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Bit of a low mojo year for me. My Hobby Room is now my office, so spending leisure time in there is not high on my agenda (first world problems hey?). Only four completed this year. A Hurricane and a Skua waiting to be sprayed but hopefully they will be in 2021 year book. Here is what was finished though. Hope you enjoy them. Hawker Hurricane I (Trop.) W9327 OL*W 806 NAS Royal Navy Fighter Squadron, 269 Wing RAF. Sidi Haneish, Egypt. 20.11.41 3 x Ju87 Destroyed. Hawker Hurricane I (Trop.) W9327 OL*W 20.11.41 Shot down by a 'friendly' tomahawk, later awarded DFC by RAF. Lt Philip Charlton Airfix 1/48 Hurricane MkI Trop. Boxing Xtracrylics / Tamiya paint. Mix of box, generic and hand painted markings. Fairey Fulmar MkI Serial unknown /6A. 806 NAS HMS Illustrious Mediterranean Sep-1940 10.01.41. Ju87 Destroyed, 2xJu87 Damaged, 100m w. Malta. Fairey Fulmar Unknown/6A Lt William (Bill) Barnes. Special Hobby Multi Media kit. Xtracrylics / Tamiya paint. Mix of box, generic and hand painted markings. Supermarine Seafire III NN341 possibly ‘3A’. 886 Naval Air Squadron, Lee-on-the-Solent. D-Day Fleet fire spotter pool 07.06.44 1735 Destroyed Bf109, 15 miles SW Caen / 5m S Evrecy. Lt RM (Mike) Crosley. Special Hobby Supermarine Seafire III ‘Eyes of the Fleet’ boxing Xtracrylics / Tamiya paint. Mix of box and generic. Vickers Supermarine Seafire III LR866/S121 887 NAS 24th NFW HMS IndefatigableJapan Aug-1945 15.08.45 2 x Mitsubishi A6M Zero Destroyed, 0.5 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Shared Destroyed. SLt Victor (Vic) Lowden Special Hobby Supermarine Seafire III ‘Last fight over the Pacific’ boxing Xtracrylics / Tamiya paint. Mix of box and generic.

Just finished this for the MTO GB, it is build out of the box, just corected a little on the decals. Brush painted with Humbrol, clear and satin with airbrush. Corrected wing Roundels Cheers Jes

Hello My first model after 18 years of abstinence. It's not perfect of course Model Airfix new amazing precision mold almost no putty needed! Yahu dashboard Vector Exhaust Paintings with the Ps 270 Airbrush : - Underside Vallejo Air "Eau du Nil" (paint used as Sky in 1940 before the real Sky type S was available in squadron) - AK real color Dark Green and Dark Earth paint on top Box + Model Alliance decals

Zvezda is to release in 2021 a new tool "easy-build series" 1/72nd Hawker Hurricane kit - ref. 7322 Source: https://vk.com/doc6108131_578170851?hash=b62de4a6f84263e904 V.P.

Hello all, let me present a recent builds of Arma Hobby´s Hurricanes. The first one is a Hurricane in Portugal colours and it was really a pleasant OOB build. The second one is a most successful Hurricane of 310 Czechoslovak squadron during the BoB with 6 kills claimed by several pilots. The kit is also a part of small group build with my friends dedicated to Bob adversary. I hope you like it. If you are interested in a bit more details and photos, I would appreciate your visit there on my blog http://72insight.com/en/hawker-hurricane-mk-i-and-mk-iic-1-72-arma-hobby/ Here on the blog you can also find another BoB Hurricane build by my friend Vladimir Kafka. addition of example picture due to the some troubles

These are some pics of the Airfix Hurricane Mk.I Trop. I built this one together with my daughter, whose favourite WW2 fighter is the Hurricane, since we visited Old Warden in May 2019.. I think the Hurricane looks more impressive with 4 cannon, so I bought some Master cannon to make it look like a MK.IIC. Actually, the topside of the wing would have to be changed as well, but I decided to let that be... The markings are form Xtradecal set X48149, a Hurricane MK.IIC of 1 sqn, SAAF, September 1942. For painting I used Vallejo Acrylics, mainly dark earth, middle stone and azure blue. Hope you like the pics. Gerben

Here's my latest completion, Douglas Bader's mount from the end of the BoB. Almost from the box, I only added Xtradecals decals (DB's aircraft wasn't in the kit and my Italeri kit only had McKnight's aeroplane), Aviology stencils, seatbelts and mirror from Airwaves and rigging wire. I also made the footstep-operating handhold cover from a piece of etched brass. All paints are Model Master enamels. Build is at: Just realised looking at the photos that the mirror's disappeared - I'll have to find that or replace it. The exhaust staining isn't as pronounced as I'd intended but I'm reasonably happy with this overall. Bader apparently said the Hitler boot logo was on both sides of his aircraft but there's no photos of that side and I was unable to get another decal, anyway. Comments and critique welcome.

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" As today marks the last day of what was the official period of the Battle of Britain my contribution over from the Group build. These are the latest boxings from Airfix, built straight from the box with the kit's markings . May add a little more weathering but a bit of a rush at the end to finish them today.

I would like to enter this one, it will be rocket armed operation out of Yugoslavia 1945. Cheers Jes

Thread update #2, 26th November 2021 For anyone new to this thread, may I say welcome, and then I would add beware of what follows! You may wish to skip ahead to Page 21 where the re-boot begins. Having said that, the first few pages of my original Arma builds may prove instructive in the manner of "how to not do something". Once you reach the stage of the arrival of the fabric-winged Airfix Mk.Is, things really start to go wobbly. The (largely self-inflicted) problems I experienced with them halted progress and caused a huge slump in Hurricane mojo. However, the mere act of sweeping clean the workbench was most cathartic, while simply unboxing a shiny new Arma Mk.IIB/C Expert Set has elicited a revival of interest in Sydney Camm's marvellous hunchback Thread update #1, 26th April 2021 Originally, this thread started out as one for just the Arma kits in my stash, which miraculously seem to multiply all by themselves! But latterly one or two examples of Airfix's Mk.I fabric-wing Hurricane have crept in, and by some strange coincidence seem to be multiplying as well. The first two Arma models are about 3/4 completed, and unable to resist any longer I've finally dipped into my first Airfix ragwing, which first appears part-way down Page 7. No doubt the Arma and Airfix builds will become a confusing mish-mash, interspersed with photos of our cat, Daisy To return to the original thread start, September 4th 2020 Inspired by @CedB's multi-Hurricane build thread here, I thought I'd build two Arma kits in parallel. So taking up space on the bench where the Tomahawk really ought to be are a Mk.I and a Mk.IIc. I haven't entirely decided yet on the scheme and markings for the Mk.IIc - it could be CBI, it could be LF363 in the contentious scheme it wore while AVM Sir Stanley Vincent's toy, or it could be something else entirely. The Mk.I, however, will wear a Vokes air filter and be finished as one of 30 Sqn's all-black night-fighters: 30 Sqn, B Flight, Idku. A small start has been made, and here are a few photos of the Mk.IIc: http:// http:// http:// http:// And the Mk.I's sprues: http:// The kits are are OOB + Eduard, and going together very well so far. The Eduard sets are the pre-printed ones, and unfortunately the green looks completely wrong so these were masked with Maskol (yuk!) and lightly over-sprayed with my favoured shade, Vallejo 71.126 IDF/IAF Green. The aluminium bits were variously sprayed Vallejo Aluminium or Dull Aluminium, honestly I can't remember which was which: I tried to make sure that metal bits were the former and doped fabric bits were the latter, although I can't really tell the difference! The IPs for both are done and look very nice, held together with Micro Krystal Kleer, which hopefully doubles as the instrument glasses. Also, the cockpit sidewalls, newly de-Maskol'd, have been curved and glued to the previously-scraped fuselage sides. As mentioned, the parts fit is extremely good. As far as the Mk.IIc's wings are concerned, all I did was lightly sand the trailing edges so that they are hopefully a smidgeon sharper than they otherwise would have been. So far, I haven't removed the entirety of the moulding feeds, but have contented myself with ensuring they don't interfere with mating surfaces - the remaining bits will be sanded away when the major assemblies are together. I'll get some more photos before I go any further, but in the meantime cheers for now! Mark

Hawker Hurricane Mk.I (A01010A) Airfix 1:72 If one was to asked to give the name of a British fighter that took part in the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire would undoubtedly be the most common answer. However, the aircraft that provided the backbone of the defence in that infamous battle was the Hawker Hurricane. Designed in 1935, it was quite a step forwards to the existing front line RAF fighters of that era, key features being a fully enclosed cockpit, retractable undercarriage, 8 guns, powerful V12 engine and most notably, a single cantilever wing as opposed to a biplane configuration. Despite its revolutionary look though, the design and manufacturing techniques were old school, a steel frame with fabric skinning so in reality, it was very much a progressive rather than evolutionary design. This however was to provide useful in manufacturing and in the face of battle. The Hurricane was easy to produce, repair and maintain. This is in comparison to the birth of the Spitfire which used completely new manufacturing techniques which whilst offering performance, hindered early production. Early Hurricane Mk.I’s went through a series of design enhancements. Initial aircraft had fabric wings which limited the dive speed whilst the spin characteristics were a concern for test pilots. This was remedied by the addition of a strake below the rudder that became a key characteristic of the Hurricane. The fabric wings were also changed by 1940 for new metal skinned ones which increased the dive speed by some 80mph. Other notable improvements on the Mk.I were the addition of 70lb of armour plate for the pilot, self sealing fuel tanks and a 3 blade constant speed propeller. The availability of 100 octane fuel early in 1940 gave the Merlin an additional 30% boost power available compared to the power available on 87 Octane which was a significant when one needed to open the taps as wide as they would go!. With aircraft entering service in 1938 with the RAF and a few exports, the first blood was achieved on 21st October 1939 when a squadron of Heinkel He115’s were bounced by 46 Sqn looking for ships in the North Sea. The engagement resulted in 4 aircraft downed with more being claimed by 72 Sqn Spitfires. France was to prove more challenging for the Hurricanes as opposition was encountered by the more lethal BF109E’s. What became the Battle of France was to prove a bloody battle as a result of what the Luftwaffe were able to put up. With the German forces pushing forwards, the RAF and ground forces were forced to retreat to UK soil which paved the way for the Battle of Britain where the Hurricane achieved its legendary status alongside the Spitfire. Of the 2700 victories claimed during this battle by the RAF, nearly 1600 ware at the guns of the hurricane. Whilst the Hurricane soon became outdated a front line day fighter in Europe, it went on to see considerable success in other campaigns throughout the war. With the addition of bombs and cannon, it became an effective ground attack aircraft. It has its history firmly rooted in the battles of the Mediterranean, Russia and the Pacific, not to mention early night fighting over Europe where many aces earned their status. The kit This is a welcome re-release from Airfix of a great little kit. There are 5 grey sprues, a clear one, decal sheet, two colour instructions and a colour painting guide, this is great value for money. Moulding quality is excellent with virtually no flash or sink marks present. The surface detailing on the fuselage and wings is beautifully done with realistic looking fabric areas. Shape wise, it looks very good too. The wing has the slight kink noticeable on the inner section. Construction starts with the wings. A detailed main gear bay is first constructed before joining the top and bottom wings up, a straight forwards affair. The cockpit is then built and assembled into one of the fuselage halves with the rudder pedals and column being fitted to the wing centre section. Two rear bulkheads are supplied in the kit, one armoured, the other not. The instructions show only the non-armoured unit being used, however if you are going to use aftermarket decals, you may want to research your aircraft before selecting the correct one. Detail for the cockpit is only provided in decal form which for some will be well received. I would have preferred some surface detail, so you may want to use an aftermarket etch set if this is an issue to you. With the fuselage quickly assembled, two rear lower fuselages are supplied. The first is the early one without a strake, the second having the more typical and charismatic spin recovery strake. As the base of the rudder is different for each, two rudders are also supplied. Again, check your references before being rushing in with the glue! If one is to be critical on the fuselage, the fabric effect on the access panels below the cockpit fade out on the panel edges. Following a some discussion about the two ‘bumps in the nose immediately behind the propeller at the 4 & 8 o’clock positions. It appears that very early variants didn’t have these. If this is the case on your aircraft, they can simply be sanded off if this detail is important to you. The rudder and tailplanes have the same quality of moulding as the main fabric areas. I’m particularly impressed with the elevator moulding. The Carburettor intake under the nose is a good example of how Airfix have moved on. The intake is recessed giving good scale representation, not simply a blob of plastic as you would get on 20th century kits leaving you to drill the intake out. Two options are provided for gear position. If you prefer to have your gear raised, the parts are superbly produced with wheels & doors moulded as one. This not only looks effective, but keeps it simple for novice builders. If you want to have the gear lowered, separate legs and doors are provided with accurately shaped inner door profiles and two part legs for each side. A noticeable error is the 4 spoke wheels. Typically, the early Hurricanes had 5 spoke wheels so correcting this will need aftermarket wheels. The radiator is another key feature on the hurricane and this is well represented. Both front and rear radiator faces are provided and nicely detailed and the variable flap is moulded in a slightly open position with a very thin edge as not to look toy like. As mentioned previously, both a two speed Watts fixed pitch prop and a 3 blade DH constant speed unit are provided giving more options as to the time period of your build. There are supported by the early slotted and subsequent triple ejector type exhausts. As I suspect that these revolutions happened across various time periods, using reference material for any specific aircraft will be critical if you desire an accurate build. A pleasing feature is the inclusion of a separate canopy enabling you to have it in the open position. This is quite thin and free from distortion. Two windscreens are provided, one of which has an armoured panel protruding out. Other minor features to be aware of in determining your build is things like the venture on the side of the cockpit. At some point, these were phased out with the introduction of a vacuum pump to provide vacuum for the instruments. Decals The decals look very nice. Very sharp print quality with a matt finish and excellent register are evident, only one option is supplied; L1679 of No.1 Sqn in Northern France 1939 Conclusion Although there's an obvious error in the kit, notably the 4 spoke wheels, and a decision not to include surface detail to represent cockpit instrumentation, this kit is a welcome along side other Hurricane models now appearing. . The quality of the moulding and accuracy is reflective of the recent progress Airfix have made and as such offers great value for money. Both experienced and Novice builders alike will enjoy building this kit , I only recently built another boxing and really enjoyed it. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Source: https://www.facebook.com/ArmaHobby/posts/3462056447158021 Considering it'll be most probably a WWII period a/c and in 1/72nd this will be uninteresting to me... My (Polish) wishes - 1/48th plastic kits from: TS-8 Bies, TS-11 Iskra & PZL-130 Orlik. V.P.

Hello, I had a long journey with that kit - it's easier than mk.I, however my low skills caused several problems on various steps. I cannot wait for 1/48 kit which should look as 1/24 in the box. 😀

I offer these pair of RAF fighters for inspection. I bought them a couple years ago in an Aldi store for about £4 a piece including the acrylic paints and brush.. Starter Kits ! They were fun to make and my partner ,who is a teacher ,uses them for children as part of VE Day celebrations. The kids do drawings of them and use the planes to get their cammo schemes something like the original! the decals are quite thick and I painted then too thick.. but hey they amused me and they get to inspire some lively and creative minds!

Hi Everyone, I'm sure we're all aware of the Imperial War Museum Film collection and the visual treasures contained within their archives. While looking around for films that might have footage of 43 Squadron during WWII (there's some of their Hurricanes departing for the Dieppe raid, but that's another topic) on the main page there are currently two links somewhat cryptically titled 'Advance Record Material' and 'Boston Raid'. Intrigued by the titles I took a look since the thumbnail pictures appeared to cover the North African campaigns so might have something I was originally looking out for. Although the films turned out to be shot in Libya rather than Tunisia, they proved to be hugely informative. It just goes to show that an apparently random title could have fascinating information and details on the aircraft and personnel of the era. 'Advance Record Material' https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41432 starts off with footage of a British truck convoy wending its way along desert roads arriving at an airfield. At 2:20 it changes to a clip of a group next to a hangar when a chap runs out and pretends to fire a Very Pistol; the group then scrambles revealing waiting 33 Squadron Hurricanes, foremost being a very careworn HV471 RS-A. This scene then repeats with the bloke with the Very actually discharging it! The Hurricanes then start and taxy out; the sequence ending with shots of various wrecked Lufwaffe aircraft. Of note is the single cannon fit on the Hurricanes. The vehicle convoy shots are repeated, then at 6:40 groups of Hurricanes appear and land. These are a mix of 33 and 213 Sqn Hurricanes. At 8:31 there's a Clapperboard titled 'Hurris with LR tanks arrive Benina' dated 2/12/1942. The arrival shots are repeated concluding with some shots of sunken ships. In the Additional Media tab there is a second film https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41432/media_id/7263 . This starts off with aerial shots, possibly also over Benina, with more wrecked Luftwaffe aircraft including what appears to be a Gotha 242 glider. At 3:30 it changes to ground footage with RAF Regiment Armoured Cars driving past abandoned Me110s, Ju87s and Bf109s. This is dated 20/11/42. At 6:00 an 'erk' appears to be painting the spinner of a Bf109F red(?) folowed by a corporal painting out the fuselage cross and fin swastika. The same aircraft is then pictured starting up and taking off having apparently being taken on strength by 3Sqn RAAF! This is followed by a Ju87D that has been 'adopted' by 601Sqn and a 'Hentschel' 126 also being repainted. The film ends with some 'whistling bomb' shots and the earlier Bf109 being serviced (and armed!) then, finally, the repainted Hs126. It's fascinating watching the aircraft being re-marked, particularly the application of the national markings in so many variations! The 'Boston Raid' collection https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41431 starts off with a frame with dead Afrika Korps soldiers (just to warn you) then cuts to ground crew packing up with a 112Sqn Kittyhawk in the background. This is followed by the whole squadron in convoy departing for pastures new. At 2:36 a Storch in RAF colours takes off followed by more footage of the AAHQ vehicles moving off. The middle section films Italian POWs and more dead Afrika Korps soldiers. From 6:15 aerial shots, presumably taken from the Storch as it flies alongside the AAHQ vehicles. At 8:37 the Storch reappears along with AVM Sir Arthur Coningham and, I think, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder. Both get in the Storch and depart. The film ends with more shots of destroyed German vehicles and a LST(?) being offloaded. The second segment https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41431/media_id/7260 starts with AVM Coningham and 'Monty' in conference then after some general footage at 3:00 Hudsons take off. After some shots of abandoned Bf109s a Hudson is being unloaded. This segment ends with another Hudson and Bombays landing. The final segment https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41431/media_id/7261 begins with what appears to be trucks full of Italian prisoners changing to two officers inspecting a Bf109 graveyard then a camouflaged Gotha 242 glider. At 1:41 a 92Sqn Spitfire V taxies out and the squadron takes off. After some shots of a German war graves the scene changes to a Ju87 wreck being looked over then on to the captured Storch landing. At 3:29 a 92Sqn Spitfire EP613 QJ-S taxies up to a very tidy Bf109F immediately cutting to another Go242 glider then back to the Spitfire/Messerschmitt combo. There are then various shots of the pilot jumping out and inspecting his opposition. The clip ends with another Spitfire Vb taxiing up to a rather less pristine Bf109! Curiously there are no shots of Bostons in any of these three unless the title is referring to the aftermath of a raid by Bostons on what may be Benghazi or Tobruk harbours! I don't recall seeing any of the content before so I hope you find these as interesting and useful as I did. Jonathan

Going through the stash the other week I came across an oddment of kits that I do not normally build, but I have acquired over the past year or so. First up is the Spitfire that was given away by the Daily Mail one week, second is a Hurricane that I bought for some reason or other and the last is a Defiant that was won by SWMBO at a show tombola. So I am going to try this as a triple build, but if required I will put them into separate entries. I do know that the Hurricane has the wrong markings for the BoB, so I have been looking at either a Czech or Polish one, but the only decal sheet I can find of these is rather expensive for many a version that I will not build. I am also looking at the BoB sheet by Xtradecal, but I am unsure of its accuracy. So here are the pictures of the kits. The Spitfire. The Hurricane. The Defiant.

Hi All, Fresh from the Spitfire GB I have decided to make a little change and start off with a Hurricane. This will be the first Hurricane I have built... and the first new Airfix 1/48 kit, so all new territory as far as I am concerned (so far I have built a Tamiya Spitfire MKI which was an excellent re-introduction to the world of aircraft modelling. I enjoyed it so much that I then followed up by joining Britmodeller and taking part in the Spitfire Group Build with two Eduard Spitfires, a MkIX and a Mk VIII. I bought the Airfix Hurricane almost 'blind' but fancied a Battle of Britain era group of fighters so bought the Hurricane as I started the Tamiya... and then thought of adding a Defiant (which I have always had a bit of a soft spot for...). I may still add a Defiant - it depends very much on how I get on with the Hurricane and whether the new Eduard Mk I Spitfire 'The Spitfire Story' is available when the time comes. Anyway, obviously I was too late to be able to pick up a Hurricane MkI original boxing, but as the Airfix Hurricane kit has alternative parts to build either a MK1a, a Sea Hurricane MkIb or a MkI Tropical... so I bought a Sea Hurricane from my local hobby shop. As far as aftermarket stuff is concerned, I bought the Sea Hurricane MkIb PE from Eduard which has a few instruments, a new seat and a few repalcement parts for the cockpit. It didnt include any seat bets, so I have ordered a set of PE belts, also from Eduard. As far as decals are concerned, I picked up the Xtradecal X48144 Haker Hurricane MkI set which includes Baders Hurricane... probably one of the best known, so nothing particularly unique in this build. As I said, it is my first Hurricane and my first Airfix kit in well over twenty years, so I thought I would start simply... I had been thinking of adding rivet detail and upgrading some of the more basic elements in the Airfix kit, but I will perhaps do that if I choose to build a second Hurricane having got some experience with this new kit under my belt. First impressions are good. Its pretty accurate if a little basic... but it is strange that the cockpit detail is pretty refined given the lack of any surface detailing elsewhere. The rear of fuselage is pretty good, but the wings and nose seem very basic with no real surface detailing at all... very different from the gorgeous Eduard Spitfire kits. I don't know a hell of a lot about Hurricanes, so please forgive any basic errors... but I fancy building one and although Bader very definitely a character you will either love or hate (I suspect I would have disliked him intensely...) He seemed to be a bit of a maverick, which normally endears me to people, but he seems to have been a very acerbic, arrogant man, a divisive leader and convinced he was always right even when confronted with facts that suggested otherwise. I have worked with a few people like that in the past...! I met him once, too, way back in the late sixties when my father pointed him out at an airshow... I was too young to really appreciate who he was at the time... but I remember a rather cold arrogant man walking away, talking to another man, who may well have been Adolf Galland... Its one of those times when I wish I had paid more attention to at the time... but I was about ten... and more excited about seeing a Spitfire flying around (there wasn't too many at the time) than some grumpy old man... Anyway... by way of getting this all out of my system, here is my Airfix Hurricane build thread... First, a quick overview of the kit and decals... Initial impressions are much the same as anyone else has posted. The plastic is rather soft, there is a fine texture to all the flat surfaces so it seems a little crude in comparison to Eduard and Tamiya kits. Trailing edges seem a little thick and crude too, as does much of the surface detailing. But it seems accurate and relatively simple to build and the cockpit is far more detailed than I would have expected. Ejector pin marks are both large and fairly numerous... and a few are in areas that may need to be dealt with. The cockpit floor for example. They probably won't get seen, but if a wash is used to highlight any detail on the cockpit floor, the wash will almost certainly highlight the pin marks, so they will probably need to be filled... There are also a few scratches on the main components cause by the sprues rubbing together in transit... Maybe not enough to still be showing after a primer coat, but having been used to each sprue being in an individual plastic bag for protection, it all seemed a little basic and 'toy like' in comparison to some... Anyway... on with the build. I will start with putting the cockpit components together, then, hopefully, prime the inner framework with Mr Surfacer 1500 Black if I get time this evening... If I'm quick, I may even get round to finishing the cockpit...

I'll be honest. I didn't know who Bob Kershaw was until I bought the kit. For those of you who may be in a similar boat, here's his story : The Arma Hobby Hurricane Mk.1 Expert Set came with the markings for Bob Kershaw's Hurricane, and I couldn't resist the temptation. What can I say? It's a Hurricane by Arma Hobby - Great kit and a very enjoyable building experience. Now I'm desperately trying to avoid buying the Arma Hobby Yak1b ! Thanks for looking. Time to head back. mike

My next build is the 1/48 Airfix Hurricane Mk1. I have some P Maks and decals for serial/Sqn Codes to model 249 Sqn Hurricane P3616 GN-F I read the book 'Gun Button to Fire' by Tom 'Ginger' Neil, who was a Pilot Officer and flew with 249 Sqn during the battle. He loved his Hurricane, P3616 coded GN-F. Whilst on a days leave, it was flown by another pilot, Pilot Officer Martyn Aurel King. Sadly he was shot down and killed, having bailed out but suffering a collapsed parachute. PO Martyn Aurel King He is buried in All Saints' churchyard, Fawley, Hampshire For his actions during this engagement in which PO King was KIA, Fl Lt Nicholson of 249 Sqn was to be gazetted for the only VC awarded to aircrew for actions in the battle. http://ww2today.com/16th-august-1940-flight-lieutenant-nicolson-wins-v-c Fl Lt Nicholson VC So I looked into the history, to find an interesting link. PO King was born in West Mersea, 15 minutes down the road from where I live in Colchester. Looking further into it, it became apparent that it is likely that PO King was the youngest serving RAF pilot in the battle and almost certainly the youngest to lose his life. It appears an admin error recorded him as being 19, but his birth certificate would show him to in fact be 18. The CWGC looked into this and apparently agreed to change the record on his grave stone. I is still generally reported that Geoffrey Wellum was the youngest RAF pilot in the battle - interestingly I saw a post on here about a spitfire build, describing him as the youngest spitfire pilot, rather than youngest. Some articles if interested: http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/KingMA.htm https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/16884592.youngest-of-the-few-was-an-18-year-old-from-mersea-island/ https://249squadron.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/in-memory-of-pilot-officer-m-a-king-249-squadron/ https://www.essexlifemag.co.uk/people/youngest-battle-of-britain-pilot-1-6086942 So I thought I would model Neil's beloved P3616/GN-F, but reflecting on the young man who gave his life flying the that Hurricane fighting for his country.... I joined the Army at the age of 16 1/2, joined a frontline unit at 17 1/2 (I would not have been allowed to deploy on operations until I was 18, which I did. This was a throwback to 2 young soldiers from my unit who were KIA at the age of 17 along with another who died on his 18th birthday during the Falklands war....the rules then said they could not deploy to Northern Ireland, but did not count outside that theatre). I also commanded young 18 year old soldiers on operations; so I do feel I have an understanding as to what things were like for these young men, serving at a young age. However, they were forced into the ultimate battle, where losing would mean the end for Britain as they knew its amazing how quickly these airmen became Sqn Leaders and Wing Comds at such young ages.... Our armed forces still deploy young men and women, willing to put their young lives on the line, firstly for their mates, then for their nation..... Pte Damian Jackson, KIA, Helmand Afghanistan, 5th July 2006, aged 19. I must admit I did have misgivings looking at my younger soldiers at the start of that tour in 2006, thinking 'bloody Playstation generation', will they up to it, etc - but they all stood up to the plate and performed.... I just felt the local link, youngest RAF pilot in the battle deserved to be a subject in this GB...... P3616 'GN-F', Hurricane I, 249 Squadron, RAF Boscombe Down. The Hawker Hurricane was the primary air defence fighter of the Battle of Britain and was flown by Pilot Officer Tom 'Ginger' Neil of No 249 Squadron based at RAF Boscombe Down, part of No 10 Group. Hurricane Mk I, P3616 was his preferred mount but on 16 August 1940, when he was on a well-earned 24 hours leave, it was allocated to Pilot Officer Martyn King. That day, Flight Lieutenant James (Nick) Nicolson was leading Red Section, which consisted of P/O King in 'F for Freddie' and the supernumerary Squadron Leader Eric King (no relation). The Section was ordered to a patrol-line Salisbury to Ringwood but it was not long before it was vectored to a raid attacking Lee-on-Solent. During the engagement with Messerschmitt Bf 110 escorts, P/O King was shot down and died when his parachute collapsed and Sqn Ldr King was so badly shot up that he barely limped back to Boscombe Down. The leader, Flt Lt Nicolson was severely wounded in the side and leg, and was about to abandon his burning Hurricane when the attacking Messerschmitt overshot, at which point Nicolson gallantly returned to his controls and shot down his attacker. Badly burnt, he finally took to his parachute but shot on the way down by a watching British Army NCO. For this action, Nicolson was awarded the Victoria Cross the following November. Pilot Officer Neil returned from leave to find his beloved P3616 had been destroyed but when No 249 moved to RAF North Weald on 1 September, he arranged for its replacement, V7313 to be marked 'F for Freddie'. During the continuing Battle, Neil flew 62 times in V7313 before it too was lost on 10 October, and a total of 141 times against the Luftwaffe, by which time he had been credited with 13 confirmed victories. A replica of Hurricane V7313 now stands as 'Gate Guardian' at North Weald airfield. Words © Paul Beaver. Thanks for looking.

I just now found some film footage I think many of you will like. Scenes of Spitfires being uncrated and erected on Gibraltar, and very interesting North African footage of Hurricane Mk IId's, I think from No. 6 Squadron, as well as what looks like Spitfire Vc's from No, 2 Squadron, SAAF, plus some good FAA footage. Too bad a lot of the serials on the Spitfires were not visible! Mike

A cheap and cheerful kit but it looks like a Hurricane when finished. As usual Vallejo air paints and some aftermarket decals from Xtradecal

Dear All, In the process of building the Airfix MK1a Spitfire and Arma Hurricane Mk1 in 72nd scale as part of my Battle of Britain project but as usual my biggest problem will be obtaining a realistic finish to the exhaust manifolds. I'm not after any trade secrets but just a good method to avoid them simply looking obviously just gun metal or brick red! Kind Regards Colin. Ps. any ideas on when the much anticipated Revell Ju88A-1 will be issued?

Evening all, Just finished off my latest build, Airfix's early ragwing Hurricane. I've hastily thrown this together as my original intention for build 13 hasn't gone to plan and has been shelved for the time being. Built completely OOB and finished as usual with Hataka Orange Line and Alclad, with W&N Galeria Matt to finish. Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Comments welcomed as always, Shaun

Hello! I've at last joined the Arma Hobby Hurricane gang, and enjoyed making this so much I've already ordered another kit to make their MkI! I decided to go for Stewart "Bomb" Finney's steed "Oops", he seems to have been quite an entertaining character and there are some cracking interviews with him on Youtube. I particularly enjoyed the anecdote about the wickerwork airfield... So the SAAF flying MkI Hurricanes eagerly awaited delivery of their MkIIc planes with four Hispano cannon installed, and must have thought it was a right swiz when they arrived with the outer two cannon missing! There's a photo of Oops with the tail all shot to ribbons, but being a Hurricane was repaired, probably with some canvas and dope, and flew again. The model is hairy sticked as usual with Humbrol enamels, then Gloss Cote before and after decals, weathered with watercolours then sealed with Matt Cote. I'm particularly pleased with the weathering on this, except for how it's highlighted the edges of the decal film, as you can probably see on the underside. I'm wondering if I used Humbrol Clear instead maybe this wouldn't happen, but then wouldn't the final coat of Matt Clear, being water based, lift the watercolours and ruin my weathering? I've always thought that water based weathering should go between solvent based varnishes, and vice versa - or could I paint a final layer of Matt Cote onto a model that has been sealed with Clear? If anyone has any experience and can advise I'd be very grateful, and as alway any useful feedback gladly accepted.

Very nice new kit from Polish Arma Hobby company. Easily the best Hurricane kit in the scale. No filler needed if you take some care preparing the parts for gluing. The only shortcoming is clear parts that are a bit on the thick side. I've managed to spoil the original LK-A letters so these on the model are from quite old Legato kit. And I decided to do almost no weathering as I like this livery clean. Thanks for viewing!