1:72 BAe Hawk T.1A wheels and canopy paint mask outside only (for Airfix 03085A kit)

The Hawk trainer in a double role

The British Hawk was created in the 1970s as an advanced trainer with a single turbojet and a two-seat cockpit with stepped seats. The letter A in the T.1A designation belongs to aircraft modified for an emergency combat role. A pod with a cannon was hung under the fuselage and a pair of short-range air-to-air missiles under the wings, so that in the event of a conflict they would supplement the defense of the island airspace.

The same type still flies with the Red Arrows display team today, so it appears on display tables both in training gray and in bright red. Both forms share a long teardrop canopy with a prominent transverse frame, which cannot be skimped on.

The set brings finished outlines of this framing and circular parts for the landing gear tires with them. The film is lifted off the backing one piece at a time and laid straight where it belongs.

With red schemes it pays to lay a light base under the covering shade, because saturated red covers poorly on its own. Masking may only be done on a cured base, otherwise the tape will damage it.

The outlines match one particular molding, which the name of the item gives. A Hawk from another brand has the canopy divided differently and the stencil might not align on it.

A small saving of time is not the main benefit here. What matters more is that all the frames come out the same width, which a hand cut of tape cannot guarantee with lines this narrow.

The Hawk remains in service even fifty years after its first flight, and its derivatives serve outside Britain in a number of further countries as well.