Smeg’s Curtiss P-36C Hawk (Mark I)

[smeg1959]

One last round of masking. Note the orange bits resprayed on the underside of the tailplanes. Guess which moron forgot to mask everything prior to the purple and oversprayed the orange?

And finally the three greens. Happy that I managed to do this with one of my cheapie single-action airbrushes, as their only-slightly-more-expensive double-action colleague is awaiting a shipment of O-rings from China (a little difficult when paint gushes out the side of the nozzle and not out of the front).

Despite matching the Sea Green 28 to FS34128, it dried closer to the Dark Green 30 (aka RAAF Foliage Green) than expected. It is a tad lighter but the contrast isn’t what I would have preferred.

Finally, the great reveal and this just squeezed in before reaching the Group Build deadline. I am always gripped with trepidation when I remove any masking, more so with this multi-hued bugger. The possibility that half the paint might lift due to the dodgy adhesion of the Vallejo orange only heightened the tension. So the following came as a total shock … but a good one for a change.

Yes, there were a few tiny bits here and there that needed a touch-up, but nothing beyond the run-of-the-mill. There was one area on the wing where the orange did lift but this was mercifully small and easily repaired.

[smeg1959]

OK, anything that follows here fell outside the GB10 deadline of the 26th. As it happened, we had a public holiday here on Jan 27 and wouldn’t you know how much I got done THAT day … more than the whole previous month (for a change, SWMBO didn’t need me rebuilding my former abode). As I said elsewhere, I was going to open a Shelf of Shame thread but, with progress made in the days immediately following the deadline, uploaded everything here.

Main undercarriage. If you have any of the Mark I P-36 kits, ignore the main illustration in the instructions that tells you to attach the small undercarriage covers (part 17) to the bulbous projections on the wing. They should be attached directly to the undercarriage leg, as per the inset diagram “port a/c leg” in the instructions. Returning to the cockpit, frame lines painted on the transparencies, the latter affixed to the model and the whole sprayed with Future.

The Mark I kit offers the option of another P-36 from the National Air Races, coded “69”. As such, it provides a nicely detailed pair of 27th Pursuit Squadron unit emblems, meaning I only needed to provide the “67” for the tail. From the original photos, the numerals should have a thin white outline, necessary as they fall on the purple and darker of the greens. In fact, “69” was also painted this way but Mark I simply provide black decals. Ho hum. I did have a white US lettering decal sheet I bought from Matt Snedden a while back so I photographed the sheet and used it to create the black components. As it happened, the AmarilloUSAF TrueType font was almost a perfect match and just needed the odd tweak here and there. The black numbers were printed on laser decal stock and applied over their white counterparts.

A couple of hints for anyone seeking to do likewise with decals. Firstly, lay down the decals that will form the outline, let them dry completely then protect them with a fine coat of Future/Klear applied with a hairy stick. Some hours later, apply the decal featuring the inner component and use a toothpick to manoeuvre the overlying decal to precisely where you want it. I always include my original 100% artwork and scale up and down a few percent either way before printing the DIY decals (e.g. 96%, 98%, 102% and 104%). Yes, I do go through decal media faster but it’s a good safety measure IMHO. In this instance, it turned out that the 100% black numerals didn’t quite look right when superimposed over the white, but 102% was spot-on.

[smeg1959]

I elected not to fit aerial wires using Uschi thread as they go from the tail to the outer wing edges and are very likely to get knocked when my collection is periodically removed for dusting (my Ikea Billy cabinets don’t seal as well as I’d like them to). The canopy protected with Vallejo Liquid Mask, a couple of coats of matt clear and the multicoloured beast is complete.

Should add that the little circular thingie under the wing is, I believe, a landing light. Mark I provide a tiny clear part but I found it far easier and neater to paint the void white then fill it with Kristal Klear.

Conclusions? Whilst definitely not “shake and bake”, the Mark I kit does build up into a decent replica of the P-36/H-75 Hawk/Mohawk. Learnt a lot about paints and masking during this build and, needless to say, I won’t be tackling anything with six exterior colours again anytime soon. Having said that, the model is certainly an eye-catcher in the cabinet, though I am expecting the odd “you’ve gotta be kidding” comment down the line. Suffice to say, this colourful Hawk has joined my 1/72 pink Spitfire as my daughters’ favourites!

[F_IV]

Well done! Now that I see the scheme in all its glory, I fully appreciate what a challenge it must have been. Nice job on the canopy framing too.

[pbhawkin]

Very eye catching and well worth the effort.

[ajmm]

Amazing and very eye catching. Really impressive masking and the tips on printing different size decals is helpful.

[Ryan B.]

Wow! If Willy Wonka had an air force...