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Sea Hurricane - 1:48 Italeri


Mike

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Sea Hurricane
1:48 Italeri


boxtop.jpg

 

The Hawker Hurricane is one of Britain's foremost fighters of WWII, and although slightly overshadowed by the more graceful Spitfire during the Battle of Britain, it was a capable aircraft that was available in large numbers, and took more than its fair share of "kills" during the campaign. It went on to see service to the end of the war, but was relegated to less onerous tasks as technology leapt forward and faster, more agile aircraft came on stream on both sides of the conflict.

The Sea Hurricane was initially developed to be launched from Catapult Armed Merchantmen (CAM Ships) as a one-shot launch that would be used to defend a convoy from attackers, and then either flown to friendly shores, or ditched close to the convoy in the hope of being picked up. The aircraft were converted from well-used airframes for a last hurrah to protect the merchantmen, and were initially known as Hurricats. They had a number of alterations to make them suitable for launch and operation by Navy pilots, including naval spec. radio gear. The later 1B was equipped with an arrestor hook and catapult equipment and were used on aircraft carriers of various types, while the later 1Cs had cannon armed wings and an overboosted engine that put out 1400hp at low level. The IICs were used on naval carriers, and over four hundred were built.

The Kit
Following the launch of the Italeri Hurricane last year, many reviewers spotted the insert under the belly and speculated on the possible Sea Hurricane that might be in the works. Of course that speculation is now over, and here it is - based upon the original kit that was well received by most sensible reviewers, and an awful lot easier to come by than the Hasegawa offering that has been out of production for some time. The kit arrives in a top opening box, the mention of which will send some readers into apoplexy because I simply mentioned it. On the front is a nicely painted picture of a Sea hurri coming in to land with flaps and arrestor hook deployed superimposed upon what looks to be a real sea-scape.

 

sprue1.jpg

sprue2.jpg

sprue3.jpg

 

Inside the box are four sprues of medium grey styrene, a small sprue of clear parts, a small Photo-Etch (PE) brass sheet, a good sized decal sheet, and a thick instruction booklet that also includes the painting and decaling guide in greyscale. The overall impression is good, as per the original non-naval issue, with subtle changes to the sprues, such as the lack of the blunt spinner and alternative prop blades, and the drop-in section of tooling that replaces the standard belly fillet with the arrestor hook equipped variant, with the spools and hook of course. The rest of the tooling is identical to the original issue, so if you have that kit, you will know the score already.

For those that don't, the cockpit is made up of a tubular framework that encloses the pilot's seat with fancy PE seatbelts, onto which the PE instrument panel and styrene coaming are added. The instructions tell you to place the decal under the PE instrument panel so that they show through the holes, as well as offering you the coward's way out and not using the PE panel at all. The cockpit is finished off with a set of rudder pedals and control column, all of which looks as it should, resulting in a nicely detailed cockpit that will satisfy most modellers. In addition to the cockpit, you also get parts for a Merlin engine in the box, and although it is somewhat simplified, consisting of 9 parts, it looks quite detailed, and has additional parts for the engine bearers and firewall, plus a choice of two types of exhausts, although it's not clear which airframes the options are suitable for, and the painting guide is no help. A large portion of the cowling can be left off to display the engine should you wish, although most will probably opt for the closed up cowling to preserve the Hurri's pugnacious lines. Once those two assemblies are completed and painted, the fuselage can be closed up and work can start on the wings.

 

pe.jpg

 

The lower wing is a single span, into which a large boxed in main wheel bay is dropped, and the ailerons are separate parts allowing you to pose them deflected if you wish. The upper wings are separate halves, and both upper and lower have a large cut-out on the leading edge into which the gun inserts fit. Careful fettling and test-fitting will be necessary to ensure a good fit, and their presence whispers "cannon armed Hurricanes" quietly to this reviewer. Outboard of the gun insert are a pair of landing lights that have separate lenses and covers, plus wingtip lights that can all be found on the clear sprue. The fuselage is dropped into the slot between the two upper wing halves, and the separate rudder is added, which can again be modelled deflected one way or the other. Under the wing are a small chin scoop plus the larger radiator housing, a clear recognition light and of course the important belly insert with the recess for the arrestor hook. The hook fits within it, and aft of that is the fixed tail-wheel, replete with rather overdone weighted wheel. The horizontal tail is made up from two halves each side, with a single part used for each elevator, which can be posed deflected if you wish.

The landing gear can be posed up or down, with the retracted option omitting a few parts and cutting off some of the retraction struts. Cleverly, the weighted portion of the tyres is hidden under the gear bay door, by simply rotating them 180o to hide them. The gear down option is more complex, and includes a little extra detail in the bay, with a two-part gear leg that attaches the gear bay door and receives the weighted tyre, with two choices of hub, pushed onto the axle. The pitot probe, catapult spools and retractable stirrup step are all located under the wing, some of which are probably better left off until construction is complete. Take care to place the flat-spots on the wheels in the correct position for the aircraft's weight to rest on them, or they'll look very odd indeed!

As mentioned earlier, the cowling panels can be left off to display the engines, but they are a little thick to be representative at that scale, and there is no internal detail, but the choice is of course yours. The edges are thinned a little, so they could quite easily be arranged so that the blank insides aren't visible. The cockpit escape door can be posed open or closed, as can the canopy, and Italeri have thoughtfully included a pair of external handles for each side of the sliding portion for emergency opening from the outside. The distinctive external rear view mirror is added to the top of the windshield, and a small flange fits to the front of the cowling, deflecting oil from the prop away from the windscreen. The prop itself is made from rear portion with keyed blades that fit into holes in the rear, after which the spinner is added.

 

clear.jpg

 

Markings
Five marking options are included on the decal sheet, all Mark IBs, and many of them depicted during Operation Pedestal, as follows:

  • RN V7056 HMS Victorious, Operation Pedestal, Aug 1942 - Extra Dark Sea Grey and Extra Dark Slate Grey over Sky
  • RN AF955 HMS Indomitable, 800 NAS, Operation Pedestal, Aug 1942 - Extra Dark Sea Grey and Extra Dark Slate Grey over Sky
  • RN Z4550 HMS Indomitable, 800 NAS, Operation Pedestal, Aug 1942 - Extra Dark Sea Grey and Extra Dark Slate Grey over Sky
  • RN P2886 786 NAS, Machrihanish, 1942/3 - Extra Dark Sea Grey and Extra Dark Slate Grey over Sky
  • RN V7077 HMS Indomitable, 801 NAS, Operation Pedestal, Aug 1942 - Extra Dark Sea Grey and Extra Dark Slate Grey over Sky
  • RN W9134 HMS Victorious, Operation Pedestal, Aug 1942 - Extra Dark Sea Grey and Extra Dark Slate Grey over Sky

 

decals.jpg

 

The decals are printed by Cartograf and are in good register. Colour density is good, as is sharpness, and the carrier film has been kept to a sensible minimum.

Conclusion
Another good quality Hurricane kit from Italeri that is perhaps only let down by the narrow band of decal choices, with only the yellow tail flash or sky fuselage bands to tell them apart if we ignore the codes. Moulding is first rate, with restrained panel lines and plenty of detail in the main areas out of the box, but the curmudgeon in me wonders whether the tooling costs of the engine could have been better spent elsewhere.

If you fancy a Sea Hurricane in 1:48 for your collection, this is the kit for you.

Review sample courtesy of
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Nice review Mike, this could lead me to try a kit in 1/48. :o Nah, just kidding. But it sure looks like they've done the goods on one of my favourite subjects. Pleased to to see you're a sensible reviewer, we need more of those! ;)

Steve.

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In the grand scheme of things, its all relative as they say, so I think we should accept that you're a relatively sensible reviewer compared.....nah, lets not go there.;) I'm sure you get my drift. :):lol:

Steve.

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Good review Mike, thanks.

I have recently finished the kit and can confirm that it gave few problems. The landing light clear covers are a bit fiddly and those gun inserts require a bit of fettling as mentioned. I also had to do a bit of sanding to get the horizontal stabs to fit properly but this is only a few minutes work.

Overall, an enjoyable build that sits nicely on the shelf.

I will be posting it in RFI soon, been a bit busy recently changing the car (full scale one)

Regards,

Steve.

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  • 5 months later...

Italeri have now brought out the Mk IIc Hurricane. Does any one know if the masking & PE that eduard produce will fit the MK. IIc as welll?

I believe the D sprue is the same for all 3 hurricane kits, which is the clear canopy parts, so the masking should work for all, Check italeri's website as you can inspect all the sprues for each of the 3 kits, mk.1 mk.IIc and the sea hurricane

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On 28/02/2013 at 23:57, Mike said:

 

The Sea Hurricane was initially developed to be launched from Catapult Armed Merchantmen (CAM Ships) as a one-shot launch that would be used to defend a convoy from attackers, and then either flown to friendly shores, or ditched close to the convoy in the hope of being picked up. The aircraft were converted from well-used airframes for a last hurrah to protect the merchantmen, and were initially known as Hurricats. They had a number of alterations to make them suitable for launch and operation by Navy pilots, including naval spec. radio gear. The later 1B was equipped with an arrestor hook and catapult equipment and were used on aircraft carriers of various types, while the later 1Cs had cannon armed wings and an overboosted engine that put out 1400hp at low level. The IICs were used on naval carriers, and over four hundred were built.

Despite the repetition about the IC, there is no evidence it ever saw service, and that more than 2 were made.

Quote

Sea Hurricane Mk.Is fell into three classes

Mk.Ia - catapult spools but no arrester hooks. These were used on the CAM ships.

Mk.Ib - catapult spools and arrester hooks. These were used on the fleet carriers such as Indomitable, Eagle and Victorious.

Mk.Ic - no catapult spools but with arrester hooks. These were for use on escort carriers. This last information comes from a BAe source, and I've not found supporting evidence of any such airfames. There have been statements that the designation was used for Mk.Is with four cannon, but despite claims that 100 of these were built and some used on Operation Pedestal, it seems that only one or two prototype examples were tested, and these reverted to standard armament because of the weight of the weaponry.

from here,http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/61962-help-with-sea-hurricane-details/#entry674833

courtesy of Graham Boak

Quote

Careful fettling and test-fitting will be necessary to ensure a good fit, and their presence whispers "cannon armed Hurricanes" quietly to this reviewer.

Fortunately Italeri have retooled their wings for the IIC that has just come out.

[i've not picked on of these up, when I get one for under £20 I will.]

So, how accurate do you want? Assuming you do want accurate ........if you are not a Hurricane anorak, or don't wish to turn into one navigate away now... fast.

Now Mike is a sensible reviewer. I'm a Hurricane anorak.

Overall Italeri have made a good job on this, has many many minor but annoying faults.

None are a 'deal breaker', and most are easily correctable but I think worth mentioning.

The kit is a mess.  The nose ring issue is the biggest, but the whole list is daunting.  For an expensive new tool kit it's just another Italeri mess up.

 

 

 

EDIT - Dec 14 -The spinners are too big because the nose ring is too big. It seems scaled the nose ring to the oversize Spitfire Rotol spinner backplate, which makes the nose ring too, so the backplate of the spinners is too large a diameter. This means just adding a correct sized spinner does not fix the problem. You need to reduce the size of the nose ring.

Given that Airfix have announced a new tool Hurricane, which so far looks correct, I'd say not to bother with the Italeri.

Note, the oversize nose ring is on the mkII boxing as well.

EDIT Feb 2016

with a Hurricane STGB inprogress, I have got my parka out (heavy duty anorak)....

The teardrop bulges cover the extreme front end of the V-12 Merlin, and it's broad.

Rarely seen in wartime shots, best seen in a warbird, eg this wiki shot

Spitfire_and_Hurricane_in_flight_MOD_451

Italeri have made a double stuff up, the nose ring is too big, but the top cowling is too narrow! Note how the nose ring 'pulls in' from the width of the cowling top...

ita_hurricane_5_zps0d2c1647.jpg

this is the kit shot from http://forum.ipmsireland.com/topic/8356356/1/ with a Hasegawa De Havilland Hurricane spinner in place...

Correcting this will require some careful surgery or a new nose piece. Not correcting this will mean a correct sized spinner won't fit.

The DH spinner is wrong same base size as the big rotol. This is a replacement job, as it's really way to big, making the spinner totally mishaped. Ironically on the MkI box they have a pic showing the right shape!!!

[Note, if you want if you want a BoB Rotol MK I the Italeri MkI Rotol spinner i think can be saved]

 

this one -

photo9_zps70da1333.jpg

Note there are TWO types of De Havilland propeller fitted to Hurricanes.

The Spitfire type and fitted to some early Hurricanes [and alternate part in the Airfix kit] see the Finnish one below for shape, and the smaller de Havilland Hurricane type [as done by Hasegawa.] and this is the one used on Sea Hurricanes.

[it was heavier than the Rotol and used to counterbalance the weight of the arrestor hook]

Its Small and pointy, this is De Havilland type usually fitted

here's the real thing, note the oil shield fitted behind the spinner.

shurr-7.jpg

compare to kit DH prop. [same in both MkI and Sea Hurricane....not correct]

DSC_0007.jpg

Quickboost do an DH prop aftermarket replacement for Hasegawa.

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/QB48450

I don't have this to check it.

 

I think the gun ports on the leading edge are just a fraction too high, meaning they look too oval. I'm not absolutely sure on this, and It's really a very small, but looks just a bit wrong to me.

Anyway, compare to this pic to the one above and make your own mind up.[this is the Spitfire type DH prop BTW for comparison]

011075.jpg

Probably a right pain to correct though. The gun port inserts don't fit very well either.

The gun ejector slots are a bit off, well, one is, as they are spaced evenly on the Italeri kit, but not on the real thing.

it's the outer slot, it should be inboard a slot's width closer. Should be an easy fix.

Ironically the painting instructions show this in the correct place/shape!!

The landing light sides are at right angles to the ground, they should be at right angles to the wing.

There are a load of 'fantasy' rivets on the wing, ironically there are pics of the wing in the booklet showing the real wing.....

correctable but should have not been made...

The wing gun bay panels are misshaped. Not to bad in isolation, took me scanning the wing and overlaying the Bentley drawings.

I propped the wing up so it was flat in relation to the scanner bed, and then overlaid it on the Bentley drawings in a graphics program

 

Bentley panel lines black, Italeri white...

 

Italeriwingoverbentleyplans_zpsf218764d.

 

Note the also the aileron is too wide, but as separate is not to hard to correct, and the inner wing detail is in the wrong place.

These details match a set of drawings by R.Caruana .... it's a real shame Italeri didn't get the Bentley drawings to work from.

I think this is the source of many of the errors in this kit.Edit - the Flaps are too narrow, Italeri measure at 8mm, they should be 9mm

 

The tyre parts have a raised inner rim. This is wrong, careful scraping will make the tyres useable. been meaning post up some pics of this fix. Note, you want the 4 spoke hubs NO Hurricane I have ever seen has 3 spoke hubs which are for some reason supplied. [alternate 5 spoke hubs would have been handy for early planes though]

 

Also, the MkI paint/decal guide shows the upperwing roundel too far outboard, I kept seeing builds with it too far outboard, and looked carefully at the guide. The above drawing shows the right positioning.

A look at Italeri site turns up this.... different on either wing!

weirdly the port

wing is almost correct, the starboard

is way too outboard, note the panel line... also note the correct position of shell ejector ports on the drawing..but not the kit!

2705_piante_LR.jpg

And...here's the rest of the minor glitches. [so far]

tail wheel too high, with no opening hole for it.

The fabric overlapping metal on tailplane, by this I mean the tailplane fillets are metal fairings, the fin fabric juts out above this! This will require building up the fillets.

The wheel well lacks detail, as do the inside of the gear doors. The front edge of the wheel wide is too far forward.

there is a 'bumped up' panel line on the access panel above the front wing root, well shown in the pic of the Finnish plane above.

curved corners on the small rectangular 2nd fabric panel on the starboard side.

a cockpit floor!

Hmm, the last edit wiped out some of this post. I'll have to recheck later.

Note, since writing the bulk of this i got a IIC kit cheap.

the IIC kit also manages to get the cannon access panels wrong, too far forward, as are the underwing ejector slots, the nose is still too big and the graceful Rotol bullet spinner is turned into some bizzare nipple shaped affair.

A free replacement is the De Havilland spinner in the new mould Airfix Spitfire VB, which is actually wrong for the Spitfire, but the right shape for a Hurricane, and as the Spitfire nose ring is a bit bigger, would probably be a drop fit on the Italeri II kit.

In conclusion, that's 3 versions of the Italeri Hurricane I can heartily not recommend to anyone who wants an accurate Hurricane.

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  • 1 year later...

Having picked up all three of the above mentioned 'under the table' for less than £40 I'm not as happy as I was. I think the kit plastic is too thin to allow a straightforward sanding to the right profile.

I'm off to put them into the naughty box they'll be next years Big Project now. Hopefully QB or similar will offer a resin solution beforehand.

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks for the detailed review Troy, I sort of wish I had read your review before I picked up the kits...... It's still nice to add shiny things to my collection even if they are inaccurate...

...... Now Mike is a sensible reviewer. I'm a Hurricane anorak.

Overall Italeri have made a good job on this, has many many minor but annoying faults. None are a 'deal breaker', and most are easily correctable but I think worth mentioning.

Two really stand out.

The tyre parts have a raised inner rim. This is wrong, careful scraping will make the tyres useable. been meaning post up some pics of this fix. Note, you want the 4 spoke hubs NO Hurricane I have ever seen has 3 spoke hubs which are for some reason supplied. [alternate 5 spoke hubs would have been handy for early planes though]

EDIT - Dec 14 -The spinners are too big because the nose ring is too big. It seems scaled the nose ring to the oversize Spitfire Rotol spinner backplate, which makes the nose ring too, so the backplate of the spinners is too large a diameter. This means just adding a correct sized spinner does not fix the problem. You need to reduce the size of the nose ring.

Given that Airfix have announced a new tool Hurricane, which so far looks correct, I'd say not to bother with the Italeri.

Note, the oversize nose ring is on the mkII boxing as well.

Correcting this will require some careful surgery or a new nose piece. Not correcting this will mean a correct sized spinner won't fit.......

.

.

.

The wing gun bay panels are misshaped. Not to bad in isolation, took me scanning the wing and overlaying the Bentley drawings. I propped the wing up so it was flat in relation to the scanner bed, and then overlaid it on the Bentley drawings in a graphics program


Bentley panel lines black, Italeri white...

Italeriwingoverbentleyplans_zpsf218764d.

Note the also the aileron is too wide, but as separate is not to hard to correct, and the inner wing detail is in the wrong place.

These details match a set of drawings by R.Caruana .... it's a real shame Italeri didn't get the Bentley drawings to work from.

I think this is the source of many of the errors in this kit.

Edit - the Flaps are too narrow, Italeri measure at 8mm, they should be 9mm ........

........ In conclusion, that's 3 versions of the Italeri Hurricane I can heartily not recommend to anyone who wants an accurate Hurricane.

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  • 10 months later...

I avoided the Italeri kit because I kept hearing this stuff about it and already had several Hasegawa kits. The new Airfix kit, however, is the way to go I think. I've only heard good things about its accuracy, it builds up very nicely, it has alternative parts in the box, and the price is right!

Michael

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