Airfix 1/24th scale Hawker Hurricane MkIc

[tomprobert]

Evening all 

 

This is very likely to be my last completed model for 2017 - I've been working on it on and off since August and it crossed the finish line this week.

 

I picked up this classic from Airfix at a model show for a mere £20, and set about building it for a bit of nostalgia and a love for one of WWII's unsung heroes (the Spitfire seems to get all the glory!)

 

I built it more or less out of the box, but did use SAC metal undercarriage legs, an Eduard seatbelt set and aftermarket decals from Techmod. A bit of extra piping was added to the engine, but other than that it's as it comes.

 

It fitted together pretty well - at least better than I was expecting for such an old kit. The wing roots were a little tricky and there was plenty of filler needed here - Archer rivets to the rescue to replace those lost in the filling and sanding process. The worst fitting parts were probably the landing light covers and these took a lot of careful trimming to get them flush with the leading edge. Some of the detail is a little clunky and not up to today's standards, but the surface detail is streets ahead of the Trumpeter offering, with beautiful raised rivets and lovely fabric effect on the rear of the fuselage.

 

Paints were from the Xtracolour enamel range, with the flat cote from Humbrol.

 

Hawker Hurricane MkIc, 306 (Polish) Squadron, RAF Ternhill, November 1940.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For £20 it was certainly great value for money.

 

Happy modelling!

 

Tom

[ForestFan]

A good spend of £20 I’d say!

[mackem01]

Now that is a thing of beauty.........both model and real machine.

Great job.

[Gerrardandrews]

Best £20 kit I've ever seen, brilliant model 😊, made one in 74, really brilliant for it's day, until Ju 87, the best of the Airfix 70s classic's, and educational as well, 😊

[stevej60]

Stunning Tom,superb detailing.

[Brandy]

Lovely work! I never built the Hurri, only the Spit and 109, both very badly I might add. I do still have the Stuka in the stash though....one day!

 

Ian

[Troy Smith]

6 hours ago, tomprobert said:

but the surface detail is streets ahead of the Trumpeter offering, with beautiful raised rivets and lovely fabric effect on the rear of the fuselage.

 

great build Tom, but while the Trumpy kit does have recessed rivets, it also wipes the floor over the Airfix shapewise.

 

Essentially Airfix made a scale Merlin and gun bays, and then distorted the airframe to fit, so the nose ring is too big, as is the spinner, the wing is too deep, nearly 2mm, and this carries on through the nose.  The wing tips are wrong , too short, and too bulbous.

I got slightly started and a few bits missing 1/24 Airfix Hurricane and 2 109's for £10 at a club night,  so the plan is to see if some fixes are possible, and retaining most of the rivets.

the one problem that is  way too much work to fix is the rear fuselage,  it's about right is side view, but the underfuselage strake is too deep, and the fuselage too shallow

 

But,  overall it does look very Hurricane like and impressive when done,  as your build demonstrates.

it was my first big kit when I was 10, and was my pride and joy...  I still have the remains of the 3 I had... (which may help with spares and testing the correction ideas) 

I got the Trumpeter IIc kit on here, missing the cockpit but for £20,   whoever did their research on it really did a good job,  pity some aftermarket folk have not done a positive rivet set for it....

 

I still can't believe Trumpeter have not scaled down their kit,   if they did it would be the best in 1/48th and 1/72nd....I digress.

 

Lovely bit of work on the old beast.

cheers

T

 

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Excellent Hurricane 👍 and a most excellent deal for £20

[malpaso]

Well done, looks really smart.  

I am close to buttoning the fuse up on mine, which was last year's Christmas present from my daughter.  The main delaying factor has been the excessive and inappropriately visible ejection pin marks on every single piece!  Still puzzling how to sort those on the guns and gunbays, other than keep them closed...

Cheers 

Will 

[tomprobert]

7 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

 

great build Tom, but while the Trumpy kit does have recessed rivets, it also wipes the floor over the Airfix shapewise.

 

Essentially Airfix made a scale Merlin and gun bays, and then distorted the airframe to fit, so the nose ring is too big, as is the spinner, the wing is too deep, nearly 2mm, and this carries on through the nose.  The wing tips are wrong , too short, and too bulbous.

I got slightly started and a few bits missing 1/24 Airfix Hurricane and 2 109's for £10 at a club night,  so the plan is to see if some fixes are possible, and retaining most of the rivets.

the one problem that is  way too much work to fix is the rear fuselage,  it's about right is side view, but the underfuselage strake is too deep, and the fuselage too shallow

 

But,  overall it does look very Hurricane like and impressive when done,  as your build demonstrates.

it was my first big kit when I was 10, and was my pride and joy...  I still have the remains of the 3 I had... (which may help with spares and testing the correction ideas) 

I got the Trumpeter IIc kit on here, missing the cockpit but for £20,   whoever did their research on it really did a good job,  pity some aftermarket folk have not done a positive rivet set for it....

 

I still can't believe Trumpeter have not scaled down their kit,   if they did it would be the best in 1/48th and 1/72nd....I digress.

 

Lovely bit of work on the old beast.

cheers

T

 

 

 

To be honest I have no idea about the accuracy of it shape-wise, I just loved the accurate surface detailing. The Trumpeter one does look very nice made up, but I'd never had the opportunity to see them side by side to compare. If only Trumpeter would fire their over-zealous rivet-man!!

3 hours ago, malpaso said:

Well done, looks really smart.  

I am close to buttoning the fuse up on mine, which was last year's Christmas present from my daughter.  The main delaying factor has been the excessive and inappropriately visible ejection pin marks on every single piece!  Still puzzling how to sort those on the guns and gunbays, other than keep them closed...

Cheers 

Will 

Cheers, Will.

 

There are a fair few sink-marks to deal with - I used Milliput and wet finger to fill/remove them which makes it a fairly painless task. With the interior being natural metal it does have a tendency to show every blemish which didn't help the situation!

 

Tom