1/48 Hurricane Mk.I - Defense of Britain/Atlantic.

[chris brown]

Username: Chris Brown
First name: Chris
Category: Advanced
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Airfix new mold
Model Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Aftermarket addons: Eduard PE and resin wheels and exhaust. Sky Model decals

I will be modeling Pilot Officer A V "Taffy" Clowes' Hawker Hurricane Mark I, P3395 'JX-B',of No 1 Sq. RAF. The wasp emblem was painted on the nose of his aircraft during the Battle of Britain, Clowes adding a new stripe to the body for each enemy aircraft which he shot down. His final score was at least twelve.

 

[rochie]

Another Hurricane, very nice !

 

[chris brown]

You can never have too many Hurricanes, right?! Ive been dying to build one of Airfix's new kits and this GB seemed like the perfect time to try one out. I've had a crazy busy summer,trying to sell two houses and finding a new one to move into along with our first born child expected any day now, so I apologize for not being around much lately, but I hope to get back into the rhythm here soon.
Like I mentioned in the intro I will be modeling "Taffy" Clowes Mk.1 Hurricane. I haven't been able to find a whole lot of info on him or his plane, but I really like his nose art. The decals have been in a few boxings over the years, so it seems like a popular kite.

Feel free to post any additional pics or info you might have on the plane or Taffy.
In my next post I will do a mini-review/ first impressions of the Airfix's kit.

 

[Wurger]

 

[chris brown]

Thanks to Hannant's and a very nice exchange rate I was able to get the kit and lots of goodies to go with it delivered to my door for $41 USD. I bargain IMHO.

The kit is molded in light gray plastic with engraved panel lines and some raised details where appropriate. The fabric covered areas of the plane are beautifully molded with restrained details that look very convincing. The raised fasteners on the other hand will need to be sanded down to a more realistic finish.

The surface of the plastic has a very fine pebbley finish that is barely noticeable and I don't think will present any problems under a coat of paint. If anything it might help the paint to stick better.

All the control surfaces except the flaps are molded separately and once again the fabric effect looks very convincing.

Although not mentioned in the instructions, the kit comes with all the parts needed to a MK 1 Sea Hurricane as well. A tropical filter is also included , but I'm not sure if any other parts are needed to make a Tropical version.

Another nice feature of the kit is that it includes two sets of tires and landing gear covers so that it can be modeled on the ground or in flight. They even sell a separate stand thats designed for the kit to pose it in flight.

The gun bays in the wing can be opened up and the they have included all the parts necessary to show off the gun bays including separate access doors and the guns themselves.

The instructions are nicely printed with CAD drawings that show you exactly where every part goes. There are over 50 steps in the construction process, and this is mostly so you can see every part and its exact location.

They include full color 4-view artwork showing the camo colors. The one negative with the instructions is they only give Humbrol paint numbers for color call-outs. They don't even include the color names in the instructions anywhere except the exterior camo colors, so you are left to look up the Humbrol color codes to determine what color they are even calling out in the instructions while building the rest of the kit.

I'll finish my review and first impressions in my next post. Thanks for looking in!

 

[chris brown]

And the review continues....
The cockpit of the Hurricane is fairly complex with a tube framework and a open floor with foot troughs by the rudder pedals that Airfix has captured the look of quite well.

Most ejector pin marks are in places that won't be seen, but a few will need to be filled in. The details on the sides of the cockpit is a little lacking, but I'm not sure how much will be seen after the tube framework is put in place. The instrument panel is nicely molded with raised details and a decal is included if you don't want to paint it.

Two wing spars are used to create a nice strong joint between the fuselage and wings and they also are used to help box in the wheel wells and gun bays.

Two props and spinners are included in the kit, but there is no Watts two blade prop.

The wheel hubs are molded separately to make painting easier.

The clear parts are molded beautifully and crystal clear with two canopies included. One is for a closed canopy and the second one is slightly wider to be used for an open canopy. The clear parts include wing tip lights as well as landing lights that include both the lens and the bulbs. A nice touch.

The decals look sharp and are printed in register with a minimum of clear carrier film. The decals include a good number of stencils including some for inside the cockpit. The one thing I did notice is that the gray used for the letter codes on the fuselage is much darker than either the Sky model decals or the artwork on the front of the box. I can't say I know enough about RAF markings to know which is accurate.

Speaking of the Sky decals, they are a great value featuring 15 different planes with a wide variety of markings and variants and only cost me around $5 bucks.

Last up, I wanted to include pics of the extras. The exhausts and wheels included in the kit are more than adequate but the resin bits from Eduard really add a nice touch. The wheels include masks to help with painting and the resin bits come packed in a sturdy package with foam to help hold everything in place.

The Eduard PE set I got is an older one for the Hasegawa kit. It should work well enough and it cost 1/3 of the price of Eduards new PE set that is designed for this Airfix kit. As happens more often than not with Eduard, the color used for the interior looks off to my eyes, so I will probably mask and respray the grey-green color when I paint the rest of the cockpit sides.

Well that's it. Overall I think its a great kit. I have dry-fit a couple of the pieces and so far the fit looks great. We will see if it ends up that way. At around 20 bucks it seams like a great value. I don't know the Hurricane well enough to say if they got all the shapes just right, but the kit makes a great first impression. They even off-set the vertical stab just like on the real plane to counter the torque from the engine. I will hopefully dig into it soon and have some more updates.

 

[fubar57]

Nice Chris. Looking forward to this. I notice that there are options for a Sea Hurricane which had some nice oddball schemes. Regarding the codes. I've read that they were a mix of mid greys well into 1940. Other more knowledgeable people should set it straight.



Geo

 

[Crimea_River]

The colours would almost certainly be the standard Dark Earth/Dark Green/Sky of the period and the camouflage pattern would be the "A scheme" matching your odd numbered serial. The A scheme is a mirror image of the one shown on your instruction sheet. The scheme is shown on the below graphic but, for God's sake, ignore the colours!

 

[Airframes]

Nice one Chris, and I agree with Geo regarding the code letters - they look about right for the Squadrons concerned, as there were variations in shades.
Hang-fire on sanding down those raised details, such as the cowling fastening 'buttons' and some on the wings, until you have a chance to study some close-up detail shots. The Hurricane did have some lump and bumps, and some of that detail might look fine under a coat of paint and the clear coats.

 

[le_steph40]

Like I mentioned in the intro I will be modeling "Taffy" Clowes Mk.1 Hurricane. I haven't been able to find a whole lot of info on him or his plane, but I really like his nose art. The decals have been in a few boxings over the years, so it seems like a popular kite.

Feel free to post any additional pics or info you might have on the plane or Taffy.

Hello Chris,

Some info according Aces High by Christopher Shores and Clive Williams => Arthur Victor Clowes RAF Nos.563046 (NCO); 44780 (officer)
"Darky" and not "Taffy" joined the RAF in January 1929 at Halton as an Aircraft Apprentice. Hurricane P3395 was his mount during late August and early September 1940.
Revised total victories: 10 1 shared destroyed, 1 shared unconfirmed destroyed, 3 probables 2 damaged

CLOWES Arthur Victor story and victory list in French...

 

[rochie]

Sometimes the decals colour is thrown out by the backing paper and look fine once placed on the model !

Sky decals are great, I have their Fw190 sheet, instructions are a bit rubbish but they do the job.

 

[Donivanp]

Now Chris this is the way to go. I have always loved the Hurricane over the Spitfire and this looks like a nice kit.

 

[Wayne Little]

Great choice, this kit is an excellent release by Airfix, mine are reserved for Finnish and Romanian birds...

 

[chris brown]

Thanks for all the feedback and info guys. I too have always had a fondness for the Hurricane over the Spitfire. Something about its rugged good looks. Same thing with the Thunderbolt over the Mustang. I should have an update in a couple of days, but in the mean time I wanted to share my best model yet. Her name is Olivia and she was born yesterday weighing in at 6 lbs. 11 oz. Her and her mom I are both doing great. She is our first child and I couldn't be happier.

 

[fubar57]

Congratulations Chris. Lovely looking daughter. My only advice to you and the missus....when baby sleeps, you sleep.




Geo

 

[Crimea_River]

So much for the Hurricane....

Congratulations Chris!

 

[rochie]

Many, many congratulations Chris !

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Hearty congrats to you and the missus Chris, what a bonny little girl.

Oh………………and I like your Hurricane choice and by the look of it, Airfix are sure muscling their way back into the modelling world.

 

[Wurger]

Congratulations Chris. Well done.

 

[Airframes]

Bl**dy nice build there ! Many congratulations, and I agree with Geo re the sleep !