Revell Hurricane Mk IIC in 1/32

By Suresh Nathan

Introduction

Here’s one you don’t see very often. I tend to dread Middle Eastern British aircraft- they tend to be well, dull. The recent issue of the Trumpeter 1/24 scale offering made me take a second look as it featured the option of a No.213 Squadron Aircraft in North Africa, 1942. The unit had experimented with a mottled green over Khaki pattern over the leading edge of the aircraft. This gave it a Cheetah-like quality and I was sold! Ironically, this was featured on the box-art of the kit and offered as a marking option.

The Kit

The Revell kit is the only Hurricane in 1/32 scale. It doesn’t state it but with relatively simple modification it can be made into a Mk I and IIC nightfighter. I was a little bit apprehensive about the decals included in the kit, as they looked old and fragile. To my surprise they were quite useable and very comprehensive including detailed panel and hatch markings (more on this later). My references included Cockpit from Airlife, Walk Around from Squadron and of course the Internet. I had the upgrade set from Eduard but apart from the instrument panel, little else was useable. I believe this must be a really old set as it was a far cry from other Eduard offerings.

Construction

The kit was sanded down and panels rescribed. I wanted to try something which I had read on LSP about a technique in Brazil (I think). The hurricane is unique in many ways. One very noticeable feature is the heavy riveting on the outer wings and tails but recessed panels on the inside. I therefore sanded down only those rivets that needed to go and kept the rest. Unfortunately, the rivets have been produced as washers! Still, I do like the final result. Most of the work went into the cockpit. The kit cockpit was actually quite comical but oddly enough you can make out what the representations are as crude as they are. The only useable part was the backrest, which was flipped around, in the actual model.

The Hurricane was significant in being a transition aircraft built like a biplane but looking like a modern day monoplane. The seat was made from brass.

Critical to the appearance of the cockpit was the tubular airframe and open cockpit floor. I rebuilt the entire thing out of brass, plastic and masking tape.

Note that despite repeated fitting, the instrument panel was slightly oversized and required the fuselage halves to be assembled with a gap, which was filled with superglue.

The canopy was way too thick and I vacuum formed a new one. My references showed that the canopy hugs the cockpit quite tightly unlike many (not just this kit) kits that show it perched too high. With this correction the canopy looked very much more streamlined.

The canopy required fasteners, insulation and handrails.

I had to rebuild the guns with brass. The indicator lights were drilled out and colored from inside. The navigation lights were scratchbuilt and glass vacuum formed over the openings.

Painting

After assembly white primer was used.

I airbrushed the leading edge pattern first freehand. This was masked off and the rest of the kit was airbrushed freehand. This was coated in Humbrol gloss and decaled. The decals were old but surprisingly useable. They snuggled down well with decal setting solution. They were very comprehensive and even included hatch markings (!). The kit was coated in Future floor wax and then Tamiya flat base in Future. A pin wash was used and chipping done with a silver pencil. Exhaust and soot was airbrushed.

The Figure

The figure was converted from stock to look like a figure in one of my references. Details were sculpted with epoxy putty. The figure was primed grey. The uniform was painted with acrylics. It was finished with oils.

Conclusion

This was a nice build. I’ve gotten over my fear of British aircraft now and see a Beaufighter and Mosquito on the horizon!