Gruntpa Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Should title this post "Ode to Hawk Models". Apologies up front for the dust! My wife calls my collection my "Dust Collectors". Brought the T-33A home to add to the photo collection. Vintage Hawk Model's T-33A Shooting Star that came electroplated in aluminum. The kit was more designed to be played with by kids than to showcase accuracy though the raised details are nicely done. Cockpit is simple, pilot figures can be put in or out, no wheel wells and the wheels turn, the canopy is hinged and the tail comes off so you can take the simple Pratt & Whitney engine in or out to play with. One amazing detail other than being actually metal plated are the decals. The decals are thick, slightly rubbery, and conform to the details perfectly. Add to that, if you need to slide them around a bit during decaling they slide easy when wet then when dry they are there solidly with no peeling no curling. That and even the very small print is actually legible. Traits in modern decals I do not see much on kits today. This was the advanced trainer that dad flew back in the very early 60's and in very similar markings to the ones he flew. Did this OOB like I did back when I was 8 or 9. Did not sand the seams nor putty as that would have taken away the aluminum plate and required painting the model. I wanted to go back to that feeling I had as a kid when I built it the first time. There was some flash but not much actually. An amazing kit by an amazing model company from back in the day. Hawk Models had other 1/48 scale kits also done up in aluminum plate such as the P-51D in 1948 ANG markings, the venerable U2 and F-104 Starfighter. If you can pick up a Hawk kit on eBay go for it, a pleasure to put together and just be a kid again. Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBfYsv 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaputz Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Nice! Coincidentally, I have a copy of this kit. It was purchased about a half century ago. In Canada the kit came with RCAF markings, I spent a piece of my youth in the late 60s living at a RCAF Station, where the T-33 was used to train airmen. For that reason I have a soft spot for it. My model never got built because I was too afraid to ruin the aluminum finish! Nice to see it built as kid might have done. Photo of the kit still in my stash. Love the nostalgia. Thanks for sharing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 What a sweet trip down memory lane! Well built, far better than my attempts those decades ago... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 32 minutes ago, gaputz said: Nice! Coincidentally, I have a copy of this kit. It was purchased about a half century ago. In Canada the kit came with RCAF markings, I spent a piece of my youth in the late 60s living at a RCAF Station, where the T-33 was used to train airmen. For that reason I have a soft spot for it. My model never got built because I was too afraid to ruin the aluminum finish! Nice to see it built as kid might have done. Photo of the kit still in my stash. Love the nostalgia. Thanks for sharing. What a lovely story.. I made this kit as a kid maybe around 1972. My Dad was a jeweller and had a shop in North London. On Saturdays we would go there and often we were allowed to have a model to make ( myself and my twin brother) bought from Woolworths or the toy shop "Zodiac Toys" . We sat in the back office making our model aeroplanes. Think i made the Airfix 'Shooting Star' in 1:72nd.. we couldn't really afford any enamel paints so it was the grey plastic unpainted.. Happy Happy Days indeed! Your story made me think of my own childhood! Kind Regards, Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 30 minutes ago, dnl42 said: What a sweet trip down memory lane! Well built, far better than my attempts those decades ago... i specialised in glue frosted canopies in those days! lol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killnoizer Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Very nice !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 What a joy to see! When I was a kid and Hawk was producing kits, my best friend received the aluminized U-2 from his father. Boy, was I impressed (and envious)! You've done the T-33 nicely -- well done! In bit of nostalgia, I recently built Hawk's old F4D Skyray straight out-of-the-box (it was my first model kit ever). I even restricted myself to using only the tools specified in the instructions: glue, brushes, bottle paint, and hobby knife: It turned out much better than I could have done when I was nine. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly1860 Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 I love the paint job GruntPa. Is it Airbrushed or Hairy Sticked? My money is on Airbrushed. Also what paint did you use? Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 14 hours ago, Col Walter E Kurtz said: i specialised in glue frosted canopies in those days! lol Yeah. The crime lab didn't need to dust for fingerprints to determine who committed the crime--at least one was always memorialized on the victim model. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruntpa Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 3 hours ago, Philly1860 said: I love the paint job GruntPa. Is it Airbrushed or Hairy Sticked? My money is on Airbrushed. Also what paint did you use? Colin Good call for the black on the wing tip tanks, airbrushed, since the entire model came out of the box aluminum plated needed no painting (thankfully!) and the tires and details with small pointy hairy sticks. I used to use Testors and Model Masters however those are now sadly gone the way of the dodo so I've switched to Alclad for the metalics and Tamiya paints & pigments for all other colors and weaathering with a smattering of Valejo for washes. 2 hours ago, dnl42 said: Yeah. The crime lab didn't need to dust for fingerprints to determine who committed the crime--at least one was always memorialized on the victim model. Soooo true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruntpa Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 17 hours ago, gaputz said: Nice! Coincidentally, I have a copy of this kit. It was purchased about a half century ago. In Canada the kit came with RCAF markings, I spent a piece of my youth in the late 60s living at a RCAF Station, where the T-33 was used to train airmen. For that reason I have a soft spot for it. My model never got built because I was too afraid to ruin the aluminum finish! Nice to see it built as kid might have done. Photo of the kit still in my stash. Love the nostalgia. Thanks for sharing. I loved the fact that Hawk would have 3 different sets, Germany, Canada and US, need more of that now in kits instead of after market sets imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruntpa Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 17 hours ago, dnl42 said: What a sweet trip down memory lane! Well built, far better than my attempts those decades ago... Thanks! Same here fortunately, but always nice to take us back for a few minutes. Now if this old grunt can learn some new (modeling) tricks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruntpa Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 2 hours ago, Gruntpa said: Soooo true! Also forgot to add the engine was also airbrushed using Model Master's "Burnt Iron" and Steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 I remember that kit very well. For its time it was considered a very nice kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 10/10 on the nostalgia meter. This kit was the first one I bought by mail -and I mean mail. Letter posted to the USA as I recall after seeing an advert in some modelling magazine. I sent International Money Orders - anyone remember those !!!!? Several weeks later the kit arrived and boy was it shiny. I was well advised in the instructions to scrape off the plating to allow glue to join the mating edges. I am sure there were obvious seams but my rose tinted memory only recalls I was a truly happy bunny. I did the USAF scheme too. Thanks for the trip down memory lane 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaputz Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 It faded from memory long ago but now that you mention it, I do indeed remember the International Money Order. In my part of the 1970s and 80s world, it and the Postal Money Order, were the only way to get kits by mail. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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