Brengun 1/48 scale
Hurricane Mk.II/IV Wheel bay

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

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Another recent release from Brengun is a replacement wheel bay for Hasegawa’s 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk.II and Mk.IV kits.
 
This release is an interesting choice by Brengun, because a wide range of aftermarket items is already available for Hasegawa’s Hurricanes, including resin gear bays from Aires and Ultracast.
 
However, there is no doubt that the wheel bay in the Hasegawa kits needs help.  While accurate and finely moulded, it also features 12 prominent ejector pin marks that are almost impossible to remove without destroying detail or damaging the part. 
 
Brengun’s replacement set consists of four parts, all cast in light grey resin.  The largest of these is the wheel bay itself, which looks to be accurate and features delicately cast ducting and wiring, as well as the prominent oxygen bottle.  Detail is superior to that of the Hasegawa part in all areas, but particularly along the forward wall above the oxygen cylinder that, in contrast to the kit, has been moulded as part of the wheel bay.  (In the kit, this wall is attached to the lower forward fuselage insert.)  The casting block for the wheel bay is substantial, and will have to be sawn off with care.

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Fortunately, this is not the case with the other parts of the set – the new lower forward fuselage and two small wheel well frames are only attached to their casting blocks by thin strips of resin, and will be easily removed.  These parts don’t offer much advantage over the kit originals in terms of accuracy or detail, and appear to be necessary because of the structural changes introduced by incorporating the forward wall of the gear bay into the new resin wheel well, as described above.  The replacement fuselage insert in the review sample was also warped, but should be easily reshaped in hot water.
 
It’s worth noting that Brengun’s wheel well is designed as a drop-fit replacement for the original Hasegawa part, and as such only replaces the central bay – Hasegawa has moulded the outer bay and gear attachment points as part of the single piece lower wing.  The Brengun set does not address these parts of the gear bay, trading off extra detail in these areas for simplicity and ease of fit.
 
How do Brengun’s competitors tackle this issue?  From photos on the Internet (I don’t have either the Aires or Ultracast sets), Ultracast’s wheel well appears to be a drop-fit like the Brengun well.  It is highly detailed, but closer in shape to the Hasegawa kit item in that it lacks the forward wall above the oxygen cylinder.  Aires has gone in the other direction, offering a highly detailed, total gear bay replacement, which to fit will require removal of the integral outer bays from the lower wing.  This should look amazing when finished, but will take considerable effort to install.
 
Brengun’s set falls between these two sets in terms of complexity.  It will appeal to modelers who want slightly more detail than is provided by Ultracast, and less work than is required by Aires – in other words, it fills a useful niche. 

 
This is another welcome set from Brengun that should be considered by any modelers looking at improving their Hasegawa Hurricanes.  While the Mk.II/IV wheel well has been reviewed here, Brengun also offers an identically priced set for Hasegawa’s Mk.I kit.  The sets are the same except for the shape of their respective fuselage inserts, which reflect the different lengths of the Mk.I and Mk.II/IV airframes.
 
Highly Recommended.

Reference: 

Richard A. Franks, “The Hawker Hurricane:  A Comprehensive Guide for the Modeller”, SAM Publications, 1999.

Thanks to Brengun Models for the review sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2012 by Brad Fallen
Page Created 6 September, 2012
Last updated 6 September, 2012

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