This
is my first submission to ARC and this is my favourite model. It
represents the most important jet trainer in service with US NAVY and USMC.
Substantially, it may be considered as a “British” Hawk with the exception
of landing gear, airbrakes and arresting hook, that are adapted for an aircraft
carrier-based capability. The ejection seats are the same of F/A 18 and F-14D.
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images below to see larger images
The
starting point of my work was to find good photos of this aircraft and I found
them in the "Walkarouds" section of this site. There were no
aftermarket items for this kit
, so a lot of effort was made to improve the good Italeri kit, especially on
landing gear and cockpit, where I scratchbuilt many details according to the
real one. Only resin seats were
available, being the same of other well-known 1/72 model aircrafts. Some
little decals were printed with my low-cost printer using a standard clear
sheet.
The
paint scheme for this trainer is rather simple, with
typical gloss white and red. I used Model Master gloss white as
"primer"; then the overall surface was airbrushed with Tamiya
flat white. For the red colour I used a first base of
MM fluorescent red covered with Lifecolor LC 56 gloss red, so
the final nuance was slightly brighter, but not fluorescent. A coat of Tamiya
clear was applied before setting the decals.
Weathering was reached with pastels and black oil paint thinned with
turpentine. A final semigloss coat by a mixture of thinned Tamiya clear with a
drop of flat base completed my job.
It’s
a very nice kit , with recessed panels lines, good decals and reasonable
interiors. I hope you will appreciate it.
Dario
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image below to see larger image
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