US Naval Ordnance Test Station F12-W SeaHawk, 1958

[AeroplaneDriver]

So here is my (first) entry...Trumpeter's Hawker Sea Hawk.  After toying with going down a sci-fi path with this one I decided to stick with my original plan and jump into this GB. 



The plan...as of right now it will be a USN machine.  Following a string of structural failures during carrier landings in 1953 the USN grounded the Banshee fleet and were desperate for a stopgap aircraft as the Douglas A4D Skyhawk was ramping up production. To fill the gap the US signed a contract in 1954 with Hawker for 128 Sea Hawks.  More details of the Sea Hawk's brief service with the USN will accompany the final entry. 

The current plan is for this to be a Sea Hawk in service at the beginning of the transition to the USN's Gull Gray over White paint scheme.  Still undecided on whether it will be a squadron aircraft or a China Lake test bird.  Standby for more on that...

Anyhoo...as always construction starts with the cockpit.  It's pretty basic, but the printed film/PE instrument panel is nice.  The seat however is abyssmal...

 

Would you believe it took 9 pieces to bring together this effort??  And that's not including the firing handle and PE harness.  I got this far and decided to order a USN Mk.4 resin seat, so that will likely go in towards the end. 

Overall it's not a BAD kit, but after a Tamiya Mustang it definitely has it's weaknesses.  Still, it's a good canvas for some whiffing! 

Should have the fuselage together tomorrow. 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Between last night and tonight I've made decent progress on this build.  I have to say it's not the best kit ever.  For its age and price I'd expect better fit.  It's not terrible, not gobs of putty or rounds of PSR, but my favorite phase of a build is painting, decaling, and weathering, so any fit issues that delay that phase just annoys me.  The forward-aft fuselage join was the one that took the most time, but with a lot of sanding and dry fitting I managed to get it reasonable.

I had planned on it being with the wings extended, but the fit of the outer ing panels is going to be a real challenge in unfolded position so I think it will be built with wings folded.  SWMBO is absolutely fascinated with folding wing airplanes, so any models I build with folded wings get her thumbs up and get to be displayed in the living room.  (At Oshkosh a few summers ago she was absolutely captivated watching a Skyraider's wings unfold for takeoff and then fold back again after it landed.)

Stopping point for tonight is Tamiya white primer coat on and drying.  Now the really hard part...deciding on the final scheme...USN Blue, Gull Gray over White as a Squadron bird, Gull Gray over white with some splashes of orange as a China Lake test aircraft, of finally leave it all white and do the China Lake orange nose, tail, and wings?  I'm thinking if it ends up a China Lake aircraft it might be carrying a prototype Bullpup round...

Anyoo...progress so far...



Upper-lower join took a little cleanup. Managed to avoid filler other than a little streak of White Out (Typex).  After the primer coat the lefts side needs just a tad more attention. 



Tail on.



This is a pet peeve that someone brought up in the "What Shouldn't Be Found In Modern Kits" thread in General...gear doors that don't fit in the closed position.  I'm glad this isn't an inflight build!  I do like using gear doors to mask the gear bays though.  The gear bay was painted and weathered before assembly so I wanted to mask it.  Gear doors are held on with balls of blu-tac in the bay and one tiny dab of CA. 



Airbrush was out to paint the canopy frame black before priming so I decided on a bout of pre-shading. 



Now to decide where it goes from here.... 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Some good progress last night and today, especially for a pretty day with a good bit of time outside. 

I tossed the coin and decided on a China Lake test aircraft.  My reasoning being the Sea Hawk having a very limited front line service life in the USN, but it's handling characteristics made it a good platform for weapons testing, so it served with the Naval Ordnance Test Center until well into the 1960s.

The progress so far...

[Old Wombat]

 

[AeroplaneDriver]

She's done...US Naval Ordnance Test Center Hawker F12W Se Hawk, 1958 ASM-N-7 Bullup missile trials aircraft. 

Following a series of catastrophic structural failures during carrier landings the US grounded the F2H Banshee fleet in early 1954.  By this point the Banshee was soldiering on as a stopgap until more capable fighters such as the Cougar, Skyray, Skyhawk were brought into the fleet.  But even as a stopgap fighter the sudden loss left a gap that the USN was uncomfortable tolerating.  With US manufacturers already operating close to capacity the Navy looked overseas for a short-term solution.  One up and coming Pentagon Naval Staff Officer had served an exchange tour with the Royal Navy in 1952 and had been involved in developmental testing of the Armstrong Whitworth Sea Hawk.  Impressed with the potential of the aircraft he made a compelling case for the Sea Hawk as the Navy's solution. 

In late 1954 the USN placed an order for 128 Sea Hawks, to be designated in US service as the F12-W SeaHawk.    US SeaHawks were based on the Mk.100 version ordered that same year for the West German Navy.  The first example was delivered in eight months, and the aircraft went to see aboard the USS Midway in November 1955.  While popular with pilots, the SeaHawk lagged in performance compared with the new generation of fleet fighters arriving in great numbers, and the type's short front-line service life ended in January 1958, with only 94 of the original 128 order delivered.  Five SeaHawks were lost in accidents (with no loss of life), 45 airframes were sold to Brazil, 26 converted to target drones, and the remaining 18 assigned to the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake in the Mojave Desert to serve as trials aircraft. 

This example served at China Lake from April 1958 until the type was completely retired from US service in 1967.  It holds the distinction of being the final US SeaHawk to launch from an aircraft carrier, and after a long period in storage was refurbished and displayed at the Naval Museum of Armament and Technology at China Lake. It is depicted here as it appeared in 1958 during trials for the AGM-12 (then ASM-N-7) Bullpup missile.

More pics to come later in the week probably.  I have to admit this is not a kit I loved.  The fuselage assembly was straight forward enough but the wing join at the fold took a lot of work, some even after (I thought) final painting was complete and decals were on.   The flaps/speedbrakes are designed to be built in the open position and modeling them close took a lot of patience. 

I definitely learned some lessons I'll apply if I build another.  Mostly built OOB with an AIRES MB. MK.4 seat replacing the pathetic kit effort, an old spare pylon from an F-16 and a Bullpup from one of Mr Hasegawa's boxes of things that should have come with a kit in the first place. 

Not my best work for sure, but I'm very happy with how it looks on the shelf.  She's a good 5-footer! 

[zenrat]

 

[AndrewF]

That looks the part - very convincing.

[PR19_Kit]

That looks the BUSINESS, and comes with an (almost...) plausible backstory too. 

And you're competing with Dizzy in the speed building stakes! 

The 'almost' bit is because the Indian Navy were flying their Sea Hawks off the Vikrant in 1971, and sinking the opposition's gunboats with them too.

[JMN mode off]

[AeroplaneDriver]

That looks the BUSINESS, and comes with an (almost...) plausible backstory too. 

And you're competing with Dizzy in the speed building stakes! 

The 'almost' bit is because the Indian Navy were flying their Sea Hawks off the Vikrant in 1971, and sinking the opposition's gunboats with them too.

[JMN mode off]

Edited to reflect what I meant to write!  Thank you sir!   

[jalles]

Well done sir, that looks gorgeous! That scheme really suits the SeaHawk 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Couple more pics today...

Thanks for the kind comments everyone!




Seat kit replaced with a resin seat.  Kit harnesses used along with a pre-painted Eduard firing handle. 


Much less effort put into the fit of he wings at the fold and the flaps on the underside since it will not really be seen. 

[Old Wombat]

It really is an awesomely well done build.

[loupgarou]

Beautiful. A slight air of Douglas F3D after a slimming diet.

[AeroplaneDriver]

Beautiful. A slight air of Douglas F3D after a slimming diet.

At first glance I think the exact same thing!

[Weaver]

That looks great! We're so used to seeing Sea Hawks in dark grey that a light and colourful one gives you a whole new appreciation of the aircraft.

Well done.