vlog 25-04: Trumpeter 1/48 Hawker Sea Hawk Part 3

I’ve gotten the paints on the Sea Hawk, and a gloss coat. It’s all ready for decals, panel lining, and adding on the final parts. The finish line is in sight.

Now, this is an outstanding kit. Apart from the photoetch instrument panel, an 8-year-old kid could have fun building this with minimal supervision. (And if you’re recoiling in horror at the thought of an 8-year-old doing this with minimal supervision I’ll guess you’re not of Gen X. 🤣)

Seriously though, the kit has been a pleasure to build. And I am liking the way it looks. Very clean, and super sleek. The 8-year-old in me is loving it.

Yet…

The old man in me is beginning to realize how much I have come to love weathering a model. Since I made the switch to scifi several years ago, I’ve pretty much weathered everything. Mud, chipping, fuel stains, you name it. And as I am building this great kit, the realization has sunk in.

It’s kind of boring.

I know I could have added mud to it. And chipping. And rust. All manner of damage. A veritable Symphony of Destruction. (Tell me that riff didn’t just hit your brain… 😉) But it just wouldn’t have looked “right”. And because I do hope to perhaps sell it, too much deviation won’t work. So I’m OK with doing “boring”.

Yet though I have no complaints against the kit at all, I will admit I’m hurrying along through the final episode covering decals and panel washes. Because I have a couple of kits lined up for the next builds that are staring at me, saying “Jon… weather us to the point of it being non-sensical…”

And ignoring their pleas is getting quite difficult.

And yes, my brain is a strange place. But remember… I am Gen X. No bike helmets, seatbelts, or any thought for safety was used in my childhood. And then I made the career choice to jump out of perfectly good airplanes for a living as a paratrooper.🤣

If you do like the Hawker Sea Hawk, build this kit. Trust me and the monkeys and alpacas running through my brain.