was needed. It all fit together pretty well considering the age of this kit, not a lot of filler was needed. But the level of detail isn't very good, especially in the cockpit where there was absolutely no detail apart from two pilot figures with seats fixed onto them. No instrument panels either. I basically cut out the seat from the pilots' behind and "shaped" it into 2 empty seats since I did not want pilots inside. I also made instrument panels from pieces of unused plastic bits, and made seatbelts from masking tape. I painted bare minimum detail in the cockpit but didn't put a lot of effort in here. The result is the cockpit is pretty sparse still and shorts a great amount of detail, but I wasn't up to making everything myself and put in weeks of effort into this old kit's cockpit. I had to further modify the kit as this is the SNJ Navy Texan. I cut off the "bubble" behind the cockpit as well as the arial and once again made the white fin out of spare plastic. The wingtips had (what I assume to be) lights bulges which I sanded down. The propeller had a type of mini spinner which I sanded flat to match the SAAF variant. This is lacking the variable pitch "arms", but I did not have any ideas on how to make it, so I left it out. In hindsight I should also have sanded down the rivets on the wings, but that ship has sailed. The worst part of this kit is there are US roundels shaped panel lines engraved on the model. I can't imagine why, even if one is building the US version. So this had to go. I filled it with putty, sprayed, and then of course saw I didn't fill it properly. I had to fill and spray another two times before this was smooth. The only other change I made was to "deflate" the main gear tyres by heating it up and shaping it by pressing down on it, worked much better than just sanding it flat. Paint & clear coats Tamiya AS-12 baremetal silver spray. Varouis mixes of Humbrol for faded yellow and orange and the rest, all brush painted. Tamiya TS-13 Clear spray Tamiya TS-80 Flat Clear spray Decals - TAS decals (VEGAS72001) Although I could have done a lot of things better, I am satisfied with the end result. I hope you enjoy looking at it too. 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitok1983 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Nice one! Great weathering! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Nice work, great job on the faded orange Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhutchi Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 That's great. You've really captured the sun-faded look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Ooooooh, nice one. In the late 60s, I lived in Springs ( still just a kid I hasten to add ). I think they were based at Dunnottar, but we always had Harvards overflying the house. Of course, only saw them from the bottom, so remember the orange, but that Transvaal sun sure would have faded the tops. Great job done here recreating this. Full marks! ( And what an entry to forums - Welcome! ) Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Jimmy, you're a brave sole to have tackled that very old Hawk kit and I like it you've, done a superb job. The sun down here at the bottom of Africa did really knock the Day-glo red but you've worked it very well. Congratulations. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Fantastic results, that really looks like it's been on the highveld for a long time! I would never have guessed you'd used that kit to get such a good looking model, excellent work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Brilliant work on a very very basic kit. Love how you have bleached that orange Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh65 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I love that. You've done a great job of both the old kit and the finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 She looks very good indeed, lovely finish! The only change I'd make would be to get rid of the nav lights on the rudder, RATG and SAAF Harvards didn't have them. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 That's amazing what you have achieved from such an old kit. Really like how you replicated the sun bleaching of the dayglo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiton Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 fantastic effect of weathered orange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKguyInUSA Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Great job mate! Cheers, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Very nice! It's the type of weathering we rarely see reproduced on models. I wonder if dayglo paint used to fade similarly on UK based trainers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Thanks for the compliments everyone. It sure was an interesting project an I'm happy I attempted it. Though I will definitely use a better/newer kit on my next Harvard. She looks very good indeed, lovely finish! The only change I'd make would be to get rid of the nav lights on the rudder, RATG and SAAF Harvards didn't have them.Max Thanks galgos, yeah I noticed that mistake when I was already done . That and also the missing pitot tube on the starboard wing. I guess both could have been easily fixed, but I decided the Harvard was finished so left that as is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir T Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 A very nice build - The faded Orange is excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Nice work on very old-fashined (engraved markings?!...) kit. Your painting is superb. J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonl Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 That's very impressive. It show's what you can achieve with some careful consideration and effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carius Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Looks great! Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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