Jeff Wilson

I don't want to be the one to shoot a sacred cow and I will be the first to admit that the 1/72nd Arma Hobby Hurricanes are excellent kits. However, there's a couple of annoying issues with them that I've not seen any reference to in any reviews I've read or in any of the excellent builds that I've seen on BM. Granted, I don't tend to visit other discussion sites on a regular basis, and these points may have been mentioned elsewhere, and absolutely none of these comments are intended to imply that the kit is in any way unbuildable, but I think they're worth noting here in this review for completeness. There is a clearly defined mould flaw that runs from the base of the windscreen to forward of the rocker cover bulge on the port fuselage half. This flaw is a right pain to sand out, as it runs through some very delicately moulded fastener and rivet detail which will require subsequent replication. It's not restricted to my sample of the kit either, as I can see it quite clearly in various online reviews and builds, and all three of the Mk.I examples in my stash have the same issue. I've not yet seen a single build where the modeller has attempted to remove it, and it is quite evident in photographs when you know where to look. The photos below show an unprimed example and a primed example of the Mk.I Expert kit currently on my bench. I'm still deciding if I'm going to leave the flaw as is or attempt to fix it. Note that the excellent Mk.II kits do not have this issue. Both the Mk.I and Mk.II kits are missing the raised circular strut connection cover that is a very distinct feature of the Hurricane's main undercarriage door. The recent Airfix kit features it, as do the Hasegawa, Academy and AZ Model kits I have in my stash, so it's a very odd omission on Arma's part. It's an easy fix with a pin-head shaped piece of stretched sprue or a small punched out circle of plastic sheet, but it's odd that it wasn't moulded in the first place. Annoyingly, I'm building this model for an OOTB entry in a competition and adding detail that's not already in the kit isn't allowed. I'll either ignore it in this instance or paint in a facsimile. The photo below compares the Arma Hobby (left) and Airfix (right) undercarriage doors. And while I'm busy moaning, I'll have a small moan about sprue gates. Some of the sprue gate location choices made by Arma Hobby are particularly frustrating, especially in comparison to other company's choices. Examples are the sprue gates connecting the undercarriage doors and those for the control column. The Airfix gates are much better situated in both cases and, other than the annoying sink mark on the Airfix undercarriage door (presumably, ironically, a result of NOT having a gate in that location!), make for much quicker and easier cleanup. One last point about sacred cows and the shooting thereof. We all have our favourite manufacturers whose praises we'll trumpet loudly, and Arma Hobby and Airfix are both sacred cows to many for perfectly valid reasons. But one of the issues attributed to the 1/72nd Airfix Hurricane in contrast to the Arma Hobby kit, is that the Airfix control column is supposedly more like a 1/48th example. Really? Granted, it's marginally longer than Arma's (about 1mm longer), but the spade grips are virtually identical in size, and I think the brake lever detail on the Airfix grip is a little more accurate. To say it's closer to 1/48th is exaggerating just a little for comic effect. For some size perspective see the image below (Arma Hobby on the left, Airfix on the right). Obviously, your mileage may vary. Cheers, Jeff

Nope, sorry, that's just wrong. The rejuvenated Airfix have been doing 'somewhat obscure' for years. Blenheim, Gnat, Sea Vixen, Javelin, Buccaneer, Walrus, Bulldog and Gannet. As well as the Defiant, Anson and Lysander you mentioned, as none of them could realistically be considered mainstream subjects. And in 1/48 Airfix have happily taken on the existing Hasegawa kit with their recent Sea King, the existing Academy Hunter with their own superior example, their recent Vampire, which eclipses the frankly awful Trumpeter effort, and the soon to be released Jaguar, which looks to be a considerable improvement over the Kittyhawk example. So, no, they don't shy away from a subject where another manufacturer has an existing kit. In fact, they frequently do their own example because another manufacturer's kit makes no money for Airfix. But Airfix frequently do it better, well publicised QC issues notwithstanding. But like so many of Trumpeter's British aeroplane subjects over the last few years, they've got the Battle wrong as well. Will I add one to my stash? Nope, I'll wait for Airfix to get around to it, as it's the kind of subject they will eventually get around to and the kind of subject they'll likely get right. I don't believe that you should support a manufacturer whose efforts consistently miss the mark, which is why there's very few Trumpeter kits in my stash. And it's ICM who are bringing us a Hampden this year, not Airfix, and they're another manufacturer who deserves our support. Regards, Jeff

Agreed, it's lovely boxart, and I'll definitely be picking one up to do the alternative RAAF Meteorites option. And it would be remiss of me not to point out that it's not RAAF Williamstown as Airfix have noted in the painting guide, it's RAAF Williamtown, without the 's'. Best, Jeff

Nice build @Xirurg, and I'm glad that my build inspired yours. It's a decent kit, albeit a little basic in comparison to some more recent releases, but it builds well and looks the part. Yours looks great. Regards, Jeff

The lower one is definitely 'JACKING POINT', and my feeling is that the upper one is 'HOOD RELEASE'. Increasing the contrast of the image posted above shows the 2nd and 3rd letters in the first word look just like the 'O' in 'TO OPEN'. There's another image available online at https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DuM4g7HWkAMk5mD?format=jpg&name=medium. I won't post the image myself in case it's copyrighted but it's easily found with a Google search. Regards, Jeff

Hi Ed, for what it's worth, Airfix does listen to constructive criticism and informed advice. If you've got the information to back up the colour scheme, let them know - [email protected]. I've contacted them in the past and pointed them to discussion on Britmodeller on two occasions, with the Whitley (shape of the bomb aimer's window - they corrected it) and the Free French edition of the Blenheim (colour of the French cockades - they subsequently included both red and blue). If they include some explanatory info about the colour scheme and both grey and red codes, and ask the modeller to choose, that's a win-win. Best, Jeff

Can anyone point me to a supplier of pre-cut, round or oval, raw/unfinished, veneered MDF bases, with a profiled edge? The two in the photos below are examples that I picked up at a show a number of years ago for around £5 each, but I can't recall who was selling them. These are approximately 16 x 200 x 300mm and were raw MDF when bought. I'm looking for something similar but I can only seem to find suppliers/cutters of unprofiled, round/oval bases, or profiled and varnished timber bases with an appropriate price tag. Cheers, Jeff

Lovely looking model @Andwil - really good work. Great scheme too. I also like the grass mat you've got it displayed on - the leaf scatter looks really good. Do you know the manufacturer? The Fokker would look excellent on a simple, small, round, matt black MDF base, with a circle of that mat on top. Cheers, Jeff

Many thanks to all who have commented and reacted so positively about this Tojo. @72modeler @HOUSTON @MDriskill @Roberto @Epeeman @swralph @stevehnz @opus999 @Wulfman @Farmerboy, I've got to admit that it takes pride of place in my (small but growing) 1/72 Japanese collection. The Nick Millman book is a great resource for a wide variety of interesting schemes too - plenty more Tojos to consider building down the track. Cheers, Jeff

That's really lovely, Toryu. I've got one in the stash, along with a Little Fokkers resin cockpit, an old Eduard etched set and an Aeromaster decal sheet. If it comes out half as well as yours, I'd be well chuffed. Regards, Jeff

I always thought it was ex-Mania, Wulfman, but it appears that Scalemates disagrees with me - they say new tool Hasegawa in 1972. Either way, it's still a nice kit. Cheers, Jeff

Funny you should mention that, Todders. It was sitting in my stash for the best part of 30 years until UK lockdown convinced me to build it. It's a decent kit, well worth building. Cheers, Jeff

This model is built from the 1/72 Airfix kit and represents an A6M2b Model 21 Zero-Sen, of the 201st Kokutai, flown from Tobera airfield, New Britain, in 1944. The Airfix colour scheme calls for a grey underside, but an air-to-air photograph on Nick Millman's Aviation of Japan blog indicates quite strongly that this particular aircraft was an over-painted trainer retaining its original orange-yellow underside, with white outlined Hinomarus and numbers under the wings, so that's how I chose to finish it. The decals are from the kit and paints are Tamiya, Gunze and Revell acrylics, and Humbrol enamels for details. I built this a number of years ago, shortly after the kit was released, and I did a WIP here but I never photographed the finished article. Cheers, Jeff

This model is built from the 1/72 Hasegawa kit and represents the N1K2-J Model 21 Shiden, flown by CPO Hideo Nakao, 343rd Kokutai, 407th Hikotai, from Matsuyama airbase, Japan, in March 1945. I also used a few bits and pieces from an old Eduard etched brass cockpit set, but little can be seen of it except in very good light. I used Master Type 99 20mm gun barrels and Print Scale decals to finish it. Paints are Tamiya, Gunze and Vallejo acrylics, and Humbrol enamels for details. Cheers, Jeff

This model is built from the venerable 1/72 Hasegawa/Mania kit and represents a Ki-44-II Hei Shoki, flown by Captain Yukiyoshi Wakamatsu, 2nd Chutai Leader, 85th Sentai, Canton, China, during the summer of 1944. I also used a very nice True Details resin cockpit that I bought years ago, but the cockpit opening is tiny and the canopy quite thick, so little can be seen of it - at least I know it's in there. There's a colour profile of this aircraft in Nick Millman's Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #100, Ki-44 'Tojo' Aces of World War 2, and I based the underside colour and the heavy mottle on that profile and used Print Scale decals to finish it. Paints are Tamiya, Gunze and Vallejo acrylics, and Humbrol enamels for details. The gun barrels are Master .50 calibre Brownings masquerading as Japanese 12.7mm. Macro photography certainly leaves nothing to the imagination - it looks significantly less dusty in real life. Cheers, Jeff