1/72 Scale Italeri RCAF CT-155 Hawk
My 1/72 scale model of the Royal Canadian Airforce (RCAF) CT-155 Hawk jet trainer was built using the Italeri BAE Hawk Series MK.100 kit. This kit has the necessary long nose and “new” wing compared to the older Hawk jets. A bit of modification at the tail end is required to accurately depict an RCAF Hawk. I also modified the instrument panels and their cowlings to better simulate the RCAF version.
One of the trickiest parts of this build was masking the canopy. I studied many photos from the internet to get the masking accurate. The center bar of the canopy appears to be a slightly different color (a very light green) than the surrounding white frame work.
The RCAF Hawks are painted a very glossy dark blue and kept in excellent condition. I airbrushed Humbrol #15 blue in thin wet coats to try and get an orange peel free glossy finish. Decals from Mike Grant were used and went down well. One observation about the decals is that the numbers for the tail and fuselage seem to be about 10-15% too large compared to the photos I used for reference.
The RCAF Hawks are usually seen carrying an Aim 9 dummy sidewinder, which is a CATM (captive air training munition), and an ACMI pod, for mission recreation in the debrief. I had to scratch build the ACMI pod using a sidewinder from the parts bin as a base.
Getting a realistic gloss finish in a small scale like 1/72 is always a challenge for me. I am pretty happy with how this little Hawk turned out. I have included a few photos of the RCAF Hawk with my recently completed Swiss Airforce Hawk. The Swiss Hawk is an earlier model with a different wing and nose.
Very nice. I got to examine a CT-155 up close at an airshow in Missouri a couple of years ago. What a great looking plane with a sharp scheme! You did it full justice.
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Thanks John. I agree that it is a cool scheme. My nephew flew the RCAF Hawk prior to CF-18s and reports that the Hawk was fun to fly but the cockpit could use improvement regarding pilot comfort. Fun fact: Canada doesn't actually own it's Hawks. They are leased from Bombardier who takes care of maintenance etc...
Beautifully done, Don.
Never saw a Hawk in RCAF scheme, but it looks great.
Same for the Suisse build.
Thanks John.
Nice work, on both!
Thanks Robert. Now I need to finish a 1/48th scale Airfix RCAF Hawk and I will be done with Hawks for a while, LOL.
Nice shine indeed Don, especially the reflection of the insignia and flag off the wings and stabilizer. Love the dark blue finish!
I recently found Airfix kit 3073A which gives No.419 Squadron Anniversary camo scheme which is the route i will probably go.
Thanks George. I kook forward to seeing your RCAF 419 camo scheme Hawk.
What a great model and what a beautiful scheme, Don!
The dark blue suits the Hawk, your rendition of it being very realistic, especially for the scale!
Thanks Spiros. The dark blue is a unique scheme for a training jet.. I wonder what the thinking behind it was? Most jet trainers I have seen have a high vis paint scheme of some type...
Very nice! I steer away from shiny gloss coats if I can help it... Yours came out great - well done!
Thanks Greg. I am looking forward to a project that features flat finish coat...LOL.
Really nice job, Don (@donweixl), on a couple of kits that are really quite small when complete. The paint looks perfect, and you can really see the difference between the versions when they are side-by-side. Well done.
Thanks George. My eyes are thinking it's time to concentrate on 1/48th scale, LOL.
Very neat work, Don, you've captured the look of this attractive aircraft very well, just the right amount of gloss, definitely liked.
Thanks George.