Tail-Dragon Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 To round out my Battle of Britain movie builds, I just had to have a Hurricane. So, I'm modifying an old Hobbycraft Hurricane Mk IIc into a Canadian produced Mk XII, with a lot of scratchbuilding, detail parts from a scrapped Ark Hurricane Mk 1, and various parts from the spare parts bin. It will be * F, H3422 flown by Christopher Plummer in the opening airfield staffing scene. ... the rest of the fleet, just awaiting weathering ... Hey, you have to get your inspiration somewhere, don't you? Colin 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 This is a wonderful collection of movie aircraft. I regularly watch this movie once or twice a year just for the flight scenes. The rest of the movie is okay. Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 20 hours ago, Tail-Dragon said: Hey, you have to get your inspiration somewhere, don't you? And splendid inspiration it is too. Keep up the good work, I'll be watching. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 21 hours ago, Tail-Dragon said: It will be * F, H3422 flown by Christopher Plummer in the opening airfield staffing scene. That's either LF363, or PZ865, the Canadian Hurricane, had the unique Canadian spinner and Hamilton standard prop note also the blanking plate on cowling, another Canadian feature along with the radiator shape, which the Hobbycraft kit has. see https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235104429-canadian-hurricane-mkxii-some-detail-observations-and-questions/ neat project! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 21, 2022 Author Share Posted May 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Troy Smith said: That's either LF363, or PZ865, the Canadian Hurricane, had the unique Canadian spinner and Hamilton standard prop note also the blanking plate on cowling, another Canadian feature along with the radiator shape, which the Hobbycraft kit has. see https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235104429-canadian-hurricane-mkxii-some-detail-observations-and-questions/ neat project! It seems that multiple aircraft (some static, and some flying) were marked as 'F' (and the serial seems to have been 'H3418, not H3422 as I thought), the flying aircraft were 2 Mk IIc's (G-AMAU and LF363), and the Canadian Mk XII (G-AWLW) plus 3 static or taxiing aircraft, plus the mockups. In the movie, there is no clear view of any particular aircraft, just the partial view of Christopher Plummer scrambling on board. The nice, clear head on view is possibly a mockup (not sure), I just posted it to show the black left wing with no yellow outline of the roundel. The best photo I could find of the Mk XII, G-AWLW is this, post movie and restoration. shows (what seems to be) the Hamilton Standard prop, and the larger bullet spinner ... This is the aircraft that went back to Hamilton, Ontario, only to be destroyed in the hangar fire. It was replaced by this fibreglass mockup, actually quite realistic! I have the Hamilton Standard prop, maybe I'll try to reprofile the spinner a bit to more closely match the spinner shown, but right now, it's close to the post movie photo. Colin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 28 minutes ago, Tail-Dragon said: It seems that multiple aircraft (some static, and some flying) were marked as 'F' (and the serial seems to have been 'H3418, not H3422 as I thought), the flying aircraft were 2 Mk IIc's (G-AMAU and LF363), and the Canadian Mk XII (G-AWLW) plus 3 static or taxiing aircraft, plus the mockups. In the movie, there is no clear view of any particular aircraft, just the partial view of Christopher Plummer scrambling on board. The nice, clear head on view is possibly a mockup (not sure), I just posted it to show the black left wing with no yellow outline of the roundel. see http://www.daveswarbirds.com/bob/hurricane.htm Hurricane XII G-AWLW, brought in from Canada, on finals for Duxford. (photo by Tony Clarke via Aircraft Magazine) note that "F/H3422" is likely to be LF363 Hawker Hurricane IIc LF363 banks away from the camera. (This is the same aircraft as in the photo above this one.) Despite wearing full squadron codes and Polish insignia, the fighter is still adorned with Battle of France black and white undersides. Surely a slip up on behalf of the film's continuity department? (Photo from Peter Sargent, text from Robert J. Rudhall's "Battle of Britain Film - The Photo Album") 36 minutes ago, Tail-Dragon said: The best photo I could find of the Mk XII, G-AWLW is this, post movie and restoration. shows (what seems to be) the Hamilton Standard prop, and the larger bullet spinner ... I don't think that is a "Hurricane bullet spinner" of any kind, it's too big at the base, what it does resemble is this which is just a guess, but a type used in Canada, and or maybe a Spitfire unit Anyway, look forward to seeing this one progress Colin, and hope the ramblings have been of some interest or use. cheers T 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradleygolding Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 A great project. A couple of things though. No Buchon flew with a three bladed prop in the movie and MH434 had the same five spoke wheels it still wears today during filming. The Hurricane needs the Canadian spinner/prop combo and Kidney Exhausts as mentioned by others. Keep it up, a really good collection, only a Heinkel, B25, Ju52. and chopped Procter to go! Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 6 hours ago, bradleygolding said: A great project. A couple of things though. No Buchon flew with a three bladed prop in the movie and MH434 had the same five spoke wheels it still wears today during filming. The Hurricane needs the Canadian spinner/prop combo and Kidney Exhausts as mentioned by others. Keep it up, a really good collection, only a Heinkel, B25, Ju52. and chopped Procter to go! Steve. I beg to differ on all counts, the 3 bladed Buchon with the chevron is 'Falke's' (read; ersatz Galland) aircraft (the static one seen at the Chateau) ... (note - I also made a 4 bladed prop for that set of markings as an airworthy aircraft) The Spit IX in fact used the post war 3 spoke wheels throughout the movie ... ... and the Hurricane did not have 'kidney' exhaust in the move, it had the tubular 6 stack exhaust. as for the prop, as mentioned before, I still weighing my options! One airworthy aircraft had the Hamilton Standard prop and the Canadian spinner, 2 had Rotol's and Hawker 'bullet' spinners. "Movie magic" means that the same set of markings appeared on different airframes all throughout the movie, and in most of the scenes, you can never see the whole airframe to decide who's who! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 36 minutes ago, Tail-Dragon said: the Hurricane did not have 'kidney' exhaust in the move, it had the tubular 6 stack exhaust. LF363 and PZ865 did, the Canadian G-AWLW had standard exhausts The letters were tape, to allow easy changes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 A bit of trivia I can share. I like this project very much. Certainly one of the most iconic war movies to come out of the 60’s, with so many great quotes. The Hurricane in the movie belonged to a good friend of my family, Bob Diemert. I first saw it in Carman Manitoba, shortly after he purchased it for $85 from a farmer, in the state as seen in the black and white photo. He flashed it up for my dad, and I can remember running away like a scared rabbit! The in flight photo is how it looked after he restored it to flying condition. The codes RE-D were his initials…Robert Edward Diemert (pronounced dee-mert) no french accent. It was not related to the famous “BiBi” RE-D p3039. He flew it in the movie, then sold it for $250,000, this allowed him to fund an expedition to New Guinea where he acquired some Japanese aircraft wrecks (that’s another story!) I look forward to seeing the project! Jeff 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 (edited) With more research (and all the help above) more required mods have come to light. The Bob Diemert restored aircraft (CCF c/n 42012, registered as CF-SMI, C-GWPH, and G-AWLW) was in fact a CCF Hurricane Mk IIb. It does have the 3 stack exhaust (not fishtail), it did not have the MkII style 'kinked' tail wheel, but the earlier Mk I style tail wheel, blanked off generator cooling pipes (as mentioned above), no oil collection rail (?) on the upper cowl behind the spinner, A Hamilton Standard prop (which we knew), and the unique 'Canadian' spinner. The spinner base is larger than the cowl front - it appears this same diameter as the 'bulbous' Mk I spinner, but quite straight and tapered. What I'm going to try to do is use the base, and rear 1/3 of a 'bulbous' Mk I spinner, cement on a front 2/3 of a 'bullet' spinner, and machine down to something close to the correct style. (... and I thought I was close to being finished!) Fortunately, the painting was only as far as the lower surface, so that can remain. Also, it was painted in a "B" scheme. With the Ultracast exhaust, a new tail wheel, blanked off cooling pipes, no oil collection rail, and the spinner/prop, I should be close (I hope!) The journey continues ... Colin Edited May 22, 2022 by Tail-Dragon 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 Introducing - Frankenspinner! ... when dry, it should have enough meat on it to turn it down to a nice smooth taper! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 I think I'm on the right track with Frankenspinner! More to do, but it's looking promising. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradleygolding Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 (edited) 12 hours ago, Tail-Dragon said: I beg to differ on all counts, the 3 bladed Buchon with the chevron is 'Falke's' (read; ersatz Galland) aircraft (the static one seen at the Chateau) ... (note - I also made a 4 bladed prop for that set of markings as an airworthy aircraft) The Spit IX in fact used the post war 3 spoke wheels throughout the movie ... ... and the Hurricane did not have 'kidney' exhaust in the move, it had the tubular 6 stack exhaust. as for the prop, as mentioned before, I still weighing my options! One airworthy aircraft had the Hamilton Standard prop and the Canadian spinner, 2 had Rotol's and Hawker 'bullet' spinners. "Movie magic" means that the same set of markings appeared on different airframes all throughout the movie, and in most of the scenes, you can never see the whole airframe to decide who's who! Like I said, no Buchon with a three bladed prop actually flew in the film. Taxiing only. The photo below shows MH434 in preparation for the movie, it has four spoke wheels (5 spoke is my mistake). You seem to have sorted the Hurricane. Steve. Edited May 23, 2022 by bradleygolding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 1 hour ago, bradleygolding said: Like I said, no Buchon with a three bladed prop actually flew in the film. Taxiing only. The photo below shows MH434 in preparation for the movie, it has four spoke wheels (5 spoke is my mistake). You seem to have sorted the Hurricane. Steve. Yes, I realize that the flying Buchons had 4 bladed props. There were several flying Buchons (s/n C4K-130 and C4K-170) that carried the chevron, plus several static and taxiing ones, hence making both the 3 bladed, and the 4 bladed props for that marking. That allows for the aircraft seen as Falke's at the French Chateau, as well as the flying examples As far as AI*A goes, MH434 was 1 of 8 different airframes that carried that code, the specific aircraft modelled is the Mk IX that Robert Shaw stood on it's nose during filming, it has the post war 3 spoke wheels as per the photos. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 (edited) Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, may I present ... Frankenspinner I might have to make it a tad blunter, haven't quite decided yet. Colin Well, I blunted it a tad more and polished. I happy with it, and it's as close to a 'Canadian' spinner as I can get. Edited May 23, 2022 by Tail-Dragon 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 2 hours ago, Tail-Dragon said: Look great Colin, surprised Ultracast never did one. One little detail, that scoop is on the wing fillet, not the cowl panel. There is also a hole in the centre of the lower cowl, and one otehr detail i forgot, none of the 1/48th kits get the air intake right, it has a fairing at the rear, very hard to see in wartime images unfortunately fantastic image here Hurri BBMF underside crop by losethekibble, on Flickr this is the Mk.IV in Birmingham, which has the fairing missing, Hawker Hurricane - P3395 Think Tank 052 by touluru, on Flickr Hawker Hurricane - P3395 Think Tank 093 by touluru, on Flickr the strips on the side of the radiator are wood, and were for the armour plate tub. It's a shame that this Mk.IV, which served with several squadrons is done out in faux BoB markings.... Hope of interest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Wilko Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 Another "hope of interest" for your perusal gentlemen. Richard Grace on restoring and flying the ex-Connie Edwards/ex-Battle of Britain film Buchons: https://vintageaviationecho.com/richard-grace-buchons/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradleygolding Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 "As far as AI*A goes, MH434 was 1 of 8 different airframes that carried that code, the specific aircraft modelled is the Mk IX that Robert Shaw stood on it's nose during filming, it has the post war 3 spoke wheels as per the photos." Yes agreed, it also had a 3 bladed prop fitted at the time. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Wilko Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 On 5/24/2022 at 2:35 AM, bradleygolding said: it has the post war 3 spoke wheels as per the photos. Because,as far as one is aware,those wheels used the same sized tyres as the Buccaneer and Sea Vixen nose wheels,original Spitfire four and five spoked wheel tyres being long out of production. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 (edited) More progress on the Hurricane, getting ready for decals, and weathering. The Hurricanes were finished in a "B" scheme, and a close view of the film showed the Hurricanes did not have a black wing walk ... I've made the changes for the 'Diemert' Canadian Mk IIb, with the exception of the carb intake fairing. I was just too far along to start sawing off the intake. Colin Edited May 26, 2022 by Tail-Dragon more details 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 2 hours ago, Tail-Dragon said: I've made the changes for the 'Diemert' Canadian Mk IIb, with the exception of the carb intake fairing. I was just too far along to start sawing off the intake. I don’t think the fault lies with you or the position of the intake, but rather the aft curved line of the cowling panel being too far forward, on the kit. I think this is going to be an excellent miniature of his Hurricane. Funny thing is that Bob was the original McGuiver and made a lot of “custom” mods to his aircraft. My second airplane ride was in Bob’s Harvard, at the Dryden municipal airport opening air show. Along with myself and Bob, were my mother and my cousin, Bob modified the rear cockpit with a long seat bottom and 3 back rests. My father went up with Bob for the aerobatic display. I believe the wing of either his D3A or one of his A6M’ is visible behind the empennage of the Harvard. Colour was Yellow with Insignia Blue and White rudder stripes. Jeff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted May 27, 2022 Share Posted May 27, 2022 The Spinner look great @Tail-Dragon, very impressive. I posted the carb intake fairing info as it does not seem well known, makes sense not to make a mess for something only visible when the model is upside down. One little detail the movie planes don't have aerial wires, so you don't need the triangular tag on the aerial. HTH T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 (edited) I've corrected the radio mast, unfortunately this involves some filling, sanding and repainting as I had already made a hole for the antennae cable receptacle in the fuselage, and completed the sliding portion of the canopy. Vac canopy with inner frame of strip, and brass wire handles. I've also corrected the position of the hole in the lower cowl. ... as an aside, while doing further research on the great Spitfire wheel debate, I've discovered that Spitfire Mk IXc, MK297 was the aircraft marked as AI*A in the 'taka taka taka' scene. It also made it's way eventually to Hamilton, only to be destroyed in the same hangar fire as G-AWLW (Diemert Hurricane). My Spit is being modified accordingly as these two aircraft have such an intertwined (if sad) history. Colin Edited May 30, 2022 by Tail-Dragon spelling 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted June 6, 2022 Author Share Posted June 6, 2022 After a brief struggle (one decal composed of some 200 fractured parts) the decaling and pin-wash is done, next up is the flat coat and weathering... ... more to come, thanks for looking. Colin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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