Italeri 1/72 BAe Hawk Mk.100 Series

ITALERI 1:72 BAe HAWK MK.100 SERIES

Reviewer: Derrick Winters (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 25 October 2001

Aircraft:
The BAe Hawk Model 127 has been selected by the RAAF as their F/A-18 Hornet Lead-in Fighter/Trainer with an updated cockpit avionics system to reflect as close to the F/A-18 cockpit environment as possible. The aircraft is based on the updated Hawk Series 100 with wingtip missile mounts and 130 gallon drop tanks carried on underwing pylons.

The Kit:
The kit is effectively a recycle of the generic BAe Hawk mould that Italeri have produced for some time and have a number of variants released from - this one of course representing the Series 100. The sprues have been updated with a new fuselage, wing fences, sidewinder mounts for the wingtips and rear fuselage strakes. As with most of the other Hawk kits the sprues float around loosely in the box and are coloured in a light grey plastic of which there are about 75 parts. Three clear pieces make up the canopy and these are nicely done. The mouldings reflect their previous Hawk efforts with finely engraved panel lines and quite reasonable surface detail.

Instructions:
These are in the standard Italeri offering with Modelmaster paint call outs for both individual and overall colour scheme plus FS numbers where known - all identified by a letter corresponding in the assembly steps. A brief history and sprue diagram are also provided on the front pages and the assembly steps are easy to follow with each headed with what numbered parts are needed for that particular step. On the back are the BAe Demonstrator markings and decal placement directions.

Construction:
The cockpit is quite well detailed with tub, instrument panels, side panels, seats and sticks for both "pilots". The tub sits inside the fuselage halves and these affix together very well and can trap the exhaust section (or add later). The interior was painted FS36231 with black instrument panels and gauges picked out with aluminium dry brush techniques. However, one must point out that the cockpit layout is completely wrong - this version of the Hawk is a Lead-In-Fighter (LIF) trainer for RAAF F/A-18 pilots, so the avionics and ergonomics of the real aircraft of course have been set out to be as close to a Hornet cockpit as possible. This kit provides you with a generic Hawk cockpit (perhaps one could replace it with an actual Hornet one??!!) - so best to have a closed cockpit!

Before affixing the fuselage halves together one's attention is drawn to the brake-chute housing at the rear of the aircraft underneath the rudder. This is not actually part of the RAAF 127 and needs to be removed with the tailfin tapering down into the rear exhaust. Correction of this area was achieved by cutting out the chute with razor saw and hobby knife. Then tapering down through a mixture of using filler and plasticard and a lot of sanding to shape! The halves go together well and the seam lines were scraped off with the hobby knife sanded smooth afterward.

Sub assembly of the wings proved to reveal no problems but I raised my eyebrows when I came up to the wing fences (parts 54/55). There are four fences supplied in the kit for each wing, however, the real aircraft has only two fences per wing. The small fence placed near the wing tip should be slightly larger, and the larger ones placed along the wing should be slightly smaller! Of these last three, only the fence that appears closest to the wing tip should be added and it is best to match it up against reference photos. I also installed the wing-tip launchers which slide into place but proved to be a little problematic as far as a decent fit was concerned. I also painted and added the sidewinders at this point.

The main wing sub assembly was added to the fuselage resulting in a small gap at the roots that was filled with putty and sanded smooth. The tailplanes also fitted well as did the other major assembly components. All but the intakes, which proved to be a bit of a problematic fit when it came to blending it into the fuselage/wing front section. Here it was a matter of affixing it and accepting a small gap: filling that, then sanding everything to blend smoothly into the contours of the aircraft. The stores can be added on but the drop tanks provided in the kit are wrong and best replaced or left off. These represent more of a cone 100-gallon drop tank than the 130-gallon tanks which are more rounded and included on the aircraft - you can tell the difference just by looking at the boxart which shows the correct drop tanks depicted!

The undercarriage goes together well and can be added into the wheel bays that have a touch of detail in them, and these were painted white. Then the canopy was added, which also was a tight fit and required a bit of care and attention in getting it on correctly.

Versions & Decals:
There are decals and markings for two versions provided; firstly, a BAe demonstrator in two-tone green uppersurface over light grey camouflage scheme (as depicted on boxart) featuring UK Roundels, Company insignia, UK serial and a "Hawk 100" logo on the nose. I read somewhere else that these markings were way too large (yes on the INBOX review of this kit - Ed) and the scheme is depicted wrong, but I won't comment too much about this because I am more interested in the RAAF version.

Speaking of which, this is the second example the kit provides for and well, I can only assume that the decals and boxart are for the test aircraft flown in the UK - because they are not accurate for current RAAF 76/79 Squadron examples. The serial provided is civilian and the fin flashes etc are UK. The RAAF roundels are a dark grey - almost black - colour and this is way too dark for current Squadron examples as well as the test aircraft version. The colouring of the external scheme is also incorrect, the kit says FS38231 for Dark Gull Grey when it should in fact be FS36237 - however FS36375 for Light Gull Grey is correct. Another trap for young players (although it may have been depicted on the test aircraft) is that the RAAF kangaroo roundels on the upper wing surfaces aim toward the front of the aircraft with their feet closest to the fuselage (that is, looking at the top view exactly as shown on the box-bottom image below, the kangaroo roundel should look the right way up on the starboard wing, and upside down on the port wing to your eyes - Ed).

If you want to depict an actual Squadron example then you currently have two choices in the way of aftermarket decal sheets, Aussie Decals and Hawkeye Models (Model Alliance) both have sheets you can use, the latter in particular featuring very accurate markings for either a 76 or 79 Squadron example which are sold separately. As far as reference material is concerned I found some good photos on the Net, which I provide a link for at the end of the review below, and also the Hawk 127 was reviewed in Air Forces Monthly Magazine, which is one of the few mags I subscribe to! The May 2001 issue has some photos of the RAAF Hawk 127 LIF and will prove invaluable while undertaking this project.

RAAF Markings stated as (from left to right)
FS36237 Dark Gull Grey; FS36375 Light Gull Grey and GunMetal

Accuracy:
Given the kit was released seemingly within minutes of the aircraft announced to enter service with the RAAF as well as the test aircraft being flown, there were bound to be a few glaring inaccuracies - part of an Italeri trait I'm afraid!! The Model 127 Hawk is essentially a version made for the RAAF and thus has a few differences with the other 100 series versions. The 100-gallon tank provided in the kit should in fact be slightly larger to represent the 130-gallon tanks carried by the type and the exhaust section is slightly smaller than what it should be. The brake housing should be removed, the inner pair of the three wing fences closest to the wing root left off (and all wing fences should are not accurately molded anyway!) and of course a totally incorrect cockpit layout for the LIF version.

The colour scheme depicted on the bottom of the box is incorrect (enough Internet and book information is now available to show correct info) as are the decals supplied with the kit and the latter should be replaced - I suspect that this was another "haste case" for Italeri in getting quick bucks for a subject that would prove popular at the expense of some accuracy - not that this is too bad a thing, they have obviously taken a punt on what the markings would be and tried to give the modeller an example to get their teeth into very quickly and they should be commended for this. However, a follow up kit with new decals and markings would make their kit and reputation much better!

As an addendum to my review I should also point out that Hawkeye Models (in Australia) apparently now sell a conversion kit with correct tail fin section and drop tanks amongst a couple of other extra bits which will assist in the correction of the anomalies mentioned above.

Overall:
If you have ever built an Italeri Hawk (including those recently reboxed by Revell) then you will already know how this kit will go together, which is quite straight forward with very few concerns to worry about other than those pointed out in the construction notes above. I won't comment about the BAe Demonstrator version other than what I stated above but the RAAF example is disappointing as far as decals and colour scheme is concerned, as well as the odd inaccuracies as pointed out, most notably the brake chute housing and wing fences. If you really want this kit to do your collection justice then you need to apply the corrections as needed and invest in the aftermarket products to enhance the kit - which will basically double your investment since the kit itself is only about $10AUD. But... having regard to this the kit is well suited to all modelling skills straight out of the box, and is still highly recommended.

Photos on the Internet:
For some photos and reference pictures on the colour scheme of the BAe Hawk in RAAF colours, there is a good article and a series of static 76 & 79 Squadron photographs by clicking on the following link
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~dmottram/hawkdm_4.html

Related INBOX Reviews:-

web hosting • domain names
web design • online games