A Trio of Hawks- 2 T1's and 1 T2

[cathasatail]

Hi everyone!

 

After the gargantuan 777 I built last time, I quite liked the idea of doing something a little bit smaller, and far more straightforward.

I've previously delved into the world of the BAE Systems Hawk, in the form of a 1:72 Airfix T1 and 2 Revell 1:72 T1's. But that was a few years ago, and I can barely remember building them!

 

This time I will be working on 2 Revell 1:72 Hawk T1's, and an Airfix 1:72 Hawk T2.

 

 

For this first T1, I'd like to do it as the 2011 display Hawk, flown by Flt Lt Jules Fleming. I can just about remember going to the 2011 Cosford airshow and watching the Royal Navy "Black Cats" team, the Reds and the solo Hawk display in what can only be described as a downpour of torrential proportions. From a bit of internet digging, I don't think the Hawk used on the day was either XX244 or XX245 (both having been painted in the 2011 display scheme) but I would like to have a crack at it anyway!

 

So in terms of aftermarket bits, I've got:

-the Eduard "zoom" set (I'll be saving the seatbelts for the second Hawk T1)

-2x Pavla resin ejection seats

-a Master pitot probe

-the Xtradecal decal set (X72137)

-2 PJ Production RAF pilot figures

 

The plan of action, therefore, is to build this Hawk as it might appear on the flight line; with the canopy open, the nose electronic bay open, flaps down, the steps built into the port side of the nose extended, and maybe a few RBF tags too. And don't worry, I'll be breaking out the riveting tool on this one as well

In terms of modifications to get the Revell kit up to scratch, I gather that there's a spot of bother with the fin fillet being too short, and the angle of the rear end being a little bit too curved (?). So i'll see what I can do with that!

 

As for the other Hawks, I have a set for a 4 Sqn. T2, yet I'm torn as to what scheme the second T1 should be in. At the moment it's a choice between an ETPS example, an early red/white example, or one of the Centre of Aviation Medicine aircraft (I'm leaning more towards the latter, given that aviation/aerospace medicine is rather close to my heart).

 

But anyway, thanks for dropping by and having a look!

 

All the best,

Sam

 

[cathasatail]

Good evening!

 

They're all finally here:

 

You might notice a rogue clear sprue on the top right... I bought the Red Arrows kit from Hannants but to my surprise the front windscreen was missing from the sprue. Full credit to the fine folks of Hannants for very rapidly sending across a new clear sprue, their customer service has been tremendous!

 

 

^The aforementioned Xtradecal set for a 4 Sqn T2 Hawk. I'm torn as to whether to do the centenary tail or a "normal" 4 Sqn aircraft- but that's a bridge to cross in the future.

 

Back to the task at hand, I thought I'd start with the Pavla resin Martin Baker Mk.10L seats

(I made a little mistake by shaving off a little too much off the base of the seat, but I'll rectify that when I get around to installing them in the cockpit)

And after a lick of paint and some PE courtesy of Eduard, here they area:

 

 

At around ~1.6cm tall, painting these (especially the belts) has been a little bit of a pain. But I think they've turned out alright.

So that's the seats done (unless I've missed something??), next thing to do will be the cockpit itself!

 

Until next time!

 

All the best,

Sam

Edited September 5, 2020 by cathasatail

[cathasatail]

Morning all,

 

Work has commenced on the cockpit, huzzah!

 

 

 

 

I've tried to spruce up the cockpit with a mix of plasticard, Eduard photo-etch parts, lengths of thin wire, a drill bit and strips of vinyl/PVC from a pair of gloves.

First off I took the cockpit floor part and used it as a guide to scribe into the sidewalls where the part would sit. From that I could add in the ribbing with plasticard and start to build up some of the structure. You might notice that the nose electronics bay has been built-up and the hatch opened in the port side of the nose. There's plenty more work to be done, but it should be a good canvas on which to add further details.

 

Talking of further details...

 

The PE instrument panels from Eduard still stand out to me as one of the more essential additions for the Hawk cockpit, given that it's relatively open compared to single-seat aircraft. The Revell panels are a significant improvement over the Airfix panels, but the choice is between using the slightly clumsy decals or hand-painting the details (not impossible, but I think PE beats out both options in terms of detail).

 

I'll leave painting the cockpit until I've done the riveting and tail modification- which will be my next challenge!

 

All the best,

Sam

 

[cathasatail]

Morning all!

 

Well, that's the cockpit almost done:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A spot of dry-fitting:

 

 

The completely scratchbuilt nose electronics bay:

 

 

 

 

 

And a few rivets:

 

Note the holes opened up for the steps, these will need cleaning up too.

 

I'm still not 100% happy with the coaming, so I will do some cleaning-up of that soon.

But for now I'm satisfied enough to close the cockpit up and make a start on fixing the Hawk's tail

 

All the best,

Sam

[TheyJammedKenny!]

impressive detail work going into this!

[cathasatail]

Hi!

 

Well I've had a go at fixing the tail:

 

 

 

 

There are still a few gaps that need filling, and the shape of the fillet needs smoothing a little bit more- but I've got plenty of black primer and filler on hand!

The process involved gluing the fuselage halves together, then sanding a notch rearwards from the upper fuselage panel line that is in line with where the rudder pivots. Once that was nice and flat, I replaced the thickness with a thin section of plasticard, sanded that smooth and added the fillet (also made with plasticard). Not too taxing, and definitely a learning experience for the next T1.

 

Talking of gap filling...

 

^Here are the flaps, made from cutting/gluing/sanding of the kit parts and a few strips of plasticard. I'm relatively happy with how they look, now to figure how on Earth they're going to attach firmly to the rest of the aircraft...

Apart from gap-filling, next on the agenda will be masking off and spraying the gear bays/doors/legs and making a start on the decalling. Thankfully the Xtradecal set comes with a full set of stencils (allowing me to save the Revell black T1's stencils for the next Hawk!)

 

Thanks @TheyJammedKenny! for the kind comment, I'll be trying my darnedest to get it as detailed as possible

 

Bw,

Sam

Edited September 13, 2020 by cathasatail

[Lewis95]

Looking good so far bud!

[DougC]

2 hours ago, cathasatail said:

^Here are the flaps, made from cutting/gluing/sanding of the kit parts and a few strips of plasticard. I'm relatively happy with how they look, now to figure how on Earth they're going to attach firmly to the rest of the aircraft...

 

 

Well done for tackling the flaps in 1/72! But I also think a Hawk doesn't look right without them drooped on the ground as they would be in real life (unless the engine is running/ hyds are pressurised). I tried to do the same in my long-stalled Hawk build:

 

After much staring at photos to figure out how they work in real life,  I tried to create the mini-aerofoils between the two sections of flap  but the real bu99er was getting the correct angle on the actuating rods to connect the flap to the wing & then lining all the actuator housings up....it nearly sent me blind & mad. I got as far as completing one flap but I'm hoping to get the build up & running again sometime but in the meantime, good luck with yours & keep posting the photos!

 

Edit: have a look at the masterclass in Fritag's "Pair of Hawks" build, although I'm not sure how far he got with the flaps either!