1/48 French Hawk 75.
This is the tried and true Hobbycraft kit. All in all, it's not a bad model when you consider that it's pushing 30 years old. The Hobbycraft Twin Wasp ( my French Hawk and P-36s) versions are generally ok, the Cyclone powered variants are not because their cowlings are misshapen. Hobbycraft' s attempt to kit both versions with minimal sprue changes does result in a small difficulty with the Twin Wasp versions too. The engine sits too deep in the cowling as designed. I moved it forward about an 1/8 of an inch and it looks much better. The cockpit sits weird inside the fuselage too, but it's not super noticeable when finished. I painted the model with 30 year old Aeromaster enamels for the camo colors and Humbrol for everything else. Decals were from AML and worked adequately with really hot water. Hobbycraft does provide a ring and bead sight that I decided not to use as its overscale. This is another kit that I'll eventually source some PE sights for. I got the bug to finally build this after seeing some nice examples built lately. I'm glad I did, it deserved to be built.
John, nice job on your H-75 build. The engine position correction looks great, it gives it a correct overall look to the build. Your H-75 looks great.
Thanks, Bob!
Excellent work John! I really like the different and colorful camouflage patterns of WW2 French aircraft. A challenge to paint and a great reward for the effort. Overall a nice diversion from your typical American, British or German WW2 airplane.
Thanks, Jim! The colors are very pleasing. Almost too nice to be a warplane.
This looks really nice; you have really rescued that old kit.
I just did the same thing with a Hasegawa Fw-190A-5. It looks really nice, so long as I don't put it within a foot of an Eduard Wurger. For what they are, for when they were created, they're great, and they make into nice models.
Thanks, Tom! Many of these older, but not ancient kits are still viable.
Nice Hawk John! The built HC kit looks great under that camo. Well done getting this knocked out! Well done on the quarter windows too, they look great.
Thanks, Andrew!
Beautiful Hawk, John @j-healy
The correction of the engine placement turned out very well.
I love how the camouflage looks on these Hawks.
Well done.
Thanks, John!
Amazing job on the now old and with a few issues Hobbycraft kit, John!
Great mod on the engine placement.
Love the scheme, which you rendered beautifully!
Thanks, Spiros!
Great build, John (@j-healy).
I bought this kit a couple of years ago on ebay and then bought the AML decals to do a French aircraft like yours.
I've read about the engine mount before but nothing about the cockpit fit.
The latter shouldn't bother me though, because my kit came with a Legend P-36A resin cockpit set - although that will have its own challenges, no doubt.
That's a very nice camouflage job, too - I probably still have some Aeromaster acrylic French colours that I used on a D.520 (C 2005) somewhere...
Your build is an inspiration.
Liked!
FYI, the rudder pedals for the Legend Cockpit don't fit. They are actually too big for the cockpit.
Thanks, Michael! Enjoy your Hawk.
Very nice build. It's one of HC's better kits all things considered.
Thanks, Dan! Yes it is a nice kit still. I’d really have no problem building another. I built the P-36 release when it came out. That model is a little tired looking and needs replacement.
Very impressive camo pattern! Great build~!
Thanks, Lis! A little freehand fun with the Paasche Talon.
Yep - I do my best to avoid Hobbycraft kits! The Hawk looks fantastic - love the scheme, and your paintwork is excellent on this. Well done!
Thanks, Greg! I built a ton of HC kits in the 90s. Some better then others, all unique. This one, the T-33/F-94, P-26, I-16, Sea Fury are all still decent models. The 109 series is pretty nice for its age as well. Others weren’t so good.
Well done John, especially like the job you did with the camo. Sharp.
Thanks, Tom. It’s a fun scheme to paint.
Nice one John. I really like the Hawks in French colors.
Thanks, Dale. I agree. French colors are pleasing to the eye.
Good looking Hawk, John. Those French colors are indeed pleasing.
Unbelievably I've just found this same kit in my stash - it was in a Tamiya Brewster Buffalo box for some odd reason. Still sealed, decals intact just begging to be built.
So I will.
Won't use the same AML sheet as you, John, they have a second sheet with what looks like 'Lafayette' markings - I'll have to double check. Looks like a very easy and basic build and I always enjoy the easy ones !
Best from NZ.