The Mikester Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Something a little outside of my normal comfort zone, non Luftwaffe that is. This is the Azur 1/32 Hawk H 75A-3. This will be the plane of Sergeant-chef Antoine Casenobe of GC II/4, 3 Escadrille. After just finishing up wrestling with another Eastern European limited run kit (PCM Fw 190A-3), I decided I need some more plastic induced pain. The detail on the kit looks very nice, the kit comes with a full resin cockpit and pre-painted PE goodies from Eduard. This is the easy part, I don't anticipate any pain until the wings and fuselage start going together. As you can see I've decided to go with good old interior green for the cockpit. I found a great walk-around site here for this plane here: H-75 Walk-around As you can see the cockpit on this one is a light olive green. Then again restored aircraft are not always a good source for colors. With the limited research I did it appears interior green may have been the actual color, and since I had it on hand already that's what I went with. Here's my progress so far: Next up, the engine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Mikester Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 Finished up the engine. Wasn't real impressed with what was included in the box initially, looked into a Vector replacement but the $30+ price tag encouraged me to see what I could do with this one. Added a little plumbing and it didn't come out too bad. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VG 33 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Very nice. This scale is perfect for details but you need a huge room to display them. Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Britaholic Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Looking good, must get around to building the RAF version ! Cheers Den Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Looking good, Sir! Always nice to see someone getting out of a Luftwaffe rut.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Luno13 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 How did I miss this one?! Looks amazing so far! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Mikester Posted November 12, 2011 Author Share Posted November 12, 2011 OK, I haven't posted much progress lately but I have been plugging along. I'm not real big on sanding and filling so my work on limited run kits can be slow just because I really have to force myself to sit at the bench and get it done. The fuselage halves joined together, not exactly Tamigawa fit! I've called in the heavy artillery for this one, Tamiya two-part epoxy putty, excellent stuff! The fit of the cover for the tail wheel bay was nothing to write home about either, Tamiya white putty sufficed here. Wings attached, the port side wing root is good, should only require minimal clean up. Starboard side not so good, wound up with a step that will have to be fixed. And we'll need to spend some time sanding and blending the the wing/fuselage joints on the underside as well. So back to fill, sand, blend routine....yay. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aaronw Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 The cockpit detail is really amazing, I hope the rest of the kit hasn't put you off. I like the P-36 / Curtis Hawk and we don't see many get built. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Mikester Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Well, almost ready for paint. I'm not 100% happy with with all my filling and sanding work but I just don't have any interest in doing it anymore! May the modeling Gods have mercy on my soul! Hoping to finish up before the deadline, we'll see how it goes. The starboard wing root, Tamiya Epoxy Putty and Mr. Surfacer: I tried drilling out the blast tubes for the cowl guns but that didn't work out too well so I replaced them with brass tubing: These were a real bugger, they provided a little insert to go in between the lower upper and lower wing sections which I didn't like. I filled it in but it proved very difficult to get a smooth, rounded finish. And the lower surfaces: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Britaholic Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Looking good, it's certainly a challenging build, character building I think is the term. Cheers Dennis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnsan Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Cutting it close there, Mike. Paint soon? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Mikester Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 It's painted, but I have suffered a setback. The roundels on Cutting Edge decal set I purchased for this one just didn't cooperate. Didn't react well with Micro-sol and were pretty brittle. The roundels that came with the kit appear to have some color issues, the red in the roundels is more orange than red. So considering all the hours I have invested in this thing I was looking at two options: 1. Press on with the kit decals just to get it done for the GB. 2. Order a set of masks which will allow me to have the roundels match the red, white and blue on the rudder and give me something that I can live with on the shelf. I chose option #2. Ordered a set of Montex masks that also have the correct ID code for the under surfaces of the wings as well. Disappointed that I won't finish on time but I'll be happier with the end product. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnsan Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Probably a good idea. A better decision is the one you can live with.<br><br>Why not show some photos of the paint job? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) Yeah, agree with your choice--it's going to live on your shelf! What you've shown us has been outstanding; I'd like to see the paint job too! :) Edited December 30, 2011 by David N Lombard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Britaholic Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) It's painted, but I have suffered a setback. The roundels on Cutting Edge decal set I purchased for this one just didn't cooperate. Didn't react well with Micro-sol and were pretty brittle. The roundels that came with the kit appear to have some color issues, the red in the roundels is more orange than red. So considering all the hours I have invested in this thing I was looking at two options: 1. Press on with the kit decals just to get it done for the GB. 2. Order a set of masks which will allow me to have the roundels match the red, white and blue on the rudder and give me something that I can live with on the shelf. I chose option #2. Ordered a set of Montex masks that also have the correct ID code for the under surfaces of the wings as well. Disappointed that I won't finish on time but I'll be happier with the end product. I did the same and painted the rudder,roundels, and underwing serials (the decals were a nightmare) in this scale it's the best way. Cheers Dennis Edited December 30, 2011 by Britaholic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Mikester Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) OK here is the current state of affairs, couple of areas that still need some minor touch up. Paint is Gunze. Green, brown, and blue were recommendations from IPMS Stockholm charts. I decided to go with good old RLM 75 for the gray. You'll note some variation in the sheen. I still have to re-apply a coat of Future for the areas that I had to touch up after removing the decals. Edited December 30, 2011 by The Mikester Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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