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HobbyBoss Hawk 200 What If-Irish Air Corps Seabhac 200


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Well here she is done...my 11th COVID build! HobbyBoss 1/48 BAE Hawk 200 as a "What If" Irish Air Corps Seabhac (Irish for Hawk).  

 

Backstory involves Putin's Russian Bear awakening a little earlier than in the real world, with Russian Air Force and Naval forces probing NATO territory on a regular basis.  The RAF are stretched to the limit and facing an ever shrinking budget.  Many of the Russian Bear flights probe the western defenses of he UK, resulting in a lot of Tornado and eventually Typhoon scrambles being sent to defend Irish Airspace in accordance with a long standing agreement.  

 

With RAF Air Defense assets stretched a clever bod in Whitehall hatches a plan to fund the Irish Air Corps from the Foreign Aid budget in a tidy little arrangement that also benefits BAE as the Hawk production line is looking at a diminishing order book.  Financed by the UK the Irish Air Corps received 14 Hawk 200s and two Hawk 100s in 2006.  The aircraft operated through a bilateral agreement with the UK that saw close coordination with the UK air defence network as well as refueling assets.  Pilots did initial training alongside RAF counterparts though the two 2-seat Hawk 100s and a simulator at Baldonnel allowed for most training beyond initial pilot training to be carried out in Ireland.

 

OOB build except for a scratch built HUD to replace the pathetic kit piece, AMRAAMs and rails from an F-18E, and chaff/flare dispensers from an A-4E since the kit has nothing to represent these at the rear of the box at the base of the fin.  Colors are Hataka Barley Grey on the lower surfaces, Vallejo NATO Green and British Dark Green on top, and a Light Ghost Gray radome.  Decals are from the MaxDecal Irish Air Corps 2005-2010 sheet for the national markings (mostly form the PC-9 markings) and stencils from a mix of the kit decals and a XTradecal RAF Hawk sheet.  

 

This Seabhac (local name, Irish translation of "Hawk") is shown as it would appear on QRA.  Once the Irish Hawk force was integrated in the UK Air Defense network the IAC kept two fully armed Hawks on QRA at Casement Aerodrome just south of Dublin.  Normal QRA fit included two 190 Gal external tanks, two AIM-120 AMRAAM  and two AIM-9M Sidewinder AAMs and a centerline ADEN 30mm cannon pod with 130 rounds.  This aircraft, 272, was the third single seat Hawk delivered to the IAC, joining two single seat Hawk 100s that were part of the 14 aircraft deal.  

 

Weathering is minimal as the IAC ground crews take great pride in keeping their Seabhac fleet in tip-top condition.  In addition to their Air Defense role Irish Hawks are cleared to carry a variety of Air-Ground ordnance including CRV-7 rocket pods, 500lb freefall and GPS guided bombs, and AGM-65 Maverick missiles.  In the hands of IAC pilots the diminutive Hawk 200 proved to be a viable warplane.  routine DACT exercises with RAF aircraft saw many gun camera shots of Tornadoes and even occasional Typhoons in the Hawk's sights.  A late 2020 upgrade program funded partially by BAE Systems, will see integration of the Meteor and ASRAAM AAMs and the Brimstone ASM as well as the PIRATE IR sensor system.  

 

Overall this was a fun build.  The kit isn't bad, just not up to the Tamiya quality I've got used to with recent builds.  It took a little filler at the fuselage join aft of the cockpit and at the wing roots and the underfusealge wing-fuselage joints, but not a whole lot.  I'm not all that happy with the kit seat.  It builds up as a fairly generic looking seat, so next time I see a good deal on a resin MB Mk.10 I'll likely replace it. 

 

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Edited by aeroplanedriver
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22 minutes ago, aeroplanedriver said:

Backstory involves Putin's Russian Bear awakening a little earlier than in the real world, with Russian Air Force and Naval forces probing NATO territory on a regular basis

They have been doing that on a weekly basis since the fifties. It's never stopped.

Superb Seabhac BTW. Looks great.

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Very pretty nice job but not sure it would get of the ground with that lot on or certainly not get far. Sea Harrier ditched amraam as a normal load on pylon position 6/7 and put a simulator brick (cant remember its name) inside empty gun pods ...because of weight and stress issues .Still carried winders on outboard and fuel tanks inboard.

Doesnt distract from the model though 👍

.

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8 minutes ago, junglierating said:

Very pretty nice job but not sure it would get of the ground with that lot on or certainly not get far. Sea Harrier ditched amraam as a normal load on pylon position 6/7 and put a simulator brick (cant remember its name) inside empty gun pods ...because of weight and stress issues .Still carried winders on outboard and fuel tanks inboard.

Doesnt distract from the model though 👍

.

AMRAAMS weigh about 350lb each.  BAe flew the 200 with about 8,000lb of ordnance during their sales push.  I think it would do fine with a pair of AMRAAMs.  Normal RAF Hawk T.1s flew with loads far more than this build too.  

 

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Not so much 'what if' but 'if only'. Looks great. Would it be fair to say your green is a nod to the green of the Spitfires and Seafires of the past? 

 

My favourite 'if only' would have been the acquisition of some two seat 'export' Hawks which would have fulfilled the light strike, limited intercept and training roles. 

 

Any chance of one of those in your future? 

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Great build , great whif, love the colour scheme ! Still hoping for a 200 in  the gentleman’s scale.
 

Wulfman

Edited by Wulfman
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