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Sleeper's Traditional 'Will Try Harder' GB Entry. Hurricane MRCA.


SleeperService

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Thanks to the generosity of @JOCKNEY I offer the following for this GB.

 

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Parts moulded in sensible black styrene...

 

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The extensive decal sheet with it's super accurate markings. Who needs after market?

 

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The clever FROG designers managed to expand the construction to 13 stages! Yes 13 before you referred to the box base for the extensive paint guide. I wonder how many ever noticed or even cared about the missing bar above the 'E' code on the starboard side???? That's before the complete lack of continuity with the paint scheme on the rather splendid box lid.

 

A final observation shows just how young WW2 pilots could be. From the top of his motorcycle type head gear to the bottom of his tiny feet he's a scale 1.5M tall. This could be explained by the lack of any face mask which would obstruct Prune's enjoyment of a good healthy smoke at any point in the flight. I believe that when the RAF refer to squadron seniority they are referring to the age of the pilots in the Class (sorry Squadron) rather than the 3 minutes earlier than the next squadron being formed a few years earlier.

 

Having read up on this aircraft both on the instruction sheet AND going through my Commando books I can see that this is obviously a new level in detail and accuracy, there is just the one wing either side, a single fin, 3 bladed propeller, canopy and a comfy high back chair for the Gentleman of the Air crew compliment. 

 

I doubt my confidence to do this magnificent model justice as I appear to have misplaced my Pith helmet. However I shall gird my loins and think of England.

 

       

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Hi,

 

Never built this one though I did have a Heller one in the same markings. I believe a common problem with many Hurri kits both old and new is the fit of the canopy, which should overlap the so called "doghouse"- the wooden construction at the back of the cockpit which many kits do not seem to have, so they just butt against the fuselage. How is this one in that respect?

 

 

Hurricock-crop

 

Good luck with the build.

 

Pete

Edited by PeterB
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This was my very first Frog kit and to be honest, the very first one I'd ever seen! I fondly recall that great train busting boxart and the excellent paint guide underneath, I really liked the look of what I saw. The year must have been 1977 and I had no idea at the time that Frog had in effect ceased to exist at about that time.  

 

Welcome to this ever expanding GB Nick. Your Hurri build is a great addition and we look forward to seeing your further progress. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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I've got one of these too, somewhere, if I can find it & its complete I might have a crack. I think I bought it to convert to a Sea Hurricane after a meccano mag article probably close to 50 years ago.

Steve.

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On 6/2/2019 at 8:25 PM, PeterB said:

Hi,

 

Never built this one though I did have a Heller one in the same markings. I believe a common problem with many Hurri kits both old and new is the fit of the canopy, which should overlap the so called "doghouse"- the wooden construction at the back of the cockpit which many kits do not seem to have, so they just butt against the fuselage. How is this one in that respect?

 

Good luck with the build.

 

Pete

OKay well the kit canopy is absolutely flush with the doghouse. There is no sign of the rails for the canopy to move back along either although there is a rounded indentation in about the right place. As moulded it looks exactly like the Bf109 canopy arrangement everything flush and smooth. I have been utterly defeated by the black plastic in my efforts to obtain a useful picture. I have a serious photographer friend who is coming over this week I'll see if he can do better.

 

@stevehnz According to the instruction sheet the model as offered is a Sea Hurricane as long as no external stores are fitted :D  There's even appropriate markings included. Possibly somebody at Meccano Magazine was getting confused? :whistle:

 

Thank You for the kind words everybody. Rammie the RammTiger is currently occupying my mind but should soon be at a stage where I can get this started. I'm undecided as the whether to do a Saturday evening build OOB or attempt to enhance the kit parts as much as possible. If the former then I need a recording of the football results on Radio 4 followed by The Generation Game on the TV :D How times change......  

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1 hour ago, SleeperService said:

Possibly somebody at Meccano Magazine was getting confused?

Nah, it was probably just me being confused, 45 years ago is a bloody long time to have a reliable memory, the day before yesterday is a stretch these days. ;) :D

I fact I wasn't too far wrong, @SleeperService have a squizzey at Page 19 & from March 1967 using the drop downs at the top to see where Doug McHard has enhanced the Frog Sea Hurri  with a dropped arrestor hook & flaps. not bad for 52 years. :D I was 12. use the right hand blue arrow to go to page 19.

Steve.

Edited by stevehnz
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  • 4 weeks later...
4 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Hi SS

Any news on the Hurricane  ?

I hope i didn't rescue it from my stash to languish in yours !

Cheers Pat 

Very witty you rascal you. I'm doing a RammTiger for the Tiger STGB which has turned into nearly a scratch-build. As soon as the grills are finished ( I need four and so far have 13 rejects for various reasons) there'll be room for the Hurricane super plane. It is currently stood on my computer box watching proceedings about 15 inches from where I sit now. 

 

I was going to sneak in a Phantom for that STGB but the LHS has sold the one they'd had hanging around.....

 

BTW is the hurricane really 1/72 it seems rather petite to my eyes. 

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2 hours ago, SleeperService said:

Very witty you rascal you. 

 

BTW is the hurricane really 1/72 it seems rather petite to my eyes. 

Well as it's a bit on the small size, there should be no reason not to sneak a second one in, is there ?

 

What can we put you down for ?

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/21/2019 at 12:08 AM, JOCKNEY said:

Hi SS

Have you had a chance to make any progress on the Hurricane, it seems to be being sadly neglected !

Cheers Pat 

 

It has been neglected. So has my RammTiger. Got a partially trapped nerve in my right shoulder and, every-so-often my right arm or parts thereof disappear. Last week was such an event. Once I've got the rammie's shell built it'll need a few days to go really solid so Mr Hurricane will be on the bench. Promise. I keep looking at the skinny kit prop and think contra-rotating would be good.....

 

Estimate commencement Friday latest.

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That’s not good news Sleeper, however a touch of modelling might actually aid your recovery a little?. Either way get well soon and post an update whenever you can. 

 

Cheers.. Dave

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  • 3 weeks later...

SURPRISE!!!

I bet you all thought that I'd legged it with @JOCKNEY's offering. But no I have commenced operations.

 

Day One has got me here

 

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@PeterB raised a good point about the doghouse so, after a ponder, I decided to open the canopy and cut away the hump where it interfered with the transparency. I am pleased to report to you all that this was a most successful result. The inside will be painted as the fuselage with the frames on the outside. I think it may work.

 

As a nostalgia build I found myself thinking back to the first time I tried to split a canopy.  Looking around for a suitable tool I remembered SleeperDad's razor. A quick trip to the bathroom liberated a Gillette double-sided blade which made short work of the job but suffered terminal damage doing so. It occurred that ripping half SD's face off was worse than explaining why the bade had vanished. A nervous afternoon and tea time followed until SD headed upstairs for his ablutions including his shave. As the eldest I was summoned into his presence a few minutes later.

 

On the way up I had a brain wave. My brother and I were seeing the school shrink at the time and my brother was handling it worse. So when challenged I said I knew nothing about it but my brother had been quite weird recently and asked about how to commit suicide. Cue brother being strip-searched, whisked off to hospital for stomach x-rays, the works. Karma caught me the following weekend when a mate asked how I'd got on with the razor-blade idea. SleeperMum heard. The next month was a short period of belt inflicted pain, then boredom as everything leisure related was locked away. 

 

Back to the kit. First the fit is amazing and a lot better than many recent kits, I've thinned the wing above the undercarriage bay and the cockpit sides, added some sprue detail and started the instrument panel. I'm experimenting with a new method for the IFF wires on this build and will report if successful. One bomb carrier needs a tiny bit of filler and there is a cold flow where I thinned the wing which needs a tiny bit more. I'm very impressed. I've done a bit of simple detailing at the rear of the radiator housing and will do the same in the undercarriage bay, unable to choose between rockets and bombs I've decided on both. Landing lights to be relocated.

 

While pondering the instruction sheet I noticed the Rovex address for spare parts is exactly the same as the Hornby Visitor Centre. Does anyone know if they are in the same building??

 

Nick Perry 57 years 11 months     

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Hi Nick, Rovex built Triang trains and I think Hornby took them over so I suspect it is the same building, though Hornby in their current incarnation moved elsewhere just leaving the visitor centre. However the last James May programme on TV said that they were thinking of moving back.

 

Pete

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Blimey Nick, is that really you after all these years......

 

Great to hear from you mate and delighted you are going for bombs + rockets + cannons etc, no point leaving them in the box !

 

Cheers Pat

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I used to think that dark blue grey plastic that FROG used was a bad idea but what's with all this black?

I don't think I ever saw a FROG kit moulded in black until this GB came along.

All the kits I can remember building when they were still in business were either a light neutral grey or the dark grey, never black. 

John 

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Great start Nick and a comical back story to go along with the build. Let’s hope that you’re now on a roll and will be able to update us at regular intervals.

 

 Cheers.. Dave 

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Thanks for the comments people.

 

So Frog/Rovex became Hornby who then got Airfix? Spiritually FROG survives at least.

 

I remember a dark olive green as well for some but that could be insanity.

 

I'm glad you found the tale humorous, the best bit is that it is true. Really, we had a rather weird childhood and I was 11 before we all lived in the same country let alone the same house. I was referred because I wouldn't engage with others, my brother whacked the school bully with a rounders bat, in the mouth, after tapping him on the shoulder so he turned round. The Army had no problem with his 'issues' :D    

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Frog folded.  The Triang trains were TT gauge so Hornby wouldn't have touched them.  They were both under Dundee-Combex-Marx (if that's quite right) who went bust.

 

Airfix and Humbrol were together under some toy companies (Polistoy at one time?) before Hornby got them.

 

The Frog Black Widow was probably black, and much earlier the undersized Blenheim, Hampden and Wellington were.  Presumably the 1/96th Lancaster too.

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46 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

Frog folded.  The Triang trains were TT gauge so Hornby wouldn't have touched them.  They were both under Dundee-Combex-Marx (if that's quite right) who went bust.

 

Airfix and Humbrol were together under some toy companies (Polistoy at one time?) before Hornby got them.

 

The Frog Black Widow was probably black, and much earlier the undersized Blenheim, Hampden and Wellington were.  Presumably the 1/96th Lancaster too.

Not so regarding the trains... Triang had an extensive range of OO gauge rolling stock as well which, some of which has only just been taken out of Hornby's catalogue. In fact, there may even be some still in there.

 

Some of the Triang trains were clunky - for example the Princesses - but many, many others, such as the Pannier tank, B12, Hymek, Sleeper coach, L1, Class 37 etc lasted decades after Rovex went bust. They were initially marketed under the Hornby-Triang banner before becoming solely Hornby. 

 

It's also worth mentioning that the highly reliable Triang motors - such as the XO4 - lasted years into the Hornby catalogue as well often with minor modification. Not to mention the liquid smoke ideas... initially fitted to some Triang Pannier and Jinty's.

 

Remember much of Hornby's output fell under the Hornby-Dublo branding which while it was good in some ways (Class 20 / 08 for example) was also seen as horribly complex from a mechanical point of view. When Hornby got hold of Triang's motor designs - both ringfield and worm gear, things radically changed.

 

Have a look at the B12 history here http://www.hornbyguide.com/class_details.asp?classid=26

 

HTH

 

Chris

 

 

 

 

Edited by English Electric
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After some very interesting diversions I am back to report further progress but first...

 

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This is Sushi, Prime Suspect in the Case of the Missing Propeller. Here in her clockwise cat position she has been anti-clockwise earlier. However there is much evidence that points to her guilt in this matter. An extensive forensic sweep of Sleeper Central is scheduled. @Rabbit Leader has offered an alternative approach which I have, after due deliberation, discarded. However I Thank You sincerely for it. 

 

However notwithstanding heinous crime I have bravely struggled on. Yes, I've just noticed the cannon shell slots are wrong on the starboard wing, to be amended. 

 

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PO C. Rab is rather 'slight' but will occupy the cockpit. The landing lights will be repositioned as the rockets and bombs won't fit with them there, ergo, they are too far inboard and will be moved out. Using the tail hook means I use an extra part so that's going on too...maybe I should hunt out a four blade prop :drunk: Sorry about the cat hair but it forms part of the evidence. Now to finish boxing in the wheel wells using the BM Walkround reference as my Commando books and Victor comics are strangely silent on such matters.

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On 8/13/2019 at 3:48 PM, Graham Boak said:

The Frog Black Widow was probably black, and much earlier the undersized Blenheim, Hampden and Wellington were.  Presumably the 1/96th Lancaster too.

The Neptune from the 'undersized' series was blue/grey, the original Canberra was silver.

Don

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I like the styrene additions!  Looking forward to seeing more.

 

BTW, I'm not sure your case is watertight, but I think a jury would convict!

 

Regards

 

Martin

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Froggie Fans!

 

Another session on the Hurricane has got me here

 

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This evening I'll be assembling the Airfix 1/48 interior to reference for the seat position and what ever else I see. Naturally it won't all be scaled down. Bit of work to do in the wheel bays as well but it needs a break from MEK or it may all melt. The Quickboost prop is from a Mk IX Spitfire and fits like a glove or rather like a prop should on the front of a plane. 

 

Chores aside the weekend is clear, it would be nice to have it ready to paint by Sunday evening.....we'll see. 

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