Hobbyboss 1:48 hawk, 63SQN RAF Chivenor

[jonf45]

Hi,

so my first attempt at a 1:48 scale plane, and i thought id have a go at a Hawk T.1 from my old local, RAF Chivenor, North Devon.

I picked up this Hobbyboss kit relatively cheaply, which looking back on it im really glad it was.....

First off is the removal of all the extra wing fences hb insist on, which took a lot of sanding!!!

As this was a circa 1984 build, i grabbed some Flightpath/David Parkin CBLS-100s as thats what they used to carry more often than not, before being fitted to T.1A standard.

I decided to have a go with the hataka red line "Cold war" set. they grey went on fine but the green seemed either too thick or too fine. i also discovered that they only like to be mixed with hataka thinner, anything else seems to cause issues!!!!

so, airbrushed on, then onto gloss coat. I used Mr hobby as id used this with other brands of paint with no issue, but with the hataka it just never set properly and even after a fortnight was still sticky. so, a day was spent stripping all the paint off, and eventually starting again with the tried and tested mr color paints airbushed on. No issues this time!!

Decals were from Xtradecals (the hb ones are not good, and quite unrealistic) and i chose XX254 as i remember seeing it as a kid at my first Chivenor airshow back in 1984

I assumed that was the end of the problems, but on removing the canopy masking, it had fogged up, no idea why or what had caused it, so another restoration job was needed, toothpaste being the best at removing it, and even then not fully, so the canopies look awful , I may try and pick a spare up if i can find one.......

Anyway, after all that, im not sure if it was worth the effort, but hey ho!!!

Hobbyboss 1-48 Hawk T.1 XX254-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr

Hobbyboss 1-48 Hawk T.1 XX254-6 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr

Hobbyboss 1-48 Hawk T.1 XX254-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr

Hobbyboss 1-48 Hawk T.1 XX254-4 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr

Hobbyboss 1-48 Hawk T.1 XX254-5 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr

Hobbyboss 1-48 Hawk T.1 XX254-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr

Hobbyboss 1-48 Hawk T.1 XX254 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr

Hobbyboss 1-48 Hawk T.1 XX254-7 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr

Thanks for looking

Jon

[Kevin Brewer]

Jon

Your model looks far, far better than anything I could produce, even on my best day. Well done!

[paddyboy]

Hi Jon

Your efforts look well worthwhile to me

Well done you

Patrick

[stickshaker]

Very nice.

The CBLS were carried by the T1As - it is just that they could also carry sidewinders, but CBLS were still very much in use on the range. Time-wise, those are early ejection seat head boxes - all changed to the narrower head boxes in the mid-late 80s, so the dates are good.

BTW, I was also at the 1984 show - as a student on the course! And I was on 63 Sqn, so thanks for the post.

[jonf45]

Thank you for your comments, glad I persisted with it now!!
Jon

[cj9ru]

Despite your troubles that has turned out very well indeed. The old camo looked great on the Hawks


Chris

[Mortz]

Jon,
I was an armourer on 63 Sqn from 1988-94. When I arrived we were in transition from ‘lizard’ to AD grey (with XX282 in dark grey), but I can assure you your model is beautifully accurate. If memory serves me correctly we had those head boxes till maybe 1990? Gun Pod and CBLS was the most common fit and looks best with this colour scheme.
I was fortunate to get a lot of back seat flights and actually flew to Coningsby in her once.

[goodwind]

That’s a great build. Could you share what airbrush set up you use or what is a good set for a beginner please? Thanks

[jonf45]

Sorry for the late replies !!

Jon,
I was an armourer on 63 Sqn from 1988-94. When I arrived we were in transition from ‘lizard’ to AD grey (with XX282 in dark grey), but I can assure you your model is beautifully accurate. If memory serves me correctly we had those head boxes till maybe 1990? Gun Pod and CBLS was the most common fit and looks best with this colour scheme.
I was fortunate to get a lot of back seat flights and actually flew to Coningsby in her once.

Thanks, that's great to hear from someone who worked on them. Bet that was a fun ride!! I always remember the guys I met from Chivenor always said it was their favourite posting, hence the "RAF Butlins" nickname!!

That’s a great build. Could you share what airbrush set up you use or what is a good set for a beginner please? Thanks

Thank you. I've got a very basic set up,I use an iwata neo airbrush and a bog standard compressor(off ebay or amazon, which has lasted 10 years incredibly!). I tend to use mr color/mr hobby stuff (acrylic paints) as I seem to get a better mix with them over other paints. I am looking at getting an extraction fan/workbase set up for when I move it all in from the garage!
Cheers
Jon