vlog 25-02: Trumpeter’s 1/48 Hawker Sea Hawk, Part 1

It’s been a while since I last built an airplane. If I recall correctly, it was Tamiya’s newly tooled 1/48 Spitfire Mk. I, which was done for Patreon at the time.

Prior to that, I’d built more than 300 aircraft over a 12 year period. I used to know the exact number, but as I get older I realize “who cares?” I spent a lot of time building airplanes, and while I did enjoy it – perhaps other things may have been more profitable? (And I don’t mean in a monetary sense.) Still, I did have fun at the time.

For the last few years, I’ve focused exclusively on scifi – Star Wars, Ma. K, Warhammer, Mobile Suit Gundam, and various other franchises. And I’ve enjoyed that quite a bit. (Dare I say more than I did aircraft? 🤔)

Towards the end of 2024, the aircraft bug began to buzz in my ear though, and so I started to build Revell’s 1/48 F/A-18E, a kit I’d previously built and enjoyed. However, while I was liking it, I began perusing other aircraft models that interested me also for later consideration.

And that’s when I hit upon the Hawker Sea Hawk. (Yes, two words. It’s not a football team. 😊)

I’d always known of the Seahawk Sea Hawk, though admittedly not much. Congruent to my interest in returning to a few aircraft builds was an evening “ritual” of watching the latest videos from what have become two of my favorite channels, Not A Pound For Air To Ground and Rex’s Hanger.

In watching through those channel’s, I found I quite enjoyed Not A Pound’s video “Hawker’s Forgotten Suez Warrior Was An Early Cold War Great“. And as I’d started feeling a bit bogged down in the Super Hornet (though it will resurface…), I took a look at the Sea Hawk kits available in my favorite scale of 1 to 48.

Several results that popped up were available from Special Hobby, and after recovering from the outrageous laughter at the thought of ever building another Special Hobby kit, I saw that Trumpeter had variants too.

Trumpeter (and their cousin Hobbyboss) often take a lot of heat for the lack of research that shows up in their kits quite frequently. And the charge is a fair one, simply because it is true. Some details appear to just be made up. Still, I can’t recall ever building a Trumpeter/Hobbyboss kit I did not like, and the sheer number I’ve finished as I examine my list of completed builds attests to that. (Hobbyboss – 21, Trumpeter – 16)

Despite the fact that research often seems limited to what can be found in a Google search, and all else is imagined, they make good kits. And by good kit I mean kits that fit nicely, generally don’t have a ridiculous number of parts, don’t posses to much in the ways of over-engineering (I love you Eduard, but… c’mon…), and for the most part fit what I call my “perfect profile”. Less than 100 parts, good fit, reasonable detail, and (most importantly) no drama. Or very little…

So examining photos of the kit parts and reading build reports confirmed my confidence in Trumpeter. Accurate? Mostly. A nice build? Definitely.

A quick search of Ebay turned up the other critical criteria I have for a kit, that being lowest price. A boxing of the Mk. 100/101, featuring markings for a German and Indian variant stood out. And while I love Fleet Air Arm subjects, I love a low price even more.

I quickly employed my flat plastic, and in a few days, I had a box full of shapely Hawker-designed and Trumpeter molded plastic in return.

And so with those 600 or so words out of the way, we arrive at the start of this video series.

Thanks for joining me on the journey.