RQ 4 Global Hawk in 1/48

[yak face]

Heres something i picked up at the Newark show , its the Skunk model works RQ 4 Global Hawk in 1/48 scale . Ive always been fascinated by the look of these UAVs and its a rarely seen kit so i had to have it. Its a fairly simple kit , no cockpit or canopy to mess with and is only about 60 odd parts. The hardest thing is going to be finding somewhere to put it when its done , the wingspan is 32 inch !!heres a shot of the box top , more later , cheers tony[ATTACH]319398[/ATTACH]

[colin m]

32 inches. Use it as a weather vane when it's completed.

[yak face]

Well it might seem like ive been super quick building this but to be honest i took the box top pic in the above post weeks ago ,i just didnt start the thread until today! Anyways heres a bit of progress . Ive assembled the two main fuselage halves and the engne intake and exhaust . The construction is quite clever with the bottom of the fuselage going on after the wings have been slotted in , the fuse bottom containing pins which go through the wing tabs securing it all together very firmly. Due to the massive span the kit wings naturally have a bit of droop ,something not overly apparent on the full size aircraft ,so to try and minimise this Ive glued some plastic card under the inboard edge of the wing tab and glued a fuselage spreader from a bit of sprue, hopefully itll work. Ive also glued the wing halves together and added the outer section .Next up is assembling the wings/fuselage /fuselage bottom , then things are going to get tricky ,finding space on the bench to put it !![ATTACH]319405[/ATTACH][ATTACH]319406[/ATTACH][ATTACH]319407[/ATTACH][ATTACH]319408[/ATTACH]

[Dave W]

That's a bit different Tony.Must be a nice change not having a cockpit to detail.would there be room to use a steel rod inside the wings to keep them straight?.Something the thickness of a wire coat hanger.

[yak face]

That's a bit different Tony.Must be a nice change not having a cockpit to detail.would there be room to use a steel rod inside the wings to keep them straight?.Something the thickness of a wire coat hanger.

Cheers dave , the wings themselves are quite stiff the problem was when they were inserted into the slots the weight pulled the fuselage sides inwards a bit ,hopefully the sprue spreader and plastic card tabs will strengthen this up. and yes im loving the lack of canopy masking!! cheers tony

[Guest]

83 cm wingspan! Though it does have a certain appeal, I think I’d have to go for a 1/144 scale one just to be able to put it somewhere.

[Jim R]

Hi Tony
Now this is something different. It is a biggie. Hope the wing droop has been sorted. I had not heard of this so looked it up. Here is an interesting bit from Wilipedia "Each aircraft was to cost US$60.9 million in 2001, but this had risen to $222.7 million per aircraft by 2013."
Jim

[papa 695]

Nice work Tony looking good so far. I think your going to need a bigger shed.

[Fernando N]

Nice start Tony, hope your solution keeps keeps the wings strait.:thumb2:

[yambam26]

Great start Tony, Now if i see you taking on amazon drone deliveries i wouldn't be suprised

[yak face]

Got the wings on and fuselage bottom glued , its just setting now . I can now see the size of it and the problems im going to have from now on! An example of this is the pic below - ive set the model on top of my homemade photo light box till the glues hardened , this shows that it wont fit inside for the finished pics. The other problems are goingvto be where to put it when its done! [ATTACH]319499[/ATTACH]

[stillp]

You'll have to hang it from the ceiling Tony!

Pete

[Guest]

You'll have to hang it from the ceiling

If you do, stick a miniature video camera in it so it’ll be even more like the real thing.

[Mini Me]

Has anyone heard if they make a 1/32 scale version of this? lol:tongue-out3: Good progress so far Tony!
Cheers, Rick H.

[yak face]

Its been a while since i got any modelling time but i got some more done on this. The main airframe is all together and its had its paint put on . Next step is a clear coat then decals and on with the undercarriage. [ATTACH]323835[/ATTACH][ATTACH]323835[/ATTACH]