Arma Hobby Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc (40009) 1:48

[Mike]

Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc (40009)

1:48 Arma Hobby

 

 

The Hawker Hurricane was one of Britain's foremost fighters of WWII, and although overshadowed by the more graceful and slender Spitfire during the Battle of Britain, it was a capable aircraft that was available in large numbers, and achieved more than its fair share of kills during the conflict.  It went on to see service to the end of the war, but was relegated to less onerous tasks as technology leapt forward resulting in faster, more agile aircraft that came on stream on both sides of the conflict.  The type originated in the early 30s and first took to the sky in 1935, despite the Air Ministry’s tepid reaction to monoplanes at the time, and it was an aircraft that set standards for fighters that followed it, being a monoplane with a predominantly metal airframe, retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and of course the delightfully powerful and throaty Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.  Compared to the Spitfire it was a little old-fashioned, starting out with a fabric-covered ‘rag’ wing that was eventually replaced by an all-metal aerofoil, and it was less aerodynamically streamlined, with a thicker wing and overall chunkier, blunt appearance.  Although the wing was replaced by a metal aerofoil later, it retained the fabric rear fuselage and as such was able to have minor damage repaired quickly and easily, compared to the Spitfire that would have to go back to a repair facility, even for structurally insignificant through-and-through bullet damage.  A fabric patch followed by a few coats of dope, and the Hurri would be back to the fray, which endeared it both to its pilots and ground crew alike.

 

By the time the improvements to the airframe resulted in the Mk.IIC, it was tasked with ground attack, taking out German tanks, which weren’t as easy to crack as first expected, because 20mm cannon shells would often ricochet off the frontal and side armour, and bombing a relatively small target such as a tank was a matter of pure luck, all while the enemy poured lead in your general direction.  It was withdrawn from front-line fighter service at this stage of the war, as by then the enemy aircraft outclassed it in most respects, so it carried on in ground-attack, night fighter and intruder roles where it excelled, without unnecessary exposure to enemy fighters.  At sea, it was converted into the Sea Hurricane by adding catapult spools and an arrestor hook under the tail, using the Merlin XX to power it to around 320mph.  Around 60 were built as Sea Hurricane Mk.IIcs, while another 50 Mk.IIbs were converted, many having C wings installed to bring them up to specification.  Although they weren’t succeeded by any later Hurricane marks, the Mk XIIA was a Canadian-built Mk.I that ran a Merlin 29.  On land, the Mk.IIc was succeeded by the D that mounted a pair of 40mm cannon in gondolas under the wings, increasing its offensive power appreciably, at which point it acquired the nickname ‘The Flying Can Opener’, adding additional frontal armour to the airframe that was exposed during the run-in to target.  They carried on in that role until the Typhoon came into service, which was capable of doing the job faster and more efficiently without the worry of being bounced by enemy fighters that outclassed it.

 

 

The Kit

This is a new boxing of the recent tooling from Arma Hobby, which was one that many 1:48 modellers had been waiting for, as their 1:72 kits have a reputation for excellent detail, with the inference being that in a larger scale the detail would be even better.  Spoiler Alert: It was and still is, and the detail is present in copious quantities.  The kit arrives in an end-opening box with a sturdy tray inside that prevents the dreaded crushing in storage.  The painting of a white cannon armed fighter having just set fire to both starboard engines of a German Junkers Ju.290, is dramatic and well-executed, with the side profiles of the decal options on the rear of the box. Inside the box is a cardboard tray that contains three sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of pre-cut yellow kabuki-tape masks, 3D printed parts protected in a triangular cardboard insert stapled into a corner, decals, and an instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour, with colour profiles on the rearmost pages.

 

Detail is everything we have come to expect from Arma, with crisp engraved panel lines, fine raised rivets, restrained fabric scalloping effect on the fuselage rear, and plenty of raised and recessed features that should result in a superb model if care is taken during building and painting.  If this is your first Arma kit, you should know that they have a technique of adding stiffening ribs and stringers inside their kits, and they hide away their ejector-pins in places that won’t be seen, usually with a circle of tiny turrets around them.  They are generally placed so that they can be left intact without affecting assembly, but when they do need to be removed, you’ll be advised in the instructions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the lower wing for a change, drilling out holes applicable to whether you intend to fit bombs or drop-tanks under the wings of your model.  The holes are marked in red for tanks, and blue for bombs, which is helpful, and the diagrams are accompanied by a little explanatory text that advises that neither the bombs or tanks are used in the decal options of this boxing, catering to those that might want to use aftermarket decals.  The gear bay is created from a well-detailed section of spar that has a pair of retraction jacks and a pressurised cylinder applied to it, then has the remaining walls and their ribs mated to it and covered by the bay roof, feeding a brass-painted hose through the bay once completed.  Attention then shifts to the cockpit for a moment, building the seat from four parts, which is supplied with decal seatbelts and is glued to the rear bulkhead for later installation in the cockpit, unless you prefer to use the 3D printed seat, which has belts moulded-in, cutting down on the number of parts whilst adding excellent detail.  We return to the wing again, cutting a new rectangular hole nearby, filling in the original with a piece of scrap styrene or filler whilst you are there.  The gear bay assembly is glued into the full-span upper wing, adding another short spar closer to the rear, then joining them together after removing a short length of the ridge behind the landing light bays to achieve a better fit for the inserts.

 

 

 

 

 

Now we learn why we didn’t build the entire cockpit earlier, as it is built in the space between the wings once they are completed, starting with the control linkage and frame, with the foot rests/trays over the top, and a small lever glued to a cross-member on the left.  The side frames are painted and inserted at the perimeter, locating in slots in the upper wing centre, and these are joined by the rudder pedals on a central mount, and a V-frame that stiffens the assembly.  The control column is built from three parts and includes the linkages that lead aft under the pilot’s seat, which is inserted last over the V-braces at the rear, locating on more slots in the upper wing.  Flipping the wing over, a pair of rods are inserted into the bays, their location shown by another drawing that highlights them in blue.  The instrument panel is next, raised details depicting the instrument bezels and other switches, with a decal included for it and the compass that fits between two legs under the panel, which you are advised to cut into sections for an easier fit.  It is glued into the starboard fuselage half with a pair of small pieces of equipment, with six more in the port side, and the option to pose the foot step on the exterior skin in the lowered position, which is a nice touch.  There is also a decal for a pair of dials moulded into the fuselage sidewall.  With that, the fuselage halves can be brought together, seams dealt with, and then carefully mated with the wings, taking care not to damage the lovely detail in the cockpit.  Two vents are removed on both sides of the fuselage low down near the root fairing for the included decal options, then if you plan on modelling your canopy closed, you should also cut away the rails as indicated in red on a scrap diagram at this stage to allow the closed canopy to fit firmly.

 

The underside of the fuselage has a 3D printed insert with the tail-wheel fairing and arrestor hook trough moulded-in, leaving the standard underside on the sprues for this boxing.  The central radiator housing has its core made from front and rear sections with the matrix texture moulded-in, and a circular insert with hosing, all of which is glued to the underside of the fuselage and covered by the cowling that is made from body, intake lip and cooling flap at the rear, locating in a shallow recess in the lower wing that has a horseshoe flange with fasteners to add to the detail, and scribing two panel lines nearby for one decal option.  The tail wheel inserts in the hole under the rear of the fuselage, adding a full-span elevator panel with separate flying surfaces that fills the recess in the top of the tail, fitting the two-part fin to a stepped lug in the fairing, and fixing the rudder to the rear, allowing all the tail surfaces to be posed deflected if you wish.  The main gear legs are made from a strut with a retraction jack moulded-in, and another added to the rear, plus a captive bay door that fits on the outboard side, and a two-part wheel fitted on the inner axle.  Two of the decal options have modified main gear bays, one having the forward section cut away diagonally, the other having a curved cut, likely to avoid damaging the deck during hard landings.  There are clear lenses to cover the landing lights, and the clear wingtip lights have a recess in their mating surface that you can add some green or red paint to depict the bulb before you glue them in position.  The gunsight and clear lens are glued to a recess in the cockpit coaming at this stage, taking care not to disturb it before the windscreen is installed, and slotting a gun camera into the leading-edge of the starboard wing root.  There is a choice of two styles of cannon barrels, using either the styrene parts from the kit, or replacing them with the more detailed 3D printed parts that accompany this boxing.  While the model is inverted, a pitot probe and crew step are added to the port underside, and a clear recognition light is inserted just behind the radiator, painting it a clear amber.

 

The rest of the work on the airframe is done with the model resting on its wheels (if you’ve fitted them yet), installing a choice of 3D printed or styrene exhausts and mounting blisters in recesses in the nose cowling, and an aerial mast in the spine behind the cockpit.  A two-part intake is fitted under the chin, and the prop uses a three-blade part trapped between the spinner and back-plate parts, plus a washer inside the spinner that can be glued carefully to allow the prop to remain mobile after building.  The windscreen is a single part with a rear-view mirror at the peak, and to close the canopy, part T2 is used, but if you intend to leave the canopy slid back, a slightly wider part is supplied, marked T3, with pre-cut masks provided for all options, as well as the wheel hubs and landing lights.

 

As already mentioned, drop-tanks are included for this boxing, built from two halves that trap the location pegs between them, and have a small stencil for one side, only to be used if you are using after market decals and your references require it.  The instructions also show the bombs being built up from four parts each, along with their pylons, even though they also tell you they’re not used for any options in this boxing.  Again, if you are using aftermarket decals, these may be of use to you.  Check your references to be sure.

 

 

Markings

There are three quite different options on the decal sheet, each having a full page of colour profiles at the back of the instruction booklet, with letter codes corresponding to a table on the front page that gives codes for Hataka, AK RealColor, Mission Models, AMMO, Humbrol, Vallejo and Tamiya ranges, which should be sufficient for most of us, although FS numbers are also included for many colours to help you further.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc NF672 ‘7K’, No. 835 Sqn., HMS Nairana, Pilot Sub.Lt. A R Burgham, first half 1944
• Sea Hurricane Mk.X AM277, No. 04 Sqn., HMS Dasher, Operation Torch, November 1942
• Sea Hurricane Mk.IIC JS310 ‘S’, No. 825 Sqn., HMS Vindex, early 1944

 

 

 

There is a small slip of paper inside the kit box, which notes that the decal designers found out at the last minute, that one decal option had a tiger head instead of the decal they had intended, which was pointed out to them by our very own Troy Smith, and Ian Burgham, with a note of thanks to those two.  Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

A fabulously well detailed model that shows amazing attention to detail, and deserves to be the new de facto Sea Hurricane standard in this scale.  The addition of 3D printed parts takes it to even higher levels that have been hitherto unavailable from an out-of-box build.

 

VERY highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of