BAe Hawk T.1 Red Arrows
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Kit Review
First of all let's clarify that this is a brand new tooling, not a reissue of an older kit from either Revell or another manufacturer. Inside the new style box, which I have already said I like, you will find three sprues moulded in red-coloured plastic and a single one in clear plastic, with the latter bagged separately from the former, albeit they are all in the same big bag overall. The surface detail is via fine engraved panel lines, as well as similarly engraved outlines of things like access panels etc. There is no rivet detail, engraved or raised. There are raised details inside the wheel wells, the wheel doors and inside the ventral air brake, plus all the sidewall and instrument panel detail is also via raised lines. The plastic is slightly dull looking, not polished, and the detail is quite sharp with things like multi-part ejection seats, but some areas lack any real detail, such as the wheel hubs, which are simplified with just a ring of raised bolt heads. If you look at the plastic closely you will find flow lines in certain parts (our's had it on the tailplanes and wings), which create the dull areas, plus there is already a touch of flash on things like the nose wheel and along some of the main joints. This is no huge problem, just be aware of it and the need to therefore clean up the mating surfaces before committing to cement. This Red Arrows version has its own sprue (E) for those parts specific to the type, and the lack of a C or D sprue in this kit points to these containing weapons and other equipment relating to the in-service versions that are sure to follow. The clear sprue is nicely done, with the moulds polished so that the plastic is bright and crystal clear. The main canopy does not have a mould line running down it, which makes life easier, and the MDC is engraved into it, all very nice, but the cream-coloured cord is not on the decal sheet either, so you are going to have to hand-paint that one...! The main canopy also has one sprue attachment/feed point, which is all well and good for production, but it means that this part is going to be very prone to snapping off in transit, resulting in a big scar on one side of the framework; multiple feeds and a sprue that creates a protective 'box' around such parts, like Hasegawa do, would be well worth including to increase the survivability of such parts. The other clear parts are the windscreen, separating screen between front and back cockpits and the lens for the light in the nose.
Colour Options
Just one scheme as such is included, that being for the Red Arrows 2015 display season, but the separate little decal sheet with the kit includes the serial numbers for twelve machines, whilst the main one has the serial for XX242 and four lots of individual numbers (1 to 9 with 0), so that you can make up any others that you may want. The decals are printed in Italy and have perfect colour and register. The overall sheen is satin with next to no excess carrier film visible around each image. The white areas are going to have to go over red, so time will tell if these are sufficiently dense enough to cope with that. Full airframe stencils are included and there are decals for each of the instrument panels, but not for the side consoles.
Conclusion
A Red Arrows Hawk is a perennial favourite with the airshow circuit, so there is no surprise in Revell doing a kit of it, a brand new tooling though was a bit of a surprise but the end product is very nice. Sure, you can add better wheels and extra detail if you must, but as long as the canopy and white decals don't prove to be a problem, this one we feel has better finesse than the newer Airfix example, and is a step up as far as detail goes on older kits from the likes of Fujimi and Italeri.
Highly recommended to all, regardless of experience.
Our thanks to Revell for the review sample, see more about this and all the other Revell products on their website (www.revell.de/en)
First of all let's clarify that this is a brand new tooling, not a reissue of an older kit from either Revell or another manufacturer. Inside the new style box, which I have already said I like, you will find three sprues moulded in red-coloured plastic and a single one in clear plastic, with the latter bagged separately from the former, albeit they are all in the same big bag overall. The surface detail is via fine engraved panel lines, as well as similarly engraved outlines of things like access panels etc. There is no rivet detail, engraved or raised. There are raised details inside the wheel wells, the wheel doors and inside the ventral air brake, plus all the sidewall and instrument panel detail is also via raised lines. The plastic is slightly dull looking, not polished, and the detail is quite sharp with things like multi-part ejection seats, but some areas lack any real detail, such as the wheel hubs, which are simplified with just a ring of raised bolt heads. If you look at the plastic closely you will find flow lines in certain parts (our's had it on the tailplanes and wings), which create the dull areas, plus there is already a touch of flash on things like the nose wheel and along some of the main joints. This is no huge problem, just be aware of it and the need to therefore clean up the mating surfaces before committing to cement. This Red Arrows version has its own sprue (E) for those parts specific to the type, and the lack of a C or D sprue in this kit points to these containing weapons and other equipment relating to the in-service versions that are sure to follow. The clear sprue is nicely done, with the moulds polished so that the plastic is bright and crystal clear. The main canopy does not have a mould line running down it, which makes life easier, and the MDC is engraved into it, all very nice, but the cream-coloured cord is not on the decal sheet either, so you are going to have to hand-paint that one...! The main canopy also has one sprue attachment/feed point, which is all well and good for production, but it means that this part is going to be very prone to snapping off in transit, resulting in a big scar on one side of the framework; multiple feeds and a sprue that creates a protective 'box' around such parts, like Hasegawa do, would be well worth including to increase the survivability of such parts. The other clear parts are the windscreen, separating screen between front and back cockpits and the lens for the light in the nose.
Colour Options
Just one scheme as such is included, that being for the Red Arrows 2015 display season, but the separate little decal sheet with the kit includes the serial numbers for twelve machines, whilst the main one has the serial for XX242 and four lots of individual numbers (1 to 9 with 0), so that you can make up any others that you may want. The decals are printed in Italy and have perfect colour and register. The overall sheen is satin with next to no excess carrier film visible around each image. The white areas are going to have to go over red, so time will tell if these are sufficiently dense enough to cope with that. Full airframe stencils are included and there are decals for each of the instrument panels, but not for the side consoles.
Conclusion
A Red Arrows Hawk is a perennial favourite with the airshow circuit, so there is no surprise in Revell doing a kit of it, a brand new tooling though was a bit of a surprise but the end product is very nice. Sure, you can add better wheels and extra detail if you must, but as long as the canopy and white decals don't prove to be a problem, this one we feel has better finesse than the newer Airfix example, and is a step up as far as detail goes on older kits from the likes of Fujimi and Italeri.
Highly recommended to all, regardless of experience.
Our thanks to Revell for the review sample, see more about this and all the other Revell products on their website (www.revell.de/en)
