Hasegawa 1/48 Hurricane Mk.II by Roland Sachsenhofer

Hasegawa's 1/48 scale
Hurricane Mk.II

by Roland Sachsenhofer

Hawker Hurricane Mk.II Kings Cup 1950

Hobby Boss' 1/32 Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop is available online from Squadron

Introduction

The Hawker Hurricane can claim to be a true aircraft legend. Now there are of course some outstanding and particularly famous machines within the enormous number of 14,533 built examples of this type. The model of the model presented here can certainly be counted among them - for which hurricanes do the following keywords apply to: last built model, conversion and use as racing aircraft at the "Kings Cup", part of an unfortunate love story, film actor, one of the last still flying models...?

Hurricane PZ 865 "G-AMAU" has experienced a lot, but before I go into these interesting stories, I would like to say a few words about the forms of Hasegawa.

Construction, Painting and Decals

Hasegawa released this kit in 2012 based on their 1997 Hurricane edition.

This is reflected on the one hand in the good quality of the parts and a fitting accuracy that can only be described as outstanding. On the other hand, as can be expected from this manufacturer and the kits of that time, the detail forms are for the most part beautifully pronounced, but not outstanding in their overall effect. The shown sheet metal joints and other structures seem to me to be much too deep or seem to be washed out.

When detailing the cockpit, belts and etched parts from Eduard helped me. The pulpit cannot be opened without sawing, which was no problem for me with this project.

The only major conversion for a civilian version of the Hurricane was to fit new exhaust shapes. These parts, reminiscent of a Spitfire exhaust system, are included in the kit as beautifully shaped white metal pieces. To install them, a part of the engine cowling must be reduced with a piece of plastic strip, filler and the use of abrasives. But this can be done quite well and without problems, because the exhaust pipes have to be mounted in the last construction steps.

In general, it can be said that the high-quality components quickly add up to the beautiful shapes of a hurricane; overall, there is no tendency towards an overflowing project. The further reconstruction like the "de-militarization" of the surfaces and the conversion of the antenna system to a whip antenna mounted on the back can be achieved without any problems.

The decals caused me a certain concern in the run-up. Apart from their size and the Hasegawa-typically thick carrier film, I was particularly interested in how their gold tone would prove its worth. But, to make a long story short, everything was very nice to use and with a clear varnish layer used as a base as well as another layer which helped to seal and level the decals, the result was quite respectable from my point of view.

Conclusion

So how does a dark blue Hurricane racing machine come about? PZ 865 is in fact the very last one made in 1944, "the last oft he many". The machine remained with Hawker and was painted in 1950 in their "coat of arms" dark blue and gold. Registered as "G-AMAU" and sponsored by Princess Margaret, it entered the Kings Cup race for the first time in 1950 and finished second. In the cockpit was the well-known Hurricane fighter pilot Peter Townsend.

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Between Her Royal Highness and Townsend, a relationship was established that was initially kept secret and later made public, but ultimately had to be ended as too scandalous.

PZ 865 traded in the sixties in the well-known film production "Battle of Britain". Shortly afterwards it was given by Hawker to the "Battle of Britain Memorial Flight", in whose flying equipment it is still represented. Her appearance has changed several times since 1950: today she wears the colours of a Hurricane Mk IIC, HW840, with the code '"EG-S" of the 34 Squadron, which had been used in Southeast Asia in 1944.

PZ 865 is therefore truly an aircraft with history(s)! Together with the high quality kit, this background made the project a very entertaining and enjoyable model building experience.

If you are interested in the building process, please have a look here on Scalemates: https://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=10148&p=albums&album=49149

As ever, remarks will be appreciated: ro.sachsenhofer@gmx.at

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