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My next build is the 1/48 Airfix Hurricane Mk1. I have some P Maks and decals for serial/Sqn Codes to model 249 Sqn Hurricane P3616 GN-F I read the book 'Gun Button to Fire' by Tom 'Ginger' Neil, who was a Pilot Officer and flew with 249 Sqn during the battle. He loved his Hurricane, P3616 coded GN-F. Whilst on a days leave, it was flown by another pilot, Pilot Officer Martyn Aurel King. Sadly he was shot down and killed, having bailed out but suffering a collapsed parachute. PO Martyn Aurel King He is buried in All Saints' churchyard, Fawley, Hampshire For his actions during this engagement in which PO King was KIA, Fl Lt Nicholson of 249 Sqn was to be gazetted for the only VC awarded to aircrew for actions in the battle. http://ww2today.com/16th-august-1940-flight-lieutenant-nicolson-wins-v-c Fl Lt Nicholson VC So I looked into the history, to find an interesting link. PO King was born in West Mersea, 15 minutes down the road from where I live in Colchester. Looking further into it, it became apparent that it is likely that PO King was the youngest serving RAF pilot in the battle and almost certainly the youngest to lose his life. It appears an admin error recorded him as being 19, but his birth certificate would show him to in fact be 18. The CWGC looked into this and apparently agreed to change the record on his grave stone. I is still generally reported that Geoffrey Wellum was the youngest RAF pilot in the battle - interestingly I saw a post on here about a spitfire build, describing him as the youngest spitfire pilot, rather than youngest. Some articles if interested: http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/KingMA.htm https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/16884592.youngest-of-the-few-was-an-18-year-old-from-mersea-island/ https://249squadron.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/in-memory-of-pilot-officer-m-a-king-249-squadron/ https://www.essexlifemag.co.uk/people/youngest-battle-of-britain-pilot-1-6086942 So I thought I would model Neil's beloved P3616/GN-F, but reflecting on the young man who gave his life flying the that Hurricane fighting for his country.... I joined the Army at the age of 16 1/2, joined a frontline unit at 17 1/2 (I would not have been allowed to deploy on operations until I was 18, which I did. This was a throwback to 2 young soldiers from my unit who were KIA at the age of 17 along with another who died on his 18th birthday during the Falklands war....the rules then said they could not deploy to Northern Ireland, but did not count outside that theatre). I also commanded young 18 year old soldiers on operations; so I do feel I have an understanding as to what things were like for these young men, serving at a young age. However, they were forced into the ultimate battle, where losing would mean the end for Britain as they knew its amazing how quickly these airmen became Sqn Leaders and Wing Comds at such young ages.... Our armed forces still deploy young men and women, willing to put their young lives on the line, firstly for their mates, then for their nation..... Pte Damian Jackson, KIA, Helmand Afghanistan, 5th July 2006, aged 19. I must admit I did have misgivings looking at my younger soldiers at the start of that tour in 2006, thinking 'bloody Playstation generation', will they up to it, etc - but they all stood up to the plate and performed.... I just felt the local link, youngest RAF pilot in the battle deserved to be a subject in this GB...... P3616 'GN-F', Hurricane I, 249 Squadron, RAF Boscombe Down. The Hawker Hurricane was the primary air defence fighter of the Battle of Britain and was flown by Pilot Officer Tom 'Ginger' Neil of No 249 Squadron based at RAF Boscombe Down, part of No 10 Group. Hurricane Mk I, P3616 was his preferred mount but on 16 August 1940, when he was on a well-earned 24 hours leave, it was allocated to Pilot Officer Martyn King. That day, Flight Lieutenant James (Nick) Nicolson was leading Red Section, which consisted of P/O King in 'F for Freddie' and the supernumerary Squadron Leader Eric King (no relation). The Section was ordered to a patrol-line Salisbury to Ringwood but it was not long before it was vectored to a raid attacking Lee-on-Solent. During the engagement with Messerschmitt Bf 110 escorts, P/O King was shot down and died when his parachute collapsed and Sqn Ldr King was so badly shot up that he barely limped back to Boscombe Down. The leader, Flt Lt Nicolson was severely wounded in the side and leg, and was about to abandon his burning Hurricane when the attacking Messerschmitt overshot, at which point Nicolson gallantly returned to his controls and shot down his attacker. Badly burnt, he finally took to his parachute but shot on the way down by a watching British Army NCO. For this action, Nicolson was awarded the Victoria Cross the following November. Pilot Officer Neil returned from leave to find his beloved P3616 had been destroyed but when No 249 moved to RAF North Weald on 1 September, he arranged for its replacement, V7313 to be marked 'F for Freddie'. During the continuing Battle, Neil flew 62 times in V7313 before it too was lost on 10 October, and a total of 141 times against the Luftwaffe, by which time he had been credited with 13 confirmed victories. A replica of Hurricane V7313 now stands as 'Gate Guardian' at North Weald airfield. Words © Paul Beaver. Thanks for looking.

Hawker Hurricane Mk.I (A01010A) Airfix 1:72 If one was to asked to give the name of a British fighter that took part in the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire would undoubtedly be the most common answer. However, the aircraft that provided the backbone of the defence in that infamous battle was the Hawker Hurricane. Designed in 1935, it was quite a step forwards to the existing front line RAF fighters of that era, key features being a fully enclosed cockpit, retractable undercarriage, 8 guns, powerful V12 engine and most notably, a single cantilever wing as opposed to a biplane configuration. Despite its revolutionary look though, the design and manufacturing techniques were old school, a steel frame with fabric skinning so in reality, it was very much a progressive rather than evolutionary design. This however was to provide useful in manufacturing and in the face of battle. The Hurricane was easy to produce, repair and maintain. This is in comparison to the birth of the Spitfire which used completely new manufacturing techniques which whilst offering performance, hindered early production. Early Hurricane Mk.I’s went through a series of design enhancements. Initial aircraft had fabric wings which limited the dive speed whilst the spin characteristics were a concern for test pilots. This was remedied by the addition of a strake below the rudder that became a key characteristic of the Hurricane. The fabric wings were also changed by 1940 for new metal skinned ones which increased the dive speed by some 80mph. Other notable improvements on the Mk.I were the addition of 70lb of armour plate for the pilot, self sealing fuel tanks and a 3 blade constant speed propeller. The availability of 100 octane fuel early in 1940 gave the Merlin an additional 30% boost power available compared to the power available on 87 Octane which was a significant when one needed to open the taps as wide as they would go!. With aircraft entering service in 1938 with the RAF and a few exports, the first blood was achieved on 21st October 1939 when a squadron of Heinkel He115’s were bounced by 46 Sqn looking for ships in the North Sea. The engagement resulted in 4 aircraft downed with more being claimed by 72 Sqn Spitfires. France was to prove more challenging for the Hurricanes as opposition was encountered by the more lethal BF109E’s. What became the Battle of France was to prove a bloody battle as a result of what the Luftwaffe were able to put up. With the German forces pushing forwards, the RAF and ground forces were forced to retreat to UK soil which paved the way for the Battle of Britain where the Hurricane achieved its legendary status alongside the Spitfire. Of the 2700 victories claimed during this battle by the RAF, nearly 1600 ware at the guns of the hurricane. Whilst the Hurricane soon became outdated a front line day fighter in Europe, it went on to see considerable success in other campaigns throughout the war. With the addition of bombs and cannon, it became an effective ground attack aircraft. It has its history firmly rooted in the battles of the Mediterranean, Russia and the Pacific, not to mention early night fighting over Europe where many aces earned their status. The kit This is a welcome re-release from Airfix of a great little kit. There are 5 grey sprues, a clear one, decal sheet, two colour instructions and a colour painting guide, this is great value for money. Moulding quality is excellent with virtually no flash or sink marks present. The surface detailing on the fuselage and wings is beautifully done with realistic looking fabric areas. Shape wise, it looks very good too. The wing has the slight kink noticeable on the inner section. Construction starts with the wings. A detailed main gear bay is first constructed before joining the top and bottom wings up, a straight forwards affair. The cockpit is then built and assembled into one of the fuselage halves with the rudder pedals and column being fitted to the wing centre section. Two rear bulkheads are supplied in the kit, one armoured, the other not. The instructions show only the non-armoured unit being used, however if you are going to use aftermarket decals, you may want to research your aircraft before selecting the correct one. Detail for the cockpit is only provided in decal form which for some will be well received. I would have preferred some surface detail, so you may want to use an aftermarket etch set if this is an issue to you. With the fuselage quickly assembled, two rear lower fuselages are supplied. The first is the early one without a strake, the second having the more typical and charismatic spin recovery strake. As the base of the rudder is different for each, two rudders are also supplied. Again, check your references before being rushing in with the glue! If one is to be critical on the fuselage, the fabric effect on the access panels below the cockpit fade out on the panel edges. Following a some discussion about the two ‘bumps in the nose immediately behind the propeller at the 4 & 8 o’clock positions. It appears that very early variants didn’t have these. If this is the case on your aircraft, they can simply be sanded off if this detail is important to you. The rudder and tailplanes have the same quality of moulding as the main fabric areas. I’m particularly impressed with the elevator moulding. The Carburettor intake under the nose is a good example of how Airfix have moved on. The intake is recessed giving good scale representation, not simply a blob of plastic as you would get on 20th century kits leaving you to drill the intake out. Two options are provided for gear position. If you prefer to have your gear raised, the parts are superbly produced with wheels & doors moulded as one. This not only looks effective, but keeps it simple for novice builders. If you want to have the gear lowered, separate legs and doors are provided with accurately shaped inner door profiles and two part legs for each side. A noticeable error is the 4 spoke wheels. Typically, the early Hurricanes had 5 spoke wheels so correcting this will need aftermarket wheels. The radiator is another key feature on the hurricane and this is well represented. Both front and rear radiator faces are provided and nicely detailed and the variable flap is moulded in a slightly open position with a very thin edge as not to look toy like. As mentioned previously, both a two speed Watts fixed pitch prop and a 3 blade DH constant speed unit are provided giving more options as to the time period of your build. There are supported by the early slotted and subsequent triple ejector type exhausts. As I suspect that these revolutions happened across various time periods, using reference material for any specific aircraft will be critical if you desire an accurate build. A pleasing feature is the inclusion of a separate canopy enabling you to have it in the open position. This is quite thin and free from distortion. Two windscreens are provided, one of which has an armoured panel protruding out. Other minor features to be aware of in determining your build is things like the venture on the side of the cockpit. At some point, these were phased out with the introduction of a vacuum pump to provide vacuum for the instruments. Decals The decals look very nice. Very sharp print quality with a matt finish and excellent register are evident, only one option is supplied; L1679 of No.1 Sqn in Northern France 1939 Conclusion Although there's an obvious error in the kit, notably the 4 spoke wheels, and a decision not to include surface detail to represent cockpit instrumentation, this kit is a welcome along side other Hurricane models now appearing. . The quality of the moulding and accuracy is reflective of the recent progress Airfix have made and as such offers great value for money. Both experienced and Novice builders alike will enjoy building this kit , I only recently built another boxing and really enjoyed it. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Going through the stash the other week I came across an oddment of kits that I do not normally build, but I have acquired over the past year or so. First up is the Spitfire that was given away by the Daily Mail one week, second is a Hurricane that I bought for some reason or other and the last is a Defiant that was won by SWMBO at a show tombola. So I am going to try this as a triple build, but if required I will put them into separate entries. I do know that the Hurricane has the wrong markings for the BoB, so I have been looking at either a Czech or Polish one, but the only decal sheet I can find of these is rather expensive for many a version that I will not build. I am also looking at the BoB sheet by Xtradecal, but I am unsure of its accuracy. So here are the pictures of the kits. The Spitfire. The Hurricane. The Defiant.

Airfix is to release in 2014 a variant from the new 1/72nd "fabric wings" Hurricane (ref.A02067), a Hawker Hurricane Mk.I "metal covered wings" under ref. A01010. A fabric wings in the illustrations/box arts??? Displayed as ????? Error? Source: http://www.airfix.com/shop/new-for-2014/172-scale-military-aircraft/a01010-hawker-hurricane-mki-172/ But also as stater set (fabric or metal covered wings Hurricane?) Ref. A55111 Source: http://www.airfix.com/shop/new-for-2014/172-scale-military-aircraft/a55111-hawker-hurricane-mki-starter-set-172/ V.P

Hello, I had a long journey with that kit - it's easier than mk.I, however my low skills caused several problems on various steps. I cannot wait for 1/48 kit which should look as 1/24 in the box. 😀

Hi All, Fresh from the Spitfire GB I have decided to make a little change and start off with a Hurricane. This will be the first Hurricane I have built... and the first new Airfix 1/48 kit, so all new territory as far as I am concerned (so far I have built a Tamiya Spitfire MKI which was an excellent re-introduction to the world of aircraft modelling. I enjoyed it so much that I then followed up by joining Britmodeller and taking part in the Spitfire Group Build with two Eduard Spitfires, a MkIX and a Mk VIII. I bought the Airfix Hurricane almost 'blind' but fancied a Battle of Britain era group of fighters so bought the Hurricane as I started the Tamiya... and then thought of adding a Defiant (which I have always had a bit of a soft spot for...). I may still add a Defiant - it depends very much on how I get on with the Hurricane and whether the new Eduard Mk I Spitfire 'The Spitfire Story' is available when the time comes. Anyway, obviously I was too late to be able to pick up a Hurricane MkI original boxing, but as the Airfix Hurricane kit has alternative parts to build either a MK1a, a Sea Hurricane MkIb or a MkI Tropical... so I bought a Sea Hurricane from my local hobby shop. As far as aftermarket stuff is concerned, I bought the Sea Hurricane MkIb PE from Eduard which has a few instruments, a new seat and a few repalcement parts for the cockpit. It didnt include any seat bets, so I have ordered a set of PE belts, also from Eduard. As far as decals are concerned, I picked up the Xtradecal X48144 Haker Hurricane MkI set which includes Baders Hurricane... probably one of the best known, so nothing particularly unique in this build. As I said, it is my first Hurricane and my first Airfix kit in well over twenty years, so I thought I would start simply... I had been thinking of adding rivet detail and upgrading some of the more basic elements in the Airfix kit, but I will perhaps do that if I choose to build a second Hurricane having got some experience with this new kit under my belt. First impressions are good. Its pretty accurate if a little basic... but it is strange that the cockpit detail is pretty refined given the lack of any surface detailing elsewhere. The rear of fuselage is pretty good, but the wings and nose seem very basic with no real surface detailing at all... very different from the gorgeous Eduard Spitfire kits. I don't know a hell of a lot about Hurricanes, so please forgive any basic errors... but I fancy building one and although Bader very definitely a character you will either love or hate (I suspect I would have disliked him intensely...) He seemed to be a bit of a maverick, which normally endears me to people, but he seems to have been a very acerbic, arrogant man, a divisive leader and convinced he was always right even when confronted with facts that suggested otherwise. I have worked with a few people like that in the past...! I met him once, too, way back in the late sixties when my father pointed him out at an airshow... I was too young to really appreciate who he was at the time... but I remember a rather cold arrogant man walking away, talking to another man, who may well have been Adolf Galland... Its one of those times when I wish I had paid more attention to at the time... but I was about ten... and more excited about seeing a Spitfire flying around (there wasn't too many at the time) than some grumpy old man... Anyway... by way of getting this all out of my system, here is my Airfix Hurricane build thread... First, a quick overview of the kit and decals... Initial impressions are much the same as anyone else has posted. The plastic is rather soft, there is a fine texture to all the flat surfaces so it seems a little crude in comparison to Eduard and Tamiya kits. Trailing edges seem a little thick and crude too, as does much of the surface detailing. But it seems accurate and relatively simple to build and the cockpit is far more detailed than I would have expected. Ejector pin marks are both large and fairly numerous... and a few are in areas that may need to be dealt with. The cockpit floor for example. They probably won't get seen, but if a wash is used to highlight any detail on the cockpit floor, the wash will almost certainly highlight the pin marks, so they will probably need to be filled... There are also a few scratches on the main components cause by the sprues rubbing together in transit... Maybe not enough to still be showing after a primer coat, but having been used to each sprue being in an individual plastic bag for protection, it all seemed a little basic and 'toy like' in comparison to some... Anyway... on with the build. I will start with putting the cockpit components together, then, hopefully, prime the inner framework with Mr Surfacer 1500 Black if I get time this evening... If I'm quick, I may even get round to finishing the cockpit...

Hi Everyone, I'm sure we're all aware of the Imperial War Museum Film collection and the visual treasures contained within their archives. While looking around for films that might have footage of 43 Squadron during WWII (there's some of their Hurricanes departing for the Dieppe raid, but that's another topic) on the main page there are currently two links somewhat cryptically titled 'Advance Record Material' and 'Boston Raid'. Intrigued by the titles I took a look since the thumbnail pictures appeared to cover the North African campaigns so might have something I was originally looking out for. Although the films turned out to be shot in Libya rather than Tunisia, they proved to be hugely informative. It just goes to show that an apparently random title could have fascinating information and details on the aircraft and personnel of the era. 'Advance Record Material' https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41432 starts off with footage of a British truck convoy wending its way along desert roads arriving at an airfield. At 2:20 it changes to a clip of a group next to a hangar when a chap runs out and pretends to fire a Very Pistol; the group then scrambles revealing waiting 33 Squadron Hurricanes, foremost being a very careworn HV471 RS-A. This scene then repeats with the bloke with the Very actually discharging it! The Hurricanes then start and taxy out; the sequence ending with shots of various wrecked Lufwaffe aircraft. Of note is the single cannon fit on the Hurricanes. The vehicle convoy shots are repeated, then at 6:40 groups of Hurricanes appear and land. These are a mix of 33 and 213 Sqn Hurricanes. At 8:31 there's a Clapperboard titled 'Hurris with LR tanks arrive Benina' dated 2/12/1942. The arrival shots are repeated concluding with some shots of sunken ships. In the Additional Media tab there is a second film https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41432/media_id/7263 . This starts off with aerial shots, possibly also over Benina, with more wrecked Luftwaffe aircraft including what appears to be a Gotha 242 glider. At 3:30 it changes to ground footage with RAF Regiment Armoured Cars driving past abandoned Me110s, Ju87s and Bf109s. This is dated 20/11/42. At 6:00 an 'erk' appears to be painting the spinner of a Bf109F red(?) folowed by a corporal painting out the fuselage cross and fin swastika. The same aircraft is then pictured starting up and taking off having apparently being taken on strength by 3Sqn RAAF! This is followed by a Ju87D that has been 'adopted' by 601Sqn and a 'Hentschel' 126 also being repainted. The film ends with some 'whistling bomb' shots and the earlier Bf109 being serviced (and armed!) then, finally, the repainted Hs126. It's fascinating watching the aircraft being re-marked, particularly the application of the national markings in so many variations! The 'Boston Raid' collection https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41431 starts off with a frame with dead Afrika Korps soldiers (just to warn you) then cuts to ground crew packing up with a 112Sqn Kittyhawk in the background. This is followed by the whole squadron in convoy departing for pastures new. At 2:36 a Storch in RAF colours takes off followed by more footage of the AAHQ vehicles moving off. The middle section films Italian POWs and more dead Afrika Korps soldiers. From 6:15 aerial shots, presumably taken from the Storch as it flies alongside the AAHQ vehicles. At 8:37 the Storch reappears along with AVM Sir Arthur Coningham and, I think, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder. Both get in the Storch and depart. The film ends with more shots of destroyed German vehicles and a LST(?) being offloaded. The second segment https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41431/media_id/7260 starts with AVM Coningham and 'Monty' in conference then after some general footage at 3:00 Hudsons take off. After some shots of abandoned Bf109s a Hudson is being unloaded. This segment ends with another Hudson and Bombays landing. The final segment https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/41431/media_id/7261 begins with what appears to be trucks full of Italian prisoners changing to two officers inspecting a Bf109 graveyard then a camouflaged Gotha 242 glider. At 1:41 a 92Sqn Spitfire V taxies out and the squadron takes off. After some shots of a German war graves the scene changes to a Ju87 wreck being looked over then on to the captured Storch landing. At 3:29 a 92Sqn Spitfire EP613 QJ-S taxies up to a very tidy Bf109F immediately cutting to another Go242 glider then back to the Spitfire/Messerschmitt combo. There are then various shots of the pilot jumping out and inspecting his opposition. The clip ends with another Spitfire Vb taxiing up to a rather less pristine Bf109! Curiously there are no shots of Bostons in any of these three unless the title is referring to the aftermath of a raid by Bostons on what may be Benghazi or Tobruk harbours! I don't recall seeing any of the content before so I hope you find these as interesting and useful as I did. Jonathan

I'll be honest. I didn't know who Bob Kershaw was until I bought the kit. For those of you who may be in a similar boat, here's his story : The Arma Hobby Hurricane Mk.1 Expert Set came with the markings for Bob Kershaw's Hurricane, and I couldn't resist the temptation. What can I say? It's a Hurricane by Arma Hobby - Great kit and a very enjoyable building experience. Now I'm desperately trying to avoid buying the Arma Hobby Yak1b ! Thanks for looking. Time to head back. mike

So guys just shifted over from this thread. in continuation of my quest to restore Hurricane Mk I P5202/Z7059 depending on which source you believe (although i would be P 5202 which shot down a Me110 on 11.9.40 whilst with 213 Sqn.) I wanted to do a ACSEA marked aircraft but seems not possible?? i want to do it half exposed and unpainted and half covered and painted. I find the main wheel hubs suspiciously like those of the vampire NF 10 parked next to it??

The Hurricane MK 1 - 1/24 by Airfix RFI Hello and a happy new year to you all. I'd like to start the new year with the RFI of my last actual completed build of 2019. She has been built for a month or so but I didn't find the right moment to do the RFI. You must excuse the sheer amount of pics once again but I do like to indulge myself sometimes. I couldn't fit her in my little photo tent thing so I took her outside and took a few shots while the sky was bright and fell in love all over again. The WIP can be found HERE and If you followed along you know how much effort I have put in to attempt to get her right, she might not be 100% but I hope that she will be useful to those wishing to build this lovely vintage kit. I used. Airfix Hurricane 1/24 Tamiya acrylics Tamiya weather powders Flory washes. Ezy line I think that was it. Without further ado Ladies and gent I give you a Massive Hurricane Mk1. Inside first I think. Phew!!!!! 🤠 Now get a fresh brew maybe a biscuit and enjoy the outside shots. and the parting shot.... That's your lot.....😍 Thankyou so much for indulging but /she is such a joy to photograph. I hope you enjoyed the build if you followed along and if not I hope you enjoyed these shots, If not I can't help you . 🤪 I should now be up to date with my RFIs. I have added my meng tank and the Torino today too. I have my current Gundam kit to complete then I'll be back to Aeroplanes. ( it's a bit lonely over in sci-fi land to be fair. ) All the best and as always happy modelling. Johnny.😎

I just now found some film footage I think many of you will like. Scenes of Spitfires being uncrated and erected on Gibraltar, and very interesting North African footage of Hurricane Mk IId's, I think from No. 6 Squadron, as well as what looks like Spitfire Vc's from No, 2 Squadron, SAAF, plus some good FAA footage. Too bad a lot of the serials on the Spitfires were not visible! Mike

Dear All, In the process of building the Airfix MK1a Spitfire and Arma Hurricane Mk1 in 72nd scale as part of my Battle of Britain project but as usual my biggest problem will be obtaining a realistic finish to the exhaust manifolds. I'm not after any trade secrets but just a good method to avoid them simply looking obviously just gun metal or brick red! Kind Regards Colin. Ps. any ideas on when the much anticipated Revell Ju88A-1 will be issued?

A cheap and cheerful kit but it looks like a Hurricane when finished. As usual Vallejo air paints and some aftermarket decals from Xtradecal

Very nice new kit from Polish Arma Hobby company. Easily the best Hurricane kit in the scale. No filler needed if you take some care preparing the parts for gluing. The only shortcoming is clear parts that are a bit on the thick side. I've managed to spoil the original LK-A letters so these on the model are from quite old Legato kit. And I decided to do almost no weathering as I like this livery clean. Thanks for viewing!

Hey everyone Well you might think that I'm jumping on the 1/24 Airfix Hurricane band wagon what with @The Spadgent making a rather good start on his (you'd be right by the way 😊) but in my defence I do have some time to kill whilst I'm waiting for some bits to dry on my Hawker Typhoon and I think a large scale Hurricane will complement it nicely. So without further a do rather lovely box art.. The proposed scheme, Hurricane P3675 UF*S, 601 Sqn RAF Tangmere September 1940 (I built the 1/48 Scale version recently).. ..using the Montex masking set.. ..and here is where I'm at at the moment. My fuselage halves are both quite warped so for the worst offender I am going to straighten it out by gluing on the side panels... ..I drilled out the panel location tabs ...and cut the starboard panel in two.. ...it still fits ok.. Cheers all Iain.

Evening all, Just finished off my latest build, Airfix's early ragwing Hurricane. I've hastily thrown this together as my original intention for build 13 hasn't gone to plan and has been shelved for the time being. Built completely OOB and finished as usual with Hataka Orange Line and Alclad, with W&N Galeria Matt to finish. Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane I by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Comments welcomed as always, Shaun

I have chosen this kit as, i think, it was the first non 1/72 model i ever built. I had always liked the bigger scale stuff after my Dad built me a 1/24 Airfix Spitfire kit, which had the motor for the prop. I could never save up enough for the 1/24 Airfix Hurricane so the Revell one was what i got. I remember back in the early 70's Revell had a large range of 1/32 scale aircraft kits - i always wanted the Beaufughter, and they all had great boxtop art. My Hurri graced my childhood bedroom ceiling for yeras until it got lost when we moved house in 1975. I recon the removal guys dropped the box and quietly hid the evidence rather than nicked it! I remember this model well as i had painted it only using dark earth for the upper camo due to the plastic being green (i won't do that this time) it probably looked a right state. So jump forward 20 odd years and Revell reissued the kit as part of their Classics range. I HAD to have one. Imagine my dissapointment when i found out it was a re-tooled one not the original as promised on the box! My plan is to do a OOTB build with a better paint job. Thees only one decal option and less than 50 parts so i should be finished by this time next week!! TFL Cheers Greg

Hello! I've at last joined the Arma Hobby Hurricane gang, and enjoyed making this so much I've already ordered another kit to make their MkI! I decided to go for Stewart "Bomb" Finney's steed "Oops", he seems to have been quite an entertaining character and there are some cracking interviews with him on Youtube. I particularly enjoyed the anecdote about the wickerwork airfield... So the SAAF flying MkI Hurricanes eagerly awaited delivery of their MkIIc planes with four Hispano cannon installed, and must have thought it was a right swiz when they arrived with the outer two cannon missing! There's a photo of Oops with the tail all shot to ribbons, but being a Hurricane was repaired, probably with some canvas and dope, and flew again. The model is hairy sticked as usual with Humbrol enamels, then Gloss Cote before and after decals, weathered with watercolours then sealed with Matt Cote. I'm particularly pleased with the weathering on this, except for how it's highlighted the edges of the decal film, as you can probably see on the underside. I'm wondering if I used Humbrol Clear instead maybe this wouldn't happen, but then wouldn't the final coat of Matt Clear, being water based, lift the watercolours and ruin my weathering? I've always thought that water based weathering should go between solvent based varnishes, and vice versa - or could I paint a final layer of Matt Cote onto a model that has been sealed with Clear? If anyone has any experience and can advise I'd be very grateful, and as alway any useful feedback gladly accepted.

Well, these are strange times. This is my first attempt at a diorama, albeit a very simple one. It is also my first time putting anything I hve produced out in public, so please be gentle. My wife bought me the Airfix 'Ready for Battle' gift set for xmas, this diorama is pretty much straight out of the box, apart from a couple of little tweaks such as the refueller and the addition of the Tilly. I look forward to learning from your comments, I would also appreciate some thoughts on photographing dioramas - I am not too happy with how these shots turned out.

I've recently been building the A Model Hawker Hector and as something of an easier distraction completed this starter kit in time for VE Day last week. It wasn't without its issues - the starboard wing was/is somewhat warped though hopefully not too noticeable now. The main problem though was the canopy, the kit came with that for a Spitfire Mk.22. Airfix are going to replace this once their spares start up again. Thankfully I have five others liberated from Home Bargains. So canopy number two came from the stash, was duly masked up and went through the paint process along with the rest of the model. Unfortunately when the masks came off something had got between the canopy and the doghouse. As I'd only used PVA to glue it on I tried to prize it off only for it to suddenly give and then split in two. So what you see in the photos is canopy number three which was painted by hand with the aid of a cocktail stick for cleaning up. Paint is mostly MRP. The Dark Earth seems a bit too dark to me. Metallics are Alclad and the chipping was achieved with Ammo by Mig Scratch effects. Not entirely happy with this as it's a lot more chipped than I was intending on, though having covered some of it up I discovered that some Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain were quite heavily chipped. The remaining weathering is a mix of Flory Models wash and oil paints. Exhaust stain is Mr Hobby Tyre Black followed by a mix of mid grey and light brown. Cheers Andy

I'm not sure if decal news are allowed in this forum? @Homebee please delete/hide if unwanted 🙂. Anyway, this should prove to be popular! V-P https://www.kitsworld.co.uk/index.php?GOTO=630&PICFILE=630&STKNR=630&STRH=&ORDN=&RNZ=730550&THISVIEWMODE=2&SUPPLIER=&FINDRETR=&WIDENET=&CATEGORY=5&SUB=8&VWW=1

I completed my small airfix Hurricane 1s, intended to represent BoB aircraft but restricted a little by the point that they're fabric-winged aircraft, so I stuck to the kit markings. Could still have served in the BoB both being of 1940 vintage (I need to check the serial numbers at some point) but depicted as fairly war-weary. Write up on WIP and ready for inspection: Approaching to board by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Subject reference by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0305-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0292-1edit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0287-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0286-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0273-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0281-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0264-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0267-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0250-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0245-1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_0297-1edit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Thanks for reading. Jonathan

Well, I’ve been meaning to open up a thread on the current project that I started as a quick build whilst I waited for my purchase from Japan to make its way across the seas (a Finemolds F14) so with two Airfix 1/72 Hurricane 1s in the stash, I thought that, with this year being the 80th anniversary of the BoB, that I’d put these together as BoB serving aircraft. Of course, someone on here was kind enough to point out as I finished my last thread on my Harvard IIB build project, that the Airfix Hurricanes are Fabric winged models (something I’d not noticed – but yes that explained the unusual shape to the ammunition bays) so my BoB plans went out the window. I’d even orders some Xtradecal transfers to give me some options – but none are fabric winged. Oh well. I thought that the recently enforced WAH period would provide me with a little more time on these; but it’s been almost four days of 12 hrs plus at the pc. Must try harder; I suspect this will be a long-haul ahead of us I got in touch with a chap I know through work who knows his Hurricanes (well, he should do) and he put me on to some useful publications and a useful website Hawker Hurricane “Defender of the Empire” which has some great information especially on build batches http://www.k5083.mistral.co.uk/ It’s certainly worth a read and bookmark Oddly enough the two kits are different – one was a starter set, and one has markings for Kenley in Aug 1940; the other from the Advanced Strike Force in France, May 1940 – close enough... and a variation in schemes too. So... the plan was out of the box for these two, built in parallel. The build started with the wing sections (which had a little fettling and sanding to give a conformal leading and trailing edge) and cockpit which were separately assembled and then painted; a “light” dark green used for the RAF interior green that I airbrushed on, then added various silver/aluminium shades to the relevant areas including the seat and frame, side walls in areas to represent the cockpit frame and floor frames (what there are of them). The air cylinder in the undercarriage bays was painted with a thin white, the brackets darkened, and the cooling pipe a silver to stand out. The general frame work here, and in the cockpit was toned down with various darker shades washed in to add some depth and dirt. IMG_20200222_201129291_HDR by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_20200228_183322288_HDR by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_20200228_183410685_HDR by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_20200302_112823706_HDR by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_20200307_110235282_HDR by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The cockpit was detailed with a few panels picked out, including the hydraulics selector on the starboard forward frame; the instrument panel decals added (no point in using PE for this – it’s hardly visible with the windscreen in), and the control stick painted accordingly. I added some thin strips of tamiya masking tape for seat harnesses and a small piece of plastic rod for the main harness buckle sat on the seat pan. IMG_20200307_110335019_HDR by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr IMG_20200307_110514363_HDR by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Assembly of the fuselage halves, and then the wings was quite painless – mainly sealed together with some Tamiya thin... a great glue for this type of work. IMG_20200310_205414670 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr One item that looked like it might be needed was the gunsight. I stuck a bit of plastic rod into a minidrill and with a sharp blade and the rod spinning, etched this away to make a shape sort of like a gunsight base. With a notch cut into the coaming trailing edge, this rod-piece could be added (Odourless CA – Bob Smith Industries is my preferred) IMG_20200315_182224264 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr and then a small slither of clear plastic (I use the material that most shops use to support the collars of “work shirts” ... a thin strip, then rounded at one end... and popped on to the painted gunsight body using some Glue n glaze... and yes, that’ll do for a gun sight. IMG_20200315_192404021 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Having detailed the cockpit (note the wear on the rear armoured panel – silver paint and graphite pencil ) I wanted the canopies open. They wont fit normally – the plastic s too thick. So the rear turtle deck needs cutting away on the sides. For this, I use an old flat-blade jewellers screwdriver that I sharpened on a fine grit wheel in the minidrill – to make a small chisel. A sharp blade to define the cut and then slowly shaving away and filing and sanding later, the cut-away section can be moved aft to eventually allow the canopy to sit happily in an open (back) position. IMG_20200316_193154921 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I assembled the radiator housing and attached these – with quite a bit of fettling to remove seams and replace the panel lines fore-aft. One further thing that was bothering me was the wingtips. Yes, Airfix moulded some approximate shapes for the navigation lights. Hmmm... could be better. IMG_20200316_200453478 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I’d recently seen a video about forming these, cutting away the corner, adding a small piece of wire that is painted the right colour and then backing it all in silver, and then using superglue to build up the lens shape ... before cutting it back with a file to the right shape. All sounded feasible, so I gave it a go. I think my problem was that my CA glue, and the paint didn’t like each other... and the glue (I think it was Zap-a-Gap green) lifted the paint to form a mess. I tried it twice and then gave up. IMG_20200316_201819643 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I thought again. I looked at the clear sprue in the kits and cut a length to work with. Using the minidrill, I formed a flat on the bottom and a firm 90 degree edge, then with a 0.5mm drill, I created a short hole inside the sprue from the flat bottom, then cut the sprue piece to about 6 or 7mm in length. Once I’d four of these, I filled the holes with paint; two red, two green. IMG_20200319_183138097 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Then my magnifying headband snapped its arm and I was forced to repair this so that I could carry on seeing what I was doing. Some araldite and PVC take and all is well. But... I bought a new (bigger) one too as a reserve – that’s got two magnifying lenses and a small eyepiece for even more close ups.... but it’s a bit heavier. I’ll alternate them I think. Can’t be without them; old man eyesight; maybe I need to move to 1/48 or 1/32. No... I’d still want small details. IMG_20200319_182903683_HDR by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Anyway, the odd shaped sprue pieces were glued to the wingip cut out pieces and left to dry (Odourless CA glue again). IMG_20200320_165728304 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Then attacked in turn with a coarse file; coarse sanding stick; medium and fine sanding stick, IMG_20200320_181800758 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr and then micromesh grades 1500, 3600, 6000 and 12000. And yes... that was what I was after. IMG_20200320_182514250 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr So... plenty of further work to do. Oh, and the Finemolds F14 arrived – that looks nice. Ive a VF111 decals set on its way and a GWH F14 too. Bought a few F14 books to do some research including the DACO publication book... and the two Detail and Scale on Atlantic and Pacific sqns – to browse on the iPad – Miss Molly of VF111 likely to be the Finemolds one with lots of panels open – the GWH one a similar period VF111 machine TBD. Anyway – back to the hurricanes. More to follow later. IMG_20200320_201305543 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Thanks for reading.... Jonathan

Airfix Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 new tool representing a BoB era 32 Squadron aircraft in 1940 Biggin Hill. This particular aircraft only lasted 7 days before being shot down over Dover by a Bf 109 from JG 51. Pilot Guy Turner managed to escape but was badly burned in the process. This is a really nice kit to build and i can't for the life of me know or remember when i didn't finish it sooner! It is brush painted in Revell acrylics and i have used the old Airfix decals from the 1980 tooling. These were very brittle and the code letters broke in a few places hence the poor positioning of parts on probably both sides of the fuselage. The roundles are from the new kit and the tail flashes are painted on as i had no spares! It was good to get this one done, next up is my Italieri Ju 52, but thats a different story..... TFL Cheers Greg

Greetings Brits... I recently joined the forum, and I got a lot of help from you all on scoping information for a Night Intruder Hurricane IIc... I have always wanted to make a Hurricane in this scheme with Medium Sea Grey and Dark Green Topside and Black Underside, with the Red Codes that were eventually applied over the original Sky Codes... This is a cool scheme on a hurricane and complements the all the models we make in the usual fighter day camouflage. This is a Hasegawa 1/48 Kit, with some extras added to improve the model... I first applied the extra PE seat belt harness left over from the Tamiya Spitfire to improve the interior... Then ordered Quick Boost Resin External Tanks and Resin 'Type B' Cannons as the original Night Duty LK-R aircraft had. It was great that Quick Boost offers the different cannon types so we can make the correct armament for our Hurricane IIc! Next I used Techmod Decals Hurricane Insignia Sheet for the Proper Roundels... Then I used Fantasy Printworks 27" Tall Dull Red RAF codes... I did have to touch them up with some paint because they didn't match the insignia's (and I like all the colors to match)... well the end of a long journey and a dream fulfilled for a Night Intruder scheme Hurricane! Oh the best part... I did learn that this camouflage was field applied and is a unique pattern. It is different than the standard RAF Hurricane patterns. I searched for many photos of this squadron 'LK' and found some great in-flight photos with other aircraft with this same scheme. They consistently applied this to many aircraft so it was something they patterned. I was able to generate a reasonable sketch of the pattern as the Left Upper wing was visible and outer half of the right outer wing upper was visible... I had to conjecture the right side of the fuselage (but continued the wrap from the visible left side) and conjecture the inner/upper right wing appearance that was not visible in photos... Here it is on the workbench, Ready for Inspection! Thanks for checking it out and all the help! -Bob