Italeri 1/48 Bae Hawk T1

[ernestf]

I like trainer, I like 2-seater airplane, especially with a huge canopy but with a short tail. 

BAE Hawk T is exactly my cup of tea. 

Started with cockpit, spray a layer of GSI #1500 black primer as the base, and applied GSI 305 (dark grey) and GSI 306 (med grey). Decals was good and easy to apply. 

 

 

Applied a layer of gloss clear on the cockpit, #306 on the side wall of the cockpit and black on the inner wall of the air intake / exhaust. It is Modo T024 silver on the "engine" and MX-02 on the exhaust. I doubt if the engine can be seen after the build. 

Test fit the fuselage too - seems to be a nice match without any major gap. 

 

 

 

[ernestf]

Installed the small parts inside the fuselage and glued the two halves together. I used Green Stuff putty this time as filler. The seams alone the fuselage isn't too bad, but there is step between the bottom wing and the fuselage which need to deal with before assembling. The air-intake require some filing too but nothing major. 

 

I have applied a coat of Gaia 071 (grey-white) on the gear wells before gluing the upper and lower wings together.

When installing the ailerons, the instruction has messed up the outer link with the inner link parts. Just swapped the two parts on each side would be fine. 

Installed horizontal stabiliser and be sure to have the same angle on both side. There are also small fins and parts to add to the airframe. 

Scribed the panel lines for the area which has been sanded down with a 0.2mm chisel. 

[ernestf]

Preparing the two ejection seats : Green, grey and semi gloss black. Followed by decals and a wash by 502 black paint. Over coat with matt clear. 

Complete out-of-box build.

 

 

Installed ejection seats into the cockpit area, and tested fit the canopy - mostly ok except the rear where it has a small gap before it can touch the fuselage.

 

Decided for close canopy display, glued the 4 clear parts and masked the canopy.

Applied green stuff putty to fill the gap and immediately use a cotton stick soak with alcohol to clean it up. 

Look ok - and now let it dry.

 

 

Masked the gear wells, airbrake well and exhaust.

Also filled one of the small hole in the bottom of airframe close to nose gear, as I have accidentally lost the small fin part.

Again, green putty to fill the small gap between the wing and fuselage (front), but I have over-sand the connection between the wing and fuselage in the rear connection, there is now a step there which I am not going to fix it. A lesson learnt. 

Applied #1500 black primer.

 

First layer of surface color, mostly with GSI #337 on upper fuselage, with a bit of #308. Bottom is #308.

Edited November 1, 2022 by ernestf

[Pappy]

Very tidy work Ernest, I especially like your decals, they have been applied perfectly,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[speedy]

Don’t forget to add the second stall warning device on the leading edge. Kit only has one each side; there are 2 each side.

[ernestf]

1 hour ago, Pappy said:

Very tidy work Ernest, I especially like your decals, they have been applied perfectly,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

Thanks Pappy, it is my very first 1/48 so still a bit of learning to warm up. 

I saw others using PE or masking tape for the belt, will try it next time

[ernestf]

24 minutes ago, speedy said:

Don’t forget to add the second stall warning device on the leading edge. Kit only has one each side; there are 2 each side.

Ops - now I see what I have missed, thanks for pointing it out @speedy

It is too late to add the 2nd one for now as I have just started the decals work when I saw your post. 

The good news is I have another Hawk from Tamiya which I believe is the same Italeri kit so I can add it next time. 

 

Thanks for headsup !

[Pappy]

Well, it does not look like your first time 1/48 kit, looking forward to the finished kit. PE belts can look excellent, it is one of the applications which really suits PE but using PE is not always easy. Good luck with your next attempt in case you want to try

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[ernestf]

Sand the fuselage and wings surface with 3M green sanding sponge and it is decals time. 

 

[Fritag]

Very nice Ernest.

[ernestf]

On 01/11/2022 at 18:17, Fritag said:

Very nice Ernest.

Thanks Steve  your in progress Airfix Hawks are master pieces !!! 

[ernestf]

Weathering pass 1 :

[woody37]

Lovely paintwork and weathering. although I don't think they get that dirty, it's a great use of artistic license and skill. I never knew that green putty existed so need to get some. nothing worse than filling gaps around clear parts only for white to be visible after removing masks!

[ernestf]

36 minutes ago, woody37 said:

Lovely paintwork and weathering. although I don't think they get that dirty, it's a great use of artistic license and skill. I never knew that green putty existed so need to get some. nothing worse than filling gaps around clear parts only for white to be visible after removing masks!

I have to say that I like this green stuff putty - I did not “sand” it, instead i use cotton stick soak with alcohol to rub it only

seems it is safe to the clear part rather than using lacquer base putty and thinner.

 

I agreed the wash look heavy too, thinking of cleaning it off a bit next

[Winded Penguin]

Always love the Hawk shape. Colour scheme you've chosen is a winner in my book too 

[ernestf]

Preparing the landing gears, doors and rest of the parts.

[ernestf]

Installed the landing gears, doors and centerline fuel tank in place. 

 

There are unexpected challenge on the supporting rod (not sure how to call it) connecting the main gear well and the landing gear, I did not test fit it before the paint job and it is not able to connect the two parts nicely. Lesson learnt. 

 

Also noted there are paint leaked into the inside wall of the canopy as I have not sealed it all around. 

 

I guess there is no safe way to clean it, have to live with it as my first 1/48 aircraft kit.

 

Down to a few small pieces (signal lights ... etc) to call it an end of the first project. 

 

[Dstream]

Beautiful finish, very nice model. I understand this is the Italeri offering OOB, isn't it?

Just one comment: the arch on the canopy bubble is not painted in the real thing, it is the windscreen under it that shows through the transparent part. I don't know if you can do anything about that. If not, it is still a great model anyway.

Dan

[ernestf]

46 minutes ago, Dstream said:

Beautiful finish, very nice model. I understand this is the Italeri offering OOB, isn't it?

Just one comment: the arch on the canopy bubble is not painted in the real thing, it is the windscreen under it that shows through the transparent part. I don't know if you can do anything about that. If not, it is still a great model anyway.

Dan

Thanks Dan for comment

it is an Italeri OOB

i think I completely miss that canopy details. Just look at the pictures from internet and think I should have paint that arch underneath. I won’t take the risk to redo for this time, and I have some other Hawk in the inventory I will keep this in mind.

[Dstream]

1 hour ago, ernestf said:

Just look at the pictures from internet and think I should have paint that arch underneath. I won’t take the risk to redo for this time, and I have some other Hawk in the inventory I will keep this in mind.

Please, refer here, f.i.:

 

 

[ernestf]

1 hour ago, Dstream said:

Please, refer here, f.i.:

 

 

Lovely

thanks again

[ernestf]

Preparing last few parts :

[ernestf]

You can refer to the completed model here in the RFI.

 

Thanks for all comments and reading !