En norsk Orkan: Airfix Hurricane IIB, 331 Squadron

[atvd1020]

This is my first and exceedingly delayed entry in the group build, an Airfix Hurricane IIb from the Operation Torch set. This will be a purely out-of-the-box build as FN-D of 331 (Norwegian) Squadron, based in Skeabrae in the autumn of 1941.

I bought this kit from Mikemx and it came in a Tamiya Zero box, so here are the sprues sans box shot:

The IIb wing unique to the Airfix Club boxings of the Hurricane IIc:

The Vingtor decals set:

The instructions call for Medium Sea Grey/Dark Green/ a very dark 'mixed grey', which they say could be as dark as Extra Dark Sea Grey. I should have the interior assembled this evening.

Edited February 18, 2016 by atvd1020

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

This will be interesting to see how it turns out then.

thanks

Mike

[tonyot]

I quite fancy doing a Norwegian one myself and have the same sheet in 1/48th scale,.....good luck with yours.

Cheers

Tony

[atvd1020]

The cockpit is done, the instrument panel decal placed:

I added a harness to the seat out of Tamiya tape, painted to a seatbeltish colour using Lifecolor Chamois with dashes of silver for buckles:

Following that the wings were glued on and the fuselage closed. Here is a dry fit of the two assemblies:

This is the third Hurricane IIb/IIc I've built and I found the fit worse than before. The fuselage needed to be clamped shut to properly close, something which I didn't have to do for the previous builds. The rest of the kit should go together quickly after I clean up seams and oozed-out styrene.

[atvd1020]

So, the Hurricane was assembled with more filler than expected:

I added anti-glare shields from plastic sheet, since both the profiles of this Hurricane I have show them. I then primed the kit with Humbrol aluminium:

The spinner is painted in Xtracrylix Sky, which matched the decal sheets' serials best. The kit will be painted using Xtracrylix paints, which I hope won't turn out too dark.

[atvd1020]

The build will be a bit delayed-the Xtracrylix is taking a long time to cure, and I got some nasty surprises after painting the underside and masking for the yellow leading edges. I don't know if the kit was dirty, or if it's the weather , or the water hardness (which seems to have gotten worse) but I'm just waiting to see if it cures at all before stripping and cleaning the kit and repainting.

[atvd1020]

After some intimacy with oven cleaner, a toothbrush and some accidents I decided to finish the build as a wheels-up kit. Here she is repainted with Humbrol 163 and the fuselage and ID bands added on, all in enamel:

Then my landlord decided to renovate the kitchen (and main modeling and painting area), holding things up. A Lithuanian Letov S-20 and Chinese Polikarpov I-16 also held things up. Since then I painted the underside with Humbrol 165 and added the rest of the topside camouflage with Xtracolor Extra Dark Sea Grey, freehanded:

The grey was supposed to be darker and less blue according to the Vingtor instructions, but I can live with it. I've added a gloss coat and should have the decals on soon.

[atvd1020]

And now we're in the home stretch. The decals are on and two coats of Xtracrylix flat varnish:

The decals were a bit fragile but went on well. I had to retouch one of the serials due to it being damaged while positioning it (with a toothpick, so it was my fault in a way). The fuselage band is oversize, this is because I was a bit nervous going back and forth with masking for Sky or the camouflage colours to get the right size, partly because I didn't know how the Extra Dark Sea Grey (Xtracrylix) would stand up to masking.

I broke the canopy on Friday and will use a Falcon vacform canopy instead. That too should go on tomorrow after the paint has dried.

Besides the canopy I need to glue on the broken aerial bit and add some exhaust stains, hopefully all that should be done by Thursday. Apart from that I think (too late now!) that the yellow ID bands are of different sizes on each wing. Oh well.