1/72 Italeri Swiss Airforce Hawk MK 66
My original plan was to build this kit to depict a Red Arrows aircraft. Somehow I lost the plot and ended up using the kit decals depicting a Swiss Airforce aircraft. I liked the red and white paint scheme set off with the Swiss cross markings. Only later did I realize that the Swiss scheme was essentially the same as the RAF training scheme with different roundels.
The kit went together nicely with little drama. The only modifications were improving the heads up display area and adding 2 larger wing fences that were not included in the kit. I airbrushed Tamiya white lacquer primer overall. I masked off the white areas with Tamiya tape for the edges and cheap painters tape for the larger areas. I sprayed the wings with Humbrol enamel 127 gray. More masking and then I airbrushed Humbrol #19 red. I noticed later that the line between the red and the white wasn't quite right so I re-masked the nose area and resprayed the red to fix the problem. I also masked off the black anti glare panel on the nose and airbrushed it Humbrol flat black.
The white primer is essentially a flat finish so I polished it with a rag to get a semi gloss finish. The kit decals went on quite well using a bit of Microscale Micro Sol, although one tail decal bubbled for some mysterious reason.
My only complaint regarding this kit is that the canopy is a bit clunky. The detonation wires are a bit overscale. Not a deal breaker but still there is room for improvement. Overall a nice little inexpensive kit.
For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to build 3 Hawks at once. I am also building a 1/72 Italeri RCAF Hawk and a 1/48 Airfix RCAF Hawk. I am struggling a bit with the deep blue gloss finishes with these 2 models at the moment. It is my experience that dark gloss finishes on small jet aircraft are very unforgiving, compared to matt finishes, which can hide many flaws.
Very nice Don!
Your 1/72 Italeri Swiss Hawk could be mistaken for the 1/48 Tamiya Swiss Hawk.
Love the glossy red finish.
Nice photos too, especially the tarmac photo - looks real.
Thanks George. I am pleased how this little jet photographed. Some models are harder than others to make look realistic in a photo.
Beautiful Don.
Your build clearly shows the elegancy of this aircraft.
Thanks John. The early Hawk versions look more balanced then the more recent long nosed versions, in my opinion. I especially noticed this when photographing both types side by side.
Beautiful looking build, nice color scheme!
Thanks Robert.
Very cool and colorful looking build. Red's a tough color to work with; you pulled it off perfectly. Well-done throughout.
Thanks Bob.
Looks good Don, well done.
Thanks Allan.
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
Sharp and elegant looking build Don !
No matter what national markings are used, the Hawk is one beautiful design.
Very good work on the paint as well as the scheme, nice glossy finish.
The pictures speak well of the model, nicely taken, thank you for sharing them.
Thanks DE4EVER!
That's an amazing build, Don.
indeed, fools the scale!
Thank you for the support Spiros!
The Hawk is most certainly a good looking design, and your Swiss livery really shows it off to advantage, very neat work, definitely liked.
George I appreciate you taking the time to share your kind words.
That's a sharp build, and looks fantastic in those tarmac photos! Well done.
Thanks Greg. I snapped that tarmac photo deplaning in Seattle a few years ago when coming back from Hawaii. I wish I had a better variety of tarmac photos to use in my model photos but I don't get to real airports very often these days!
Exceptional work, Don (@donweixl), especially in 1/72.
Thanks George. I see that you are also a model railroader. I too am interested in scale modelling as well as model trains and even slot cars.