Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane MkI

Airfix 1/72 Hawker Hurricane MkI

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Eric Mc

Original Poster:

122,853 posts

272 months

Tuesday 10th November 2020
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I wanted to build at least one kit to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. I finally settled on the "newish" Airfix 1/72 Hurricane kit. It's a bit atypical of Battle of Britain Hurricanes in that it is a has the original fabric covered wings. By the Summer of 1940, most Hurricanes in service had metal covered wings. KW-Z still survives, hanging from the ceiling of the Science Museum. It is the last surviving example of a fabric winged Hurricane.

I really enjoyed this build as it all fitted together pretty well with virtually no filler required.






robemcdonald

9,127 posts

203 months

Tuesday 10th November 2020
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Very nice Eric

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

122,853 posts

272 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
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I really enjoyed building it - especially as my usual fare tends to be model kits that first saw the light of day over 40 years ago.

It was nice to build something that pretty much fitted properly and had some nice and cleverly sorted detail.

henryk001

590 posts

165 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
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[quote=Eric Mc]I wanted to build at least one kit to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. I finally settled on the "newish" Airfix 1/72 Hurricane kit. It's a bit atypical of Battle of Britain Hurricanes in that it is a has the original fabric covered wings. By the Summer of 1940, most Hurricanes in service had metal covered wings. KW-Z still survives, hanging from the ceiling of the Science Museum. It is the last surviving example of a fabric winged Hurricane.

I really enjoyed this build as it all fitted together pretty well with virtually no filler required.

Very nice display model. It is the unsung hero from what ive read and watched on documentaries compared to the Spitfire.

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

122,853 posts

272 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
quotequote all
Maybe to some members of the general public it may be "unsung"- but I think the Hurricane is usually given its correct relevance in documentaries and histories of the Battle.

It was responsible for downing more enemy aircraft during the BoB than all other defences combined. As a pure fighter though, the Hurricane was already beginning to show its age and the Spitfire was definitely in the ascendancy. However, the Hurricane had a very good record throughout the war and excelled in lots of other theatres and roles right to the end of the conflict.

About ten years ago, I built a "snap-together" Hobbyboss Hurricane II in North African colours.


Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

268 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
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Eric, what does the yellow square on the port wing tip signify?

Beautiful build btw.

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

122,853 posts

272 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
quotequote all
Thank you.

It's a gas detector panel. It was supposed to change colour if there was a gas attack. You see them on quite a few aircraft in that period.

In 1939/40, the British government were very worried that Germany would attack using gas bombs. That's why everybody was issued with a gas mask. Imagine the infrastructure needed to ensure everybody in the country - including babies - had a gas mask.

You have to wonder how they could do that in 1939 but we can't do something similar 80 years later.

Yertis

18,642 posts

273 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
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I suppose they’d had two or three years to prep in 1939, rather than a couple of weeks (not that I’m excusing the Government’s inept pandemic planning).

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

122,853 posts

272 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
quotequote all
Certain aspects of planning had begun after 1933 (such as the expansion of the RAF) but other aspects only really kicked in after the Munich Crisis in 1938. So, maybe not as much time as you might think.

Wacky Racer

38,964 posts

254 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
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That looks lovely Eric. You certainly have an eye for detail.

In the 1960's I used to have a Kiel Kraft control line Hawker Hurricane with a glow plug motor...great fun at the time.

I think I made virtually every Airfix aircraft they made up to 1970 as my dad owned two model shops in the north west that were crammed full of Airfix, Revell and Monogram kits. smile

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

122,853 posts

272 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
quotequote all
Wacky Racer said:
That looks lovely Eric. You certainly have an eye for detail.

In the 1960's I used to have a Kiel Kraft control line Hawker Hurricane with a glow plug motor...great fun at the time.

I think I made virtually every Airfix aircraft they made up to 1970 as my dad owned two model shops in the north west that were crammed full of Airfix, Revell and Monogram kits. smile
That would have been my idea of heaven when I was about 14.

The Airfix kit is pretty good although I did amend a few bits. I cut out and glazed the wingtip navigation lights and I also added a bit of extra detail on the landing lights.

A few weeks ago I paid a visit to Duxford and the Shuttleworth Collection and got some nice close up photos of various areas of their Hurricanes. It's amazing what you see when you can get right up close to these aeroplanes.

tight5

2,747 posts

166 months

Wednesday 11th November 2020
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Looking good.
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