Classic Airframes 1/48 Fabric Wings Hawker Hurricane Mk.I L1555

[Basilisk]

I am kind of new here And don't really know how to start - this post that is. Well, like many, I made my last kit around 30 plus years ago and I feel like making some kits again. But boy did thing change over 30 years! Not only are the kits so much more detailed, but there is such a large choice of stuff to build them! That goes from glue to filler to paint and much more.

I did a lot of reading to see what is the best stuff to use and I quickly learned that the BEST stuff doesn't exist as people have a wide range of preferences. So I have to do it the hard way and find out by myself. So I thought it is maybe helpful showing my first build here in the hope to get some feedback and more important, some tips - and encouragement if things turn sour.

As the heading says, I like to build the Classic Airframes 1/48 Fabric Wings Hawker Hurricane L1599 in the markings from Squadron Leader John Gillan, using the kit decals together with CMK five spoked wheels and the Aires Wheel Bay for the Hasegawa kit (of which the Classic Airframes kit is based on).

This won't be an OOB build as I like to correct some of the errors with the Classic Airframes kit, of which several had been copied from the Hasegawa kit. But in addition, the wing is too short and the landing lights are at the wrong spot which I hope to correct too.

No shortage in reference material. But nonetheless, I am sure that I will have lots of questions during the build of the kit. Unfortunately I have limited time, so my build won't be fast - so I better get started.

Cheers, Peter

Edited August 25, 2014 by Basilisk

[Skids]

1 kit I have always wanted, will be watching with interest

[TempestV]

Landing lights on fabric wing Hurri's were further inboard than on the later metal wing - check the CA wing against the Bentley plans.

cheers

Chris

Edited July 25, 2014 by TempestV

[Basilisk]

Wow, have already two weeks past since I started this post? I did investigate the accuracy of the CA wing a bit further, mainly comparing it to the Bentley plans and pictures. The Hurricane wingspan is 40 feet which comes to 254mm in 1/48 and the Bentley plans are spot on.

But as can be seen here, the CA wing is just over 4mm short. Also the wing to fuselage fairing is not correct.

The following picture illustrates were the error is on the lower wing. The rib spacing after the guns should be wider which isn't the case on the CA kit.

Strangely, the rib spacing on the upper wing is correct at that spot, but the discrepancy is along the gun covers - the right hand side is too short (should be same as left hand side). Also the center part of the gun cover is a bit too narrow.

as Chris mentioned, landing lights on fabric wing Hurri's were further inboard than on the later metal wing. Unfortunately CA didn't move them enough.

The opening of the landing lights isn't "boxed-in" on the original and I will try to show this.

Another problem with the wing is the thickness of the plastic which makes the 2mm thick undercarriage openings a far cry from the original. In addition, the opening is angled as well.

compared to this.

Well, I did some work on the kit as well

It took a lot of scraping to reduce the thickness to scale. I added a 0.3mm shim to eliminate the angle. I think it looks much better now.

It is a start and I hope I have a bit more to show in two weeks time.

Cheers, Peter

[Basilisk]

Time to add some progress to this build as another 2 weeks have passed.

I spent time experimenting with fillers and quickly learned that the perfect filler for all the jobs doesn't exist! But I am glad to say that I found my favorites.

- Milliput for larger jobs as it doesn't shrink and sands nicely.

- Gunze Dissolved Putty and Surfacer 500 as it can be applied by brush and sands nicely too.

- Gap filling super glue mixed with talcum powder for small job which need good adhesion.

I practiced my "filling" skills using above fillers on the Airfix 1/72 Rag Wing Hurricane which I am building in parallel with the Classic Airframes kit.

But back to the Classic Airframes build. I Thinned the wings so that the Aires Wheel Bay is fitting in between.

I prefer using a scraper to remove the excess plastic. This is much less messy than using power tools and much faster than sanding.

The next step was to extend the wing with two 1 mm plastic card stripes at the spot shown earlier.

The more I compared the Classic Airframes kit with pictures, the more inaccuracies I found. I started to wonder if some kit bashing is justified. I bought the Italeri Mk.I kit for this purpose and some additional detail sets.

The Italeri kit looks great in the box, but unfortunately has several issues too. One is how tings "don't" fit... But as I have this kit now, I will use the Fuselage as I like the fabric effect over the Classic Airframes fabric effect.

And why not using the flap section from the Italeri kit with the Classic Airframes wing. It is better detailed and has a much better transition from wing trailing edge to fuselage.

It was straight forward to cut it from the Italeri wing. But to fit it to the Classic Airframes wing needed a bit more effort.

I found using a chisel works well removing the plastic.

I like the look of the enlarged wing with the Italeri flaps when comparing it to the Bentley plan.

Next was re-locating the landing light. I think this will be a time consuming fiddly job to detail. I also shaped the shell ejection slots more accurately.

That is it for now. I had a look what is needed in detailing the cockpit. Are there any pictures of early Hurricane cockpits showing how the cross hair gun sights are fitted and where?

Early Hurricanes also had no seat armor. When was seat armor retro fitted to fabric wing Hurricanes?

Any suggestions and information would be much appreciated.

Cheers, Peter

[JasonC]

Very neat work.

J.

[Troy Smith]

Crikey Peter

very interesting, I'd not spotted troubles with the CA wing, but have you seen Jon Kunac Tabinor's build?

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234958668-classic-airframes-hurricane-mk-1-fabric-wing/

as he addresses some issue, and it has plenty of witter from me. I know you have read up, so you may well have seen this.

The back armour started being fitted in France, so won't be needed for an early 111 Squadron plane.

the early gunsight mounting can be part seen pages 12-13 of Hurricane At War, which is in your pile

the shot on the left shows the chin pad and mounting rods, and also look on page 22 of the chaps eating off the tailplane of a 79 sq plane, the ring can be seen.

Are they clear enough? I'll have a look through any other books we both have and see if I can spot more.

If you have time it's worth going through the IWM site as well.

The Italeri kit is frustrating, the more you look, the more issues you find! I have listed a fair few problems on the site, been meaning to do a illustrated review but it's a bit depressing. Did just get the Italeri IIC though so might be worth doing for all 3.

feel free to try me for answers, I may be able to help, and a good question can often turn up answers to other questions you didn't know to ask!

cheers

T

PS edit

The Italeri fuselage panels lines have many minor errors. You might well find JKT's method gives better result. Using the Italeri flaps may or may not help, possibly a use for the PE flaps you can buy fitted up, which are not really useful as the flaps are very rarely dropped.

The Aires pit may well be more bother than it's worth, as the basic framework is decent, some photo etch should add enough detail, the Aires may seem more detailed out the pack, but getting it too fit maybe more bother, plus it has 'a floor' which the hurricane doesn't.