The Airfix kit
The original kit of the Hawker Hurricane that has been in the Airfix line up has been around nearly as long as I have and believe me you don’t want to know about that. So, it is very welcome that here we should have a completely new-tool model featuring the ‘Early’ Mk.I.
This model immediately looks pretty good, with decent levels of detail, most notably in the cockpit and wheel wells. Pretty well done too – not looking too over-scale fabric-effect on the wings and fuselage is acceptable in 1:72 scale.
There’s a surprising amount of plastic in the box, given the small scale and model size and that almost always bodes well in terms of detail. The panel line detail is a little heavy for the scale and is recessed.
Cockpit
The cockpit has a seat that look quite good, a little thickly moulded and simplified by a reasonable representation. The main instrument panel is plastic onto which you apply the decal supplied – sensible given the scale. Control column, headrest and limited tubular framing all look fine and will add quite a bit to your finished model.
The canopy glazing is clear and blemish-free – another good feature as is the split canopy design and two types of windscreen – armoured or not.
Undercarriage
This looks pretty accurate with wheel wells that are boxed in, moulded detail on the retraction legs and arms and the wheels themselves have neat hub detail that should all paint up well enough. The tyres look slightly bulged too which is a neat touch.
Decals
These look to be good quality and include stencil markings but what is interesting is the scheme chosen – quite colourful given the RAF and period!
Option included: Hawker Hurricane Mk.1, No.85 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Advanced Air Striking Force, Lille-Seclin, France, May 1940
Instructions
Classic Airfix fold-out sheet with the usual exploded stage-style diagrams. This is a basic kit ideal for any level of scale modeller and if you follow the instructions you can’t go too far wrong. All I’d say is test fit some of the sub-assemblies like the undercarriage because you may be able to add them right at the end once all the painting and weathering is complete; thereby avoiding the risk of damage.
What’s the verdict?
Well, I’ve got to say I’m impressed, it looks pretty good. Higher quality than you’d usually expect to find on a model in this scale. Manufacturers like Eduard have set a very high bar recently and this new model from Airfix is designed for anyone interested in the type – not the highest level of detail, nor accuracy, but perfectly reasonable.
Recommended
SMN Quick summary Star rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | *** |
| Accuracy | *** |
| Instructions | **** |
| Decals | **** |
| Subject choice | **** |
| Overall | **** |