Jump to content

Airfix 1/72 Hurricane OOBish - As Good As It's Going To Get


Recommended Posts

42 minutes ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

 foretold is a direct copy of the Airfix canopy and also comes in at 4.5mm.

Thanks for the confirmation.  I saw recently confirmation on another kit Rob Taurus seemes to just copy the it canopy.... fine if  it's actually correct.

42 minutes ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

What to do? The Arma kit comes with both an open and a closed version of the canopy so I could use the open version on this kit and the closed version on the Arma kit when I come to build it (given that this will likely be my first attempt at building a fully PE enhanced cockpit, hiding it somewhat is an idea not without merit). On the other hand, the Rob Taurus canopy cost me 50 quid (admittedly £47 of this was for the 1/48 He-111 plus PE that I added to bring it above the minimum amount for a Hannants order) so I'd like to use it. But I'm going to try something else. As a wise man once said, I have a cunning plan...

I did try sanding down an Airfix canopy. It cracked.   The Rob Taurus might be cutdownble, as they are vacforms.

The other right sod, is as the windscreen is too high, it's the wrong shape at the sides.

 

I'd have suggested getting a different vac canopy,   one for a Hase kit for example,  as the ones with the curved lower edge are really early,  VY-G for example has the straight bottomed type as fitted to  every Hurricane after the early few. 

 

cheers

T

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

I did try sanding down an Airfix canopy. It cracked.   The Rob Taurus might be cutdownble, as they are vacforms.

The other right sod, is as the windscreen is too high, it's the wrong shape at the sides.

It's probably because it's Monday morning but I'll a little confused by this. Which windscreen is too high? The Airfix one, the Rob Taurus one or both (I guess the latter seems the most likely).

12 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

I'd have suggested getting a different vac canopy,   one for a Hase kit for example,  as the ones with the curved lower edge are really early,  VY-G for example has the straight bottomed type as fitted to  every Hurricane after the early few. 

 

You did suggest this but it was out of stock when I made the order. I'm going to try sanding down the Airfix one but I fear I'll have as little success as you did.

 

Thanks for all your help with this Troy, I appreciate it.

 

Craig.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The hobby boss quick kit is the same. Single piece looked horrendous but the “blown” distorted open canopy wouldn’t fit open on my airfix hurricane, nor fit the hobby boss kit. I am intrigued at your choice as this is next up for me. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/1/2020 at 3:46 PM, Wince said:

The hobby boss quick kit is the same. Single piece looked horrendous but the “blown” distorted open canopy wouldn’t fit open on my airfix hurricane, nor fit the hobby boss kit. I am intrigued at your choice as this is next up for me. 

I'm not sure you're going to get anything as concrete as a choice out of this Wince but hopefully it may be of some use.

 

To recap, the Airfix canopy has at least two issues:

. It's too small to fit over the aircraft's spine in the open position

. The framing is all wrong

 

The following photo illustrates the first problem

 

49987076536_6c47164f40_c.jpg

 

Like a pea on top of the Broad Hill as my dear old dad used to say.

 

The frame issue is illustrated here

 

49956759717_d87805d084_c.jpg

 

with both the Airfix on the left and the Rob Taurus aftermarket in the middle having the central horizontal frame far too high. Only the Arma canopy on the right is close to the mark.

 

So, my cunning plan consisted of two parts, designed to address both these problems. I would carefully sand all the framework off the Airfix canopy, thinning it out at the same time, then I would then gently heat the canopy to make it flexible enough to widen slightly thus allowing it to sit in place. Both pretty high risk activities but I couldn't use the canopy as it was. 

 

Astoundingly, part one of this scheme went without a hitch. Unfortunately part two did not go so well and at the slightest application of heat, the canopy not only became flexible but curled up on itself at the front. Careful sanding removed most of the damage but also resulted in a canopy 3mm shorter than is should have been. Here's the final effort compared to the Arma offering (my gold standard in 1/72 Hurricane canopies).

 

49987076591_100f144d02_c.jpg

 

Would it be noticeable? Sadly I feared the answer was 'yes' and so plan B was formed. I would use the open canopy option from the Arma kit for this Hurricane, then buy another Arma Hurricane to provide an open canopy for the PE bedecked original Arma Hurricane. The second Arma Hurricane would be built with a closed canopy. Got that? Satisfied with this scheme, I retired to bed.

 

In the cold light of the morning though, doubts began to intrude. There's no denying it, that Arma canopy is a thick old chunk of plastic

 

49987218616_e1b34ecb27_c.jpg

 

In fact, apart from the length and fit issues, I definitely preferred the look of my butchered version

 

49987218531_95e00abfcb_c.jpg

 

With the brain fizzing from the morning coffee, I dug out some clear plastic packaging, cut a strip from it and plunged it into near boiling water, It instantly folded up on itself but a second attempt, wrapped round a 7mm drill bit produced this

 

49987439252_c12a6afa06_c.jpg

 

Which trimmed down a bit (a bit too much actually) produced this

 

49987439112_eb58580305_c.jpg

 

which in turn produced this

 

49987438807_a7c5fb7d30_c.jpg

 

It will need redone but I think we may have a winner!

 

You may have noticed from  some of these photos that the Hurricane has acquired its legs. This was another job which I had been dreading, cutting the spindly pieces from the massive Airfix attachment points, then threading them through holes in the wing rib to find the appropriate holes seemed an activity rife with potential for disaster. But perhaps I'm getting better at this lark, or perhaps the Gods of modelling were smiling upon me because it all went rather smoothly.

 

49986562118_a995607fb8_c.jpg

 

Getting close now!

 

Thanks for reading,

Craig.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am building an ancient vac form ts11 Oskar and the canopy was squished. But the plastic responded well to hot water so I may source some similar clear plastic and rather than crash moulding use that to form over the airfix part. I have the arma kit in the stash but don’t fancy building it canopy closed. Looks good though! And hopefully you get it resolved. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Here follows Dandie's useful guide to producing a Hurricane canopy from household odds and ends:

 

1. Carefully insert some scrap paper inside the reasonably shaped but undeniably chunky canopy you have filched from a better kit and draw a line around the outside of the canopy.

 

50030421452_124c526f47_c.jpg

 

2. cut out the resulting shape carefully. Use this as a template to cut out the same shape in a handy piece of thin clear plastic packaging.

 

50030159571_e2948417ff_c.jpg

 

3. Wrap this plastic shape around a 7mm drill bit, secure with masking tape and plunge into a bowl of near-boiling water, taking care to avoid spilling said near-boiling water all over yourself as you carry it up the ladder to the mancave. Wonder why you didn't conduct the plunging operation nearer to the kettle.

 

50029619713_668b98f182_c.jpg

 

4. Trim until you have something that in a bad light might be said to resemble a Hurricane's canopy

 

50030159886_a84c65ae6d_c.jpg

 

5. Make the ill-judged decision to paint on the canopy frame by hand reasoning that you can always straighten things up afterwards with the business end of a cocktail stick.

 

50030157681_ddd7966758_c.jpg

 

6. Realise that you have produced something that would be compared unfavourably to the crude fumblings of a 5 year old and besides the paint's already flaking off. Scrape off all the paint and revert to plan B which is to do the framing using some sort of tape. Look into Filmoplast, highly recommended by @CedB for this sort of thing but only find it in 50m lengths which seems excessive. Decide to use good old Tamiya masking tape instead.

 

7. Cut masking tape into thin strips while bitterly regretting not picking up one of the fancy cutting boards being sold by @Duncan B and @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies when I had the chance. Paint the strips dark green (when previously trying this technique, I have painted the tape then cut the strips which leaves a masking tape coloured line at either side of the frame. Learn from my mistakes!) and apply to canopy producing this:

 

50029617298_8a762573b2_c.jpg

 

50030414022_caa331bfce_c.jpg

(this isn't stuck on yet, when it is, it should conform to the fuselage a bit better).

 

8. Decide that enough is enough and call it a day.

 

I know I've said this before but surely it must be close to being finished now?

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Craig.

 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

When I started this build in the far off year of 2019, I was very clear about my intentions. To quote myself from the first post:

On 12/31/2019 at 2:27 PM, Dandie Dinmont said:

my intention was to build this totally OOB ignoring the myriad faults that make this kit practically unbuildable such as  mis-sized main wheels with the wrong number of spokes, missing metal panels behind the gun access hatches, trailing edges a scale 7ft thick  and incorrect framing on the cockpit canopy

Since then, I have 

  • Added the metal panels behind the gun access hatches
  • thinned out the trailing edges
  • Scratch built a new canopy which I can delude myself looks better than the kit original

Oh go on then.

 

50079130273_82b94d4375_c.jpg

 

and a comparison with the kit originals:

 

50079702106_3e2b92c0f8_c.jpg

 

This marks another modelling first for me, my first bits of resin!

 

The terrifying lung-busting reputation of this dread material ensured that I donned full PPE before parting the wheels from the casting blocks but once off, they painted up nicely.

 

Until now, you may have noticed that the nose of the Hurricane is unusually streamlined. This is because I had stuffed the slots for the exhaust pipes with my nemesis Blu Tac before commencing spraying operations. What was I thinking? Anyway, it had to come out. This was as much of a pain as ever, particularly on the starboard side where I had allowed the Blu Tac to overflow from the top of the slot producing a 'muffin top' look similar to the one I am sporting after 3 months of lockdown. When this was peeled off, paint inevitably came with it:

 

50079699291_672afd49a0_c.jpg

 

Still, I'm actually getting quite good at brush painting Vallejo Model Air now so it was soon fixed up.

 

My lovingly crafted canopy was attached and looked... acceptable.

 

50079951352_088b86355b_c.jpg

 

Various other parts such as the pitot tube under the wing and the tailwheel were attached. For some reason, I had stuffed the tailwheel hole with Blu Tac. Why Craig? Why!

 

Next step was to fabricate a replacement for the moulded on aerial anchoring post on top of the rudder which had departed at an early stage of the build. I ended up making about 6 of these from some thin plastic rod because none of the glues and adhesives in my modelling arsenal seemed capable of attaching them. Eventually, it was good old polystyrene cement from one of the wee tubes you get with a starter set that did the job. Sometimes the old ways are the best.

 

So here's where we are now:

 

50079127828_910c730e22_c.jpg

 

50079702956_5ea0af233f_c.jpg

 

There's still a couple of things to do. In particular, getting the yellow spinner to look half decent has so far proved beyond me.

 

And, of course,  the engine exhausts. I had been agonising over what colour to paint these. Poring over photos in the walk-round section on this site left me even more befuddled but eventually I decided to go with Airfix's suggestion and start off painting them Humbrol 53 (gun metal). My paint spreadsheet (sad, I know) informed me that I should have a starter pot of this somewhere and some digging produced this:

 

50079125628_79b040a693_c.jpg

 

Does that look like a '3' to you?

 

Some vigorous stirring action produced something that looked hopeful so I went ahead and splashed it on. After it had dried, I dry-brushed on some Tamiya smoke which produced an effect not quite totally unlike the one I was hoping for.

 

50079127703_e4643e0d8d_c.jpg

 

Perhaps it'll look better when it's dried.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Craig.

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking great, Craig! I've been at mine for over two years and still haven't got it painted. I did warn that I work at a glacial pace.

 

I bought a set of those replacement wheels, but then I decided to get some Freightdog as they are made to fit the Airfix legs and there are no pouring blocks to remove.

 

50080018971_407580bbb5_b.jpg

 

I painted my exhausts with Tamiya XF-84 Dark Iron then weathered/lightened them with Tamiya Weathering Pastels, using Rust and then Orange Rust. Still a bit too dark for my liking. I think I need to drybrush a bit of grey on them.

 

46815476614_1266bcf6e1_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

Chris

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

and a comparison with the kit originals:

 

50079702106_3e2b92c0f8_c.jpg

 

Hard to tell for sure, but the resin ones look the same diameter as the kit originals, which are too big (try fitting them into the wheel well to see what I mean) 

 

4 hours ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

After it had dried, I dry-brushed on some Tamiya smoke which produced an effect not quite totally unlike the one I was hoping for.

I used Vallejo Oily Steel,  and then  mix of washes, first blue, then orange rust, as can be seen on the tissue,   to create varied tones, 

32491546317_bd3727092d_b.jpg50620622 by losethekibble, on Flickr

 

why not just use brown, well, steel changes colour depending on how hot it gets, 

EVmwF-jVAAAuerm.jpg

 

as can be seen the dominant colours are orangey and blue, ...

Actually, i just googled up te above image, and when i did it i was just thinking about heat discoloured metal,  not colour band like the above,  but it shows the idea,  a good example is the back end of the F-100

img_20180224_110151-jpg.483579

 

the other thing, with the leaded fuels used,  the 2nd and 3rd stack end up much paler

 

49042229021_6ba5a4ef63_b.jpgClose up of RCAF Spitfire V,  1943. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

exhausts eventually crack, fitters used to tap them with a screwdriver,  to hear if they 'rang' , and if they didn't, they then get replaced.

 

HTH

 

Edited by Troy Smith
clarity,
  • Like 4
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Chris and Troy, thanks for your replies. I think I must have had a different replacement wheel set to your's Chris, it said it was specifically for the Airfix kit and they fitted on the axles without any modifications being needed. I've compared them to the kit versions and they are slightly smaller in diameter and considerably thinner. It would have been interesting trying them in the wheel wells but they are now irrevocably glued to the axles. At least I hope they are.

 

That's a cracking picture of the F100 rear end Troy. It certainly shows the effect I was aiming for, though I fear it may be beyond my skills at the moment. I'd noticed that the rear two pipes were lighter than the front one which is why I had used the Tamiya smoke on them but unfortunately, it turned out that the smoke (this was the first time I'd tried it) was darker than the gun metal :banghead:. I think Chris is right and they need a bit more grey. Still it's fun trying out this stuff!

 

Thanks again,

Craig.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

 I think I must have had a different replacement wheel set to your's Chris, it said it was specifically for the Airfix kit and they fitted on the axles without any modifications being needed. I've compared them to the kit versions and they are slightly smaller in diameter and considerably thinner. 

 

Ah! I do have a different set. I turned the label over and found the information.

 

50083983392_4c0120fe51_b.jpg

 

 

 

Chris

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...
  • Dandie Dinmont changed the title to Airfix 1/72 Hurricane OOBish - As Good As It's Going To Get

Whenever I  have a performance review at work, the subject of my inability to complete projects will inevitably be raised. I will accomplish 98% of the project goals then be distracted by another crisis or shiny object and three years later, the project's still running. I'm sure it would be of some comfort to my long-suffering boss to know that I take the same approach to my leisure-time activities.

 

It looks like  I started this build log on the 31st of December 2019 when tiers were something you found on a wedding cake. Since the Hurricane has been untouched for at least the last 6 months, it seemed like a good idea to write the last log entry before a year had passed. So here it is!

 

50775763927_0fc85f1a48_c.jpg

 

50775653766_43cd36e85e_c.jpg

 

50775653841_e2e9d13037_c.jpg

 

50775653741_25760824a3_c.jpg

 

When last I wrote, there were only a couple of things left to do, some minor touching up of the paint job, stringing an aerial between the radio mast and the recently attached port on top of the rudder, and remembering to fit the landing lights in the wings. The fit of these proved to be appalling (they were too big to fit in their slots, then after some sanding down, they were too small for the slots), resulting in rather more touching up than I had anticipated. The aerial, manufactured from finest stretched sprue (and in passing, it seems to me that sprue doesn't seem to stretch like it did when I was a boy, must be getting old) was an equal pain to attach and even now is rather more saggy than I would prefer. Still I know that any attempts to fix it would only make things worse.

 

Anyway, here it is, the finished article. Lord knows when the RFI will appear, some time in 2022 probably. Though my Mk.1 critical eyeball can see much that offends it, I am overall, not too  displeased with the final article. My thanks to all of you who have followed along and have offered advice and encouragement on the way. What's next? Well, I have a Spitfire to finish and then I'll get to work on the stash reduction strategy recently agreed with the powers that be.

 

Thanks for reading,

Craig.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

It looks like  I started this build log on the 31st of December 2019 when tiers were something you found on a wedding cake. Since the Hurricane has been untouched for at least the last 6 months, it seemed like a good idea to write the last log entry before a year had passed. So here it is!

 

Hey, at least you finished it. I started my Hurricane in January 2018 and this is as far as it's gone.

 

50391844872_3203933742_b.jpg

 

 

Yours looks good!

 

 

 

Chris

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Craig,

 

I'd say that's a damn' fine result! :) The Hurricane looks really good, and I think you should be pleased with how it's turned out.

 

Looking forward to seeing the next one!

 

Kind regards and a happy New Year,

 

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...