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1/32 Kinetic Hawk NFTC (Moose Jaw)


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Hey folks! It's been a long time since I've been active in these forums, but now that the academic year has ended, I have a bit more time. I am building the big Kinetic Hawk 100-series model; it will be the Canadian Hawk 115 version for NFTC. I am also using Kinetic's cockpit PE set. I have built one of these models a few years back, for a friend who was the maintenance supervisor in Cold Lake on the Hawk (for Bombardier). He seemed quite happy with his model. I had two of these in my stash, so I am building one now, which I may donate to the Montreal Aviation Museum, and I'll build the other one at a later date to keep for myself.

 

The NFTC Hawk is a personal favourite of mine. I worked as a Test Pilot at simulator manufacturer CAE in Montreal on the NFTC program. We built simulators for 3 Harvard IIs for Moose Jaw, and 2 Hawk simulators (one for Moose Jaw, one for Cold Lake). In Moose Jaw, the Hawk is used for Phase 3; pilots who are selected for fighters or instructing get their wings on the Hawk in Moose Jaw (MJ). After they graduate, those who go on to fighters fly the same Hawk jets in Cold Lake (OD), for the Fighter Lead-In portion of their training. The jets are rotated back and forth between MJ and OD, to even out the fatigue life on them. In MJ, they are flown with the wingtips capped off (i.e. no missile rails), and in both places they fly with centreline fuel tanks.

 

This is the box from my first model (already threw out the cover from the current build):

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This is the first build I made, for a Cold Lake aircraft with missile rails and captive AIM 9M:

xSOFfR4.jpg

 

ALF

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The colour I used for the cockpit tub was Tamiya acryl XF-66 light grey. Pretty close match to the darkish grey in this cockpit. The PE instructions are very well done. They show what to keep, what to chop off, what areas to scrub of 3D detail. My first question was whether or not I could leave the main instrument panels out until after painting, to avoid any disasters if the masking leaked. So, dry-fit time.

Paint:

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Dry-fit of fuselage with and without MIP. Success! I can leave out the MIPs until after all major painting is done.

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I love PE for cockpits. The detail is beautiful. Of interest is the glare cover for the rear MIP video repeater screen. It is PE, and replaces the thickish kit plastic. Nicer detail, and realistically thin. This screen repeats the student's HUD to the instructor in the back seat.

yqinH7M.jpg

 

I left off the PE for the underside of the glare shield for the time being. That will all go on at the end of the build. I scrubbed off the 3D detail from the side panels, and installed the PE. The throttles are kit parts, but the rest is all PE.

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Sprayed the insides of the engine intakes with Tamiya white primer before gluing them together. I painted the insides of the sidewalls, and closed up the fuselage. Did some dry-fitting, and concluded that the nose wheel strut did not have to be installed before gluing the nosewheel well in place, nor did I have to follow the instructions and attach the gear doors yet.

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The fit of the fuselage was quite good, except that the cockpit tub was a tiny bit wide. I chopped some of the sides off, and the whole thing fit very nicely.

HcLCWig.jpg

 

ALF

 

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Ever have one of those middle-of-the-night horrified flashes? I woke up a couple nights ago and realized at 3 am that this just might be a tail-sitter... 😨

I confirmed this by using the tried and true method of replacing main landing gear struts with fingers, and sure enough (at 3:10 am), it IS a tail-sitter. Crap.

However, I managed to calm myself when I remembered that the front of the cockpit tub was open. I added in some fishing weights, held in place with some handy-dandy Play-Doh.

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After the above pic, I pushed the Play-Doh in further so it doesn't show. Problem solved!!

 

Phew. Next post, I will answer the question from my good buddy who currently flies these jets in MJ: how does it all fit?

 

ALF

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How does it fit? Mostly well, with some problem areas.

 

The wings were slightly warped (almost a slight anhedral near the tips), but not significantly so. The main gaps are at the wing roots, and the underside with the wing to fuselage join. There is quite a step at the lower front and rear of the wing/fuselage join. It's really obvious with the fuel tank in place; look how much of a gap there is at the aft end of the pylon. There are minor gaps at the rear of the engine intakes that will be easy to fill. The fuselage joined extremely well; almost no gaps visible. Tailplanes went in nicely, with their moving portions at the fuselage attachment points. So, overall, pretty good (especially since Kinetic has some kits with major fit problems), but some filler will be required. I just came off doing the Airfix 1/48 Stuka, which is newly issued, and a joy to build, so I am a bit spoiled.

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After putting the wings and fuselage together, I realized that I could not leave the main landing gear off forever (they make good painting stands). So, installed them. Really good, solid fit.

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I then installed the flaps. I glued the 3 attachment points in place and let them dry, then attached the two flaps. Hawks are usually parked with flaps down. A little care to ensure the 3 flap actuators are all aligned the same way will ensure the locating pins fit nicely into the flaps themselves.

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Before installing the middle segments onto the flaps. I applied Tamiya extra-thin glue to the little nubs at the leading edge of the flap tops, and the segments fit nicely in place.

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That's all the progress for now. Thanks for stopping by!

ALF

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Some NFTC trivia for you. The program was pitched to DND from Canadair's Defence Systems Division (DSD), where I worked for CAE as a subcontractor to Canadair. This became Bombardier Military Aviation Training, of course. Here is a laminated poster I had from back in the program marketing days:

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I was working (at the time) for CAE's CF-18 software support division at Canadair DSD in Mirabel, Quebec. The marketing team selling the concept of NFTC to DND was in the same building. I received a phone call from CAE's main plant, from the team that was putting together the simulator proposal in support of Canadair's offer. They needed test pilots for the simulator program. With my background as a Tutor instructor in Moose Jaw, plus fighter experience, it was a natural fit for me, and I took the job (which had me move offices to the West Island, corner Hwy 13 and Côte de Liesse in Montreal, at CAE's main plant).

In collaboration with the Project Administrator (she had far more artistic talent than I did), we created the project stickers. This same image went on our project coffee mugs. You can see the silhouettes of both aircraft types (with pre-production paint jobs), and the MIP which was a hybrid of the Hawk and Harvard. It deliberately did not represent one or the other. The 3 polygons with a visual display represent the simulator displays.

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Here is a marketing image with the Hawk simulator. Note the visual display; the terrain was flat (like the real thing in Saskatchewan), but it was possible to take a map and navigate using features in the southern part of the Province. Sorry I don't have a larger image of this.

OHUKL47.jpg

 

I took this picture from the front cockpit of the very first NFTC Hawk delivered to Moose Jaw (I think it was the spring of 2000). Three interesting facts:

1. Look at the wingtips; there are no rails on this one.

2. Look at the upper surface of the wing toward the tip. There is no 3rd wing fence just inboard of the wingtip (would be just beyond the BAe rep's elbow). The kit comes with PE for this, but is not clear that the NFTC version does not have the outboard wing fence.

3. After literally hundreds of hours sitting in the simulator cockpit inside CAE's plant and at Moose Jaw during installation checks, I was lucky to be there when the first Hawk showed up. As soon as I sat in the real cockpit for the first time, I had a "holy crap" moment. Our simulator cockpit was built by a supplier as a facsimile of the real thing; unlike many CAE cockpits, we did not get a real cockpit off a production line for this project.

My "oh no" moment was when I sat down, and the real cockpit instantly felt WAY different from the sim. Turns out the angle of the seatback was wrong; in our sims we had a more reclined position, and everything felt quite different. In the real jet, I immediately felt more hemmed-in. Now what?

I invited the project engineer to come and see, and at first he insisted it was OK, because we had used BAe's engineering drawings for the sim set-up. I told him to sit in the seat, and he went "oops", confirming my impression. It took us hours of measuring everything before we figured out how to fix the problem, but eventually we managed to get it right. Phew. Dodged that bullet!

k2LgEUs.jpg

 

ALF

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Last bit of trivia for the evening. Here is a photoshopped marketing image I got from Bombardier. It shows a concept of the NFTC paint job. Note that the tail number is correct, but it is not real.

6aMtQcs.jpg

 

Here is the first NFTC Hawk on its ferry flight from the UK. This was taken over Labrador somewhere (near Goose Bay). It was flown with underwing tanks, which were removed and shipped back to the UK to be used on the next ferry flight. To my knowledge, NFTC Hawks do not use the underwing tanks, only the centreline. Comments from the peanut gallery, Marc?

k12Xjy4.jpg

 

ALF

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I'll be keeping an eye here. I just completed this kit a few weeks ago. I don't think I've come across anyone else doing a Canadian one, and I'll be happy to see all the little things you do differently! 

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Good morning, pal-o-mine!

 

The teaching year is done.  :yahoo:  As usual, a great personal perspective regarding your involvement with the real deal.  I really enjoy hearing about your first hand knowledge of the subjects you model.  Thanks for sharing those tidbits, my friend.

 

That's a horrendous mismatch on the bottom wing join seams. Egad!  Good thing for Play Doh for you D'OH! moment and you bought those weights just because of the brand name, right?  :thumbsup:  That pre-painted PE comes with the kit?  That is a really nice touch.  What are those bits on the wing that look like bird slicers?

 

Thanks for the heads up on your build, squire.  Very nice work, as usual.

 

I look forward to more progress.

 

Mike

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Mike, glad you could check in... of course, I realize your retirement schedule is pretty hectic, so I know it was an effort! 👼

 

I didn't think of the D'OH interpretation of the name of the putty. Pretty much it! The coloured PE is an AM set by Kinetic (32002). It is fantastic. The kit itself comes with copper-coloured PE for many bits, but the cockpit panels are AM. Only $9 US, and free shipping. To me, that's a no-brainer. http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=KIN-K32002

 

The bits on the wing that look like bird slicers are vortex generators. They poke up out of the boundary layer, causing a tiny bit of turbulence which then mixes the high-speed airflow with the low-speed boundary layer. This has benefits at low speed (greatly reducing the span-wise airflow that is inherent to swept wings at low speeds), and at high speed (reduce the "lambda shock" of the shock wave in the transonic regime). I would explain that more clearly, but I have just recently taught my last-ever advanced aerodynamics classes where I explained this to my students.

mV1tCie.jpg

 

This shows the vortex generators on a Harrier wing.

rj8Gkpd.jpg

 

The other thing you might be referring to are the two wing fences. They also help straighten out span-wise flow, like in these examples.

FzLyY1O.jpg

 

You know what? I am super happy that I can soon delete these files from my hard drive; I've given copies to the school for the use of whomever will teach this course in the future. It is no longer my problem, and I am NOT sad about that! 😛

 

Back to the model. I am doing two areas in parallel: the seats, and the airframe.

The seats come with lots of PE. Here are the rear cushions on the seats.

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The vents on the upper rear fuselage. When I have a good look at the real thing, they are more flush than mine, but I don't feel like trying to correct that little step around the grilles. Also note that I have filled in the gaps with putty.

MmKBXCj.jpg

 

More gaps filled at the wingtips. Notice the PE from the kit; it has all the seat straps, etc. I have started to study pics of CT-155 cockpits to get the colours and strap config correct.

Ju00GO2.jpg

 

Working on the gaps around the centreline tank here, as well as the wing to fuselage join.

jcfiefa.jpg

 

More soon.

ALF

 

 

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ALF,

 

Glad to do what I can.  This retirement gig is tiring.  There just aren't enough hours in the day.  You should try it sometime!  😉

 

Thanks very much for the explanation of the vortex generators.  I understand what you're saying.  You must be a pretty good teacher.  Okay...the pictures help too.  They're black and white so I can print them off, break out the crayons and go crazy making psychedelic designs.  Re: deleting the files...does it already feel like the monkey is off your back and your stress level has decreased dramatically?  I know that's how I felt when I walked out the door of the station for the last time.

 

I really like that colour PE.  It is a world of difference.  I think I have a set for one of my 32nd scale Sabres but I can't remember.

 

Nice save on that huge step on the bottom by the gas bag.  As long as the stuff on top is okay.  The bottom...well, you know...women in low cut tops...

 

Will continue to check in.  Will also send a note later on to catch up.

 

Take care and keep up  the good work.

 

Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just a quick note after the forums have been fixed. Sprayed the Tamiya light grey primer, and fixed up the gaps around the intakes with putty and sandpaper.

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Much better. Applied the Insignia Blue (modelmaster acryl).

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This is my spray bench in the garage.

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Started hand-painting some details (touch-ups on the white, cockpit grey, etc).

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Now working on the seats in parallel. Lots of PE, and trying to get the colours right.

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ALF

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On 5/25/2018 at 7:23 AM, AX 365 said:

Now it's starting to come alive.  Looking good sir.

Thanks, Mike. Maybe you'll see some nice dark blue Mustangs this weekend...

ALF

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On 5/26/2018 at 5:32 PM, kurnass77 said:

Alf my friend,your Hawk start to look the part!

 

 

Gianni

Thanks! 

On 5/27/2018 at 1:21 PM, CaptainObvious said:

Nice work Alf.

I really enjoy your stories too!

Obviously, I tell them for you, Captain...  😏

Glad you appreciate them.

ALF

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Finally more progress. 

I did some touch-ups, including the light grey on the front of the tail protuberance. Honestly, I have no idea what this thing does. Anyone know?

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Fuzzy pic of the two antennae that go on the tail. Easiest to paint these separately, then glue them on after the blue has been done.

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I worked on the canopy. Did a whole bunch of masking.

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If you look closely, you'll see that I cut the masking off a bit above/inside where the outside canopy masking is. This will allow me to paint some white on the inside, followed by the black for the inside. The white will then show up on the inside edges of the canopy, just like the real thing.

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Sprayed the white on the inside and outside (Tamiya white primer), followed by the black on the inside, and the blue on the outside.

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Before the outside blue, I masked off the white central part.

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And, here's how it turned out.

If you look VERY carefully, you may see some scratch marks where I scraped off some white paint from where I missed a small bit of masking. 😨 I used some toothpaste to fix it, and it doesn't show much after some more work.

CwncEPJ.jpg

 

ALF

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I did a bunch of work with the PE for the seats. Lots of detail here.

GvYazAc.jpg

 

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I also installed the wheels. I absolutely love the way Kinetic makes the hubs and tires separately; it allows me to make nice and crisp demarcations between the black tire and the wheel.

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On its wheels, waiting for gear door installation.

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Here I have done most of the intake line between the white and blue. Minor touch-ups done since this picture.

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Future clear coat brushed on. I have dry-fit the canopies to see how they look. I will leave the main canopy open.

3ijSPLy.jpg

 

More progress (decalling) soon. Thanks for stopping by!

ALF

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On 6/8/2018 at 9:17 PM, AlienFrogModeller said:

Looking good ALF.

Thanks!

 

Working on final sub-assemblies. First, the HUD. Nice bit of kit PE for the side arms. Happy that the CA glue did not fog the plastic.

STjZcR0.jpg

 

Canopy time. I traced the det cord outlines with black felt marker. Went a bit light, trying hard not to splooge everywhere. No, that's NOT what she said. 🤣

The AM PE is really nice for the canopy as well.

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Decal time!

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Cockpit done. Added the nav lights on the intake sides. Coloured them with magic marker.

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Love the canopy. Lots of great PE (AM), and decals.

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For a change, I did some dry-fitting of the HUD before going nuts with the glue and jamming things in place as I often do... I saw that the HUD assembly tended to sit up a bit high for the front windscreen. Instead of chopping out some of the nicely-painted plastic, I decided to remove the bottom plate from the HUD. This allowed the arms to sit down lower.

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Looks like it will fit now.

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Canopy and pitot boom in place. Final clear coat brushed on and drying after decals done.

6sxtz73.jpg

 

ALF

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Done! Little Max likes to sniff around and ensure the model is no threat to his domain.

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Thanks for following along. 

ALF

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1 hour ago, AlienFrogModeller said:

Nice finish! Takes me back to Moose Meadows!

Thanks!

Yup. I have another one I'll make one day, from Cold Lake (with the LAU 7s on the wingtips). Still haven't decided if I'll buy the Caracal 419 camo bird decals.

ALF

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