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For a year and a half I've been working on my "Hawker Hurricanes around the world" project in which I am modeling Hawker Hurricanes in the markings of all the air forces with non-RAF insignia (it's a long list!).

In all my research I kept coming across this beautiful royal blue Hurricane that participated in the King's Cup Air Race at least a few times, including in 1950.

 

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It is the last Hurricane ever built, an Mk IIc, which Hawker kept and (I believe) continues to own (although it looks nothing like the above photo today!). G-AMAU does not perfectly fit with my Hawker Hurricanes around the world theme, but last year I did a "civilian interlude" and built another Hawker-owned Hurricane, G-AFKX:

 


This GB gives me a good excuse for a second civilian interlude! One goal of my project was to build a variety of 1/72 Hurricane kits, and while my wife joined the project and used the Revell Mk IIc kit to build Greece, I myself haven't actually built the Revell kit, so I picked up another one which will serve me nicely for this build.

 

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The kit is cheap and you get what you pay for (lots of flash, for example), and I considered buying an Arma Mk IIc, which are vastly superior, albeit much more expensive, but the deciding point was that the cannons are removed on G-AMAU, and Revell's wings are already molded without the cannon fairings so will be easy to modify. It would feel sacrilegious to me to cut up an Arma wing...

 

y4mR3zQ7VuhcK0VU8YGxOOVz0v2EQp9lLQvn6L4h

 

I ordered the Lifelike decals from a shop down under, and they arrived this week:

 

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y4mGX24_qU2hxR6jYXWncqrfcsUDQgA3M9snhaVw

 

Besides the fact that the cannons are removed, another modification to be made is this racing Hurricane carried Spitfire-style exhaust stacks, and I think I have a spare set from an Eduard Spitfire kit that I can use (will need to test fit to be sure). Otherwise I think #41 will be largely OOB. I have to confess, I already began cleaning up some pieces and assembling the wings, but should be able to resist getting much further before start date... looking forward to this GB, I expect lots of interesting subjects in the gallery!

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Nice choice. I've got that decal sheet in 1/48 and will build it one day - not in this GB though, it's on my list of 58 possible builds but too far down the list to have a realistic chance of being built!

 

I didn't know it had non-standard exhaust stacks - I've learned something from this thread already.

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7 hours ago, ModelingEdmontonian said:

Besides the fact that the cannons are removed,

And flat plates in stalled in the wing , ie remove the cannon door bulges

7 hours ago, ModelingEdmontonian said:

another modification to be made is this racing Hurricane carried Spitfire-style exhaust stacks,

Sometimes, was also photographed with standard pipes. 

one detail that is really useful

https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/23820-blue-hurricane

 

"During the current work being undertaken on PZ865, we removed a blanked over air scoop about the size of a 2p coin. Under the rivetted blanking plate was the intake scoop in the original blue paintwork:) I duly fetched my books of colour chips and set to work. Although the colour does change in different lighting conditions (they all do) it was a strong match for one of them: Oxford Blue. Here's a picture, you decide..."

Oxford%20Blue%20002.jpg

Note BS105  is  wartime RAF Roundel Blue.

 

and in colour with the standard exhaust

8498937193_5426b30b8c_b.jpg

 

Note the inside of the UC doors and legs are also blue.

pz865_1955.jpg

 

You may want to look at getting some Tamiya X-3 royal blue,  which is a dark blue. 

 

HTH

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On 9/18/2022 at 6:10 PM, Troy Smith said:

And flat plates in stalled in the wing , ie remove the cannon door bulges

Oh, good catch, Troy! more wing surgery... presumably ejector ports covered over as well?

 

On 9/18/2022 at 6:10 PM, Troy Smith said:

Sometimes, was also photographed with standard pipes. 

fair enough! but for my purposes, I think the Spitfire IX stacks will work for #41 (?)

 

On 9/18/2022 at 6:10 PM, Troy Smith said:

You may want to look at getting some Tamiya X-3 royal blue,  which is a dark blue. 

Tamiya X-3 it is! I'll need to find some gold for the spinner, too. Thanks as always, Troy!

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2 hours ago, ModelingEdmontonian said:

I'll need to find some gold for the spinner,

Tamiya do a gold, and a titanium gold,  which is a bit more silver.  If you have a physical shop, might be worth taking the decals along and seeing what might be closer, but as there is no gold trim near the spinner,  close will be fine. 

 

2 hours ago, ModelingEdmontonian said:

presumably ejector ports covered over as well?

I'd think so, fabric dopes over would seal them up.

2 hours ago, ModelingEdmontonian said:

I think the Spitfire IX stacks will work for #41 (?)

go with a photo, to see if tubular or flat,  the stack are the same as a Spitfire as they have to fit the Merlin main block.   

I'll add in an image if I find the answer before you. 

 

PD edit

Tublar

Note also the oil tank (light segment in wing leading edge)  looks to be in bare metal?  plus some mud splatters at the rear, and not how the tail wheel is extended,  presumably from less weight carried. 

29-1.jpg

 

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On 9/20/2022 at 12:13 PM, Troy Smith said:

Tublar

Note also the oil tank (light segment in wing leading edge)  looks to be in bare metal?  plus some mud splatters at the rear, and not how the tail wheel is extended,  presumably from less weight carried. 

 

I'll pull out my Eduard Spit kit and see what I have, but I think it has resin and styrene exhaust stacks, so fairly confident it'll have the right ones. Just not confident they'll fit the Revell Hurricane, so may need to do some surgery. I saw that bare metal "patch," didn't realize what it was. Would it be on both wings, @Troy Smith, or just port?

 

Meanwhile, underway... I've gone ahead and assembled and splashed paint around the cockpit--so little can be seen through the canopy that I'm barely even bothering in this case. Arma gives you something to work with such that cockpit assembly is somewhat fun and feels worth painting properly, but in this case I want to bury the cockpit as soon as possible and forget about it! I made the assumption that by 1950 "everything" would be "interior green" (I grabbed the wrong green actually, but, again, just went with it since through the canopy most of it can't be seen--for the behind the seat doghouse piece which is a bit more visible I'll use Tamiya XF-71 later). Skipped the decal on the IP and just did a silver drybrush. 

 

y4mu9rWVS3HwH9J2EEq4AUvasY-mbVAEHOdApSe9

 

Note the flash on the rear wheel in picture above! This kit is the "flashiest" I've worked with... maybe ever.

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Fuselage is now together and went together mostly well. I cut off the rear wheel because it was a mess and I wanted to have easier access to seams around there.

 

y4m9zFG4pr9aaGQwxO4cjfpJJXBGUnrgnQcmoFND

 

Bulges were removed on the port wing, here it is next to starboard for comparison.

 

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Removed them from the starboard, too, after that, but didn't bother photographing. I put the radiator together and installed; it will need a lot of filler, etc. to work in. The air intake was such a disaster that I looked for a spare.

 

y4mIWy0lLEz1O10Pm0oq9N1c3XHZtO7iKP_hHjVQ

 

I think the piece I found is from a Fly Mk IIb kit, which I used to build a French Mk IIb trop (so used the Vokes filter). It fit nicely.

 

y4mKtdHeeLqHWfWHzpjrdgtzePUMaCQmbMoiBarA

Edited by ModelingEdmontonian
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Lovely scheme, great choice and good to see it started. Nice to see your comment about the cockpit, I’m coming around to the same view after far too much worrying about detail no one will ever see.

 

On 24/09/2022 at 14:20, ModelingEdmontonian said:

This kit is the "flashiest" I've worked with... maybe ever.

I’d say that was a pretty mild case - you obviously have higher standards than me! :)
 

Looking forward to more blue and gold goodness…

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

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On 9/20/2022 at 7:13 PM, Troy Smith said:

PD edit

Tublar

Note also the oil tank (light segment in wing leading edge)  looks to be in bare metal?  plus some mud splatters at the rear, and not how the tail wheel is extended,  presumably from less weight carried. 

29-1.jpg

That mud spatter could be grass being thrown backwards in the airflow as the engine is running. 

 

Great choice, looking forwards to this build.

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On 9/29/2022 at 12:38 AM, AdrianMF said:

I’d say that was a pretty mild case - you obviously have higher standards than me! :)

I suppose I'm spoiled by the Arma kits...

 

I've begun using filler around the seams and such, and attached the fuselage/lower wing piece.

 

y4mh4f7sF-JRHMWs0PpcElUkEwmbvkvDrNbq0G2V

 

The ejector ports have been filled in on the lower wings . . .

 

y4m2Mj-37_n_IRy0bC00P7c8a0L0bAikbEWfw-l9

 

. . . and the holes where the cannons attach.

 

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Alright, wings and stabilizers are on now, and I have dry fit the spinner.

 

y4mMksiHAUcb9XFcAL8FEJ5Uh7aGAJoniT0s9gg4

 

There are some gaps and I think it's time I learn about how to use plasticard to fix these. I also think this might be part of my solution where I need to reduce the size of the slots for the exhaust stacks. Any advice as to what I should be looking to buy as I begin my plasicard adventure?

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Good progress :) 

For plasticard I buy the Evergreen packs as that's in stock at my local model shop. Various thicknesses of sheet are available along with packs of rod in many shapes but bear in mind it's much softer plastic than used in kits so melts more when being glued and sands down quicker. The most common thickness for me is 0.25 and 0.5mm but for gap filling the 0.25mm may be most useful as it can be layered in.

The other option is gently heating some of the kit's runners and stretching them out to give sections of thin rod that can then be packed into the gaps.

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8 hours ago, Col. said:

Good progress :) 

For plasticard I buy the Evergreen packs as that's in stock at my local model shop. Various thicknesses of sheet are available along with packs of rod in many shapes but bear in mind it's much softer plastic than used in kits so melts more when being glued and sands down quicker. The most common thickness for me is 0.25 and 0.5mm but for gap filling the 0.25mm may be most useful as it can be layered in.

The other option is gently heating some of the kit's runners and stretching them out to give sections of thin rod that can then be packed into the gaps.

Thanks, @Col., I've seen those Evergreen packs, so that's what I'll pick up. Sounds like this one is a good start for gap-fixing? 

 

https://evergreenscalemodels.com/collections/plain-opaque-white-polystrene-sheets/products/010-25mm-plain-opaque-white-polystyrene-sheet

 

Or am I better of with "strips" vs. "sheets"?

 

https://evergreenscalemodels.com/collections/14-white-polystrene-strips/products/101-010-x-030-opaque-white-polystyrene-strip

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By the way, the most serious gap is this one in the port wing, which I need to fill both because it is ugly but also because the dihedral will be off unless I use a filler to wedge the wing upwards (hope that makes sense). The starboard wing's dihedral is fine, but port is "saggy."

 

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On 9/18/2022 at 5:14 PM, ModelingEdmontonian said:

 

In all my research I kept coming across this beautiful royal blue Hurricane that participated in the King's Cup Air Race at least a few times, including in 1950.

It is the last Hurricane ever built, an Mk IIc, which Hawker kept and (I believe) continues to own (although it looks nothing like the above photo today!). G-AMAU does not perfectly fit with my Hawker Hurricanes around the world theme, but last year I did a "civilian interlude" and built another Hawker-owned Hurricane, G-AFKX:

 

G-AMAU, under its Military reg of PZ865, is owned by the Royal Air Force and flies as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, in fact it was flying out of Coningsby today. 

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14 hours ago, ModelingEdmontonian said:

Thanks, @Col., I've seen those Evergreen packs, so that's what I'll pick up. Sounds like this one is a good start for gap-fixing? 

 

https://evergreenscalemodels.com/collections/plain-opaque-white-polystrene-sheets/products/010-25mm-plain-opaque-white-polystyrene-sheet

 

Or am I better of with "strips" vs. "sheets"?

 

https://evergreenscalemodels.com/collections/14-white-polystrene-strips/products/101-010-x-030-opaque-white-polystyrene-strip

I tend to use the sheet for almost everything as I've got plenty of it and can be sliced into strips when needed.

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