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Sweet 1/144 Hurricane Tropicals


Dazzio

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Hello Everyone,

I've decided to do these wee ones as a starter for this GB (I'm STILL waiting for my P-47's), these will be nothing fancy and straight out of the box builds. Not that there is much aftermarket stuff for Hurricanes in 1/144. These models where previously built by Speedman back in October last year for the BoB GB. Mine wont be as good as his, but I will give it a bloody good go! Onto the pictures...

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I have absolutely no idea what Yuki-kun is saying and the same goes for NASA-chan. Dont ask me to read what the box says either except for the obvious.

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Got to love the way that Japan always has to "cutify" everything... But it does work I guess... :/

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This could be handy....

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Couldn't resist, the box for the Wildcats says "Two Cats in a Box!" this one just has a funky picture of Yuki-kun... I dunno..

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4 of the 5 schemes that you can build out of the box (the last one is on the box). They all look pretty much the same except for option 2 and 5, which are the ones I am going to do. :)

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This is one of the two I am going to do, I love the blue on the wing leading edges and the bolt. I am going to assume that the squiggly lines are green. I will have to read up laters.

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The second picture, I really like this scheme as well for some reason.

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Sprue shots, I am not sure why there is a clear sprue (not being able to read Japanese) I guess I will never know. They are really clear tho... thats a good start I guess.

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I like how the wings go together, also the canopy that's normal plastic on the sandy sprue. That'll be useful when it comes to sorting out the framing, result!

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Got to love all of the decals that you get in a box from Sweet models. Quite a lot of choice here and maybe something I could use on other models.

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I also have another boxing, which I might decide to do depending how well these go. This is the same boxing that Speedman made.

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I got a few models from Sweet over the years, this isn't my full collection as I have a few more Zero's, Sea Kings and the Mustangs you can see on the shelf.

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If I do get time for the second batch it will be using this for some kind of diorama, it'll probably be crap tho...

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All of the lovely bits you get in the box. Yay!

So hopefully I will get some time to start these soon. :)

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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This looks interesting as I've read nothing but good things about Sweet. Also have to take my hat off to anyone that models in the smaller scales. I have trouble in 1/48 Lord alone knows how you manage in 1/144?!?!?

Looking forward to following this build

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Thank you for the encouragement lads!

Simon, modelling in 1/144 is easy really, you can get away with missing alot of detail. It's when you want to add it in that it becomes a problem, I built the Mustangs that Sweet have released (you can see two on box picture) and they built up really really well. The interior is non-existent, but in 1/144 you wont really see it, it's hard enough to see in 1/72 let alone 1/144.

Thank you for the kind words Fin, hope you enjoy what will turn out to be a complete bodge up :)

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Heh, don`t worry, I`ll probably take the lead at mistakes and at 1:72 they`ll be much more evident too. :DBtw, the transparent sprue looks very nice. I wonder how would a crystal Hurricane look like (with no paint or decals). I`m guessing cool! My guess is that they`ve made the second sprue transparent for the sake of simplifying procedure. Each sprue has two sets of parts for the canopy and headlights, but the ones from the beige (?) plastic are not really usable so, instead of making a separate sprue with the transparent pieces they`ve just used transparent plastic for the entire second sprue, using the same mold.

Edited by Fin
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Hi Dazz,

gee, you must have a great eyesight!!!!

1/144 is definitely too small for me, and has always been. The obvious minimalistic details have always irked me, but I haven't looked at such a kit for decades, and I am sure things have changed for the better.
I believe the cigarette lighter on this model is pure fantasy and if you do nothing else, a new scratch built one is the minimum you have to do...

Have fun

JR

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Heh, don`t worry, I`ll probably take the lead at mistakes and at 1:72 they`ll be much more evident too. :DBtw, the transparent sprue looks very nice. I wonder how would a crystal Hurricane look like (with no paint or decals). I`m guessing cool! My guess is that they`ve made the second sprue transparent for the sake of simplifying procedure. Each sprue has two sets of parts for the canopy and headlights, but the ones from the beige (?) plastic are not really usable so, instead of making a separate sprue with the transparent pieces they`ve just used transparent plastic for the entire second sprue, using the same mold.

I might make the transparent one as just is, the Japanese have a thing for clear models now that I think of it. There is a few clear pastic Gundams out there and I am sure that there are others. They carry a premium too... the clear bits make sense for the sprue with the canopy on it, not the other one. I always thought that clear plastic would cost more than any other colour? I dunno... Fancy having a competition on who can mess this up the most? :Plol I am looking forward to seeing your Hurricane, should be an interesting one. :)

Hi Dazz,

gee, you must have a great eyesight!!!!

1/144 is definitely too small for me, and has always been. The obvious minimalistic details have always irked me, but I haven't looked at such a kit for decades, and I am sure things have changed for the better.

I believe the cigarette lighter on this model is pure fantasy and if you do nothing else, a new scratch built one is the minimum you have to do...

Have fun

JR

I dont actually Jean, I wear glasses and am not allowed to drive without them. I am however short sighted, I am not wearing my glasses as I type this on my laptop now. However for anything that is 3 feet away and farther I need my glasses. Wonder if thats why I think my models are great?! :P The minimalistic decals are the thing of the past, and depending on what model you go for, you get a ton of them. See some of the newer Revell offerings, their Typhoon and Rafale have an insane amount of decals.

Anyhow, I hope to do this one justice. I am thinking about a scratch building a basic cockpit. I do have an extra etch set for the Spitfire which I am thinking of using, if I can figure out what is useable and what isn't. Probably not a lot... this is going to sound like a numpty question but... cigarette lighter?? I did scratch an fire extinguisher for a 1/144 Puma, Nigel Heath would be proud if he saw it (probably).

Thank you both for the encouragement, much appreciated :)

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Looking forward to seeing this Dazz.

Scratchbuild a wee cockpit, it's not too hard and the detail can be as much or as little as you want in that scale.

Do you have an optivisor though? It would make it far easier.

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Re the desert ones in option 2 and 5. The blue (if that is what it was) was considerably lighter than the underside, which can be seen because it wraps round onto the underside going back perhaps 10% (WAG) of the chord. Apparently it was officially Aluminium, and a few photos do give that impression, but most of them lack that shiny metal appearance. It used to be thought to be Middle Stone, but it clearly contrasts with that and is lighter. My best guess is Sky Blue.

Edited by Graham Boak
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Now this looks interesting - always like Japanese boxing to be honest - they even make giant killer man-robot suits look cute! :-)

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Hi Dazz,

using PE with 1/72 kits is quite frequently an exercise in frustration, but PE with 1/144 kits??? I have seen the Eduard 1/144 Spitfire etch fret for the cockpit, and the word INSANITY (Capital letters) comes to mind! I am sure it is a test to flush aliens out!

Enjoy the PE!

JR

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Looking forward to seeing this Dazz.

Scratchbuild a wee cockpit, it's not too hard and the detail can be as much or as little as you want in that scale.

Do you have an optivisor though? It would make it far easier.

Thank you Murdo, I'm not really worried about scratching a cockpit. Just more like where to start :P I'll see what I can use and go from there. I don't have an optivisor, and without sounding like an bottom, I don't need it. I can see detail really well up close, anything thats 3 feet or away I can not see at all. It's strange, I blame all those years playing MMO's until late at night.

Re the desert ones in option 2 and 5. The blue (if that is what it was) was considerably lighter than the underside, which can be seen because it wraps round onto the underside going back perhaps 10% (WAG) of the chord. Apparently it was officially Aluminium, and a few photos do give that impression, but most of them lack that shiny metal appearance. It used to be thought to be Middle Stone, but it clearly contrasts with that and is lighter. My best guess is Sky Blue.

I was going to go with Sky Blue tbh, I take it there has been some debate about the actual colours used (isn't there always?!). It was the squiggly bits inside the blue that I was more concerned about (which in the picture looks likes green to me). I will have to check this up when I get the time and before I start this.

Now this looks interesting - always like Japanese boxing to be honest - they even make giant killer man-robot suits look cute! :-)

Yeah you do have a point, the BB Gundams have a "cuteness" about them. Hope to keep you interested in this one Pete :)

Hi Dazz,

using PE with 1/72 kits is quite frequently an exercise in frustration, but PE with 1/144 kits??? I have seen the Eduard 1/144 Spitfire etch fret for the cockpit, and the word INSANITY (Capital letters) comes to mind! I am sure it is a test to flush aliens out!

Enjoy the PE!

JR

I've always found PE to be fiddly not matter what the size is. Thats is the same etch set I was going to try and use, it looked okay to me. Not had a chance to use it yet tho. We will see soon. :)

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Search for the spaghetti scheme. It was initially noticed on photos of FR aircraft so it was assumed to be at attempt to make the aircraft look more Italian at low-level, hence the term. However, it is now known to have been much more widely used on aircraft in air superiority roles (including FAA Fulmars) so is now thought to have been to reduce visibility rather than having anything to do with Italian schemes. Once accepted as a light underside colour, this would make no sense at all as Italian aircraft wrapped their upper camouflage round the leading edge and onto the lower surface, quite the opposite effect seen head-on. So it may have had some identity purpose akin to the red spinners or Fighter Command's yellow leading edges. The actual Staff thinking on the subject is not known, but you will find reference to painting instructions using a base of Aluminium.

It is seen on aircraft in Temperate Land Scheme and in Desert Scheme: I suspect the mottling/streaks are just the normal upper surface colours. However, the earliest (real date) reference I can find to it is 25th Jan 1941, in Shores et al "A History of the Mediterranean Air War" volume 1, where 3 RAAF received their first such Hurricane, and here it is described by the pilot concerned as "the new type of mottled blue, grey and purple camouflage..."

Edited by Graham Boak
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Having built a few of these just watch out for the decals silvering and not wanting to bend,......plenty of decal softener is needed!

Looking forward to these,

Cheers

Tony

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Thank you for that Graham, a lot of fansinciating and insightful information there. :) I will have to read up more on it. I have seen a few models made up the "correct" way so to speak and they look completely different to the way Sweet are suggesting to make it (obviously cause of the colours used). This will be fun to replicate in 1/144! :P

I've never had any issues with any of the sweet decals thus far Tony, but I will watch out for these little ones. Thank you for the heads up :)

Only 23 minutes and I can make a start!... I'll probably have an early night for a change tbh tho. :P

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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I've done some basic work, I decided not to scratch any cockpit parts as you have no chance in hell in seeing it. I've got to give another coat of the interior greens but these build up fast. I am really thinking of having a clear Hurricane, maybe if I can pick up another pack for cheap. There will not be many updates for the next few weeks and I've just got a flat with my gf and will be moving out. But I am allowed to keep the Man-cave for models! \o/

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Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Reading more is always good: the problem you'll find is that there is whereas there are a lot of photos with captions mentioning this, and more to be seen uncaptioned, no single source does more than mention it; none go into any detail. IMHO the best place to look is on this site, where many of the relevant photos have been reproduced, together with much discussion.

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Hi Dazz,

the progress is indeed swift! But I must say a see through model is somewhat unsettling. Are you going to paint it or leave it like that?

JR

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Oh aye, Graham, I completely agree. In all honesty, britmodeller is usually my first source of information. Its just making as much sense out of as little info as possible. We'll never know for sure I think.

Jean, these models build up quick and are fun! These two (possibly four) models will be painted. The see through one will be if I can get any more for a decent price. :)

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Had a little time over the weekend. I was concentrating on the P-47 more than I should of done, but never mind. I glued the main wings on and the tail planes too, gonna put some more cockpit green in the cockpit.

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These build up really quickly and fast, makes a change for me :P

Hope to have more soon,

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Dazz,

anything new? No pressure!

Mind you, I can talk as Life has rugby tackled me and the progress has become soooo sloooow! I need a time management consultant!

Cheers

JR

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Hi jean,

Unfortunately no progress at all. I am still in the process of moving into my flat. I've not had a chance to set up a modelling desk yet, but I have seen one that I want to get. Soon hopefully, doesn't help that my modelling shed is at my parent house (20 miles away) and that is where the two Hurricanes are residing right now.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Hi Dazz,

20 miles is a tad far to nip over for a spot of modelling!

Good luck with your move!

JR

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Dazz,

20 miles is a tad far to nip over for a spot of modelling!

Good luck with your move!

JR

Thank you Jean, we are slowly getting there. Taking us a while, but slowly getting somewhere.

I got some time at the weekend when visiting my mum for mothers day so I popped into the mancave.

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I managed to fit the solid canopies, I will just paint over them and I will look into spraying some spare decal paper with the colours and cut it up. Sand filter has been fitted and the ariel as well.. Not much has happened this update. Least I am still working on these. :)

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Hi Dazz,

slow progress is better than no progress at all!

Same thing here, and I don't have to visit my mother to build anything!!! So you're doing good!

JR

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