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


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@ModelingEdmontonian and @Dave Swindell

Hi both,

ME, I was off looking for a reference when my phone expired. I was pretty sure the offset was correct and to offset torque from the engine, so a big thanks Dave for confirming - I couldn't find the reference anyway!!!

Cheers,

Mark

 

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While it's fresh in what I laughingly call my mind, I've been getting a bit of an itch to open up an Airfix Mk.I rag-wing kit and make a start. Ridiculous, as I've already got five ongoing builds.....

However, temptation will not be gainsaid, so I've been washing sprues this afternoon.

I'm not decided yet whether t'will be a Belgian Aeronautique Militaire example or an RAF AASF example, but one thing that struck me was "exhausts".

The Airfix Mk.I has two sorts. 

Now I know that the answer in both cases is, "Find a photograph and follow that", but I'm interested to know if there was any correlation between the type of exhaust stack fitted and, say, the wing type or engine version.

Any takers?

Cheers m'dears!

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1 hour ago, AliGauld said:

Sorry Mark, can't help with the exhaust issue but I'm looking forward to the build.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Hi Alistair,

I am, as well - it looks like a super little kit with nice panel lines. Troy's comments on his build of this kit are very complimentary, so I'm looking forward to it.

As I mentioned, I'm not sure whether it'll be RAF or AeM, but there'll be one of each in due course.

Cheers,

Mark

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Just to prove that I've achieved something this week, here are the spinners for the two Arma Hurricanes in their respective primers:

http://IMG-20210415-170203460-HDR.jpg

You may also espy the upper wing panels of the Airfix Mk.I Hurricane with the areas behind the gun access panels masked off. Some Mr Dissolved Putty awaits.

 

And that'll be it, as I'm otherwise engaged over the weekend.

 

Thanks for looking in, comments, suggestions and corrections always welcome :) 

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8 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

The two Hurries that are together look good.

The Airfix ragwing Hurricane is a lovely kit too

 

I love the series Ghosts to and have them all recorded.  It would be great if they do another series.

Great work Mark 

Chris

Thanks, Chris, very kind of you!

I was hoping to start getting some camo on the Arma Hurricanes before now, but hey ho! Progress is always slower than I hope for :)

I've been trying to resist the Airfix kit for quite a while, but I've finally succumbed - there have been so many great builds of it!

It was Jane's daughter that put us on to "Ghosts" - it's going to become one of our staples that we go back to time and again, like "Fawlty Towers". I think there's a Christmas special, and a third series is planned.

Cheers,

Mark

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I was looking forward to getting a couple moreHurricanes when Aldi did the cheap kits but none were in amongst the stock unfortunately,  did pick up another Spitfire Mk 1 though.  Although I did have to dig it out amongst a Sea of Bf109s yuk.

It's great to know a third series is planned. They did a Christmas special last year so will be good if they do another.  We all love it and my daughter asks every now and again to watch them so we do watch a couple a night.  Great stuff.

The good thing about modelling is you can go at your own pace and don't have to worry about racing through.  It's actually great value for money Although with the stash growing constantly I doubt SWMBO will agree!!!

Chris

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On 15/04/2021 at 18:24, bigbadbadge said:

I was looking forward to getting a couple moreHurricanes when Aldi did the cheap kits but none were in amongst the stock unfortunately,  did pick up another Spitfire Mk 1 though.  Although I did have to dig it out amongst a Sea of Bf109s yuk.

It's great to know a third series is planned. They did a Christmas special last year so will be good if they do another.  We all love it and my daughter asks every now and again to watch them so we do watch a couple a night.  Great stuff.

The good thing about modelling is you can go at your own pace and don't have to worry about racing through.  It's actually great value for money Although with the stash growing constantly I doubt SWMBO will agree!!!

Chris

Hi Chris,

So sorry I've not answered before - not sure how I missed your post. And I've been away over the weekend visiting my Mum - first time since Christmas, of course - and been without internet worthy of the name!

You're absolutely right about it being a hobby with great VFM. I'm really very lucky in that Jane is very forgiving of my model aeroplane purchases, although I do sneak a few in under the radar out of embarrassment! As for speed of progress, I'd just like to be able to get more done, but I have one speed only: glacial :)

We've seen the two series of "Ghosts" now, probably watch the Christmas special tonight! I do hope they make more! I think we'll keep going back to it as well.

Cheers,

Mark

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While away over the weekend visiting my Mum, I found a couple of books that I'd forgotten about. One of those is "Malta George Cross: Victory in the Air" by Richard J Caruana. The upshot is that there may be yet another Hurricane build on the cards: this time one from the Malta Nightfighter Unit.

A bit more re-reading of said books plus @tonyot's "No Place for Beginners" is required.

Plus I've got a copy of Tom Neil's "Scramble" to read as well! Happy days!

Cheers,

Mark

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6 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

It's no good Mark, I am going to have to arrange a ghosts  night with the family now.  Yes we all have to sneak some in now and again, also the raffle ticket scheme is a good one on the very odd occasion!!!😄

Chris

Oh, yeah! Just starting the Christmas Special :)

Never tried the raffle ticket wheeze, but it's an idea I'll squirrel away for emergencies!

Cheers,

Mark

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22 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

Oh, yeah! Just starting the Christmas Special :)

Never tried the raffle ticket wheeze, but it's an idea I'll squirrel away for emergencies!

Cheers,

Mark

Enjoy the Christmas special,  it was good.

Yes the raffle ticket will only work very occasionally.  They remember!!!

 

Chris

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Today there arrived from the Czech Republic some Kora decal sets. Mindful of @Troy Smith's warnings a page or two back, I've looked at them quite closely.

I had ordered Kora's two sets for the Belgian fabric-winged Aeronautique Militaire Mk.Is, as they have serials for a several machines and being an awkward cuss thought to combine them to depict a completely different aircraft :) Interestingly, they come with nicely-cast five-spoked wheels, so that's one less thing to get!

One of the Belgian Mk.Is depicted is alleged to be an interned ex-RAF AASF example, with 3-blade airscrew and Night/White undersurfaces.

Also ordered was Kora's set for the Dutch ML-KNIL Hurricane Mk.IIs. Not entirely sure about the camouflage instructions, so it's just as well I was intending to defer Messrs Boer and Jonker! And I was a bit disappointed to see the Dutch Neutrality Triangles are fractionally off-register.

However, I've managed to snipe a Dutch Decals set from a certain well-known internet auction site which also has the ML-KNIL Hurricanes on it, so I'm hoping they'll be better!

Meanwhile, I've been been Mr Dissolved Putty-ing the Airfix Mk.I's wings. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone!

 

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Interesting little snippet.

I've seen it written that the Airfix Mk.I's control column is oversize, and so I ordered a packet of Quickboost resin replacements, although these are supposed to be for the Arma Hobby kits.

Comparing the Airfix, Arma and Quickboost control columns side-by-side, I was quite surprised to find that they're all the same height!

The most appreciable differences lie in the size of the grip. Airfix is enormous, Arma is much smaller, Quickboost is slightly smaller again.

I'll try to get a comparison photo.....

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9 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

Interesting little snippet.

I've seen it written that the Airfix Mk.I's control column is oversize, and so I ordered a packet of Quickboost resin replacements, although these are supposed to be for the Arma Hobby kits.

Comparing the Airfix, Arma and Quickboost control columns side-by-side, I was quite surprised to find that they're all the same height!

The most appreciable differences lie in the size of the grip. Airfix is enormous, Arma is much smaller, Quickboost is slightly smaller again.

I'll try to get a comparison photo.....


Hi Mark,

 

I was warned about this when building the Airfix rag wing and compared the control column with that of the Airfix 1/48 Hurricane I have in the stash. They were the same size!

 

Hope the puttying is going well. 
 

Craig. 

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Control column comparisons (nice alliteration!)

 

The Hurricane control column has two, shall we say, "nogs"* on it: one near the base and one just below the grip. For the purposes of comparisons, I've put the three different types on some ruled paper, the lines being 8mm apart. in the first photo, I've tried to line up the bottom "nogs" in order to give a comparison of overall height, while in the second I've tried to line up the upper "nogs" to give a comparison of the height of the columns and the relative sizes of the grips:

http://IMG-3588.jpg

http://IMG-3587.jpg

 

* nogs - upper and lower sprockets (for control cables?)

 

In actual fact, the Arma grip is not much smaller than Airfix's, while the Quickboost grip is appreciably finer. Note also how Arma and Airfix provide slightly squared grips - shades of the Austin Allegro "quartic" steering wheel (that thankfully never caught on!), while Quickboost's is more circular-er. The height of the actual column appears fairly consistent, but the overall height champion is undoubtedly Airfix!

 

Anyway, moving on.....the set of Dutch Decals markings that include two MK-KNIL Hurricanes has arrived this morning. Nice! Orange! Triangular!

 

Thanks for stopping by! Comments, corrections and suggestions always welcome :)

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5 hours ago, Dandie Dinmont said:


Hi Mark,

 

I was warned about this when building the Airfix rag wing and compared the control column with that of the Airfix 1/48 Hurricane I have in the stash. They were the same size!

 

Hope the puttying is going well. 
 

Craig. 

Hi Craig,

 

I think the puttying is going alright, but to actually sand it, I'm going to have to detach the wing panel from the sprue. And with all the other ongoing builds, that seems to involve more commitment to the kit than I ought to be putting in just yet :)

 

I read about the issues with the Airfix control column in your and Troy's builds - I remember you saying that the 1/72 and 1/48 columns were the same size!

 

Cheers,

Mark

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You know when you just can't help yourself? Well, with some sense of inevitability, this happened:

http://IMG-3602.jpg

Foolish, foolish, foolish! Now I'm not sure whether to actually build them alongside one another, or try to keep the Airfix one back.

 

I really need to clear my work table again. And whoever put that Matchbox Buffalo on there, can they PLEASE remove it!!!

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1 hour ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Mark

 

Nice control stick conundrum,  are you having the Canopies open ? 

Chris

Hi Chris,

Conundrum, indeed! I'm planning on having the canopies open in the Arma builds, and I'd like to on the Airfix. But I know the Airfix canopy (and windscreen) has height issues, so it may depend on whether I can find an alternative.

Cheers,

Mark

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7 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

Hi Chris,

Conundrum, indeed! I'm planning on having the canopies open in the Arma builds, and I'd like to on the Airfix. But I know the Airfix canopy (and windscreen) has height issues, so it may depend on whether I can find an alternative.

Cheers,

Mark

Do the Arma ones still have the wierd looking sliding canopy section that looks a bit odd or are you going for a vacform one?

Was the Airfix height issue the horizontal bars?

Chris

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15 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Do the Arma ones still have the wierd looking sliding canopy section that looks a bit odd or are you going for a vacform one?

Was the Airfix height issue the horizontal bars?

Chris

The Arma ones include the shaped open canopy - looks a bit weird, but I think it's because the canopy was flexible and the rails were curved. I'm sure @Troy Smith will correct/confirm!

I think the problem with the Airfix canopy is the height of the horizontal bars, which I think were as per the prototype.

The newer Arma ones are thinner and sit quite well, although a vac-form might be better!

Cheers,

Mark

 

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