December 2013, and in the Off season, the Red Arrows Hawk's are prepared for the 50th Display Season:
Arrows 1 by
David Freeman, on Flickr
Arrows 2 by
David Freeman, on Flickr
Arrows 3 by
David Freeman, on Flickr
The Hawk's are tucked up in a hanger during winter as they are prepared for the Anniversary Season. 6 of the Hawk's have the "new" display tail while others are being prepared. Two still have the 2013 tail, while one aircraft is new to the team, only painted in red at this stage.
My original concept was to have all 9 aircraft on a flight line, but I soon came across some issues.
1. I didn't have a shelf long enough for all nine Hawks.
2. While I managed to acquire 6 of the 50th Anniversary Airfix kits, i also planned to use three other kits I had (2 older Airfix and one Fujimi kit) for the build. Hence not enough of the 50th tail markings/decals.
3. There were a couple of differences between the "old" and new Airfix kits, and the Fujimi is quite different in the undercarriage doors for example.
4. One of the "older" kits I planned to use was missing a main gear leg.
So, in the mix you will see one aircraft on jacks (modified from a 1/24th scale Subaru Rally car kit), only one aircraft has the modified Gun set-up used to provide the coloured smoke attached on the centre-line, although 5 other sets are set aside.
There are two technicians in the hanger, plus an SNCO troop talking to one of the pilot's about an issue.
The "hanger" is located inside a modified display case as you can see here, along with some of my other work.
Arrows 4 by
David Freeman, on Flickr
All in all, a fun build.
Enjoy.
