This kit was released not so long ago in 2018. After carefully checking the sprues, I went with the dry fit tests, and it seemed that the kit is not one of those modern 3D designed ones where every part fits perfectly with the others.

I have a strong feeling that I'm building a very good kit from the late 80's or mid 90's - the level of detail is quite good, but you need to fix things here and there and check everything before painting and gluing. And the green plastic adds just the right touch. Anyway, it's not that bad.

Clear parts are too thick and need to be replaced. There is no way to close a canopy and hide the out-of-scale thickness.

I've also noticed from looking at various photos that the rear canopy section is often missing on Hawks. So I may just have to cut off the windscreen and leave the rest.

The decals are also suspect and need to be checked. I think I will use some Argentinian markings for testing, and then decide what to do - go with the masks as much as possible, picking the Chinese version, or go with the Thai colourfoul prototype. If anyone has any experience with FMK decals, I would be grateful for any tips.

I've started with the cockpit. Each part needs some sanding and dry fitting tests afterwards. The main goal is to make the interior parts match the fuselage parts:

The kit has PE parts, but for some reason no seatbelts were included. I will use an old Eduard one. The seat looks disproportionate:

You sure know how to pick an interesting kit Dmitry! I will strap in and follow progress.

I think you will be able to turn this into a great model, Dmitry @starfar. Your skills will certainly overcome the challenges with this plane. The molding problems almost look like they come from pulling the plastic out of the mold too soon rather than poor molds. I have always liked the way these Hawks looked.

@fiveten @airbum @johnb
Thank you for your interest, friends! This really helps me to keep the build going.

@gblair

The molding problems almost look like they come from pulling the plastic out of the mold too soon rather than poor molds.

Yes, I think that is exactly what happened to the lower wings. Unfortunately, all the inner ribs are deformed, but you can't see it until you check with a ruler. I'm going to leave them as they are, and just fill the gap between the wings and the fairing.

@holzhamer

perhaps the plastic derives from some half completed moulds of some SEA company from the early nineties and only now emerged under this new (at least to me) brand.

This may well be true, as the kit looks like what Hasegawa did with their old kits - reworking, adding recessed panel lines, etc. New 3D designed kits don't look like that, especially when you look at the inner surfaces.

Decal update. I managed to apply the instrument panel decal to the plastic part using Microscale's Set and Sol. I tried everything I have like Mr. Mark Setter (Neo), Mark Fit (strong), but only Set/Sol did the job. These decals are in the classic quality of old Academy and Tamiya armour plates.

The interior was painted with Vallejo acrylic aluminium paint, and small details with a brush using Vallejo and AK paints. Next would be a gloss coat and washes.

Dmitry, looking great so far, and really good work on the cockpit.

I used the kit decals on the IP of my FMK F/A-20, and it performed the same as the IP decal in your picture above. It was resilient as heck and they needed repeated applications of Micro-sol and a heat gun to get them conform. Beyond that, I only used the kit decals for the weapons' stripes, and they too required heat to get proper conformance from. All said, the IP and side console decals conformed/covered the raised details nicely, and looked great in the end.

I was not aware of this kit, and I'm interested to see how it ultimately builds up. Also looking forward to seeing what proper treatment you give it. 🙂

Great work on the cockpit, Dmitry @starfar

Thank you for your comments, mates! The build is going on.

@pb_legend Andrew, thanks for the tip! What kind of a heat gun are you using? Never did this before and now I'm interested.

@tcinla Yellow wings! Nicely done, Tom! Some day I will do one of these.

Just want to put the whole process with the cockpit. Base:

Painting:

After the washes:

I thought about how to assemble the cockpit to fit the fuselage. And I took four main cockpit parts and put them into the fuselage without glue, checked everything and glued them in place with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement.

Progressing nicely, Dmitry @starfar