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Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawks

Miniwing 1/144 Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawks by Robert Podkoński

SCALE: 1/144

MANUFACTURER: Miniwing

KIT NO: mini309 (USAF livery), mini312

(NASA livery)

PARTS: 20 dark grey polystyrene

TYPE: Short-run

DECAL OPTIONS: 4

N

orthrop Grumman’s RQ-4

Global Hawk is perhaps

the biggest and, in terms

of performance, the most capable

unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

on active duty in the world. Its

maximum endurance is more

than 32 hours and its achievable

altitude is around 60,000 feet

(18,300 metres), more than

twice the height jet passenger

planes usually fly. It now fills

the role that the famous U-2

reconnaissance planes used to.

THE KIT

The series of RQ-4 UAVs models is

the second polystyrene-moulded

series of kits from the Czech

manufacturer Miniwing, which

specialises in 1/144 scale resin

military aircraft models. They offer

four liveries, each in a separate kit,

which cover examples operated

by the USAF, NASA (see below),

the German Luftwaffe (described

as the RQ-4E Euro Hawk), and

NATO. Each package contains the

same set of parts; only different

decal sheets are included.

The RQ-4 Global Hawk kit

consists of 20 dark grey polystyrene

parts on two sprues, packed into

a string bag, together with a decal

sheet and instructions. The bag

is secured to a cardboard leaflet

presenting the actual painting

scheme of the specific kit.

The parts themselves are

cleanly moulded with well-defined,

recessed panel lines (oversized

for the scale, but one can live with

that). As usual with short-run

kits, some cleaning of smaller

pieces is obligatory here, and

sandpaper will be necessary.

CONSTRUCTION

As I got two kits, I decided from

the outset to assemble one of them

as if in flight to better present the

sinister look of this machine – and

to save some shelf-space, to be

sincere. It is actually quite a huge

aeroplane; even in 1/144 scale, the

model spans about 11 inches!

Because there is no cockpit,

construction starts with the

fuselage. The instructions advise

you to put some weight in the nose,

but I added this only to the “on the

ground” version. Before closing the

fuselage sides I cut and shaped the

prominent slot under the engine

intake, which is missing from

the kit parts. There is also some

representation of a turbine face that

goes inside, but no jet exhaust.

The underside of the fuselage

needs some puttying and

sanding, as its sides lean a bit to

the centreline. One needs also to

get rid of prominent join lines

inside the intake and exhaust

pipe, which is a bit troublesome.

Apart from that, the fit of the

remaining parts is satisfactory, but

be prepared to do some sanding

and restoring of panel lines.

To produce the in-flight version

I glued a piece of square plastic rod

into the forward undercarriage bay,

then shaped it with sandpaper. The

main undercarriage covers were

carefully thinned with sandpaper

to fit into their corresponding

openings and then attached

in place. The empennage is

designed in such a way that it fits

perfectly, sets the correct angle,

and needs no reinforcing. The fit

is just as good with the wings.

Comparing the models with

photos of the real aircraft, I found

that there are no ventral strakes

on the rear end of either the NASA

machine or on the RQ-4B, as

represented by Miniwing. I also

noticed the different shape of

the nose of the NASA plane, but I

decided to live with that as it would

probably require some complex

surgery to reproduce it. Maybe some

resin manufacturer would consider

a correction for this aircraft.

PAINTING AND DECALS

The painting schemes are simple:

overall white with some light

grey on the nose of the NASA

70 • MARCH 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

KIT REVIEWS

070-75-Reviews-0318.indd 70 09/02/2018 14:31