Platz

1/72 RQ-4B Global Hawk

Kit Number: 7204

Reviewed by  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $42.00 Website: www.platz-hobby.com The Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for surveillance of large areas and uses a synthetic aperture radar to survey the ground even through clouds and sandstorms and then relayed anywhere in the world the information is needed. In size, the Global Hawk is based on a U2 spy plane and has very similar dimensions (really long wings) and this allows a long loiter time so it can find out everything that it can. Thanks to Miwa Matsubayashi and Platz, we have a great 1/72 scale kit of the Global Hawk. The kit comes with five sprues and a screw and a decal sheet which allows any one of four schemes to be built. This goes from an all white NASA Hawk to the standard gunship gray German and US versions. Construction is straightforward with the fuselage being built first- most of the parts go into the engine. Don't forget to add weight to the nose- 10 grams is recommended but I added a little more. Watch for the fit of part B4 which is a wedge that completes the tail. It took a little time to get the fit great. Also, there is a screwed in plate on the bottom to allow the wings to fit tight to the fuselage. The first thing that hits you during the building of the wing is how long and thin they are - very much like a U2 or a glider, The final wing span of the Hawk is 131 feet which is 1/72 scale is just under 22 inches- it's a big kit. The wings fit well with just a touch of filler. The tails were added and the fillets and things were prepped for painting. I elected to do the NASA Hawk which is all white and I primed the kit first to look for flaws. Little seam left on the top so a fill/sand and reprime. Still a seam. What was happening was that while handling the kit, the long length of the wings was stressing the top and popping the seam- super glue and polishing fixed it. Painting and decaling were no issue- the kit deals were excellent. I did do a quick gloss coat and wash with light gray to accent the panel lines. The landing gear were added along with the antennas and sensors. The entire kit was sprayed satin as it is not a dead flat in real life. What a great kit! Fit is good, decals are excellent and the subject is neat. This is highly recommended. My thanks to Platz for the review sample.