1/48 Curtis Hawk 75 A-2 - Winter War / Eastern War WWII

chris brown · Aug 1, 2014

Username: Chris Brown
First name: Chris
Category: Intermediate
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Hobbycraft
Model Type: Curtis Hawk 75 A-2 Axis Hawk kit
Aftermarket addons: Eduard PE and canopy masks, Quickboost engine and maybe a vac canopy and I will probably use some resin bits from a True details P-40 cockpit.

I've been wanting to do a Hawk 75 for awhile now so this GB is as good as any.

chris brown · Aug 1, 2014

Well, I've been doing some research on the Hawk 75's in prep for this GB and the more I learn the more confused I get. Trying to figure out the correct cockpit color for an aircraft that past through the hands of 4 different countries is not nearly as easy as it seams. So lets break it down. This plane was manufactured by Curtis around 1938 or 39 and delivered to the French in nmf. Possible cockpit colors are: all over aluminum lacquer, aluminum lacquer with yellow CZ parts such as the floor and rudder pedals, or a light interior green (this predates the official IG color). Now when the French got them they quickly camo-d the exterior and Frenchitized the interiors (reversed the throttles, metric gauges, French seat belts, etc..) Possible pit colors include all the original colors plus lets throw in French cockpit blue (what ever color that is) and maybe chamois. These planes were then captured by the Germans and then Germanitized (German seat belts, radios and oxygen bottle like the ones used in BF-109s). Possible cockpit colors include all the originals plus now add in a light gray that could be RLM 02. The Finns bought them from Germany and they where delivered in a couple of batches. Now the particular plane I am thinking about modelling was delivered in the last batch of planes that were bought from the German war booty department (Department of War Booty?) and had not been Germanized but were flown straight to the Finnish depot to have them refurbed there. So one last color possibility is a Finnish light gray. Anybody know what kind of changes might have taken place at the Finnish depot or offer any thoughts on colors? The most likely colors are the light interior green or light gray. I just remembered some of the pieces in the cockpit like the seat could also be in dull dark green.
Here are pics of the planes I might try and model.

chris brown · Aug 1, 2014

Here are some shots of the plastic and aftermarket goodies.

I got the 109 PE set for the German seat belts and oxygen bottle but may not need them after all.

Wurger · Aug 1, 2014

Wildcat · Aug 1, 2014

Nice choice Chris.

imalko · Aug 1, 2014

Nice kit with a lot of accessories. Should be a nice build.

vikingBerserker · Aug 1, 2014

I agree, looking forward to this one.

Crimea_River · Aug 1, 2014

Good one Chris. I know the square root of FA about Finnish aircraft so can't really help you on the cockpit colour questions. I know Wayne's built a couple of Finnish subjects so maybe he'll chime in with some info for ya.

mikewint · Aug 1, 2014

As above, great choice of aircraft

fubar57 · Aug 1, 2014

Nice choice, but it one of them Hobbycraft things. Have you decided which s/n you are doing yet? If you choose to do the profile one, this is whats left of your kite after the engine failed on take off. Sorry it's a crappy photo...

...still looking for interior shots. I have found two but I think they are of two different aircraft as the left side looks painted and the right side looks aluminum. Here's a shot of the wheel wells to further muddy your waters...

Geo

fubar57 · Aug 2, 2014

When I was doing research for my aircraft, I read that the color of the cut-out behind the cockpit was, very often, the color of the cockpit interior.

Geo

Lucky13 · Aug 2, 2014

Nice one Chris!

Wayne Little · Aug 2, 2014

Good one Chris, I don't have the foggiest idea what colour the cockpit would be, you will have to flip a coin on this one!
one would think repaint would only occur if something major occurred in the cockpit...

Wurger · Aug 2, 2014

It's very likely French Hawks had the cockpit interior of the green colour. Of course we can argue of what tinge it was. I would suggest either the US interior Green or the French Vert Interieur one. However Finnish Hawks were obtained from Germany after their overhaul. These planes were repainted and according to Karl Stenman's books the colour of the cockpit became the RLM63 but not the RLM02. But these paints are very similar in the tinge though. The Norwegian planes captured by Germans are the different matter. These were still packed in boxes or just under assembling. Their interiors could have been in the bare metal ( aluminium varnish ) or just of the Zinc Chromate what is highly probable.