Stokesy's FLY 1/32 Hurricane IIc (Trop)

Post by **Stokesy44** » Fri May 08, 2020 2:45 pm

RangerNeil wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 3:07 pm I like the way its turned out - the darker colours look more like how they were. Congratulations on the work thus far.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 2:21 pm Oh yes the cammo looks superb mate

I've struggled using blue tak and Ammo masking putty it just wouldn't stick the the surface and kept falling off. I ended up doing my Spit freehand.

Thank you Gentlemen. I use white tak after someone warned me the blue stuff had a higher oil content and was prone to marking the paint.

Painted some bits and bobs today. Undercarriage fairings, prop tips, hub and some overspray where the camo spraying had touched some unmasked bits underneath. I also took the opportunity to spray a little more blue where the coverage was spotty before. Strangely, it was both ailerons that need a little extra colour.

Then I glossed everything in prep for decals. As hoped it has added some depth to the camo and I'm pretty happy with how it looks now.

Decals tomorrow (or maybe later today) and then another gloss

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Fri May 08, 2020 3:35 pm

Fannagling?
Its a new modelling term

Its looking so gooooood, get the paint on soon, it needs some colour.

DW

Post by **Stokesy44** » Fri May 08, 2020 9:09 pm

Donkeywalloper wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 3:35 pm Fannagling?
Its a new modelling term
Its looking so gooooood, get the paint on soon, it needs some colour.

DW

Errr…. what?

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sat May 09, 2020 7:56 am

On the home run now and looking good

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sat May 09, 2020 7:27 pm

Decals done this morning.

With a couple of exceptions they went down well. Results are ok. They're super thin and no silvering

Bit of a nasty with the 'A', these decals did not like being moved once they were down, despite sitting on Microsol. A little touch up with white paint will solve the problem

No dramas on the underside

The thinness of the decals really told when I put the roundels down on all the rivet detail on the wings. The decal sucked right down onto both the raised and indented rivets. I used the Microsol product for all the decals but the wing roundels also got Microset painted on top to ensure they really sucked down.

Upper surface codes and roundels, they all went down well. The rear fuselage of the Hurricane really lends itself to decals as there are no panel lines or surface detail, just the airframe shape, which the decals sat down nicely on.

Upper wing roundel, 2 coats of Microset to make sure it really sucked onto the surface detail

Next up is a matt varnish then I'll start on the oils and detailing. All good fun

Post by **digger303** » Sun May 10, 2020 2:21 am

Down to one gun today, going to be hard to put up a decent showing against a 109...

After seeing this I'm going to put a Hurricane on the wish list. It needs to be seen as the sturdy stay of the RAF that it was. A under appreciated aircraft while the Spitfire gets all the glory.

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sun May 10, 2020 6:21 am

Looking good and coming together nicely

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun May 10, 2020 9:45 am

Hawkmoon wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 6:21 am Looking good and coming together nicely

digger303 wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 2:21 am Down to one gun today, going to be hard to put up a decent showing against a 109...

After seeing this I'm going to put a Hurricane on the wish list. It needs to be seen as the sturdy stay of the RAF that it was. A under appreciated aircraft while the Spitfire gets all the glory.

Thanks Guys. Yep, down to one gun now. No 3 popped off during the glossing. I heard it ping off and land somewhere behind me. Went looking for it but no joy. Found it the following day though.

If they prove impossible to reattach there's always the option of the plastic versions still in the box. They look ok to be fair so at least I know I have a viable back up.

Completely agree about the Hurricane. The Spitfire was a better aircraft and certainly leant itself to being developed more than the Hurricane (which was pretty much at the end of its design type) but the fact remains for every 3 enemy aircraft shot down during the Battle of Britain, 2 were shot down by Hurricanes.

In terms of availability and capability they were available in sufficient numbers to win the battle, the Hurricane below 20,000 feet was a match for the 109, above it the 109's performance gap got bigger the higher it flew. The Spitfire was a match for the 109 at any altitude and was much easier to fly. The 109 could out climb and out dive both (fuel injection). The Spit's agility is legendary but the Hurricane could turn tighter than it and the 109.

I think Tom Neil put it best. If you take the numbers question out of it he says the Hurricane on its own could not have won the battle (due to the 109s high altitude performance) but the Spitfire on its own would have.

Steven Bungay, the historian described the 3 fighters as thus: The Country Girl, The Lady and The Vamp. I'll leave you to work out who was who

Post by **digger303** » Sun May 10, 2020 9:54 am

Nice bit of easy reading, but I have a question . If the spit needed feul injection to match the 109 why wasn't it provided earlier than it was. Would seem obvious to most you would think on the face of it.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun May 10, 2020 10:18 am

digger303 wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 9:54 am Nice bit of easy reading, but I have a question . If the spit needed feul injection to match the 109 why wasn't it provided earlier than it was. Would seem obvious to most you would think on the face of it.

The RAF first saw the 109 in combat in May 1940, they were immediately aware of the issue when the 109s were able to dive away from the Hurricanes of the BEF just by shoving the stick forward and putting the nose down. On the Merlin, the float carburettor would cause a momentary interruption in fuel flow if the Hurricane did the same thing, flooding the supercharger and causing the engine to lose power while the 109 could pull away (or catch up depending on the scenario). Spitfire and Hurricane pilots would have to roll and pull through into a dive to avoid the negative G that caused the problem - a manoeuvre that lost them seconds of precious time.

Here's how they solved it - Miss Schilling's Orifice. - from Wikipedia

Complaints from pilots over engine cut-out during dives and brief inverted flight led to a concentrated search for a solution. Engine manufacturers Rolls-Royce produced an improved carburettor, but this failed in testing. It was Beatrice 'Tilly' Shilling, an engineer working at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, who came up with a simple device which could be fitted without taking the aircraft out of service. She designed a thimble-shaped brass flow restrictor (later refined to a flat washer) with precisely calculated dimensions to allow just enough fuel flow for maximum engine power. It came in two versions, one for 12 psi manifold pressure and another for the 15 psi achieved by supercharged units.

While not completely solving the problem, the restrictor, along with modifications to the needle valve, permitted pilots to perform quick negative G manoeuvres without loss of engine power. This improvement removed the RAF's Rolls-Royce Merlin-powered fighters' drawback versus the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E machine, whose Daimler-Benz DB 601 inverted V12 powerplant had had fuel injection since 1937. During early 1941, Miss Shilling travelled with a small team to fit the restrictors in one RAF base after another, giving priority to front-line units. By March 1941 the device had been installed throughout RAF Fighter Command. Officially named the 'R.A.E. restrictor', the device was immensely popular with pilots, who affectionately named it 'Miss Shilling's orifice' or simply the 'Tilly orifice'.

This simple measure was only a stopgap: it did not allow inverted flight for any length of time. The problems were not finally overcome until the introduction of Bendix and later Rolls-Royce pressure carburettors in 1943.

Post by **digger303** » Sun May 10, 2020 11:16 am

I was aware of the problem, but had no idea of the Tillies orifice. However why couldn't they simply upgrade to fuel injection engines or was it a matter of tooling up for production and a engine redesign. Still hard to believe they weren't aware of the problem before the war started.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun May 10, 2020 12:43 pm

digger303 wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 11:16 am I was aware of the problem, but had no idea of the Tillies orifice. However why couldn't they simply upgrade to fuel injection engines or was it a matter of tooling up for production and a engine redesign. Still hard to believe they weren't aware of the problem before the war started.

Whilst its well known that production of Hurricanes and Spitfires during the battle far outstripped that of the 109, both RAF aircraft were significantly behind in terms of Air Ministry delivery targets in early 1940, particularly the Spitfire as so much of its construction basis was new. Any kind of design mod to the Merlin might have been catastrophic in terms of deliveries.

The real issue though was no one really thought it was important enough to be considered a problem. Among the RAF and the Air Ministry there was virtually no understanding of modern air combat. Right up until the summer of 1940, fighter pilots were still being taught from the Fighting Area Tactics book that had them flying in tight formations and basically queueing up to deliver a burst at a bomber before pulling away, reforming and doing it again. Many pilots lost their lives due to those tactics and it shows just how divorced from reality the top brass were.

Fighter Command itself was brilliantly conceived and led during the battle but only when the first RAF fighter pilots met the 109 in sustained combat did an understanding of modern air combat influence tactics and aircraft requirements. It was only when the pilots themselves found it to be a problem that it got looked at and fixed.

Bit of trivia for you - the only senior RAF officer to fly the Hurricane and Spitfire, above the rank of Group Captain, was Air Vice Marshall Park - AOC of 11 Group.

Post by **digger303** » Sun May 10, 2020 2:40 pm

I like that answer. I knew Parke had his own personal plane,which I did find surprising as I would have thought they would have kept him firmly on the ground.

Post by **RangerNeil** » Sun May 10, 2020 3:57 pm

Stokesy44 wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 10:18 am
digger303 wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 9:54 am Nice bit of easy reading, but I have a question . If the spit needed feul injection to match the 109 why wasn't it provided earlier than it was. Would seem obvious to most you would think on the face of it.
The RAF first saw the 109 in combat in May 1940, they were immediately aware of the issue when the 109s were able to dive away from the Hurricanes of the BEF just by shoving the stick forward and putting the nose down. On the Merlin, the float carburettor would cause a momentary interruption in fuel flow if the Hurricane did the same thing, flooding the supercharger and causing the engine to lose power while the 109 could pull away (or catch up depending on the scenario). Spitfire and Hurricane pilots would have to roll and pull through into a dive to avoid the negative G that caused the problem - a manoeuvre that lost them seconds of precious time.

Here's how they solved it - Miss Schilling's Orifice. - from Wikipedia

Complaints from pilots over engine cut-out during dives and brief inverted flight led to a concentrated search for a solution. Engine manufacturers Rolls-Royce produced an improved carburettor, but this failed in testing. It was Beatrice 'Tilly' Shilling, an engineer working at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, who came up with a simple device which could be fitted without taking the aircraft out of service. She designed a thimble-shaped brass flow restrictor (later refined to a flat washer) with precisely calculated dimensions to allow just enough fuel flow for maximum engine power. It came in two versions, one for 12 psi manifold pressure and another for the 15 psi achieved by supercharged units.

While not completely solving the problem, the restrictor, along with modifications to the needle valve, permitted pilots to perform quick negative G manoeuvres without loss of engine power. This improvement removed the RAF's Rolls-Royce Merlin-powered fighters' drawback versus the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E machine, whose Daimler-Benz DB 601 inverted V12 powerplant had had fuel injection since 1937. During early 1941, Miss Shilling travelled with a small team to fit the restrictors in one RAF base after another, giving priority to front-line units. By March 1941 the device had been installed throughout RAF Fighter Command. Officially named the 'R.A.E. restrictor', the device was immensely popular with pilots, who affectionately named it 'Miss Shilling's orifice' or simply the 'Tilly orifice'.

This simple measure was only a stopgap: it did not allow inverted flight for any length of time. The problems were not finally overcome until the introduction of Bendix and later Rolls-Royce pressure carburettors in 1943.

It does raise the interesting question of why RR never opted for fuel injection from the start given the Bf-109 saw combat in the Spanish Civil War between 1936-1939. I am assuming of course that RR, the RAF and the War Office would have had a close eye on that given the way Europe was shaping up...

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sat May 16, 2020 10:06 pm

Thank goodness the weekend got here!

A couple of house keeping jobs. Decals and gloss seal on the prop and put the tailwheel together and tested the fit.

The wheel itself is resin, hence the colour difference

Then it was on to oils and a genuinely new process for me with aircraft so I was making it up as I went along. Intention was to produce a faded, sand blasted long exposure to elements kind of look. Started with the underside and started SMALL! Tail section first. Process was:

White applied evenly and thinned with a flat head brush
Tan applied sparingly as above
Burnt umber applied on surface detail
Thinner to blend

Tail section

Centre section and rear fuselage. I wanted to show increased dirt here from the undercarriage, I also started to highlight rivets and panel lines

Panels and rivets

Applying the highlights the the panels, flaps, ailerons and rivets - pre-blending

Blended

Some more finessing to be done along with individual staining but this is the underside pretty much done.

Post by **ElCapitan** » Sat May 16, 2020 10:56 pm

That's a really cool effect you've managed to get. I might just have to try it sometime!

Everything's looking awesome - great work!

Post by **BigWall** » Sun May 17, 2020 1:02 am

Coming along nicely! Great job!

Post by **digger303** » Sun May 17, 2020 2:59 am

very subtle and pleasing result

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sun May 17, 2020 7:39 am

Very nice result and looks good to me

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun May 17, 2020 9:44 am

ElCapitan wrote: Sat May 16, 2020 10:56 pm That's a really cool effect you've managed to get. I might just have to try it sometime!

Everything's looking awesome - great work!

Hawkmoon wrote: Sun May 17, 2020 7:39 am Very nice result and looks good to me

digger303 wrote: Sun May 17, 2020 2:59 am very subtle and pleasing result

BigWall wrote: Sun May 17, 2020 1:02 am Coming along nicely! Great job!

Thank you Gentlemen. Plan is to do the upper surfaces today, starting small at the tail again as I don't think replicating the colours used on the underside will work

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun May 17, 2020 7:29 pm

Pretty much finished off the oils this afternoon.

It was harder working on the camo than on the underside yesterday. Highlighting panel lines and rivets were much harder as I experimented with colours to get a uniform (ish) final look.

Finished the prop, wheels and undercarriage fairings too.

I'll let it cure tonight then its another coat of varnish before detail painting, spraying for engine staining, canopy and finally the undercarriage.

And putting the guns back on!

Post by **BigWall** » Sun May 17, 2020 10:26 pm

It's looking better all the time!

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon May 18, 2020 6:41 am

Nice result on the weathering and looking good

Post by **Tomcat64** » Mon May 18, 2020 10:42 am

Nice work on all the weathering mate - that's really starting to look the business.

Been catching up on the thread as well and some really interesting stuff about the fuel delivery problems a page or so back too.

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Fri May 22, 2020 6:34 pm

See what happens when you're not around for a little bit

Great work here mate, it's really all coming together very nicely

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun May 24, 2020 6:59 pm

Thanks Guys.

The extreme winds put paid to my intentions yesterday, opened the window to feed my extractor hose outside and the wind blew it shut! Any attempt to vent would have blown the extracted air back into the room so I abandoned that idea and sorted out the undercarriage instead.

After painting the tail wheel and the hubs on the mains I got to work with the superglue. Surprisingly, both legs fit really well with the minimum of realignment required.

She's on her own feet for the first time - woohoo

Classic Hurricane profile

Couple of ground view shots, looking like a proper Hurricane now

Pilots eye view for a scramble

What's left? More spray work for the engine exhaust smoke and the windscreen and canopy then chipping and I think she's done.

Post by **digger303** » Mon May 25, 2020 12:42 am

Had some extreme wind and dust storm myself as well. Post some pics tonight.

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Mon May 25, 2020 7:12 am

On the last hurdle now and looking good

Post by **Tomcat64** » Mon May 25, 2020 10:43 am

Great to see her up on her legs now - she's really looking the part

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Mon May 25, 2020 11:11 am

Home straight now mate, looking good, really good

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon May 25, 2020 11:49 am

Fantastic work Stokesy! I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing this come together and you have done a beautiful job of this Hurricane.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Tue May 26, 2020 9:29 am

Thanks everyone

I've slowed to a crawl on this one

Finally got the canopy and windshield painted. Also installed the gunsight with DIY glass after the kit part went walkabout. Rearview mirror still to be painted.

Cannon barrels reinstalled - for how long?

Radiator flap, radio mast and wire, engine exhaust smoke and chipping still to do.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Tue May 26, 2020 11:08 am

That's looking superb mate - the addition of the canopy and barrels makes it feel like another step closer

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun May 31, 2020 9:58 am

Didn't get much done yesterday, combination of tiredness and watching cricket replays on SKY

Radio mast and receiver, stirrup step for pilot, pitot tube, rad flap, rearview mirror reattached (I knocked it off).

Still to do - engine smoke, chipping, painting the rad flap and attaching radio wire

Might finish today but there's more cricket on and a BBQ in the offing!

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Sun May 31, 2020 10:53 am

There's no rush mate, it's all moving along very, very nicely

enjoy the BBQ

Post by **digger303** » Sun May 31, 2020 12:55 pm

It's a long way from when it was just parts on a sprue.

Post by **BigWall** » Sun May 31, 2020 4:40 pm

It's looking great!

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Sun May 31, 2020 6:23 pm

All looking good and nice work

Post by **Tomcat64** » Mon Jun 01, 2020 4:01 pm

The other lads have already summed it up but those little steps bring it closer each time - but don't rush to get it done, you've invested far too much time in it for that!

It looks great mate, really does

Post by **Stokesy44** » Tue Jun 02, 2020 8:58 am

Tomcat64 wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 4:01 pm The other lads have already summed it up but those little steps bring it closer each time - but don't rush to get it done, you've invested far too much time in it for that!

It looks great mate, really does

Hawkmoon wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 6:23 pm All looking good and nice work

BigWall wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 4:40 pm It's looking great!

digger303 wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 12:55 pm It's a long way from when it was just parts on a sprue.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 10:53 am There's no rush mate, it's all moving along very, very nicely enjoy the BBQ

Thanks Guys, you're right of course. I don't want to muck it up by going off half-cocked so close to the finish. A decent session at the weekend will see her home me thinks.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Thu Jun 04, 2020 3:18 pm

OK, I am calling this done!

Paint chipping and smoke effects done for the exhausts and the cannons

I've really enjoyed the challenge of a short run kit and my first large scale aircraft for about 3 years. It might have been a bit of a trial if I didn't love the Hurricane so much. Pleased with the outcome and raring to go on the next project. Cant really ask for more than that for my coin can I?

Thanks for looking in and thanks for all your comments along the way.

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Thu Jun 04, 2020 6:39 pm

Superb result mate

The chipping, weathering and staining looks great

Post by **RangerNeil** » Thu Jun 04, 2020 7:01 pm

First class result - very, very, impressive. Congratulations!!!

Post by **Hawkmoon** » Thu Jun 04, 2020 7:31 pm