1/48 Hurricane - Battle of Britain Vet

[Stokesy44]

Airfix's new tool is a lovely looking kit right out of the box. I picked this one up at the IPMS Coventry show on Sunday. It's been on the wish list for a while and I saw it on the first stall in the show!



Panel lines are nice and restrained and the detail looks really good. Airfix must have an eye on future releases as there is a tropical filter and a tail hook hiding among the sprues. There are also two props (variable and constant speed?) depending on which of the two versions you choose to build. I haven't made my mind up yet but I have a suspicion I may look at both and just decide which looks nicer - scientific approach -




Sea Hurricane and Desert fighter hints?




Instructions and decals look nice - all in all, very smart indeed. Only thing missing is a seat harness. Eduard's WW2 RAF fabric job will do the trick and its on its way.

While the harness is in the post I'll work on the outside for a bit. Exhausts need hollowing out which is equal parts fun and frustrating. Also, for some reason, the gun ports are indented but closed. Seatback needs a hole too for the harness. Various drill bits and files later....



That's all for now. Cockpit next up as the harness has now arrived! Nice.

[Avgas]

Looking on in interest. I have this one.

[Nige201980]

be watching this closely this is on the wish list.

[Stokesy44]

Got some of the cockpit done in the last two days.




And then on to the painting.






Check out decal 4 on the sheet, I think its for the volt and amp meters on the left side of the cockpit wall. The box is there but isn't highlighted on the instructions.




Eduard's fabric harness - fiddly in the extreme and whatever you do, don't cut the buckles off before you thread them. Thread them on the sprue


Finished - many many hours later!!


Next up, fitting the harness and drybrushing / washing the rest of the cockpit.

[Paul]

Its a great kit, really enjoyed building mine

[Stokesy44]

Cockpit finished, seatbelts have been added and the seat / back plate glued into the office.




Now things are really speeding up. The wings and fuselage went together nicely. Some sanding needed but nothing major.

[Stokesy44]

It all went together really well. The wing/fuselage join is superb because there are no flat to flat joins, its all right angles, split half way back from the leading edge.



The underside of the rear fuselage is a separate insert but it mates nicely to the fuselage sides. I needed a small plastic card insert where the fairing met the rudder but other than that, easy to install and sand.


After this, the radiator is up next and the air intake, maybe a little more sanding then I can think about priming and painting. That's all for now.

[Stokesy44]

Been in Normandy sightseeing this week so not much to post. Had a fantastic time as we toured the invasion sights and enjoyed some cold beers to cope with the (VERY) hot days.

Little café in the square at St Mere Eglise - comlete with Private John Steele still up there on the steeple!


Back now to the Hurricane. Radiator and air intake finished and added:


Masked off the cockpit and primed with Vallejo Light grey



Next up, pre-shading then spraying the underside. Bit warm right now though....

[Avgas]

Looking good.

[patrickroos]

Looking good!
Nice cockpit!
Just got this kit and it looks really good, have a little itch to build it but must resist for now...

Have a bunch of these seatbelts, not done one yet, but one only has to look at them to understand the patience and fiddling involved!
Good job on yours, looks spot on.

[Stokesy44]

Thanks guys. The harness was hard work alright, I just hope enough will be seen of it at the end. The old Hurri cockpit is a bit tight, these straps would work well on a Spit if you had the crew access door open.

[Stokesy44]

More done yesterday. Camouflage done using white tack and masking tape. Not 100% happy with the brown as it seems too dark, still, some post-shading and dusting will help.






Painted on the canvas gun port covers. They'll be matted down later with some black added where they have been 'blown'



Varnished with Klear in preparation for the decals.



I think I may do the stencils then fade the paintwork a tad before the main decals. Not sure yet.

[Stokesy44]

Put the decals on yesterday - no drama. As previously mentioned I also managed to lighten the brown a little too. Not by much but its a moral victory nonetheless.



Pastel wash came next. Deliberately nice and dark as I want the Hurricane to look well used, not much subtlety here.






Then on to the weathering. Paint chips using enamels. Works well as you can correct as you go. A little bit of white spirit if it looks overdone and you can just start again. Gun smoke and exhaust stain was applied with a fine brush using diluted black and then washed over with a broad brush damp with spirits. Reapplied as required.







Next up is the prop, the canopy and the undercarriage. Progress may be slow - depends how we do against the Aussies in the Ashes

[newpapajack]

Looks fantastic, great stuff! :-D

[Stokesy44]

Thanks Jack.

I think I'm over the line now. Ever notice how hard it is to actually finish a model? There always seems to be one more thing:
Undercarriage
Propeller
Navigation and formation lights
Radio wire
And finally - matt varnish - FINISHED

These are the final WIP pictures so thanks for looking in. I'll do a gallery post of the finished Hurricane in the next few days.

Battered but unbeaten, the redoubtable Hawker Hurricane, one of many, flown by the FEW.

[Avgas]

Damn fine looking build there.

[kruno59]

fantastic mate