DONE +++ Hawker Sea Hawk T20 trainer (a.k.a. 'The Puffin')

[Dizzyfugu]

LOL, the Panther night fighter as a side-by-side two seater was another idea I had at the same time, but found the Strikemaster nose to look rather radar-less, so that the Sea Venom nose would certainly be the better option. On the other hand, the Sea Venom nose on the Sea Hawk could make a great night fighter variant, e. g. for Germany, since the Marineflieger variant had a radar pod under the wing?

Besides, yesterday saw, beyond the wash work, also panel shading with white and FS36118, as well as some detail painting (antenna blades, hook, landing gear). This morning I also put the cockpit together - the dashboard received a decal with instruments (from an Airfix Seaking, fits well into the space), the twin seats were finished and mounted, and as a small eye catcher I placed a bright red fire extinguisher between the seat on the rear bulkhead. Looks very good, better than the OOB offering.

I guess that decalling will start this evening, I am already gathering material from various sources.

[Dizzyfugu]

Updates from yesterday's progress...


1:72 Hawker Seahawk T 20 trainer; 1958 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Hawker Seahawk T 20 trainer; 1958 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Hawker Seahawk T 20 trainer; 1958 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


...and live impressions from today (decals):


1:72 Hawker Seahawk T 20 trainer; 1958 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Hawker Seahawk T 20 trainer; 1958 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

This morning the Puffin stood on its three legs for the first time. Some detail work to do, but then the final coat of varnish will follow today.

[NARSES2]

Those dayglow panels totally transform it 

[Dizzyfugu]

I think so, too. I found it to be a nice addition, totally breaking up the dark grey/white livery. Probably very unlikely in real life (an all silver machine with dayglo markings would IMHO be more plausible), but it looks so anachronistic and cool that I went with the idea and added stripes wherever possible. 

[PR19_Kit]

Probably very unlikely in real life (an all silver machine with dayglo markings would IMHO be more plausible), but it looks so anachronistic and cool that I went with the idea and added stripes wherever possible. 

Oh, I don't know. The FAA were pretty prone to doing their own thing at Squadron level back then.

[zenrat]

Is that Hasegawa dayglo decal sheet?

[Dizzyfugu]

It's from TL Modellbau - in this case stripes in various widths, but there's also a continual sheet with the stuff available. Very convenient and effective.

[zenrat]

Thanks.  It looks pretty good.  I notice you have avoided putting it across changes in colour.  Is it opaque enough to cope with that?

[Dizzyfugu]

I am clever, eh? 

Well, you see the difference between the white and dark grey underground - with the light base it is considerably brighter. On the wings, where the decals partly overlap, I tried to cover the differences in opacity with a little paint. The stuff is not 100% opaque, but the differences are not really obvious in the pictures, due to the direct light I used.

The dayglo decals from TL Modellbau are also a bit thicker than the normal stuff, probably due to the bigger pigments for the printing film. The carrier film itself is very thin and flexible, though.

[PR19_Kit]

It might be possible to 'stabilise' the dayglo colours by overlaying them on similarly sized pieces of white decal.

I think I did that on an RW model a zillion years ago when the two shades looked much too different.

[Dizzyfugu]

That would be easily feasible, since TL Modellbau offers the same stripe format in different colors, including white and the dayglo stuff I used. But it would make the film thicker, I am not certain if this is actually a good trade?

BTW: varnish (a mix of matt and semi-gloss, for a sheen finish) has been applied this evening and I am doing finishing touches, e. g. mounting main landing gear covers and drop tanks. The kit itself is completed now, but the beauty pics are still to come. Background story has already been cooked up. 

[PR19_Kit]

But it would make the film thicker, I am not certain if this is actually a good trade?

Yes, that's always an issue with the two layer approach. My own printed decals suffer from the same problem when they need a white underlayer too, but sometimes it's the only way to do it.

I find a hefty layer of varnish tends to smooth out the bumps....... 

[TheChronicOne]

 

Can't wait!! 

[zenrat]

Thanks for the decal info Dizz.