Building Battle of Britain Hurricanes

[Marvel Onkey]

If I wanted to build Battle of Britain specific Hurricanes in 1:72 what are my options in terms of available kits, or conversions of other kits?

 

I don't profess to be an expert on the BoB or Hurricanes, but I think very few of the Mk I fabric wing version would've remained unconverted by July 1940 so the Hurricanes that flew in the battle would have mostly been the Mk.I with a metal wing but some Mk IIa and Mk IIb might have been operational before the official end of the Battle on 31st October.

 

Am I right in my thinking here, and if so, what are my best options in modelling those variants?

 

From browsing Scalemates there is a plethora of different older issues of the Hurricane Mk I and Mk II (especially the Mk IIb) but there's not a lot available in kits currently issued (curses to Airfix for making a fabric wing Mk I).

 

I don't mind scouring ebay or second hand kit sellers; but narrowing the parameters of the search to kits that fit the BoB Hurricane would be helpful.

 

Thanks

 

 

MO

 

[Old Man]

Disregard; review says the 3-blade prop kit has the same wing as the earlier one....

Edited June 13, 2017 by Old Man

[Troy Smith]

"it depends"  

 

by this, what you want in terms of detail and accuracy.

 

Sadly the Hurricane is poorly served in kits that combine both (speaking as Hurricane buff)

 

There were a few fabric wing, but with photography being banned and no easily accessible records there are few documented.   But, as for rewinging, only if the plane was damged or had a major overhaul, but an awful lot of hurricanes were lost in France.

 

Kits,  assuming you want some way accurate, and not conversion

old Tool Airfx Mk.I, (narrow nose, raised panel lines, sparse detail, but cheap)

Hasegawa Mk.I (hard to get/expensive, bad fabric)

 

or

Airfix  fabric wing with redone wing or conversion wing. The fabric wing has it's own issues though.

 

111 Squadron had a few Mk.IIA's  late in the battle, see

 

All Mk.I's apart from these

 

Feel free to request clarifications

T

[Troy Smith]

2 minutes ago, Old Man said:

I bless Airfix for the fabric wing Hurricane, Sir, but curse that they seem to have stopped making it. They have a new Hurricane out in 1/72 with the metal wing.

 

https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/hawker-hurricane-mki-1-72-a01010.html

 

No this is a  rebox of the fabric wing  kit.

more on 85 Sq at this time

 

[johnd]

The best option for a metal winged Hurricane Mk.I at the moment is the Airfix fabric winged kit with the Alley Cat conversion. Not cheap, though.

 

John.

[Troy Smith]

26 minutes ago, johnd said:

The best option for a metal winged Hurricane Mk.I at the moment is the Airfix fabric winged kit with the Alley Cat conversion. Not cheap, though.

 

John.

 

It's a drop fit, but does not fix the problems of the fabric wing mk.I kit, (balloon tyres, lack of curve in wing/fuselage joint, too high canopy)  and technically, it only allows you to build a very early metal wing, as after the L**** and N**** batches there was another access hatch added on the starboard side.

For BoB Mk.I most have the Spitfire Rotol unit fitted,  and this would need sourcing, it's a an option in the Airfix Spitfire Mk.I/II kit.

 

I don't know what the OP requirements are, but if you want a shelf model BoB Mk.I, as close to OOB, the OLD TOOL Airfix Mk.I  is your best bet.

 

 

 

[johnd]

34 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

 

It's a drop fit, but does not fix the problems of the fabric wing mk.I kit, (balloon tyres, lack of curve in wing/fuselage joint, too high canopy)  and technically, it only allows you to build a very early metal wing, as after the L**** and N**** batches there was another access hatch added on the starboard side.

For BoB Mk.I most have the Spitfire Rotol unit fitted,  and this would need sourcing, it's a an option in the Airfix Spitfire Mk.I/II kit.

 

I don't know what the OP requirements are, but if you want a shelf model BoB Mk.I, as close to OOB, the OLD TOOL Airfix Mk.I  is your best bet.

 

 

 

I wasn't aware of the problems with the tyres and wing/fuselage joint but take your point about the canopy, propeller and hatch.

 

Regarding the old tool Mk.I, as you say, it depends on the expectations of the modeller.

 

John.

[Marvel Onkey]

58 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

I don't know what the OP requirements are, but if you want a shelf model BoB Mk.I, as close to OOB, the OLD TOOL Airfix Mk.I  is your best bet.

 

it's like you read my mind- my requirements are almost exactly that- I'm trying to build a collection of all the aircraft that flew in the Battle of Britain, purely for my own entertainment and given my very limited modelling skills then something that is as OOB as possible is handy.

 

I've always liked the Hurricane- you'd think the model that helped win the BoB would be a popular subject but finding a kit of a mid to late production Mk I is surprisingly tricky.

 

Thank you all for taking the time to reply and for the information- much appreciated.

[tempestfan]

Even having been OOP for some years now, it was in continuous production for something like 30 years and should be reasonably easy and cheap to get. You may want to look for a replacement u/c -wheels are ok IMHO - and exhausts, though it may be possible to pimp the kit ones a bit with fine tubing. 

[Fernando]

Hi, Marvel Onkey,

 

Go with any Hasegawa Mk.I, unless there is a new tool metal winged Airfix.

 

Fernando

[Troy Smith]

9 minutes ago, Fernando said:

Hi, Marvel Onkey,

 

Go with any Hasegawa Mk.I, unless there is a new tool metal winged Airfix.

 

Fernando

Hi Fernando

Try getting one for a reasonable price in the  UK!!!  

A quick check on Kingkit and Hannants reveal no Hase Mk.I's, 

ebay shows one Mk.I at 11.99 plus 3.70 post,  

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hasegawa-1-72nd-Hawker-Hurricane-Mk-I-Late-Type-Battle-of-Britain-AP38-/302344013646?hash=item46651b874e:g:PkAAAOSwn-tZJIqX

with no bids but ending on sunday night so will be interesting to see what it ends for!

 

The Hase kit is not without it's faults, mainly, the fabric, and debate on the nose length.  

From what MO has posted (and previous posts by MO)  the old tool Airfix Mk.I will be acceptable unless he fancies shelling out 20 quid....

I think  the only 'available' Hase 72nd Hurricanes are the 'Hasegawa 1/72 SEA HURRICANE Mk.IB/Mk.IIC COMBO' (02025)'

and that's expensive in the UK

 

 

 

[Marvel Onkey]

Hasegawa would be nice, I might keep an eye on that Ebay one, just in case...

 

Troy knows my mind- given my limited experience I make plenty of mistakes- I see them as all part of the learning process but nonetheless I'd rather screw up an old Airfix one, just because I can always get another- I'd be frightened to death with the Hase one!

 

Cheers

 

 

MO

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

I got myself several Hasegawa Hurricane Mk I's from the likes of Ebay and Kingkit. I managed to get an unopened one for a mere £6 plus post but more like a tenner each for the others. Much cheaper than getting the Airfix kit and the resin wing set. The Hasegawa kit is a nice simple enjoyable kit to build and looks like a reasonable enough representation of a Hurricane, of course it can be improved but it's the easiest way to make a Mk I if you can find one.

 

thanks

Mike

[Work In Progress]

That's true if you can live with the difficult to fix "washboard" misrepresentation of the fabric-covered rear fuselage on the Hasegawa one. But different thinsg bother different people. Have a look at a few builds online, and if it doesn't bother you, then the Hasegawa is the kit for you. Otherwise go with the old Airfix kit.

(this one)

http://kingkit.co.uk/plastic-model-kit-airfix-1-72-02067-hawker-hurricane-mki-1202.html

 

but definitely not this one

http://kingkit.co.uk/plastic-model-kit-airfix-1-72-02042-hawker-hurricane-mki-iib-15581.html

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good afternoon 

 After reading all what has been written above I guess we can say that we REALLY need a good Hurricane Metal Winged mk 1 by Airfix next year in 1/72 of course ..

 

Patrice

 

[Jure Miljevic]

Hello, MO

If you have not already set your sights firmly on metal wing Hurricane kits, take a look at this topic:

This one definitely took part in BoB and one can build the kit OOB, as it already contains correct decals. Also, it is a new tool kit and one can examine the original aircraft in London's Science Museum if necessary. Cheers

Jure

[Marvel Onkey]

Well I never- thanks for that- I've got that kit and haven't clocked that the markings are from the BoB period rather than earlier- it now rises to be next on the list for me to bodge (currently I'm bodging a Spitfire MkI and a Bf109 E4)

 

I'll still want a metal wing one at some point as part of my desire to make a version of each type and mark that flew in the battle.

[Jure Miljevic]

Hello, MO

I am glad it helped. This topic is interesting for me, too, as I had no idea that Hurricanes Mk.II had already reached squadrons before the BoB ended. An often repeated story says that on 18th August 1940 Hurricane L1592 got shot up by Bf 109 E and escaped pursuing German fighter by flying into balloon barrage. After dodging balloons and cables for some time, pilot spotted an airfield and landed immediately in spite of local AAA taking a shot at him. The airfield in question was Croydon and apparently somebody also filled a complaint about RAF aircraft using a civilian facilities. Cheers

Jure

[FinnAndersen]

The Hasegawa Hurricane can be made into nice model

 

 

On this one, I filled the deep trenches on the rear fuselage.

 

There is however, something wrong with the nose, Graham Boak has the gen.

Edited June 16, 2017 by FinnAndersen
Corrected picture link

[Graham Boak]

Thanks;  The basic kit comes with a fuselage the correct length for a Mk.II, and a separate cowling.  As such it is closest to a quite nice early Mk.IIb, but for the prop and spinner  (but see later).   Later kits boxed as dedicated Mk.Is have a shorter cowling piece, providing the correct overall length.  This is wrong because the cowling is the same length on Mk.Is and Mk.IIs, and the difference is in the length between the cockpit and the cowling, with distinctly different fairings between the wing and the cowling.  Look for an extra fastener on the Mk.II.  The wing to fuselage fairing on the Mk.II is about twice the length as that on the Mk.I.  My opinion is based on the original AL Bentley plans as originally published in Scale Models.  Some of the reprints suffered from scaling problems, but I have been personally assured by Mr. Bentley that the original printing was correct.  Given this, I find unconvincing other assorted claims about this nose shape, and the distance to the cockpit.  Certainly any errors in this area that may exist would seem to be marginal in comparison.  In modelling terms, you can cut just short of 2mm from the fuselage parts, or use the short nose, fill the (almost invisible) join (fit of parts is superb on this kit), add new panel line in the correct place, and reshape the leading edge fairing.  

 

However, the Hasegawa kit does not provide different radiator "boxes".  The Mk.I is shallower, with an elliptical intake shape.  The Mk.II is deeper, with much the same curve at the top and bottom but a gentler curve at the sides. The kit provision is (IIRC) something of a compromise).  The outer machine guns and their panels have to be removed for a Mk.I - there were no Mk.Ib.  You may also wish to check whether you have the straight tailwheel leg (Mk.I) or the kinked (Mk.II).  The excessive sag on the fuselage sides can be filled with a few coats of Mr Surfacer 500, which is tedious and takes a while, or Milliput applied wet and smoothed down with your fingers, which is very messy and inclined to smear thin Miliput over areas of the fuselage where it is not required.  I didn't find either method completely satisfactory, but it is probably better than simply removing the fabric effect as required on (for example) the Revell and Airfix Mk.IIs.  The new Airfix kit has the best representation of the fuselage fabric so far, although the old Heller representation of just a few raised lines for the stitching is a good second.

 

Fortunately, there is no shortage of aftermarket options for replacement canopies and good DH or Rotol (Spitfire) spinners and blades.  Some Mk.Is received the later "bullet" Rotol but I think these will have been too late for the BoB.

 

Like all aircraft, really, the Hurricane is more subtle in its shapes and variations than model manufacturers realised, or perhaps were prepared to consider matching.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Graham Boak

[Work In Progress]

Yes, it is a deceptive aeroplane like that. The Spitfire looks subtle, not a straight line on it, and the Hurricane in comparison looks a simple and straightforward old donkey. But it isn't simple at all, once you get into the detail.

[Marvel Onkey]

That's fascinating information, I fear I'll definitely run out of ability on the hasegawa kit...need to practice my filling skills on something less rare

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2017 by Marvel Onkey
Correcting an incorrect of 'hasegawa'

[Andre B]

So in short we have the latest "early war ballon tyres to high canopy ragg wing offerings"...

Airfix A01010 Hurricane Mk. I (with three bladed de Haviland prop, deeper rudder and two different types of windscreens)...

Airfix A02067 Hurricane Mk. I (A01010 with two blade prop, early exhausts, flat fuselage underside, shallow rudder, original radio aerila and unarmed bulkhead).

 

...the older...
Airfix A02067 Hurricane Mk. I (narrow nose, raised panel lines). http://modelingmadness.com/scott/allies/gb/ahurri.htm

airfix A02047 Hurricane Mk. I/IIb (the "rivet one (?) best to avoid)...

...and the...

Hasegawa Hurricane Mk I with "wrong nose/fuselage length" (?)... http://modelingmadness.com/scott/allies/gb/h1.htm

 

I can see wy an Mk. I metal wing offering is missing and wanted...

 

For an Battle of Britain Hurricane Mk. II has the newer Revell and older Heller and Matchbox offerings anything to contribute?

I like the Heller and Matchbox kits but thats mostly of nostalgic reasons...

Sheers / André

Ps.
Concerning the "Spitfire rotol unit" for an Hurrincane BoB Mk. I does this mean only the prop or the prop and spinner from the Airfix Spitfire Mk. I/II?

Edited June 17, 2017 by Andre B
Spelling...

[Graham Boak]

It means the propeller and the spinner.

 

The Heller Mk.II still looks nice (to me, nostalgic too), but has the too-narrow nose and lacks interiors etc.  The Matchbox was and is awful, with nothing to offer.  (That may be a little unkind as I don't recall what the prop looked like...)  The Revell has a good nose but poor propeller, wing and canopy, also poor fabric effect on the fuselage - best removed.  The bomb fairings are mis-shapen but can be sanded to more of a "canoe" shape, rather than Revell's flat-bottomed "barge" section.  For Mk.IIs there is also the AZ, which requires a better canopy but is otherwise good, and the Hasegawa is generally excellent bar the sunken fuselage (and I'm not sure about the prop/spinner on any of their options, but you should check).  The Airfix Mk.IIc is clunky with a narrow engine (and more difficult to fix because of the thick unbending plastic) but otherwise the shape isn't too bad at all.

 

Rob Taurus do canopies (as do Falcon/Squadron), so I'd recommend one of those with the AZ, or the Hasegawa if you are prepared to work on the fabric.

 

The spinner appears to be a problem on the Mk.II: the Heller has a very attractive "bullet" shape but is it too slim?  The Hasegawa appears a bit bulbous but so do examples on current flying aircraft.  It's a very difficult feature to pin down by staring at photographs - I wonder if there was a change during production, for some reason?

[Andre B]

What type of Hurricane Mk. I did Douglas Bader fly with during BoB? Was it an metal winged one?