Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIc 1/72 Desert Camouflage (Smer/Heller)

[Samuraiwarrior]

Hi All,

Here is my Hurricane IIc in 1/72 by Smer/Heller.

Model built mainly OOB except for drooped flaps, seat belts from tape, aerial wire from stretched sprue.

Finished in a desert camouflage scheme of Mid Stone and Dark Earth, Azure Blue undersides. Sand and Spinach paint to front of nose and wings, apparently painted on to fool enemy forces as similar to the Macchi 202's operating in same theatre.

Mainly Aeromaster acrylics, with Humbrol Oils and Vallejo acrylics for detail painting.

Hope you like it.

Kevin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ModelingEdmontonian]

Well done! Not the best Mk IIc kit out there, but you've done her up well! I like the diorama, too. How hard were the drooped flaps? Will we get an underside photo?

[Samuraiwarrior]

Hi,

39 minutes ago, ModelingEdmontonian said:

Well done! Not the best Mk IIc kit out there, but you've done her up well! I like the diorama, too. How hard were the drooped flaps? Will we get an underside photo?

 

39 minutes ago, ModelingEdmontonian said:

Well done! Not the best Mk IIc kit out there, but you've done her up well! I like the diorama, too. How hard were the drooped flaps? Will we get an underside photo?

Missed off the underside picture. Flaps were simply cut out, then lined with plastic card, some strip added to represent ribbing. Only done to create a bit more interest and not intentionally 100% accurate, left the wheel wells unchanged.

Agree, not the best Hurricane out there, but scrubbed up reasonably well

Kevin

[Troy Smith]

3 hours ago, Samuraiwarrior said:

apparently painted on to fool enemy forces as similar to the Macchi 202's operating in same theatre.

Myth.  From a post war  guess looking at B/W photos and similarity to the Italian camo, though likely for similar effect,  head on concealment, and assuemed same/similar colours

seems that the base was aluminium paint, with blue and purple blotches...

see https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234922498-hurricane-spaghetti-scheme-i-said-it-was-blue/&/topic/234922498-hurricane-spaghetti-scheme-i-said-it-was-blue/page-1?hl= spaghetti scheme

 

there are photo later in the thread. 

They are all Mk.I's though.

 

BP592 is an example of scheme that is from thread on here, a 'profile only special'

if you are at all interested in these debates you may find this an interesting read

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235009172-riaf-hurricane-with-elephant-nose-art-did-it-exist/

 

Our site search is not great, but if you add Britmodeller into a search term that searches here well.   

 

39 minutes ago, Samuraiwarrior said:

Flaps were simply cut out, then lined with plastic card, some strip added to represent ribbing. Only done to create a bit more interest and not intentionally 100% accurate, left the wheel wells unchanged.

Flaps were retracted after landing.  You got  fined a round of drinks in the mess for forgetting.   

This is why photos of Hurricanes and Spitfires with dropped flaps are very very rare,  they did get dropped for servicing,   

Your model, your choice of course. 

 

After all my  witter, I must say your model is very neatly built, painted and creatively displayed. 

 

 

 

[Samuraiwarrior]

50 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

Myth.  From a post war  guess looking at B/W photos and similarity to the Italian camo, though likely for similar effect,  head on concealment, and assuemed same/similar colours

seems that the base was aluminium paint, with blue and purple blotches...

see https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234922498-hurricane-spaghetti-scheme-i-said-it-was-blue/&/topic/234922498-hurricane-spaghetti-scheme-i-said-it-was-blue/page-1?hl= spaghetti scheme

 

there are photo later in the thread. 

They are all Mk.I's though.

 

BP592 is an example of scheme that is from thread on here, a 'profile only special'

if you are at all interested in these debates you may find this an interesting read

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235009172-riaf-hurricane-with-elephant-nose-art-did-it-exist/

 

Our site search is not great, but if you add Britmodeller into a search term that searches here well.   

 

Flaps were retracted after landing.  You got  fined a round of drinks in the mess for forgetting.   

This is why photos of Hurricanes and Spitfires with dropped flaps are very very rare,  they did get dropped for servicing,   

Your model, your choice of course. 

 

After all my  witter, I must say your model is very neatly built, painted and creatively displayed. 

 

 

 

Hi Troy, 

Thanks for the message and the info. Never knew it was considered a Myth, 

I built mine following the kits colour scheme provided and by some artistic licence after looking at a picture of a Hurricane Mk. 1 of No. 3 squadron SAAF in the Squadron Signal 'Hurricane in Action' 

I bow to my more knowledgeable colleagues, but at the time of this build I thought it would be different to portray it as I have done. 

Thanks for the comment on my kit though, it's nice to know that even if it's historically incorrect it looks okay as a model. 

Cheers Kevin 

[Giampiero Piva]

Very nice Hurricane. Bravo !

[Pete Robin]

Nice little vignette. She's a tad "clean" for my taste but a lovely example all the same.

Regards

Pete

[woody37]

Cracking little build, the base finishes it off. lovely paintwork

[Troy Smith]

4 hours ago, Samuraiwarrior said:

Thanks for the message and the info. Never knew it was considered a Myth, 

Hi Kevin.

Maybe mythical.  the 'myth' bit I was referring to was the idea it copied an Italian scheme for confuse the Italians on the ground...   

 

Profile only schemes  This gets discussed here on occasion, (and is the reason for my sig line)    the short is there are profiles from specifically Air Craft In Profile monographs that have been repeated so often they are 'fact'

There are plenty of examples of these schemes becoming  'fact', or, more to the point, being copied and then copied again,  so they are in every other book and and turn up in searches so often that it must be  right..... and plenty of model companies are not noted for diligent research either....

 

the series was very popular,  and the colour profiles were a major plus point.   but this was 1965/66 

They are all scanned here https://boxartden.com/reference/gallery/index.php/Aircraft-Profiles if you fancy a browse. 

I don't know how much there were driven by the rise in popularity of modelling, and it being taken more seriously,  certainly old Airfix Magazine from the similar era have many conversion articles,  as well as the start of aftermarket decal sheets, and then vacform kits...

 

One of the first popular and researched series on camouflage and markings were the Ducimus guides,  scanned here

https://boxartden.com/reference/gallery/index.php/Camouflage-Markings

Note these are from around 1970, and are the result in part of wartime information being declassified!    The Britis ones are better than the US ones, the only with some errors is the RAF Mustangs one.  

 

 

One that is a classic 'profile only' scheme  is the Kuttlewasher Night Reaper scheme.... 

see here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234976286-hurricane-mk-iic-flown-by-km-kuttlewascher/#elControls_1889582_menu

which the BBMF copied exactly.   Note comments on the black wing panel.  Of course you can now do PZ865 in these colours as it's a legit scheme for PZ865.....  

for more on the likely scheme

http://armahobbynews.pl/en/blog/2020/10/13/karel-kutterwascher-the-most-effective-hurricane-night-fighter-pilot/

 

no actual overall image, but reference to how other aircraft were finished at the time. 

 

4 hours ago, Samuraiwarrior said:

I built mine following the kits colour scheme provided and by some artistic licence after looking at a picture of a Hurricane Mk. 1 of No. 3 squadron SAAF in the Squadron Signal 'Hurricane in Action' 

I bow to my more knowledgeable colleagues, but at the time of this build I thought it would be different to portray it as I have done. 

Indeed.   Again, this is a scheme that did exist, and was used,   but as the link I gave,  has been revised.  The 'italian mimic' is till a common explanation.    

The problem is lack of a supporting photo of BP592 (which was a IIC that served with 213 Sq, so that much is correct) .    There maybe a photo, but it's not surfaced since.  

Meanwhile the profile keeps doing the rounds. 

I emailed Fly Models to complain about their decal research for the 1/32 nd kits,  as they just rehash profiles.  

Note in the 'Red Elephant' link there are known profiles that are also amazingly wrong,  like HV538,  the profile is wrong in nearly every detail.  And, yes, Fly did that one as well in their IIc kit

 

 

4 hours ago, Samuraiwarrior said:

Thanks for the comment on my kit though, it's nice to know that even if it's historically incorrect it looks okay as a model. 

It is a very good bit of modelling and display,   

and as some of the above might shown,  there is still plenty of misinformation about out there...   there was a Hurricane book for modellers done in 2020 that still makes me seethe about the sheer amount if cobblers in it...    and, yes, it has a profile of AK-G/BP592  with the 'spaghetti nose'  , and BE581 as 'night reaper' and the 'red elephant' scheme.....  along with many other that are wrong in varying degrees.  

 

of course, this is whole 'rabbit hole' of information you may just find all too much,  there are many thread on here on these kind of details,  when all you want to do is paint your model in peace.... and a casual search of  the serial in this case you would have found plenty of 'evidence' of that scheme...  

And it very easy to get paralysed by it all.    I try to not to be a joyless modelling nazi,  I like research and teasing out this information,  and do my best to answer questions ..    I have really enjoyed @ModelingEdmontonian build thread

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235090547-hawker-hurricanes-around-the-world/

lots of kits done without getting too bogged down,  while still interested in answers to questions.

 

And, at the end of it, your model, your choice, if you are happy with it, that's the important part,  and I hope some of the above is of interest/use.

 

cheers

T