Reviewer’s Name: Dave Coward
The Editor (Geoff) has already done a review of the original boxing of this kit in its early fabric wing incarnation so I won’t repeat a lot of what he has already said. The contents and the quality of this model are as good as the original boxing which I had the pleasure of building for the magazine.
The main difference in from the earlier kit is the new metal wings and decals that make it into a Battle of Britain aircraft. The kit still has a variety of resin parts in the form of the undercarriage bay, the exhaust manifolds, cockpit parts and the weight wheels. These are well produced with excellent detail and no air holes.
There is also an Eduard PE fret for the cockpit which is just fantastic and the clear parts are nicely produced with the later armoured front screen. One slight disappointment that I did notice in the original kit and hasn’t been rectified in this one is the spine antenna- it is just moulded as the early shape – some alteration will be required to make it into the later version but this is a relatively simple job.
This kit contains decals for different Battle of Britain aircraft as follows:
- Hurricane Mk.1 V7357, 510 Sqn, Sgt J `Ginger` Lacy (highest scoring RAF pilot in the B of B)
- Hurricane Mk.1 P3308, 605 Sqn, Act S/L McKellar
- Hurricane Mk.1 V6864, 257 Sqn, S/L R R Tuck
- Hurricane Mk.1 P3901, 303 Sqn, FO W Urbanowicz
- Hurricane Mk.1 V7467, 242 Sqn, S/L D R Bader
- Hurricane Mk.1 R4175 303 Sqn, Sgt J Frantisek
The decals themselves are beautifully produced and having used them on the earlier version they perform flawlessly.
In addition there is the option for both Rotol spinners and de Havilland spinners so a variety of versions can be made from the kit.
The original kit had a slight fit issue with the wing to fuselage join on the upper wing route and I suspect this kit will have the same problem but it is easily overcome now I know about it.
Summary
A great kit of a great subject that is very topical given it is the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. The hurricane is the real unsung hero of the battle ,it shot down more enemy aircraft than the more famous Spitfire so what better way to show your appreciation of this true great that to build it and what better kit to do this with than this.
Very highly recommended
Dave C.