Monogram's "Classic" 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIa
It was a fun kit to make but a lot of extra work was put into this build. Here's most of the work put into this build:
- scratch built the wheel well and cockpit.
- in the cockpit I also used Quinta Studio QD48287 Hawker Hurricane family - 3D-colored Interior decals
- replaced the canopy with a Falcon Vacuform replacement kit
- I had to correct the fuselage spine (turtle back) because the canopy will be placed in the open position so the step needed to be removed.
- reworked the main gear doors and replaced the wheels with a resin set from True Details.
- fixed the outer wing panels dihedral issues by gluing upper and lower thin spars.
- I used decals from AML C8040 which represent the RAF 310th Squadron, with markings for 2 airplanes - Hawker Hurricane Mk.I/IIa (NN-V & NN-U)
- I had to scratch build the landing and navigational lights.
The decal markings I chose were for a Hurricane Mk.IIa flown by Sgt. Zdeněk Škarvada who is Czechoslovakian and joined the Polish Air Force in 1939 but escaped from capture soon after the war started. He migrated his way to England after making his way through Ukraine and then to Turkey, by 1940 he made it to England. After further training from the RAF he was assigned the 310 squadron which was an RAF Czech fighter group in 1941. He flew a Hurricane Mk.IIa code NN-U. This aircraft was eventually delivered to the Soviets while the Squadron had their Hurricanes replaced with Spitfire Mk.Vb. Škarvada later in 1942 flew his new Spitfire and had an engine failure on his last mission. He bailed out and parachuted to the ocean, floating until picked up by a German U-boat and spent the rest of the time as a POW until May 1945. He lived to the age of 97 until his passing on the 11th of May 2013 in Czechoslovakia.
The plus and minus on this build:
- I really enjoyed the 3D decals, this was the first time I have ever used a set like this. It does give the 3D look without taking a lot of extra space. The decals are flexible, it feels rubbery and can be applied on a curved surface. And they look great!
- I was not a big fan of the AML decals for the outside markings. They are beautiful looking decals but ultra thin and I had to apply two coats of Microscale's Liquid Decal Film to keep the decals together for application. By doing this the decals ended up being thicker and caused some silvering issues later on.
- And my final complaint about these decals were the airplane's letter codes colors. It was brighter than the Sky Type-S painted on the tail's band. It looked more like a Duct Egg Blue. Was AML correct with their color choice?
Still I am happy with the build, I've always wanted to have the Monogram Hurricane made and after many years of wanting one, I finally have one displayed.
To read the full build click on the link below and thank you!
https://imodeler.com/groups/aviation/forum/topic/monogram-1-48-hawker-hurricane-mk-iia/
Great build! Decals work good?
Thank you @lis! The decals worked out okay but would not settle to confirm with the raised panel lines and rivets. I tried Micro Sol quite a few times but it remained like a tent. So to cover up the silvering issues, I had to touch it up with paint.
Try decal fit from Tamyia. Strong liquid.
@lis, I will give it a try, thanks!
Remember whip-off liquid from decals because it could damage decals.
Thanks, will do! I ordered a bottle.
Looks good! I remember when that kit came out. The ads made a really big deal about the various opions. I might have actually finished that kit, way back when.
Thank you Rick @rick_h! Back then I built their Spitfire, Wildcat and P-40 but the Hurricane was one I did not have a chance to build until now.
Really nice. I've had some success with stubborn decals using a cloth soaked in very hot water and firmly yet gently pressing the decal onto the model; got rid of some very large tenting doing this. However, once or twice, the area around the tenting slightly ripped and required a touch-up
Thank you George @blackadder57. This has happened to me in the past after using two coats of the Liquid Decal Film but I got away with it because the surface was pretty smooth. If I sanded down the raised details a little I probably could have minimized some of the tenting and silvering.
Really nice result on this oldie, Bob @v1pro
The camouflage scheme turned out beautifully.
I agree that those 3D Quinta decals are always a nice addition.
Thank you John @johnb! Yes the 3D Quinta decals are super nice!
Very nice, Bob. And, a nostalgic trip for me as I cut my modeling teeth on those quarter scale monogram kits. Surprisingly, I don't think I ever built this one.
Thank you Scott @scott57. Same here, I built their other kits but ignored the Hurricane back then. I think Monogram did a nice job on capturing the Hurricane's overall looks.
Bob, I think Monogram did a great job getting aircraft shapes right, especially since they were doing it before laser scanning and CAD design software were a thing. Kind of makes you wonder why some modern kit manufacturers (I won't mention names) get it wrong so often.
I agree!
Looks very nice , Bob @v1pro ! Your extra work on this really improved the looks of it, especially the wheel well you made from scratch … it looks very similar to the one in my Hasegawa Hurricane .
Some of those old Monogram kits are my favorites and often better in some regards to newer releases kits.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Thank you Jay @ssgt! On this build I used my Hasegawa 1/48 Hurricane as a reference. That Hasegawa kit is a beauty. There was a few moments I almost stopped working on the Monogram build and switch over to the Hasegawa kit instead. But I stayed on course for the club meeting's theme...
I’ve got a B.O.B Hasegawa Hurricane to build. I hope soon .
Your Monogram looks great… you brought it up to 21st Century standards
Thanks again Jay @ssgt. The B.O.B. Hasegawa Hurricane Mk.I looks like a great kit!
It was a clinic watching you bring this one together, Bob (@v1pro). All of the improvements you made really bring it up to really high standard. Well done.
Thank you George @gblair!
Your P-40 looks great! I can't wait to see it when you are done with the build.
That turned out great, Bob. I built at least two of those as a kid, and one as an adult around 1986. I’ve always thought it was one of the better early 1/48 Monogram kits. It was the only game in town for a Mk.II until Hobbycraft brought theirs out around ‘88. Then of course Hasegawa did an even better one around ‘94.
Thank you John @j-healy! I was impressed by the overall look of this kit. Monogram did a nice job to make it into a decent looking Hurricane. I have both Hobbycraft and Hasegawa kits in my stash, I want to build both of them. The Hasegawa kit looks very nice!
Great result on that old kit. Your extra work was worth the effort!
Thank you Chas @chasbunch!
Way to spruce up an old kit - turned out great!
Thank you Greg @gkittinger!