The Hawker Hurricane IIc Trop; Arma Hobby, 1:72
THE HAWKER HURRICANE MK IIC Trop
Arma Hobby kit, 1:72 scale
By Manuel Magrinho 2022
History
The Hawker Hurricane needs no presentation, so let's focus on this particular aircraft and its story, which inspired me to this build. As a matter of fact, it's quite the other way around… for some time I wanted to build a Trop Hurricane and then the great Arma Hobby kit appeared. Having all the stars aligned, it was the moment.
The kit came with the exact scheme I was expecting, and the manufacturer site was all the history. It was just a matter of building it. So, here we go:
(Adapted from the Arma Hobby site)
SAAF Squadrons in Operations
“In the Second World War, South African Air Force (SAAF) squadrons sent to the Mediterranean theatre became part of the RAF order of battle. Their role was not usually a glamorous one, they were not allocated the latest equipment and, if we focus on the SAAF fighter squadrons in the difficult 1941–1942 period, their mission profile often put them at a tactical disadvantage against enemy fighters. Eventually the SAAF units moved to Italy with the rest of the Commonwealth forces and received up-to-date equipment, but by then Axis fighter opposition had all but vanished.
After South Africa had joined the war on 6 September 1939, SAAF 1 Squadron, which can trace its history back to 1922, was initially sent to East Africa. There it had its baptism of fire against the Italians in June 1940. It was equipped with a mix of types, namely the Hurricane Mk I, the Gloster Gladiator and even the Hawker Fury biplane. In April 1941, it was first SAAF squadron to be transferred to North Africa, becoming part of 258 RAF Wing and flying the Hurricane Mk I. It was heavily involved in fighting over North Africa for the rest of 1941 and into 1942. It traded in its Hurricane Mk Is for Mk IIs in September 1941, but the latter were of the IIA and IIB variant, that is, armed with .303 machine guns.
HURRICANE MK IIC
It was only in mid-September 1942 that the cannon-equipped Mk IIc aircraft finally arrived. To their surprise and possibly dismay, the South Africans discovered their IIcs were equipped with the inner pair of cannons only, the outboard Hispanos having been removed. Indeed, all the photos I have seen suggest SAAF 1 Squadron only ever had IIIc's thus equipped, but of course it cannot be ruled out that they had some machines with all four-cannon installed. The cannon-armed Hurricane did not stay long with the squadron. After less than two months' service it was gone, having been replaced by the Spitfire Mk V.
Lt Stewart 'Bomb' Finney and his armourer posing in front of Hurricane IIc HL885 AX-Z 'Oops!'. Clearly, only the inner Hispano cannon is present. Photo: Steven McLean collection.
MARKINGS OF THE HL885
When SAAF 1 Squadron was equipped with the Hurricane IIc, the official unit markings consisted of the code letters AX, usually applied in an unusual rounded type. According to aviation historian Steven McLean, author of the magnificent Squadrons of the South African Air Force, the usual colour for the code letters was not white but pale blue. This was pointed out to him by none other than ‘Bomb' Finney, who remarked that that the man with the brush, responsible for painting the codes on their aircraft, was known as the ‘Duck-Egg Blue Merchant'. Whether the code letters were always pale blue cannot be established from photos, of course.
“BOMB” FINNEY
Stewart ‘Bomb' Finney had joined SAAF 1 Squadron in November 1941 and stayed with it until December the following year. During the 13 months or so, he flew 143 missions in Hurricane IIb and IIc aircraft, as well as in Spitfire Mk Vs just before being rested. After a spell as a flying instructor, Finney flew another tour on Spitfires in 1943–1944 and ended the war with the rank of major. He earned his nickname ‘Bomb' as a legacy of his pre-war work at a dynamite factory in Moddersfontein.
Lt ‘Bomb' Finney's personal Hurricane IIc was HL885 AX-Z, named ‘Oops!' on the rudder and sporting Springbok artwork on the lower port cowling. He flew this particular aircraft 24 times between 26 September and 4 November. On 19 October 1942, Finney's logbook records “a mild dice with 109s”. Perhaps more significantly, he writes that “ack-ack was accurate and at times intense”. There are photos showing damage to AX-Z, possibly as a result of the 19 October operation. Circumstantial evidence is offered by the next two entries. On the 23rd Finney first flew another Hurricane, HL627 AX-X, on ops, and then an air test in HL885, noting “‘Oops!' now serviceable again”.”
Maj 'Bomb' Finney was a brave soldier, a hero, and a legend in his own right. He was popular amongst his fellow South Africans 'Up North' not only for his flying skills but also his leadership, particularly of No 1 Squadron SAAF in Italy.
Maj Finney flew Hurricanes in the Western Desert from 1941 and completed three combat tours, ending as the commanding officer of 2 Squadron in Italy 1945, on Spitfires. Shot down and wounded in 1942, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar, one of only fourteen SAAF fighter pilots to achieve this distinct honour.
'Bomb' Finney added to the lives of all who knew him with his endless curiosity, his sense of humour, patience and kindness. He was always dignified, respectful and courteous - a true gentleman - and, in turn, he was respected and honoured by his peers and the community at large. Under that unhurried, soft-spoken exterior was a man with iron resilience and lightning reactions. Post-war, he studied to become an engineer and had a long and successful professional career until his retirement. The nickname 'Bomb' was acquired when working for a munitions factory.
Building the kit
The Arma Hobby kit is well detailed and a pleasure to build. Not absolutely perfect, but I think it's the better Hurricane kit available at this scale.
There are some sprue gates that could have been more well located and other minor things (also in the instructions) but, in general, it's a good kit.
As always, I started by painting and assembling the cockpit, straight out of the box.
Having the fuselage and wings together, I proceeded with some riveting according to the available documentation for this aircraft. Although the kit has already a lot of detail and panel lines, I believe this extra work worth.
With that step completed, I went on with the rest of the build (reserving the landing gear, propellers, cannons and all the clear parts to the end) and mounting the horizontal stabilizers and rudder actioned.
PAINTING AND WEATHERING
As the parts fit is quite good, the kit just needs a couple of millimetric touches of putty, without the need for primer. Just some isopropyl alcohol rubbing and a light pre-shading remains between painting.
Painting was done with Mr. Hobby and Hataka acrylics, followed by the usual gloss coat before decals and washes to give all the panel lines and rivets some life.
After laying the top gloss coat, I went on with some light brush chipping, more washes and artist oils and some dust pigments. I wanted to achieve a medium, not too heavy, worn, and dusty look. The effect achievement ended with some smoke and oil leaks applied carefully. To seal all of this work, and to help with the wanted look, two matt coats were applied.
The build ended with the placement of the canopy, and painting of the landing, formation and navigation lights first in silver and then in the respective (red or green) clear colours before gluing the clear parts.
Hope you like.
Cheers,
Manuel
Excellent result, Manuel @magrus
Hard to believe that this is just a 1/72 scale.
All the detailing you did and the weathering makes it look like a much bigger scale.
That black/white pictures is amazing, just like the entire build.
Thanks for sharing the history of this aircraft.
Well done.
Thank you @Johnb,
It's a 1:72 scale indeed 🙂
I invested a lot of work and attention in this build as it is quite dear to me. It is one of my favourite aircraft and in the one of my favourites scheme, and I've been wanting to build it for a long time...
Many thanks my friend
Wow - that is a beauty! Your paint and finishing work are just excellent!
Thanks Greg, you are always too kind
Beautiful work on this and a great result. The ARMA Hurricanes are really superb kits.
Many thanks Tom! Yes, their Hurricanes are very good (this is my second)! And I'm waiting for the 1:48 for long ...
Awesome work! The painting and detailing are superb. Providing the history behind it was also great.
Many, many thanks! Much appreciated 😀
Fantastic job, Manuel! it is really difficult to believe it is only 1/72!
Amazing writing as well!
Congratulations!
Hi my friend @fiveten!
Hope you are doing fine.
Thank you for the kind words
All the best
M
It really is an amazing kit so it seems. You did your usual magic here Manuel, great paint work and weathering.
Também eu espero ver este kit em versão 1/48 😉
Thumbs up!
Obrigado @holzhamer !
A great kit indeed 🙂 thanks for the kind words.
Lets see when we get the 1:48 one.
All the best,
M
Nice job, Manuel. Agree with all...certainly looks more like 1/48, especially with your fine touch.
Thank you Sir!
Amazing job! Always nice to see SAAF aircraft on here. I've got a SAAF Hurricane in 1/48 scale in my stash. You've certainly given me some inspiration for my build. I'm always amazed when I see 1/72 scale aircraft with perfectly painted canopies.
Thank you @neillroos!
By all means, go ahead! it's a beautiful aircraft and she really pops in this color scheme. You wont regret 🙂
Any question I may help, please ask.
M
Being South African, and seeing this fantastic build makes me extremely proud, a job well done.
@Marc thank you Sir!