AIRFIX 1:48 BAE HAWK "RED ARROWS"

 

Reviewer: John Armstrong (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:  13 January 2008

Aircraft History:

The Hawk (manufactured by the then Hawker Siddley) entered RAF service in 1974 as an advanced trainer. Over the years, this aircraft has proven to be a great success. Commercially, it has generated orders all over the world, including the US Navy. So much so that it is dubbed ‘The World’s Favourite Trainer’ by its advocates.

In military terms, the makers have exploited the potential of the Hawk as a multi role fighter. This has seen the development of the twin-seat Hawk 100 series, and the single-seat Hawk 200. It is also worth pointing out that the in the 1980s the RAF used the Hawk as a point defence aircraft as part of a mixed fighter force with their Tornado F3s.

Perhaps most famously of all the Hawk has been the mount of the RAF Aerobatic display team, the Red Arrows. The aircraft has thus been seen by huge numbers of people all around the world.

The Kit:

When Airfix released their 1/48 Hawk kits in 2003, many welcomed their appearance. However, over the years the kit has proved to be controversial. The controversy has not so much centred on issues of accuracy. Rather some have pointed to cockpit detail and even the type of plastic used for the moulding as problem areas?

How justified are the concerns? What assessment can be made of this kit?

Upon opening the box, the kit is  moulded in a standard Airfix light grey plastic. There is a slight roughness to the feel of the plastic. This is (apparently) due to the spark-erosion process used to make the moulds.  Whilst this might appear to be a problem, I found that the roughness was negated after a couple of coats of primer.

The parts feature finely engraved panel lines, and the kit offers good detail in the wheel wells. There was no flash.

Construction:

Looking at the cockpit and sidewalls, it is fair to say that by modern standards things are a little bare. So the modeler is left with two choices. Either one can seek out the after market suppliers to spice things up a bit; or one could install the two nicely moulded pilots that Airfix supply for the kit. I chose the latter option.

I would say here that once the pilots are in place and the canopy is closed, then there isn’t much else that can be seen.

Upon assembly, the fit of the main parts proved to be quite good. After cleaning up the seams, I used filler for the top of the nose section, and for part of the starboard wing root join. The rest of the build was trouble free. The only thing I had to remember was to drill out the holes for a wing pylon (for the sidewinder missiles supplied in the kit) and for the centerline 30mm Aden Canon.

Painting:

After priming with a couple of coats of Halfords Grey Primer, I used Humbrol’s new acrylic paints for the main colours. These were:

These were diluted 15-20% with acrylic thinners and sprayed on using a Revell Starter Class airbrush.

The tail fin was then hand painted using Xtracrylics Night Black; and the wheel wells hand painted using H166. The paintwork was then sealed in with a coat of Johnson’s Future/Klear.

Decals:

The kit contains decals for a Red Arrows machine and a Finnish Air Force type. However, I declined to use these and instead tried out Hannant’s Xtradecal sheet for the Hawk in RAF Service (48-047). From the options there, I chose a Hawk T1A XX289 from 63 Sqn of RAF Chivenor in 1991-2.

The Xtradecals sheet was printed in register with good colour density. I found that decals needed treating with care in transferring them to the model as they could easily be damaged by rough treatment. The decals settled down well on the Future/Klear surface.

Finally, everything was sealed in with a coat of Humbrol Satin Modelcote

Overall Recommendation:

As I have said, this kit has generated some controversy since its release. Having built it, I would say that such shortcomings as there are can be overcome without too much effort. All in all, I would say this is a good kit that builds up with relative ease into quite an impressive representation. It is, I would say, a worthy addition to the Airfix range.

Together with the Xtradecal sheet, this makes a very worthwhile addition to any modern day RAF collection. I commend this kit to anyone who feels inclined to build it.


© John Armstrong 2008

 

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