I hope this dust up doesn't put a stop to the article. It would seem that the two most prolific modelers are at odds. How about splitting the difference. TC could build a ninth model...write about his observations and recommendations in his own unique way and Louis could continue to write in his unique style and give his observations and recommendations. Recommendations being just that with out having to obey hard and absolute rules...let the reader see the differences and make the choices that are best for their personal needs in building the kit. It is a hobby ...a two for one deal with two opinions and a win,win for the community.

By the time I would get around to building the last Hurricane in the stash, the response would be "What 100th RAF group build? I don't remember that. Must have been a long time ago." 🙂

Tonight at the ranch 😉 , I made some progress on the Airfix Hurricane.

But before I get into that, I wanted to share something with you that was sent to me by my good friend, James Robinson... This is a window sticker and I LOVE it ! Now I'm torn between putting it on the back window of my Dodge Ram or do I put it on my Snap On tool box out in the shop ? Either one would be appropriate ...
This is so cool ! Thanks James... you made my day. This is the sort of stuff that sets Imodeler apart form the rest.

back to the Hurricane:

Remember when I mentioned the parts to build a Sea Hurricane were in the box ? Well, here they are. These bad boys are headed right into my Hasegawa Sea Hurricane kit. The Hasegawa kit I'm talking about has a resin plug provided that converts a standard Hurricane into a Sea Hurricane. Hopefully this part provided with the Airfix kit may be a little easier to adapt than using a resin plug... Time will tell.

I started building the radiator. There are some nice details molded into the radiator faces. Even though the instructions advised to paint the inner portions of this with RAF interior green, I decided to paint mine with Aluminum, since this Hurricane is going to have an underside finished with the colors White, Night, and Aluminum.


Here's the part after it was completed and installed.


The details look really nice. If you look closely, you will see where I also added the carburetor air intake. A Vokes filter is also included in the extra parts that Airfix provides with this kit. So you have options.

I decided to glue the wheel halves together. They can be drying overnight. The ones provided in the kit have a flat spot molded into them...and the wheel hubs are a separate part.

The landing lights look very realistic on the Airfix kit. Here I did find a discrepancy between the Airfix and the Classic Airframes models. The CA kit has the landing lights one wing rib farther outboard than the Airfix kit does. Who's right and who's wrong ? I don't know... This opening for the clear cover will look better once I clean it up a little.

Another little difference is how the wing gun openings are molded into the wings. The Airfix kit has them above the leading edge centerline, which is correct from what I have found from online research. The C/A kit provides a resin insert to correct this in my particular kit boxing. It is nice that Airfix got it right.

I sanded down the seams and ran into this... Just ahead of the cockpit, there is a low spot that will probably need a little filler. It's not due to a gap, it is just a low spot. This might sand out if I spent a little more time with this, but then again, I don't want to alter the shape too much... The rest of the kit has been spot on as far as fit. No problems to report here. 🙂

Finally I turned my attention to the control surfaces.

First off, I added the ailerons. These fit really well, and they have an added benefit in that you can pose them deflected should you desire to do so. Airfix even gives the control throw limits !

However, I decided to fix mine in the neutral position.

Once I had the ailerons installed, I assembled the stabilizers and glued them in position too.

Then it was time for the rudder and the elevator. These too can be posed.

I decided to kick the rudder a little off center. Mine is set a few degrees to the Port side. However, if you look at this picture which was taken from directly above, you will see the rudder and fin assembly have been molded offset a tad, just like the real plane was. This was done to help counteract the torque from the Merlin...

I also decided to drop the elevators. These were often seen in the "Down" position when the plane was parked. So I did the same thing...

The Airfix Hurricane is shaping up rather quickly now. Hopefully in a few days this one may have some paint on it...

Finally, I'll leave you all with a picture of the C/A plane (seen on the right in this photo below), and the Airfix Hurricane.

Both kits have provided a lot of fun so far...

and that's what this hobby is all about. 🙂

I'm calling it a night,
Thanks for looking.

As always,
Comments are encouraged.

Hello Louis, first up - what a great sticker! Something about radial engines I just love! Secondly I’m also loving the detail you are showing us here. Those landing lights especially look very nice indeed! Quite a difference overall between those two Hurri’s side by side. Makes a great comparison. They do however both seem to be going together very nicely in your more than capable hands. And Louis, as far as prolific goes - I looked it up in the encyclopaedia - there was a picture of you, 12 Spits, 2 Hurri’s and a BPD!

Chuck,
Yes, all of the control surfaces are pose able on the Airfix kit, with the rudder and elevator being that way on the C/A kit with a little tweaking. I wanted to make it look more authentic, and many of the original era photos I looked at show the elevators dropped. I kicked the rudder off just a little bit to give it some character as you say.

This is my first Classic Airframe kit build. I have more C/A kits in the stash, and have heard that most of them take quite a lot of fitting before committing to glue. But then again, these are kits you would probably never see a main stream kit manufacturer produce, so we are lucky that they were made at all. I still say we live in the "Golden Age" of Modelling... 🙂

I have been really enjoying these new tool Airfix models... Grab one or two if you can. I think you will like them.

It's good to hear from you my friend. Take care.

Hello Stephen,
It is good to hear from you too ... 🙂

Thanks for the information on the "P" factor. I looked it up and you're right on the money, as it described the way the propeller has a tendency to pull the nose of the plane in one way or another (depending on the direction of rotation of the prop), when the tail wheel is on the ground and the engine is being run at higher than normal setting (like on a take off)... 🙂

The Classic Airframes kit has the rudder / fin offset molded into it too. I took a picture to show it and will post it up in my next installment, which is coming up next ...

Looking great Louis! Not to crash the party, I'm going to share a photo of a warbird at rest. In the photo, you can see that the elevators are down. The rudder has been removed for new fabric and finish. In a normal static state, this is how the elevators are, at rest. When we store over night or for longer periods, the rudder and elevators are locked in a neutral setting with slip in clamps and cables, very similar to how the planes were kept while on deck at sea. There is an additional system of cables for the cockpit that lock the control stick in a neutral position, but we don't have that rigging and I have not been able to determine if it was used during war times. Personally, I like seeing the elevators down and the rudder cocked. Looks more realistic for the time period on land based planes. BTW, the wings are at odd angles because we are testing the hydraulics after servicing the system. This is done manually with a hand pump lever on the left side of the pilot seat. We affectionately call it the Armstrong pump. It takes a LOT of cycles up and down to get those monster wings to go up. The landing gear is cycled the same way. It's a bit easier than the wings. 😉

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

I've noticed that C-A got the cloth wing right. They have included sheet metal behind the gun covers for the armor to rest on while loading. Airfix forgot that detail in their 1/72nd kits. Having built a few Hurri's in my time from what Louis is showing and my own experience and TC's, I have to agree that the new Airfix Hurricane is user friendly and the company took the time to look at the competition. Keep up the good work Louis.