[ page 10 ]
1/72 scale kits of the BAe Hawk jet trainer
(R1)
The 1/72 Revell BAe Hawk T1A kit #04970 released in 2020 was also made; earlier, this new moulded kit appeared in 2015 as new kit #04921. So do not mix up these kits with the older Revell kits seen on page 4.
There are about 90 parts in this kit #04970. The light grey parts have finely engraved panel lines.
The cockpit canopy also has a delicately engraved detonator cord.
Kit #04970 has sprues "C", "D" for the stores:
These comprise central gun pod, AIM-9L Sidewinders, wing fuel tanks and their pylons. Their are also a pair of Matra 155 rocket pods which look fine with correct diameter. You also get for the longer tail fillet below the rudder as optional part.
The later Martin Baker mb.10 ejection seats are very beautiful, just like the cockpit interior. The wheel doors are a few combined parts so that you can easily make the model in flight with doors closed, but then you have to get pilot figures from the spare box.
Only decals in kit #04970 are for one only but beautiful all black RAF aircraft "XX188" of no. 208 squadron, as it flew in 2016 from the RAF training base Valley in Wales. The decals are neatly printed, although the blue sections of the RAF roundels are too dark.
page 1
page 2
page 3
page 4
page 5
page 6
page 7
page 8
page 9
page 10
..
.
The fuselage as in this kit is for the later BAe Hawk modification with the different "fatter rear" fuselage shape as needed for the stronger Adour 861 engine type with a good exhaust pipe. It is seen here as compared to the Airfix series 100 kit:
The later style thicker bird strike wind shield is also in the Revell kit and has an appropriate small step at its front nose edge. (earlier Hawks had flush streamlined wind shield).
The lower wing is in one piece, which aids construction. But parked Hawks always have the trailing edge flaps drooped down showing also the flap vane clearly. (note: early Hawks had a vane that had a limited span but on the later modified Hawk, the vane spans almost the entire flap span).
Separate flaps and valves are something you won't find in any 1/72 Hawk kit. You could place a pilot in the cockpit of the model to suggest that the Adour engine is running and there is pressure on the hydraulic system. But I chose to make the flaps myself on this model for a parked Hawk.
The flaps at the trailing edge of the wing were cut loose with a sharp X-Acto blade and razor saw along the engraved panel lines on both the lower and upper wing parts.
![adapt flap]](revell-hawk-new-30.jpg)
Sand the cut-out valve parts straight and they can be re-used.
(note: new full span vane not seen here as it should be made from scrap).
After the flaps were separated, the larger parts were built together. I added some weight in the nose.
Some filler and sanding is also needed, especially at the intakes, the wing roots, tail and on the underside of the belly.
The spine intakes #B24 look a bit too long, I removed 1 mm.
The detached flaps were set in place....
I made the almost full-span vanes from a piece of plastic strip and there is a gap between each vane and flap so tiny strips were set in between. You also have to split the many loose flap hinges #B34 and #B35 into two parts for the hanging flaps. It needs alignment but it does make the model more lively. The lower air brake was also drooped.
After that, the neat undercarriage was also set in place. This way, they will get the scheme lower colour in one airbrushed pass, the other gear colours to be painted later on. The doors need to be separated from the supplied combined parts, but that works fine.
The model was now airbrushed with a light grey base coat with Revell aqua 75 acrylic. Small gaps then become more visible and were repaired. The model got only installed the 30 mm ADEN central gun pod.
The model was built as per Revell kit with decals for a Royal Air Force Hawk T1A as flown by no 208 squadron at Valley, Wales in 2016. The scheme is overall black which was airbrushed with Revell Aqua 07 Schwartz acrylic. It also installed the landing gear and doors as these can easily be reached for pianting later on.
After that was done, the smaller details were painted.
The mb.10 seats in the kit look fine. Their frames were painted dark grey and the cushion/ packs olive green and harness straps brown. A small yellow-black striped ejection handle was added at the lower base of each seat.
The cockpit interior was painted medium admiral grey Revell Aqua 57. There are no complete instrument panel decals, I found a few in the spares box.
The Revell kit decals are fine except for the too dark blue roundels. Other spare RAF roundels were found in an Airfix kit #A03073A (see page 8). The model surfaces were glossy, so the decals were applied. The vertical tail decals were cut 0,1 mm smaller at the trailing edge. After decalling a gloss varnish coat was airbrushed with Johnson Future/Pledge thinned with IsoPropylAlkohol.
The gear legs were painted light aircraft grey and the smaller bits set were the pitot tube and a few hydraulic wires on the gear legs. The air brake is seen drooped as well on parked Hawks. It was painted light aircraft grey on the inside. The anti-collision lights were painted and a few missing antennas added made from card.
The kit canopy has a nicely detailed detonator cord engraved. The canopy frames were hand painted and 2 small mirrors in the front canopy frame were set and 2 angled support rods aft of the central blast screen. It was set open, showing the cockpit.
U.K.
Hawk T1A, "XX188", Royal Air Force no 208 squadron "100 years Vigilant", Valley, Wales, 2016
NOTE: it appears that "XX188" is flying 2021 with the Red Arrows....
Another Revell Hawk kit release is #04921 for a Red Arrows T1A. This is the famous Royal Air Force demonstration team.
It is the same fine kit as described above but without the armament sprues but now with a sprue for the central pod and smoke tubes.
The kit decals for a Red Arrows Hawk as flown in 2015 look fine and you get all serials. But again the RAF roundels are too dark blue (so replace these).
This kit was built in another scheme but otherwise in a similar fashion as the kit described above. The flaps were separated and set drooped with their vanes installed.
The model was primed/ airbrushed with a light grey base coat with Revell aqua 75 acrylic over the red plastic.
This model was finished for the "World Air Forces in Plastic" series as a camouflaged Hawk from Zimbabwe. This country had obtained eight Hawks mk.60 in the early eighties. A second series of five mk.60A came in the 1990s and had a more powerful Adour 861 engine and probably thus the later modifications. So this later Revell release seems to be the appropriate kit.
The light grey BSC 627 underside was airbrushed with the Harder Steenbeck Infinity airbrush using Gunze Sangyo Mr Hobby H332 acrylic paint. Then came the camouflage colours. Looking at many photos for the dark brown I choose Revell Aqua 381 "braun" and for the green Gunze H330. It needs masking with rather sharp demarcations while airbrushing the last colours.
The model got the 30 mm ADEN central gun pod and two wing tanks with pylons. The undercarriage got a few tiny hydraulic lines made from thin stretched sprue and was painted grey and tyres very dark grey/black.
Most of the decals for the Zimbabwe Hawk mk.60A “610” of no.2 Cobra squadron came from Zotz set ZTZ SP2. Looking at photos, the roundels on top of the wing were estimated to be about 10 mm in diameter and on the fuselage about 8 mm. Numbers came from an Xtradecal decalset.
The small lights and the like were painted. The cockpit canopy was to be placed closed but first the edges were hand painted. The small remaining gaps between canopy and fuselage were filled with white glue and painted in the surrounding colours when dried.
A semi-gloss varnish coat was airbrushed consisting of my usual mix of Johnson Future/ Pledge with a few drops of Tamiya Flat base X-21. This will give an even semi-gloss sheen and protect the decals. That completed the model.
ZIMBABWE
[area: 390,757 sq.km | population: 15 million | capital: Harare | GDP per capita nominal: 1,400 USD ]
Zimbabwe became independent in 1980 and was the former Rhodesia. Eight Hawks mk.60 were acquired in the early eighties. A second series of five mk.60A came in the 1990s and had a more powerful Adour 861. Hawks were involved in the Congo War from 1998 to 2003 with a few Hawks lost. European Sanctions imposed in 2000 led to parts shortage and eventually their grounding in 2011. Beginning 2022 4 Hawks were flying again in Zimbabwe, how they got the parts is unclear.
Main bases are at Harare (Manyame) and Gweru (Thornhill). For more info look at the K-8 page here....
Hawk mk.60A, no 2 squadron, Gweru Thornhill, "610 / 6Z003"
Gweru - Thornhill base in the middle of Zimbabwe of no 2 squadron
Google maps view
(c) Copyright "designer"/ All rights reserved. Your comments are welcomed by webmaster
Created this page
July 12, 2022