BAe Hawk T.1A

[Neo]

 

Here is the next build coming onto the bench. This kit means alot to me i purchased this kit the day my youngest daughter was born some 3 years ago so that i could built it with the UK scheme with the HUGE heart on the belly. This is also a reminder of how time flies by so fast! 

 

The Kit :  Revell Revell BAe Hawk T.1A

Markins : XtraDecals XX245 or XX307 208(R) Squadron, 4TFS RAF Valley, 2009 Display aircraft   


I started unpacking the kit yesterday and glued some of the cockpit teaching my oldest daughter how to cut parts off the sprues. 

 

I was hoping to get some Am ejection seats but cant really find any so ill build it like this OOB. The detail level is actually pretty good 

 

One of the fuselage sides is seriously wrapped, im hope ill be able to fix that. Maybe with some hot water.

 

Cheers

 

 

[Neo]

OK

 

so here is a short update

 

ive begun building all the assemblies that dont require paint. im in a building mood these days more than a painting mood. 

 

this kits it nice but i did have some warpage on multiple parts

 

here is the left top wing 

 

and its less aerodynamic right top Assembling it with the lower wing kinda helped i did the rest with brute force

 

group shot! 

 

[Stokey Pete]

I've built this kit with the same scheme. Just a heads up for when you get to the decals. The heart on the underside is relatively easy to apply, the artwork down the spine and tail are a different beast. I ended up tackling mine by cutting them into more manageable sections, and a LOT of Microsol/set. They're a pain to get bedded down but the results reward the patience. 

Enjoy the build. 

 

PS, I Think CMK do a set of the Lightweight MB MK10 seats that go in the Hawk. 

[Neo]

Thanks for the tips Pete. I will keep that into consideration when I get to the decals. 

 

Fun fact I was sure this plane was a dark blue.. was surprised when I saw the call out for black!

 

I'm going to try the ultra gloss finish using Tamiya lawyer rattle can decanted in my ab

 

 

[MikeC]

2 hours ago, Neo said:

Thanks for the tips Pete. I will keep that into consideration when I get to the decals. 

 

Fun fact I was sure this plane was a dark blue.. was surprised when I saw the call out for black!

 

I'm going to try the ultra gloss finish using Tamiya lawyer rattle can decanted in my ab

 

 

Don't paint it plain black, it needs "warming". I'd suggest you mix some brown into the black; it makes it look much better.

[Neo]

On 12/26/2019 at 11:44 AM, MikeC said:

Don't paint it plain black, it needs "warming". I'd suggest you mix some brown into the black; it makes it look much better.

Interesting. So like tire black kinda color? 

[MikeC]

Sort of.  I use two-thirds gloss black to one-third brown.  When it first goes on it looks red-brown, but don't panic, as you build up the colour it looks blacker, but somehow warmer.  Here's a Revell Hunter I did with exactly that mix, and some rubbing down/polishing between coats.

 

[Victor K2]

I can assure everyone that the actual aircraft was indeed painted black and nothing but black (excuses to Henry Ford).

[Neo]

Well ive been hard at work on this one. I can say this plastic is not the nicest to work with. 

 

After tons of putty and filler i managed to get a first coat of black on yesturday. Ill post pics soon

[Neo]

Alright here is some progres

 

Ive painted the ip's and applied the revell decals, with tons of micro sol and set it came out pretty good 

 

Next up was tackling all the gaps in the fuselage, the main seam needed some light sanding in most places with a little surface primer brushed on. 

but then there are some section that well.... needed more love

 

oh and i realized once painted that this vent is installed reversed... but im not gona do anything about it

 

 

There was this huge hole on top of the fuselage , took me a while to figure out what it was suppose to be, from ref pic it looked like an APUI exhaust, so i drilled it a bit bigger and added an evergreen hollow rod

 

After fixing all the seams i have the windscreen to finish, i applied Tamiya surface primer in layers wiping the excess with a qtip soaked in mineral spirit to avoid sanding,when i was almost done,  i painted it with chrome to see the gap better then filled the rest with super glue and sanded smooth. 

 

then she was ready to get a coat of MR surfacer 1500

its actually the first time i use this product and im very impressed (found a canadian supplier over the holidays https://www.sunwardhobbies.ca/)

 

 

 

then it was time for the first coat of black, using my trusty Badger patriot and Humbrol #21. But i did one thing different i used Mr leveling thinner(also for the first time got it at the same time as mr surfacer).

Now im not sure if its because my paint was old, but it reacted a bit with the thinner, so once i was done with the underside, i refilled my airbrush using classic Testor enamel thinner. The Leveling thinner gave a great result BUT even after 2 days the paint was still sticky. Guess Leveling thinner doesn't go with humbrol very well. 

 

 

 

So to get rid of the stickiness of the pain and all the light imperfections/dust i light wet sanding with 2000 grit.  

its now ready for a final mist coat of black

 

Thanks for looking 

Neo

 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Neo

[Greif8]

Nice work thus far, the IPs look especially nice.  I think Humbrol is an enamel isn't it?  I use the leveling thinner with lacquers, maybe that was why they did not play well together.  

[Neo]

41 minutes ago, Greif8 said:

Nice work thus far, the IPs look especially nice.  I think Humbrol is an enamel isn't it?  I use the leveling thinner with lacquers, maybe that was why they did not play well together.  

Thank you. 

 

Yes humbrols is an enamel paint. I sometimes use pure lacquer thinner when i want the paint  to bite harder. But i think your rigt, it probably why o had the issue

[Neo]

Its all done !! 

 

since my last update i made a lot steps,

 

i polished the entire model with tamiya coarse and fine, then washed it

next up was decals, for the size they have they went on pretty well, i did not have any rips. BUT ive never seen decals that refused to slide like this, even the small ones and stencils !!!

i used a water sprayer on drenged the model for all the ones bigger than a penny, that really saved me, then once in place, dabbed the water off and applied micro set then multiple coats of micro sol. 

 

Here is prior final clear

 

since i had polished the kit i was afraid any kind of water based clear would not stick, so i pulled out my Model Master Lacquer gloss. 

this stuff stinks but its amazing. 

 

after letting it dry for a couples of days i polished it with tamiya finish, then to get rid of all the polish in the crack i rinsed the model under warm water and lightly brushed it with a toothbrush. and dried it with a hair dryer at the low setting.

 

That left me with a problem, no matter what i did i always got water marks... Then i was thinking to myself i have to use soad but like i know from taking care of my car, dish soap removes wax, so kinda kill the point, then i had a brilliant idea!  i went to my car care bucked and got some Meguiar's car shampoo with wax!! i mixed a small quantity, washed the plane again and back to the hair dryer! Voila! i'm using this trick again in the future!!! 

 

 

 

RFI here

 

She is now in my display case

 

 

Thanks for following! 

 

next up  a 1/32 TBM-3

 

and for the curious this is the results i get with my car! (7h 3 step polish) on my 2012 GTI that drives in the canadian winters! 

 

[wunwinglow]

On 12/28/2019 at 2:28 PM, MikeC said:

Sort of.  I use two-thirds gloss black to one-third brown.  When it first goes on it looks red-brown, but don't panic, as you build up the colour it looks blacker, but somehow warmer.  Here's a Revell Hunter I did with exactly that mix, and some rubbing down/polishing between coats.

 

Good tip.... Thanks!