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1/72nd Arma Hurricane Mk.I, 249 Sqn, 1940,..... Nicholson VC.


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Hiya Folks,

                (Eric) James Brindley Nicolson, VC, DFC (29 April 1917 – 2 May 1945) was a pre war RAF Regular and the only RAF fighter pilot to be awarded the ultimate award for bravery, the Victoria Cross during WW2 when he remained at the controls of his blazing Hurricane in order to shoot down a Me110 before finally baling out with terrible burn injuries on the 16th August 1940. I think he may have felt slightly embarrassed by his award, having been selected from amongst so many other acts of supreme bravery so after a posting to India in 1942 he sought to return to action as soon as he could ..... which he did with great effect by leading 27 Sqn on strike missions over Burma equipped with Beaufighter`s and later Mosquito`s between August 1943 and August 1944 . After promotion to Wing Commander and a posting to HQ India he still flew operationally when he could but on 2nd May 1945 the Liberator that he was flying in failed to return from a patrol over the Bay of Bengal and he was never seen again,....... the end of an extremely brave and humble man,.....RIP.

 

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There are no existing photos of Nicholson`s Hurricane from his fateful fight, but by comparing other aircraft with serial numbers around the same area in the third production block of 544 Hurricanes built by Hawker Aircraft Limited,  Brooklands, between February and July 1940 and other squadron aircraft it can be judged to a fair degree, hence the large fuselage roundel and the pre war bright colours used on the markings and photos have also surfaced recently depicting the personal insignia applied to P3576, GN-A and Arma Model have put all of this info into their markings for Nicholson`s aircraft in their Battle of Britain Aces boxing of their excellent Hurricane Mk.I.

 

I say excellent,.... and it is an excellent kit which I have built a number of times now,...... but this one was a nightmare due to the poor plastic that was used.  Small parts shattered when removing them from the sprue and normal glue did not work, so I resorted to super glue but even that was not perfect and the seams are prone to opening, the wings have fallen off a number of times and the undercarriage legs are patched together having broken in a number of places and are very weak as a result! The only time I have come across this phenomena is when building pre production sprues for magazine articles to show how a production kit will look upon release and I can only presume that a pre production sprue which was never intended to be built was accidentally put inside the box?

 

Anyway,... we got there in the end,....  the model was brush painted using Humbrol enamels,.....

 

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This model is dedicated to all who fought in the Battle of Britain and a very brave and humble man who was awarded our nations highest honour and finally lost his life in service of our country,..... RIP Wing Commander Nicholson VC, DFC.

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Here is his VC citation;

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Air Ministry, 15 November 1940.

The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery : —

Flight Lieutenant James Brindley NICOLSON (39329) — No. 249 Squadron.

During an engagement with the enemy near Southampton on 16th August 1940, Flight Lieutenant Nicolson's aircraft was hit by four cannon shells, two of which wounded him whilst another set fire to the gravity tank. When about to abandon his aircraft owing to flames in the cockpit he sighted an enemy fighter. This he attacked and shot down, although as a result of staying in his burning aircraft he sustained serious burns to his hands, face, neck and legs. Flight Lieutenant Nicolson has always displayed great enthusiasm for air fighting and this incident shows that he possesses courage and determination of a high order. By continuing to engage the enemy after he had been wounded and his aircraft set on fire, he displayed exceptional gallantry and disregard for the safety of his own life.

 

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Cheers

          Tony 

 

 

Edited by tonyot
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5 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

What a brave fellow.   A great backround Tony and great work, well a fight really with this one.  Very unusual for an Arma kit.  It does look stunning 

A wonderful tribute too 

Chris

Thanks Chris,...... yeah Nicholson VC was a very brave bloke,.... I`ve read quite a bit about him and he was highly regarded and a much loved leader too,...... such a tragic end too as he didn`t have to be there and had nothing to prove. 

 

4 hours ago, keith in the uk said:

Very nice Tony , well up to your usual standards .  :worthy:

Cheers Keith,..... I don`t know about the emoji though,.... "I`m not the messia,.... just a very naughty boy"!! 

4 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

Splendid work, Tony, and a worthy tribute to a brave man and hero, although he would have no doubt denied such an accolade.

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark

Cheers Mark,..... and totally agree,.... true heroes are always the ones who cannot see it themselves. 

 

3 hours ago, swralph said:

Lovely build and background Tony.😀

Thanks mate. 

 

Cheers

         Tony

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Lovely build Tony, hard to believe it gave you so much grief, such is the reputation of the Arma kits. This is one I've got book marked for a future build, the Peter Mason book" Nicholson VC" certainly sealed that for me, a thoroughly decent & courageous man.

Steve.

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Superb build and finish Tony,shame about the issues with the plastic on this offering,great to have the back story of this brave man we

often forget when the Battle of Britain ended these men just didn't pack their thing's and return to their families they had five more year's

operational flying in the many theatre's they were sent to and many never saw  the final victory they played such a huge part in.

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14 hours ago, Sky Keg said:

Great results from top to bottom on this one Tony.  I particularly enjoyed the accompanying story behind the subject.  :like:

 

Mike

Cheers Mike,....glad you liked the model and the background,..... what a brave bloke he was and a thoroughly nice one by all accounts,....what a tragic waste.

14 hours ago, Madmaks said:

Great build and a wonderful tribute. I just got the Arma IIc. Lets see how that turns out

Thanks mate,.... I`m sure I just had a bad kit,..... I`ve built quite a lot of Arma Hurricane`s and they have all been superb quality part from this one,.... the IIc is a lovely kit,... you`ll enjoy it.

13 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Lovely build Tony, hard to believe it gave you so much grief, such is the reputation of the Arma kits. This is one I've got book marked for a future build, the Peter Mason book" Nicholson VC" certainly sealed that for me, a thoroughly decent & courageous man.

Steve.

Thanks Steve,....... I think it was just a bad kit mate which wasn`t supposed to have gone out,..... not to worry,... it didn`t beat me! You`ve summed Nicholson up three mate,.... "a thoroughly decent & courageous man",.... that is the impression that I have got too.

12 hours ago, Homer said:

An excellent tribute to a very brave man,beautiful model.

Thanks very much Homer.

10 hours ago, Robert Armstrong said:

Looks great, mate. 

Nicholson flew Gladiators with 72 Squadron earlier in his career, from RAF Acklington. Might have to add it to my growing pile of Acklington based aircraft, now I've seen this 😁

Cheers Bob...... yeah he was a pre war Regular with 72 Sqn on Gladiators at Acklington and Church Fenton,..... there is a famous photo showing him in his Gladiator, K6130, RN-S,.... with his hair billowing in the slipstream;

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LOL,... say sorry to Suz from me mate,.... encouraging you to buy more models!!

10 hours ago, stevej60 said:

Superb build and finish Tony,shame about the issues with the plastic on this offering,great to have the back story of this brave man we

often forget when the Battle of Britain ended these men just didn't pack their thing's and return to their families they had five more year's

operational flying in the many theatre's they were sent to and many never saw  the final victory they played such a huge part in.

Thanks Steve,.... yeah I`m sure it was a rogue kit mate,..... one of those things and it didn`t beat me! You are totally right pal,.... the Battle of Britain was just the start of a very long war for many people,..... and so many never saw the peace that they fought for. 

 

Thanks again lads,

                            Tony  

 

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Another nice build Tony! Researching the story of the pilot who flew the plane is what is actually adding value to our hobby. That is what I like about your work and your projects. 👍   I am really puzzled that you had so many problems with that particular kit since the Arma Kits are usually quite hassle-free.

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A super looking Hurricane, Tony.  The courage of this man is hard to fathom.  One wishes he had been grounded at some point as, surely, he had done enough for his country. I really enjoyed your presentation. It's really great to have some background to the men who flew these machines, especially one who was so brave and humble.

 

Interesting about your problems concerning the kit.  I had similar issues with the Sword Spitfire XIV with regards to not responding to glue (not to mention fit).  It certainly seems like an anomaly for an Arma model, such is their excellence.

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17 hours ago, 112 Squadron said:

Another nice build Tony! Researching the story of the pilot who flew the plane is what is actually adding value to our hobby. That is what I like about your work and your projects. 👍   I am really puzzled that you had so many problems with that particular kit since the Arma Kits are usually quite hassle-free.

Thanks mate,..... it was just poor quality plastic mate,...... I reckon that it was a pre production sprue, never designed to be built,..... which has found its way into a kit,..... not to worry,..... it was just a lot harder to build and remains quite fragile at the seams! I`ve built models like this for magazines when the manufacturer sends them pre production sprues which are only ever designed to check the quality of the mould. As I say,... all the other Arma Hurri`s that I`ve built have been fine.

2 hours ago, Meatbox8 said:

A super looking Hurricane, Tony.  The courage of this man is hard to fathom.  One wishes he had been grounded at some point as, surely, he had done enough for his country. I really enjoyed your presentation. It's really great to have some background to the men who flew these machines, especially one who was so brave and humble.

 

Interesting about your problems concerning the kit.  I had similar issues with the Sword Spitfire XIV with regards to not responding to glue (not to mention fit).  It certainly seems like an anomaly for an Arma model, such is their excellence.

 Cheers mate,..... like most VC winners,..... my personal feeling is that they have done their bit and shouldn`t be asked to risk their lives again,...... but the quality of men who win the medal are those who want to return to the fray alongside their friends,........ it makes it doubly tragic when they are lost in action later. 

 

As I said previously,... I think it may have been a pre production set of sprues that found its way into a box accidentally,..... or maybe an end of run mould where one of the additives in the plastic has run out,....... it just made it harder to build and it didn`t beat me,.... so not to worry.

 

Cheers fella`s

                     Tony 

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This may be of interest. The plaque unveiled in 1970 near the spot Nicolson landed. The building is long gone but the plaque was saved.

 

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'On or near this spot on the 16th August 1940, during the Battle of Britain, the late Wing Commander (the Flight Lieutenant) J.B.Nicolson V.C. D.F.C. R.A.F. of No.249 Squadron, landed after parachuting from his burning Hurricane following an engagement with the enemy. After being hit and his aircraft set on fire, he continued with the action and was successful in destroying an Me110 before abandoning his aircraft. For this act of gallentry he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the only pilot of Fighter Command to be so honoured during World War II.'


When the Mullard building this was on in the docks was knocked down the plaque found its way to the Solent Sky museum, who kindly displayed it at Sholing Junior School when they had their new plaque unveiled in 2016.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sothamptonheritage/permalink/10155835717407883

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1 hour ago, Quiet Mike said:

This may be of interest. The plaque unveiled in 1970 near the spot Nicolson landed. The building is long gone but the plaque was saved.

 

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'On or near this spot on the 16th August 1940, during the Battle of Britain, the late Wing Commander (the Flight Lieutenant) J.B.Nicolson V.C. D.F.C. R.A.F. of No.249 Squadron, landed after parachuting from his burning Hurricane following an engagement with the enemy. After being hit and his aircraft set on fire, he continued with the action and was successful in destroying an Me110 before abandoning his aircraft. For this act of gallentry he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the only pilot of Fighter Command to be so honoured during World War II.'


When the Mullard building this was on in the docks was knocked down the plaque found its way to the Solent Sky museum, who kindly displayed it at Sholing Junior School when they had their new plaque unveiled in 2016.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sothamptonheritage/permalink/10155835717407883

Thank for posting this,..... really interesting. Glad the plaque was saved too.

 

26 minutes ago, woody37 said:

Fantastic mate, I'm looking forwards to the 48th scale release, although I suspect you'll have several built before I even get it out of the box!

Cheers Neil,.... yeah really looking forward to the Arma 1/48th Hurri,.... it is a Mk.IIc but hopefully some other versIons will follow,...... a decent and readily available  M.IIb in 1/48th is my Nirvana mate! 

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