Newsfeed-

Felix
Looks fantastic! More pictures!

Ben M
👀

Nathan Dempsey
Welcome Ben!

Work has started. Drilled holes in the lower wing for hardpoints and centerline fuel tank. Cockpit is nearly complete with photos soon since it will be nearly invisible once installed.

Nathan Dempsey
Added a shot of last night's work. The cockpit was installed and I'm ready to join the fuselage halves. The wheel well construction was also completed along with some paint work there.

James C
Off to a great start 👀 👍

Thomas Bischoff
I'm in - have Hobbyboss Bearcat waiting to be built.

Robert Podkoński
Watching with pleasure 🙂

Nathan Dempsey
Thanks James, Thomas & Robert!

Assembly continues with no issues at all.

Villiers de Vos
Coming along nicely.

Nathan Dempsey
Thanks Villiers!
Well I had to go and say "no issues at all" out loud… Funny that the cowling fit perfectly during dry fitting but once glue was applied a bit of sanding was needed to make it fit right. Also I painted the inside of the cowl Yellow Zinc Chromate even though the instructions barely mention anything other than the cowl and prop magically there on the last step.

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Nathan Dempsey
Thanks Guy! Welcome aboard 🙂

Major assembly is complete. Time for painting to begin.

Nathan Dempsey
Spent most of the morning sealing up the wheel wells and cockpit with tissue paper in preparation for primer and the initial color: AK Xtreme Aluminum.

Ben M
You could have just started with the Hawk plated kit 😂 I'm thinking of trying chipping fluid on the prop but I will need to prime at least under the yellow tips.

Nathan Dempsey
That certainly would have cut a step out! I'm going to use the old hairspray method since I don't want to wait a week for chipping fluid.

Nathan Dempsey
Aluminum applied today. A little splotchy but luckily it's just an undercoat for chipping.

Nathan Dempsey
Much painting last night and today: I applied the hair-spray then the Dark Sea Blue & now the chipping begins.

Mr D
Very nice 👍 yes they had thin paint and lots of wear n tear during use.
Coming along well.

Villiers de Vos
Very nice chipping effects.

Mark Sherwood
I concur with Villers. Looks well beaten up. 🤘🥸👍

Lex Jassies
Photo 3: that's not cheating....that's making the most of your model 😉. Nice progress by the way 👍

Nathan Dempsey
Thanks mates for your kind comments! All work has halted due to hurricane preparations.

Mr James
Extreme wear indeed. Maybe they didnt use etching primer back in the black and white days 🙂. You've done an excellent job of it. If this effect can be achieved with the old trusted hairspray method, why would one buy the chipping fluid. Maybe there are advantages I'm unaware of.

Mr D
Not a bad little kit, looks quite robust and not to complicated. The cockpit was definitely worth getting, was it easy to find ??
Looking good 👍👍👍

Nathan Dempsey
Mr James: The hairspray has an added bonus in that one can will last for MANY projects.

Mr D: The kit is available under the Academy boxing I believe. As for the cockpit I believe it is still easy enough to find online.

Nathan Dempsey
Today I added the landing gear and the drop tank. The drop tank is not seen much in my photos, but I thought it looked nice. Decals are also done, so now it comes down to more weathering and exhaust stains.