Hawker Hurricane Mk. I

by Ian Robertson

Hawker Hurricane Mk. I

Hasegawa's 1/48 scale Hurricane Mk. I is available online from Squadron.com

This is Hasegawa's 1/48 Hurricane Mk.I shown in the markings of an aircraft from RAF No. 32 Squadron, presumably in 1940.

Hasegawa's kit is straightforward and makes a great out of the box project. Nevertheless, I decided to make a few additions and
modifications:

Additions

• CMK resin control surfaces (tail only)

• Squadron vacuform canopy (necessary to show canopy in open position and eliminate the diagonal molding flaw in the front windscreen which seems to be present in all Hasegawa Hurricanes)

• etched brass seatbelts

Modifications

• radiator flap was opened

• cockpit gun sight improved using wire and clear acetate

• exhaust tubes hollowed out with drill

• antennae wire (stretched sprue) threaded through flag on antenna mast

• clear plastic light added to rudder (to replace solid resin light)

• wing tip lights drilled out and painted with Tamiya clear red (port) and green (starboard) to simulate light bulbs.

SnJ aluminum metallizer was applied to the leading edge of the wings, the wing roots, and the fuselage beneath the cockpit entrance. This paint was later exposed in small areas using fine grain sand paper to simulate worn paint.

British Sky Type "S" was used for the underside of the aircraft. The upper camouflage was a standard scheme of British Dark Green and Dark Earth. The camouflage was applied using paper masks held as close to the surface of the model as possible to reduce overspray. Exhaust stains were airbrushed using highly thinned black paint. The exhausts themselves were painted with burnt iron metallizer and then later brushed lightly with orange/brown chalk pastel.

The underside of the aircraft and landing gear doors were subjected to streaks of light brown paint to simulate mud splash from the wheels.

All decals used were supplied from the kit and went on beautifully. I was concerned that the yellow on the fuselage roundels would show through the gray letters, but it did not. Before applying the decals I sprayed the model with several light coats of Model Master clear metallizer sealer. After the decals had dried I applied a coat a Model Master clear flat lacquer.

The photographs were taken outdoors using a SONY digital camera. Minor touchups to the images were made using Photoshop's "blur" tool in order to help blend the model base with the background trees.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Model, Images and Article Copyright © 2002 by Ian Robertson
Page Created 31 March 2002
Last updated 04 June 2007

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