Hawker Hurricane 1:1
Early last week a friend of mine texted and asked if I could fit in a noseart project before the 4th of October. The American Heritage Museum in Stow Mass. had recently taken delivery of its newly restored Hawker Hurricane Mk. XII RCAF 5481 that has been painted in the markings of P/O William Dunn's Z3267 and needed the noseart. How could I say no? After a 7 hour drive to Albany Friday afternoon I got cracking first thing Saturday morning. Using the photo of Dunn standing next to the noseart I could line up the approximate position and size of the Eagle almost down to the rivet. I used a ‘One Shot' sign painters enamel and it laid out beautifully. After two marathon days of painting the panel was ready to be fastened back on the airframe. Thankfully they didn't want to use a vinyl decal or stenciling. I've done several nose art pieces, but never on an actual warbird…this was pretty special. I did spend a bit of time in the cockpit making airplane noises…one thing that struck me was how complicated this airframe is put together. It's beautiful mix of functional engineering and mad science project. She was rebuilt in England and the attention to detail is beyond compare.
Dunn shot down 5 Germans while flying with 71 Squadron, before being wounded and spending 3 months in the hospital. He eventually transferred to the USAAF and returned to England as CO of the 406th FG flying P-47s. Depending on your sources…I've found most agree he finished WWII with 6 air to air victories and numerous strafing credits. He went in to serve in the USAF until retirement in 1973. He had been an avid modeler his whole life and gained some notoriety with the AMA as an RC pilot. The AHM Hurricane will go a long way in keeping his memory alive. Such a neat deal to be a small part of recreating this piece of American history.
That is super cool. Nice work on this 1:1 bird. Now you need to build a 1:48 with the same nose art.
You’re exactly right. I spent a good amount of time on Google today looking for a decal sheet or kit. Definitely going to the top of the list
If you can design it digitally you can get a custom set printed at Fusion scale graphics
Thanks for the heads up...this will probably be the way to go!
Here are some more shots. These are amazing machines…so different than American types from WWII
24 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Congratulations, Jim!
Awesome!
Thanks Spiros!
Very nice work on the nose art. The second internal of the fuselage really brings the mad scientist idea home. Thanks for including the cockpit photos as well.
OK, you just officially "won" the anecdote competion of all would-be storytelling modelers. That's just too cool.
Thanks David, this was truly an unexpected project and honor. Can't say my hand wasn't shaking a bit during the first few strokes. 😀
Great work! Dunn’s memoir “Fighter Pilot” is a good read if you can find it.
Been there. Great place. The P-40B surprised me.
They have a lot more coming as well, an airworthy Stuka, and a P-47...just to name a couple.
What an amazing experience for you Jim @jimh
Congratulations on an awesome job recreating the original nose art.
And thank you for sharing all the walk around pics of the Hurri. These will be gold for anyone modeling the Hurricane 😎😎😎
Thanks Scott, she's a gorgeous machine and fortunately the side panel was off to get some rare interior shots. Wouldn't mind doing a 1/32 version now!
Excellent paintwork, Jim @jimh
It must be great to be able to work on such a classic bird.
Thanks for sharing all those images.
Well done Jim, thanks for sharing.
Wow! Maximum respect!
Thanks Ross, it was the cherry on the top of a beautiful restoration. Most warbird owners are just as much in to the markings as we are...Cartograf just doesn't make them that big 🙂
Well done all around, Jim. That museum is on my list and not too far from PA.
It's an amazing place, and still off the radar to most people. They have huge plans for the new building, including the B-24 Witchcraft. Sad to see some of them stop flying, but they will have a good home.
Excellent! How cool!