Sea Hawk

[DaveB]

Cheers Dave

Warpaint books, while an excellent reference, are sometimes contradictory. The underwing reg on 121 looks.. through squinty eyes.. like it's post war (modern for want of a better word) but the 121 on the fuse and nose is earlier.. squared. Of course, I've done it in the more modern font but I think I'm gonna go back and make it squared Once done.. a line-up of the rear titles and it's good to go
ATB
DaveB

[DaveB]

OK.. here's a link to WF254

The paint is in DXT5 and I've included a main texture for P3D users with mips. Change Seahawk 1.dds to something like Seahawk 1X.dds and rename Seahawk 1WF254M.dds to Seahawk 1.dds if you're a P3D user

ATB
DaveB

[DaveG]

Cheers Dave I'll grab that shortly.

[Paul K]

A couple of tweaks..



I think the roundels might need changing but that's no biggie.
ATB
DaveB

Superb! Winkle would have loved it. Is it finished and obtainable ?

[DaveB]

There are anomalies.. grey areas in detail and your picture doesn't help There are 2 different Tiger heads and I have the later one on the screenie (but I have the other one in place in the PK) and I can't find a shot of the fin. Knowing when Capt Brown retired.. I doubt 171 was in service (not that this matters) and shore based.. it would not have had a carrier letter on the fin (as depicted). I think his last command was C.O. of Fulmar and that shot looks like it was taken there at the end of his 'regular' RN day job stint.

I can let it go with either Tigers head. It would be more accurate to have it with the 'other' one to keep it true to that shot or the one shown if you want a more 'in service' look. You can have it with both if you like
ATB
DaveB

[Paul K]

Hi Dave,

I have Hikoki Publications' edition of 'Wings of the Weird and Wonderful' and the chapter concerning the Sea Hawk has a few photos of 804 Sqdn aircraft. Give me till Thursday and I'll see if I can scan them for you, or at least tell you what they appear to show. One thing is immediately evident - in these photos, the tiger head is further aft than the one on his 'retirement' aircraft. It's approximately where the 171 is painted on the retirement plane, below the rear canopy fairing.

Also, the tiger's head might well be the other one you have - the ones in the book are the same as the one in the retirement photo, and are slightly different to the one on your screenshots.

As for carrier letter, well, one photo shows what is either a C or the top half on an S on the fin above the tail plane. Would either C or S correspond with a carrier that 804 embarked upon ? HMS Hermes, was it ?

I'm wondering if the 'retirement' aircraft was the HMS Fulmar / Lossiemouth gate guardian, and had been repainted with a degree of artistic license i.e. the tiger head further towards the nose so that they could paint 171 ( Eric's aircraft ) on it just for the occasion.

I'll get back to you on Thursday when I have a day off.

EDIT: Just to confuse you further, this one at East Fortune has A on its tail:
http://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of ... /sea-hawk/

This says that the East Fortune aircraft served with 736 Squadron, and became an instructional airframe at Lossiemouth. I'm sure it must be the one in the retirement photo, and was painted up as Eric's 804 aircraft just for the occasion:
http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk ... .php?id=63

[DaveB]

Confusing but good reference nontheless

In the early days of Sea Hawk operation.. the squadron badges were further back on the fuse.. around where the numbers are on 171 and in some of these instances.. the side number was on the rear fuse similar to the 121/WF254 paint. Schemes are also different in the same year so nailing a definitive is near to impossible. Just gotta go with a shot or viable/reliable reference and paint it that way.

No hurry amigo. However you want it, you can have it
ATB
DaveB

[DaveB]

And another. WF182:101 804Sqn FAA, RNAS Brawdy 1953



Available HERE

As with the last paint, a map 1 is included with mips for P3D users. There's also a new wheel texture (less blue) in the texture.WF182 folder. If you like the original.. rename the new one
ATB
DaveB

[DaveG]

Cheers Dave.

[Paul K]

No hurry amigo. However you want it, you can have it

Tell you what, Dave - lets go with the East Fortune one-is that okay ?

http://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of ... /sea-hawk/

I assume the other tiger head you have available matches the one on this aircraft, and its positioned like the one Eric is being towed in, so it all fits the bill. If anyone says it's not accurate, you can tell them to take it up with the curator of Scotland's National Museum of Flight.