Hawker Hurricane Mk.I Tropical (Airfix 1:48)

This kit was completed as the aircraft flown by Sergeant Pilot FH Dean of No. 274 Squadron RAF at Sidi Barrani, Egypt in 1941 with the assistance of Geoff Coughlin's excellent series of videos on YouTube.

The aircraft depicted, P2638, had a relatively long operating life for a wartime machine. According to RAFCommands posts, it was part of the initial block of Hurricanes built by the Gloster Aircraft Company between November 1939 and April 1940. It was then included in the first batch of 6 Hurricanes that were delivered to the Middle East in September 1940. These Hurricanes, together with some Blenheim IV bombers, were initially shipped to Tokoradi in Ghana before being flown in stages, over the course of 7 days, across Africa to Abu Sueir in Egypt.

During the course of its operational life P2638 served with a number of different squadrons, starting with No. 3 (RAAF) and then progressing to Nos.274, 73, 80 and finally 208. On 24 July 1942, while on a reconnaissance flight over El Alamein piloted by Flight Lieutenant CSB Montague of No. 208 Squadron, P2638 was shot down by a Bf 109F.

The kit was constructed out of the box with the only addition being a set of Eduard seat belts. The eye-catching scheme shown on the box art was the primary reason for purchasing this particular model. The "sand and spaghetti" colour scheme of the kit was used by a number of RAF units at the time in the North Africa and Greek theatres, probably to imitate the Italian aircraft camouflage when viewed head-on.

Painting started with Alclad Airframe Aluminium over a black base (Alclad Black Microfiller) for the metal-covered parts (wings and front fuselage) and grey AK One Shot primer for the fabric-covered parts (rear fuselage and ailerons). A light coat of Scratches Effects was sprayed over the wing and fuselage areas that would later show weathering. The wing leading edge and fuselage areas that would remain in bare metal were masked off prior to the application of the camouflage colours (AK Dark Earth, Middle Stone and Azure Blue). after removing the masking, the "sand and spaghetti" effect was brush painted in hand-mixed shades of red and green. The wings and fuselage were then lightly sanded with fine grit cloths to begin the weathering process. High wear areas such as the wing roots that were used for cockpit access were scratched and picked using the tip of a wooden cocktail stick.

Decals were applied over a coat of AK Gloss Varnish and then sealed with a further light misting of Gloss. The model was then sprayed with AK Ultra Matt to dull everything and form a base for the final weathering steps.

The exhaust stacks were painted in Alclad Burnt Iron and then aged using various tones of brown soft oil pastels. Grey pastel tones were used for the exhaust stains on the fuselage, while various tones of the browns were employed to add weathering and dust effects to both the upper and lower surfaces to reflect the harsh desert operating environment.

Overall, I am very pleased with the result. Comments and constructive criticism/advice will be welcomed as this is only the eighth kit that I have completed since I re-started this wonderful hobby.

5 additional images. Click to enlarge.