Reviewer: Geoff Coughlin
Our thanks to Airfix for supplying the review sample www.airfix.com
Initial assessment:
The first thing that strikes you is the weight of the box. Airfix’s new packaging is substantial and the box is packed. Love the box art too; a brace of SEAC Hurricanes racing to intercept intruders! You get three grey sprues, with a clear sprue packaged separately; 56 parts all told.
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Accuracy looks good overall. New Hawker Hurricanes in any scale are going to attract great interest and this one looks accurate. The option of a separate rudder is good, but perhaps the most significant feature about Hurricane models is that distinctive fabric effect on the rear fuselage. Well, to my eye this has been superbly achieved by Airfix, subtle and restrained in this scale as it should be. Other panel line detail is a little heavy for 1:72 scale, but under a coat of paint, I think that it should look fine.
The option for a Sea Hurricane is excellent and provides good variety to finish your model over and above the more usual RAF squadron aircraft. The separate lower rear fuselage insert – one with and the other without the arrestor hook is a neat option.
The fuselage seems to fit well, as does the main wing, with the latter offered as one lower section across the whole span, plus two separate upper wing sections. Alignment of these major parts presents no obvious problems. The smaller components have good mating lugs and therefore, should not present too many issues.
The plastic may be a little on the soft side for some scale modellers, but personally I like it, as cleaning up and preparation involving sanding will be easier. Tooling is flash-free, and you do get the provision of the chin mounted tropical filter, particularly appropriate to the South East Asia Command machine. Cockpit detail is fine for the scale, with decals provided for the instrument panels – very sensible in this small scale and you get the options for retracted undercarriage, and a pilot figure, so the model can be depicted in flight. No stores are provided, but the pairs of 20mm cannon in the wings are there.
The instructions are very good, with 13 stages, starting with the cockpit and propeller assembly through to wings and undercarriage. The instructions would have you add the prop during construction but that’s just going to get in the way, so I would recommend trying to secure the round locating washer into which the pin on the back of the prop assembly attaches inside the fuselage and adding the finished propeller much later, after all the painting is complete. Also… watch the angle that you attach the main wheels to the undercarriage legs – the Hurricane’s wheels have a distinctive inward slant to the top of each wheel but this isn’t clearly shown in the instructions.
Humbrol paint numbers are called out throughout the build. The painting and decal placement instructions are on a separate, colour fold out, which is very good.
The decals are Airfix’s own, are matt and in register. You get 3 options:
a) No.34 Squadron Royal Air Force South East Asia Command, Palel Airfield, Imphal, India, November 1943/April 1944
b) “Nicki”, No.835 Naval Air Squadron, HMS Nairana, 1944
c) Squadron Leader ‘Danny’ Le Roy Du Vivier DFC, No.43 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Tangmere Wing “Operation Jubilee” 19th August 1942.
This kit is excellent value for money. Considering what you get in the box, the options and the presentation, Airfix’s new-tool Hawker Hurricane / Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc is a welcome addition to their range and will be welcomed by many.
Recommended
Geoff C.