Hawker Sea Hawk
Two Releases
FB.3/FG.6/FGA.50
and Mk.101 (Export Version)

Classic Airframes
 

Reviewed by Brett Green

I have always liked the Hawker Sea Hawk. Indeed, there is a Falcon vacform 1/48 scale kit in my collection awaiting construction. This is a typically nice Falcon vacform kit, but now it looks like it will never be built.

Thanks to Classic Airframes.

Classic Airframes continues its frenetic release schedule with an all-new family of 1/48 scale multi-media Sea Hawks. Two different kits have been released simultaneously - an FB.3/FG.6/FGA.50 and the Mk.101 (Export Version). The kits are identical except for the rear fuselage sprue and the decal sheet.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

			Sea Hawk FB.3/FGA.6/FGA.50 rear fuselage	Sea Hawk Mk.101 rear fuselage

Classic Airframes' new 1/48 scale Sea Hawks comrpise 42 parts in grey styrene, 1 part in clear styrene, 21 resin parts, a photo-etched fret and a sheet of printed clear acetate.

The plastic parts are up to the high standard noted in other recent Classic Airframes releases. The surface is smooth, surface detail is crisply engraved and attachment points are fine. Trailing edges are quite thin too. Some of the parts, including the wing halves, have raised ejector pin marks on the inner surfaces that will need to be cut off and sanded smooth before assembly. The cannon ports on the lower forward fuselage are understated and will benefit from being deepened.

The focus of resin parts is usually the cockpit tub but this time it is the big wheel well insert. This large resin part straddles both wheel wells and is impressively detailed. All the resin parts are well formed with only one bubble visible on my sample (on the rim of one of the main wheels). Resin parts are used in a unique approach to the intakes. The installation of the big wheel well part precludes deep ducting, so a resin part is installed to blank off the inside of each intake. The curved blanking part sits behind three photo-etched splitter plates. An impression of depth behind the narrow opening will be possible with careful painting. I will probably blend the intake colour into a darker shade on the curved rear face of the intake when I build mine.

The cockpit is a mixture of resin and photo-etched parts. The tub and main seat are resin, as is the gunsight and the control column. Photo-etched parts are supplied for the ejector handle, harness and footrail.

The outer wing panels are separate parts, with resin and photo-etched parts supplied for a wing fold mechanism.

Two drop tanks and four wing pylons are also supplied. 60lb rockets were fitted to Sea Hawks during the Suez Crisis. These might be scavenged from another kit (eg, an Airfix Mosquito) or purchased as an after-market item.

The canopy is the only clear part. It is nice and clear but the windscreen and sliding section are moulded as a single part. A razor saw and steady nerves will be required if the canopy is to be displayed open.

Kit no. 465 contains markings for three Fleet Air Arm and one Dutch Sea Hawk. One of the FAA options includes the colourful black and yellow Suez campaign stripes as decals. Kit no 490 has markings for one German and one Indian Sea Hawk Mk.101.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Kit no. 465 decals	Kit no. 490 decals. Photoetch is common to both kits.	Classic Airframes kit no. 490 box top, Sea Hawk Mk.101

These 1/48 scale Sea Hawks continue Classic Airframes' tradition of creating well-detailed, attractive models of subjects not previously available in injection moulded form.

The lack of locating pins will call for extra care and dry-fitting; and a little more cleanup than average might be required; but the Sea Hawk kits should be well within the capabilities of most modellers who have already built a mixed media kit..

Classic Airframes' 1/48 scale Sea Hawks look like a good prospect for a modeller who feels ready to tackle something a bit more challenging than a standard Tamiya or Hasegawa offering.

Highly Recommended to experienced modellers.

Thanks to David at Hannants for the review sample.
 

Review and Images Copyright © 2004 by Brett Green
Page Created 01 July, 2004
Last updated 01 July, 2004

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