1/72 Italeri BAE Hawk T1a

by Paul Ryle

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Another submission on my R.A.F. theme - this time a gloss black training Hawk of 208 squadron. The Hawk as always had a very untrainer-like aggressive look, and this is the first of four I intend to do, covering 100 sqn, the Red Arrows and a CT155 Hawk of the Canadian Forces.  Basically, it is OOB, with the exception of Model Alliance Decals and Pavla ejector seats.  I've always steered away from gloss finish kits, and especially white or black gloss finishes, but I decided to try Humbrol's Satin Black spraycan, which did work very well.  I hit a problem, however, when I tried to coat it in future to get the gloss effect.  For some reason it ended up with a very rough finish, at least close up and I was within an inch of binning it when I tried using furniture polish! I lightly sanded the finish with fine grade wet and dry, and then polished it with the furniture polish and soft cloth. Turned out well enough for my purposes, and tried the technique again with my gloss black Eurofighter Typhoon DA2 prototype, which will hopefully form the basis of my next submission to ARC.

Paul 

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Photos and text © by Paul Ryle