Troy Smith

Flattery will get you everywhere... There are serious Hurricane experts, but not me, enthusiastic amateur collator of available information is a better description ! Anyway, a very neat build Nick, lovely finish. two suggestions. perhaps would have been worth adding a little white or pale grey to the final varnish, or a very very thin overspray to tone down the roundels a touch, thoughas you look pretty handy with an airbrush, perhaps painting the upper wing roundels as these were most prone to fading. the other would be to replicate the very distinctive oil stains I've posted this before The oil stains on a Hurricane have a specific pattern. Merlins leak oil a lot, and it leaks out the back of the engine bay, and is then blown back by the airflow, on Hurricane this creates a very characteristic diagonal stain on the UC doors. This shot, shows where the leak comes from, and note the oil flow pattern onto the doors. Once you start looking, you see the distinctive diagonal stains on the UC doors, This is a fabric wing Yugoslav plane on a test flight in UK before delivery for anyone curious. It's very commonly seen, but the explanation is not obvious as this is one of the few pictures to show why these stains happen. Once you know, it's obvious and you see them a lot! there used to a an uncropped shot of this on the IWM, but they seem to have changed their search..grr Note first aid kit strapped on back of panel,(now cropped off) the mixed exhaust stain, lighter round edges, from running a lean mixture, and the distinctive oil stains on the UC doors. HTH T

Graham is correct. the Airfix fabric wing Hurricane kit has a too high canopy, but it's look about right for the protoype, you would have to cut into the kit spine and reduce the rail height. As for armament, I presume it just had a standard wing, (with added ballast to simulate weight of guns?)and gun ports sealed over with doped on fabric. It's was for use testing out the new constant speed propeller. compare with standard nose, you can asse the modified nose ring above if you google Hurricane G-AFKX you might find more, but I don't know of other images, there is a key Forum thread on if it ever got metal wings but my browser is not liking it. https://forum.keypublishing.com/forum/historic-aviation/76357-hurricane-g-afkx-question

A thought or suggestion Hannants may have had the image supplied by Spin Models (given their awful box art) and Hannants have no idea it's not just a Spin promotional picture.

read this you want a 1/48 Spitfire XII, get the Special Hobby kit. OOB it's a lot better shapewise than the Airfix as seen here, (the UC legs are too far back BTW on this build ) from https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234936772-1-48-special-hobby-supermarine-spitfire-mkxii-low-altitude-fighter/ Special Hobby Airfix - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234963939-spitfire-mk-xii-148-airfix-41-sqn-tangmere/ real the Airfix fuselage and fin are too deep, as the spinner is right, it looks fat and stumpy... Fixing the Airfix compared to fisxing the SH kit is more work and you need new prop blades. The Hobbycraft Seafire XV is from memory good shapewise, but it very basic detail wise. I can't remember the fine details. BTW If somebody wants to come and be my secretary and photographer I'll dig all the kit and you can document them.... then the results might end up being posted before 2021 or so....

I'm pretty sure the Airfix kit is a little too long, both the 72nd fabric wing and 48th kit are the same amount out compared to the Bentley plans, note the rear cutout in the rudder line is in the right place. what this means is the fin is too far back, and the fuselage looks a little slim just in front of the fin. both kits have the same and much harder to correct fault, no flare of the fuselage side panels where they meet the wing. the other 72nd faults are the too high canopy, I've asked in the WW2 section if anyone has the Rob Taurus replacements and if the correct or replicate the error https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235047694-rob-taurus-hurricane-canopies-for-airfix-72nd-fabric-wing the other glitch, the wheels, yes, should be 5 spoke, but they are too big, try fitting them through the wing opening, same in the 48th kit. the 1979 era 72nd Mk.I is well shaped, but lack the 'shoulders' over the front end of the merlin ( a common fault on older Hurricane kits) and is basic nad has raised panel lines all the other Airfix 72nd kits have a various problems, the early 70's one is salvageable if you get a new canopy, raise the spine, fix the nose and get rid of the battleship rivets.... the 50's era Mk.IV is , erm, well, a 1957 Airfix kit.... the 2005 ish Mk.IIc is a bang on match to the drawings in the FK Mason 2nd edition Hawker Hurricane book, shame the drawings are wrong in almost every way... and thus the kit is if you want a decently shaped Hurricane kit, rubbish. Valaint wings dio a correction kit, but that's lipstick on a pig. Regarding the Arma kit, I was thrilled and honoured to get an email asking for my address to send me one too review, it turned up today, I've not had chance to do what Graham has done, but apart from few nitpicks aside that Graham mentions, this is "the best in 72nd" and one of the best Hurricane kits in any scale, really good overall package, very impressive. I have too applaud Arma Hobby for the care and effort they have put into this project, and the brave move to share CAD images and take on board feedback from the forum, showing changes made from posted comments. It looks like this has worked for them, and by the orders this has generated, and i hope this leads to further variants too. I'd better have a go at building this soon, i did have a rummage in my drawers and have possibly enough vintage (1981 or so) Humbrol enamel that even appears usable, and while I don't like the smell, i know I was pretty good at using it 'back then' though I prefer the lack of fumes from acrylic.... I digress and need to wrap up for the night now. cheers T

the VIII wing has a oil tank panel in the leading edge IIRC, that the IX does't. Not exactly difficult to modify, but I think thats the 'catch'

Hi Ian bear in mind the kit was done with a lot of input from @Chris Thomas The only colour call out comment was about the inside of the gun bays, here's a link to @Etiennedup Flickr of wartime colour shots https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=8270787%40N07&q=typhoon these may be of use Typhoon engine. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr Note difference in appearance of the exhausts. new replacements? Hawker Typhoon by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr I think these are all from the same set later posed shot, but note colour inside cannon bay doors Hawker Typhoon Mk Ib. 1945. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr more good one in the link, these the only ones with panels open though

Hi, no I don't, I just remembered where I had seen the photo posted before. I was at work with a little tablet, so no real time to go hunting about or detail checking, but the details visible don't tie in with what I would expect for a Hurricane serialed P3832 too look like, and given the other photos in the link, then HE-T is not P3832. Hmm, I wonder if this was discussed on the LEMB thread on captured Hurricanes. I have memories of the identity being pinned down somewhere, but that maybe the memory of the linked thread. I'll have to have a search and see.

I think the identity of this is known, I'm on a tablet thing, so searching is bit of a pain, but there maybe other shots, Ok, here Detail given as P3832, though it looks an earlier airframe. But if P****, not fabric wing....

The ICM kits have caught out a lot of folk. I presume you are displaying with engine panels off? One thing is that the firewall can cause the fuselage to splay out, messing up the dihedral, test fit, scrape to adjust and recheck before gluing.... https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/icm/kit_icm_48061.shtml the build mentioned https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/builds/icm/build_icm_48065.shtml ICM decals are not noted for being great, this is a more recent boxing, but I'd experiment with some spares first. It should be noted that an Eduard weekend kit can be got for under £15, and proifipacks have been around £20, and they are a big step up in detail, and are more accurate. I can list the ICM glitches if you want, none are really bad, so you just want to build, not obsess and be happy HTH

In 1/48th? No, Special Hobby do a Spitfire XII, that while it has the same faults all the SH Spitfire kits have (it's a little short and the wing is too far back, both fixable with a an extension,) and you have to be a Spitfire aficionado to spot this. The Airfix kit actually has most of the faults the Academy XIV kit are damned for, APART from the oversize nose ring of the Academy, in short, too deep fuselage, 'Tamiya' too broad wing, and wing in wrong place... terrible prop blades There was much discussion when it first came out, all of it is reasonably easy to fix apart from the prop blades. One really easy visual fix for the airfix is to replace the rudder, both the Eduard an ICM IX kits come with alternate rudders, and cut down the fin, as the too tall rudder and fin are really noticeable.

as Graham notes, it's not that simple. there are many many detail changes, and the prototype was continaully changed, so it's about picking a point to model. And, the hurricane starter kit lack the spreue with the early Hurricane bits, the two blade watts prop, underside without ventral strake. Other aspects of the prototype are different fuselage and engine panelling, lower cockpit rails. wing with and without armament, retactable tail wheel, rudder without horn balance, different radiators, different undercarriage doors.... and that's from memory.... OK this one has pictures as well as plans pretty much all you need to know is in these, especially the 2nd thread. HTH PS for clarity, the drawings in this post have on them details of what changes happened to the prototype when.... you might want to print them out. the over high canopy in the Airfix fabric wing kit is about right for the prototype though

and in this case.... AFAIK there are no pics of Hurricanes with an orange triangle, or Dutch tricolour stripes, I think only photo is of ANY Dutch operated Hurricane is one being assembled by the road, and no markings are visible. There is supposition that the markings were changed, but that's about it. IIRC there were reports of a Dutch modification air filter, I'll need to do some searches, if I find the relevant threads/info I'll edit it in. EDIT this from https://thejavagoldblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/dutch-hurricanes-too-few-too-late/ note trop filter, and black spinner and https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=161986 this is the origin of the Dutch markings AFAIK so.... the author of the post on the Axis forum , is a member here @Peter Boer see also https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theovervalwagenforum/rare-knil-hurricane-picture-1942-t1596.html No mention in the more recent thread of Dutch markings being applied. Hopefully Peter will get a notification and add some detail HTH

If the internals of the Spitfire you are doing are aluminium paint apart from the cockpit (there was a switch to all grey green in 43 or 44, can't remember off hand) then then aluminium paint starts behind the seat bulkhead see http://spitfiresite.com/2010/07/anatomy-of-spitfire-cockpit.html And, bear in mind the commenst about precise fit, you would be advised to scrape paint off mating surfaces. HTH T

Hi Linus this will be a "it depends" question, as in it depends what you want, shape, detail, ease of construction? anyway your options are Falcon vacform, which may not be available, note, Airwaves did do an etch set for this kit https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AEC48095 Classic Airframes Trumpeter. The Falcon vac maybe best shapewise, but is certainly pretty basic, hence link to the Airwaves set, and has raised panel lines, https://modelingmadness.com/review/korean/cleaverattacker.htm the Classic Airframes kit at least comes with decent decals. see here https://modelingmadness.com/review/korean/cleaver/cleaverattack.htm note what's available https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?adv=1&product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=&product_type_id=&code=&scale_id=955&keyword_search=attacker&setPerPage=100&sort=0&search_direction=asc&save_search_name=&save_search= HTH