Mark's Workbench: 1/72 Arma Hobby Hawker Hurricane Re-boot

[opus999]

7 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

I'm using the propellant cans at the moment

😲  I remember those!  That was also part of my failing when I was starting out.  It seemed like when the paint was finally flowing right, the can pressure was too low and I had to put the can in warm water.  We tried an adapter for a bike tire which provided more steady pressure (if I stood on it), but not for very long.  When we got a little hobby compressor, that changed a lot of things.  I still use it, but its going on 30 years old, so I'm afraid it might give up the ghost at any time.  I'd love a pancake compressor.

[Marklo]

I used propellant cans in my first modelling life  and they were a disaster. I currently use a cheapo compressor that I got off eBay along with an airbrush (€40 the kit including postage) and it works a treat. I do have a badger which I got second hand off eBay, but haven’t felt the need to use it. In fact I was going to give it a go today only to realise that it’s a different thread to my other fittings so will need an adapter. 
 

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/174109914633 
 

Looks like my one

[2996 Victor]

Maybe I'm lucky, but the propellant cans I've had up to now have worked pretty well! Give 'em a shake when they're getting low and the pressure improves!

 

But to be fair, they are only a stop-gap, fine for doing interiors and small bits, and to stand any real chance of getting a good exterior finish, I'm going to need a compressor with a pressure regulator.

Kind regards,

 

Mark

[2996 Victor]

There arrived today a parcel from Poland containing an Arma Hurricane Mk.IIb Expert kit, three sets of overtrees and four sets of the new, thin canopies

 

I'm not really what I was thinking viz-à-vis the overtrees, as for some reason I wasn't expecting three sets of Mk.IIb wings as well as the Mk.IIc "base" kits!

 

Extremely happy with the contents of the parcel, even though I've now got rather a lot of wings.....

 

I was hoping to get some more done to my two Hurricanes this weekend, along with the Zero, but my eyes have let me down rather, and the detail painting of the Zero's cockpit proved impossible even with full lighting, glasses on and magnifier at the ready.

 

Ho hum

 

Cheers for now,

 

Mark

 

 

 

[2996 Victor]

Merry Christmas, everyone, and a happy and above all healthy New Year to all of you and your families!

[CedB]

And the same to you and yours Mark  

[2996 Victor]

After a considerable period in the doldrums, my poor old Arma Hurricanes have been exhumed from the window sill of doom (I haven't got a shelf!), had the accumulated dust and cat fur cleaned off, and a little work has been done to them! Huzzah!

 

I'm not really sure why they've been sat for so long, but I am a bit of a dilletante and I've been busy and not-so-busy on other models. Why the sudden resurrection? Well, my airbrush failing has put a bit of a kybosh on progress elsewhere, and my interest in early WW2 aircraft has risen unbidden from whatever recesses of my fevered mind it was hiding in, leading to plans for a Belgian Gladiator and Hurricane, a Dutch D.XXI and G.1. The latter has also re-awakened my interest in the Far East campaigns in the disastrous early stages of the Pacific War, and the ML-KNIL. Cue the Dutch Hurricane Mk.IIBs: you can see where this is going, can't you?  

 

Anyway, the two pre-existing Hurricanes have re-surfaced. The Mk.I will still be a night-fighter, but for the Mk.IIC I've settled on either and Indian Airforce machine in DG/OG, or an RAF machine in DG/DE - I'm waiting for the decal sheet to arrive before finally deciding!

 

So, what's happened? Both have had their fuselage seams cleaned and sanded. The Mk.IIC has had some Mr Dissolved Putty and Mr Surfacer 500 applied to the fuselage seams and the under-fuselage to wing joint which has also been sanded off, and there's a bit more to do on the wing joints particularly at the upper leading edge, where I've somehow managed to create a small step. The Vokes air filter and the radiator have been assembled and fitted, the latter after the photos. The Mk.I is lagging behind a little bit (lower-powered Merlin) but has it's air filter too, while its radiator is assemble but as yet separate.

 

Photos:

http://

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There are a couple of small issues to address. First is the cockpit sills: where the etched sidewalls sit against the plastic mouldings there is a small but obvious gap to fill and make good. I've had a go, but they need to have a lick of paint to act as a witness coat. Second, and this is really something I need to be careful of in the future, there are sink marks in the lower wing surfaces where I've use too much solvent during assembly. This has been a problem on my Zero and Tomahawk, so I need to restrain myself in future.....!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

 

[2996 Victor]

In between some gardening and some furniture removal (cheap rates!), I've managed to get both the Mk.I and Mk.IIC up to the same standard. As such, they're substantially complete with air filters and radiators on, and seams filled and sanded with Mr Dissolved Putty and Mr Surfacer 500 in turn.

 

They've had a scrub and the next job is a coat of primer. This will be a witness coat and no doubt it'll show up a multitude of sins. Also, it'll actually be a coat of rattle can Tamiya acrylic grey. Needs must and all that

 

My copy of Aircraft of the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Corps arrived today which brings my planned ML-KNIL Hurricane IIB a step closer. Along with a Brewster Buffalo, a Curtiss Hawk 75A-7, a Fokker T.V, and if I could find one, a Curtiss Wright CW-21B. What fun!

 

Thanks for looking in!

[2996 Victor]

Here's Daisy with her latest and best toy:

http://

Yep, it's a piece of sandpaper snaffled from my work table I had to remove the Hurricanes' airscrews this morning, or they'd have disappeared, too

 

Gotta love that cat!

[opus999]

Boy, she's cute!

[2996 Victor]

23 minutes ago, opus999 said:

Boy, she's cute!

Thanks! She's a little sweetheart, great personality but certainly no cat burglar

[2996 Victor]

Critical appraisal:

http://

"No, Dad, that doesn't pass muster!"

[2996 Victor]

Both Hurricanes have had a witness coat of Tamiya rattle can acrylic grey, dark for the Mk.I (which will be black) and light for the Mk.IIC (which will have white SEAC identity bands). I might try to post a photograph tomorrow, but I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed with the seams (Spitfire history repeating itself) and they'll need further fettling. I think Daisy would concur  

 

Thanks for looking in!

[2996 Victor]

Hurricanes! Well now, I've been quite busy fettling these two excellent little kits (I hesitate to say "models" as what I make of Arma's offerings is still open for debate.....). As always, any problems with fit and alignment are of my own making: I'm quite clever like that! But to be fair, even my ham-fistedness has failed to make a hash of these two

 

So where are we? Well, as mentioned, both the Mk.I and Mk.IIC are now with radiator and air filter, both have had a witness coat of paint, and have been treated to a daub of Mr Surfacer 500. Mk.I first, as befits the senior member of the clan:

http://

http://

 

And Mk.IIC:

http://

http://

 

The Mr S 500 has been smoothed back on both, and I'm quite pleased overall with the progress made. The under wing to fuselage joint is pretty sorted on both now, although I'm debating whether to try and restore a hint of the fabric-over-stringer detail. The sinkage on the wings needs a little more work, and as usual, I seem to be having trouble eradicating the cowl-top seam! Shades of my Spitfire..... Anyway, both have been scrubbed, dried and re-coated with the same shades, and here's where we stand.

 

Mk.I:

http://

http://

http://

 

Mk.IIC:

http://

http://

http://

 

I'm really pleased with the upper wing to fuselage joints. And here, I need to make a small confession..... Having filled the joint with the trusty Mr S 500, I then started to sand with my sanding sponges, all the while thinking, "Hey ho, more re-scribing!" when up pops a memory from somewhere that said, "Don't be daft! What are you doing? Use some Mr Leveling Thinner on a cotton bud!" So I did. What a revelation! The joints were sorted out in next to no time with no loss of detail. I know there'll be many here on BM that know that technique backwards. I must have read it somewhere in the last year, and it would have saved me a lot of trouble with the Tomahawk and the Spitfire if only my memory had ground into action sooner. To the modeller in whose thread I read about this technique: I know not who you are, but nevertheless I would like to say to you a big, "Thank you!" - you are a Genius!

 

Lastly for this post, my decal set for the Mk.IIC has arrived:

http://

http://

 

My thoughts lean towards one of the three schemes toward the bottom of the second picture. Now, if only I'd remembered that I've got an Arma MkIIB/C Expert Kit in my stash, which has a wealth of colour schemes with it, and that one of those is an SEAC Mk.IIC, I could have saved myself a few quid......

 

Thanks for dropping by, and as always comments and suggestions are very welcome!

[AliGauld]

Those all look pretty good.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

[2996 Victor]

43 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

Those all look pretty good.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

Thanks, Alistair, I think I'm getting there!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[AliGauld]

5 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

I think I'm getting there!

A little more than getting there, I would hazard. .

The problem is all this activity is getting my fingers itchy to get moving with my own builds and I'm not going to have a chance until Thursday.

All seems a long way off.........

 

Keep up the sterling work.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[2996 Victor]

3 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

A little more than getting there, I would hazard. .

The problem is all this activity is getting my fingers itchy to get moving with my own builds and I'm not going to have a chance until Thursday.

All seems a long way off.........

 

Keep up the sterling work.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks again, that's praise indeed, if I may say so! Your builds are coming along very nicely, I'd say.

Cheers,

Mark

[AliGauld]

1 minute ago, 2996 Victor said:

Your builds are coming along very nicely, I'd say.

You flatter me, Sir.

Thank you.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[opus999]

I would have a hard time choosing a scheme from that sheet!  I confess I don't think I've ever seen a desert Hurricane before.  I'm quite partial to the SEAC schemes for some reason, having done a couple Spitfires in them.  I also have to confess I've never been a huge fan of Hurricanes... I mean I really respect their role in the Battle of Britain, but their shape just seems a little off...  but with that off my chest, I have to say yours are coming along nicely and I'm pretty excited to see which scheme you choose.  I'm sure there will be a Hurricane in my future at some point...  

[2996 Victor]

10 hours ago, opus999 said:

I would have a hard time choosing a scheme from that sheet!  I confess I don't think I've ever seen a desert Hurricane before.  I'm quite partial to the SEAC schemes for some reason, having done a couple Spitfires in them.  I also have to confess I've never been a huge fan of Hurricanes... I mean I really respect their role in the Battle of Britain, but their shape just seems a little off...  but with that off my chest, I have to say yours are coming along nicely and I'm pretty excited to see which scheme you choose.  I'm sure there will be a Hurricane in my future at some point...  

 

There are a lot of great schemes on that sheet, and just to whet your appetite a bit more here are the other pages of schemes (actually pages 1,2,and 4):

http://

http://

http://

As I understand it, Hurricanes saw quite extensive use in the desert, starting with Collie's Battleship right through to the end of the campaign.

 

I know exactly what you mean about the Hurricane's outline: its rugged, whereas I don't think anyone would argue that the Spitfire is beautiful. But I think Sydney Camm's fighter has a beauty all of its own, maybe because of its role in those dark days of 1940. Coupled with the glorious sound of a Merlin engine, there's something about those thick wings and bathtub radiator that brings a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye whenever I'm lucky enough to see one of these wonderful warbirds.

 

The Arma Hobby Hurricanes are great kits. The Mk.IIC is a bit easier to put together in the cockpit area, but both go together really nicely. I've also heard good things of Airfix's Mk.I ragwing, and I've got a couple of those planned for the future as well.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

 

[2996 Victor]

Well, me being me, I can't resist fiddling with things! That being the case, my two Hurricanes have been treated to a further daubing of Mr Surfacer. One day, I'll learn to leave things as they are and quit while I'm ahead. Not that (hopefully) I've made things any worse, but that remains to be seen once I've re-primed them.

 

So the new Mr S has been sanded, wet this time with fine wet-or-dry paper and a spot of washing-up liquid (reduces surface tension and prevents the paper clogging!), and I think the wings are now okay where there was sinkage. I've re-done the wing-to-fuselage joints again, and also the cowlings. Re-masking next.

 

I've also made a start on the airscrews - its amazing what a visual difference it makes to have the prop and spinner even just being held in place! Makes me feel like I'm really getting somewhere  Hopefully, I'll have some more of my interminable pictures to post soon!

 

In the meantime, I'm feeling the after effects of my first Covid vaccination, which I had two days ago. All was absolutely fine until yesterday afternoon when my joints and muscles starting aching a bit. I was told I could expect flu-like symptoms, which seems to be being borne out! I'm lucky its nothing more than "uncomfortable", and definitely not full-blown Man Flu symptoms (those ladies don't know they're born! ).

 

More of this drivel soon, my friends!

[AliGauld]

2 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

I'm feeling the after effects of my first Covid vaccination

Sorry to hear that, Mark.

I got mine a week ago and was neither up nor down until 3.00 AM on Saturday morning when the ache in my upper arm woke me up. It's eased off but still sore.

Doesn't help when you're flinging points levers about though.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[2996 Victor]

3 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

Hope you feel better soon.

You, too, Alistair!

 

3 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

Doesn't help when you're flinging points levers about though.

Interesting! Where? 

 

Cheers,
Mark

[AliGauld]

1 minute ago, 2996 Victor said:

You, too, Alistair!

 

Interesting! Where? 

 

Cheers,
Mark

Stirling North Signal Box.

One of many that I've worked in over the 38 years I've bluffed my way through a career on the Railway.

 

Cheers,

Alistair