1/24 Airfix Hurricane FINISHED

[paddy]

Airfix 1:24 Hurricane
==============
50th Anniversary build

Its been 50 years since i built one of these and 50 years since it was released.
This is the original kit, original boxing and ........original decals (that will not be used )
I bought this on E-bay and understandably a lot of the parts are loose in the box which has also seen better days ( bit like me) It looks like its all there at least , all the important parts

When this was released i remember the propeller could be motorised with a "spin a prop" motor, basically a motor with alternate segments of the armature missing so it wouldn't self start, you had to spin it to get momentum and when stopped it wouldn't draw power so you didnt need a switch........and guess what ? i found one of these in my 50 year old box of bits

Detail is par for the course for the early 70's ,Most parts are a bit "chunky" but that said are far better than the Spitfire and ME109 realised at the same time. For example the Hurricane has wheel well detail, the Spitfire had non in fact the wells were not even boxed in so you just had holes in the underside of the wing, There is little flash, crucially the panel lines and rivets are not raised and this version has a detailed fabric covered fuselage with metal covered wings

I am not sure what to do with this ? the choice is
1/ Build with the panels closed up. This means you can leave out the engine and the panels will fit well.
2/ Build with panels open and display engine knowing you cant them fit the engine panels
3/ Try and build with engine exposed with the panels still able to fit. This would mean knocking a few mm;s of the engine height however if you do this things like the Exhaust will also drop and not align with the fitted panels
4/ Build with panels open and open up extra panels to reveal more ( scratch built) detail

These are the panels that could realistically be opened. Disadvantage here is the detail required would be hugely complicated

Where to Start ?

Well i decided to start with the seat, gotta start somewhere
The kit parts are OK

The head rest armour here is 2mm thick, the equivariant of 2". In fact the amour was about 3/8" thick so scaled down less than 0.5mm

I cut the armour out and replaced it with 0.3mm alloy

The seat is also pretty Chunky so i thinned the sides down by 50%

And added some beading round the edge to simulate a rolled edge which is correct

And this where i have got too so far

................to be continued​

 

[moon puppy]

Really nice treatment on the seat. I've wondered if we can replicate panels like you have with that armor plate.

 

[paddy]

Could be done Bob but it would he difficult if the panel wasnt flat or near flat. might give it a go on things like gun covers on the wings maybe

 

[Rhino]

Pay attention Men!
Professor Paddy's Hurricane class has begun!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Step by step eh Paddy! So far so good. Just a thought in that the engine might be a tad oversized. If that is the case you might have to make other adjustments. I am sure you will do a fabulous job on this.
Back about 1980 I build the 1/24th scale Stuka Ju87B. It wasn't a bad kit though it was released through MPC and the decals were so bad they wouldn't even stick let alone snuggle down. I ended up making masks and painting the markings with an airbrush. It looked quite good till a fateful day when it took a dive and came apart at the seams. Still have it and the parts. Might do a rebuild one day for grins.

 

[paddy]

Yes you are spot on Paul the engine is just too big I will look at the problem in more detail as i get the fuselage halves together
As for the decals, i have already cheated and bought masks

 

[Piet]

Haven't seen this color of plastic for 35 + years !

 

[paddy]

Ha ha yes it was a pretty standard colour for Airfix 50 years ago. Actually compared to the modern sea grey its a lot better as all primers seem to be that same sea grey so at least the blue is a contrast when spraying primer.

 

[paddy]

A lot of the parts are actually here in this kit ie: not just missed out but everything is chunky or just a blob

This is the undercarrage lever, a wiring connector block and i think the thing in the middle is suposed to be the map light , if so its in the wrong place.

I have started to re work this a bit and added the Volts and Amps gauges



its just a question of taking each part and trying to work out how to slim things down a bit and refine them

This is my Hurricane pilots compass P6 model and that little spec on the glass is the kit part.....its actually 4.7mm but should be 5.7mm if its going to be 24 x smaller than the original.
Having lots of fun with this

 

[moon puppy]

Wow! That's some reference material.

 

[jknaus]

Very nicely done. Love the compass.
James

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Some neat stuff there Paddy! Turning a sow's ear into a silk purse does take a lot of work, but in the end it is so satisfying.

Really like the vintage compass.

 

[Impisi]

ohh that will interesting to follow

 

[paddy]

Early Years Gallery Cockpits

A 360 degree cockpit from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

www.nmusafvirtualtour.com

I found this which is great for any budding Hurricane builder

 

[paddy]

The supplied instrument panel is quite good, typically 1970's with a "glass" panel that pushes through the front fascia

I decided to go with the airscale after market part however the original clear part does have the instrument backs which i need so i sanded the instrument fronts off leaving a flat face with the backs retained...........and painted them black

Then green and added some wiring

This looks straight forward but as usual i managed to turn this into a drama
Basically the PE parts consist of a back plate, then decals, then front panel then centre panel decals, then the centre panel its self

The whole thing is a 4 part sandwich which is fine ............if the decals stick to the PE. mine didnt despite using micro set etc.

the whole thing fell apart and i ended up sandwiching the whole lot using Future Klear which seems to have worked. I can tell you decals that have dried and fallen off are very fragile so sticking them in place again with future is not easy
Anyway its worked.

 

[moon puppy]

Lovely

 

[paddy]

How many panels to open ?

Maybe one more ? it means i will have to reconstruct the fuselage frame though

 

[moon puppy]

As many as you want!

 

[Greg Kimsey]

I have been researching and learning so much about Spitfires and Hurricanes and the great Merlin engine, which I now know was named after a bird, the Merlin, a type of swift flying hawk or kestral. I have a greater respect for the Hurricane the more I learn about it; a plane of which I knew literally nothing about (and never even heard of) until you mentioned it in your Spitfire build and began looking it up. I very much want to build one. Thanks for paving the way, for me, yet again.

I didn't think you were a fan of open panels, so I am glad you are opening some up. I am confused about the one you opened though. Isn't that the cockpit wall? Am I seeing it wrong? Or is that where the fuel tank goes? What am I looking at? Sorry to pester you!!

 

[paddy]

Greg, the merlin was a development of the Kestral, another bird of prey, the Merlin without a super charger and reduction mech on the front for the prop was called the meteor and was a tank engine

merlin tank engine - Google Search

www.google.com

The hurricane was really the end of the line of the inter way biplanes like the Hawker hart, hawker hind, hawker demon hawker Fury etc

Designed by the same guy as the Hurricane you can see its roots s here in the Hawker Hart with a tubular frame cockpit and fabric covered everything else.
Hurricanes shot down more aircraft in the battle of Britain than Spitfires and were seen as a much more stable gun platform

This gives an idea of what i am pondering, basically these are all access panels