Airfix Hawker Hurricane Mk.1 1:48 – Dave Coward Build

Feature Article with Dave Coward

Just before we get started, here’s a look at how it all turned out…

Background

I had been looking for a Mk.1 Hurricane for quite a while to go with my Tamiya Mk.1 Spitfire that I had built as it would make a nice little Battle of Britain display in my cabinet. My initial preference had been for the Hasegawa kit as I had previously built it and I knew it was a nice kit but finding one was to prove quite frustrating due to both its scarcity and the process it’s commanded both from retailers and on eBay. The one day I happened to be in my local model shop and I saw the Airfix kit so naturally I had to look in the box and was very pleasantly surprised by what I found. The surface detail was refined, there was no flash and the decals were perfect so out I walked with it.

A quick look in SMN’s Finished Now shows Geoff has made a previous boxing of this kit, the Mk.1 Trop and rated it so on to the bench it went.

Aftermarket Extras:

• eduard Colour interior set FE1102
• eduard Steel seatbelts set FE1105
• eduard Brassin exhaust stacks 648230
• eduard Brassin wheel set 648229
• Quickboost rear view mirrors QB48 741
• eduard Camouflage Scheme B mask set EX473

The Plan…

The kit has two options in it. Both being Battle of Britain Mk.1s which was ideal for what I wanted:

• 303 (Polish) Sqn. RF-J V6665 (Sgt. Tadeusz Andruszkow)
  September 1940 Battle of Britain – RAF Northolt
• 87 Sqn. LK-A P2798 (Flt. Lt Ian Richard (Widge) Gleed)
  August 1940 World War 2»Battle of Britain – RAF Exeter

The decision was which one – as I liked both so I tossed a coin in the end and option B was chosen, Ian Gleed’s aircraft. One thing to note about these two options is one has camouflage Scheme A and the other Scheme B so be aware of this when painting or in my case ordering up camouflage mask sets. A little research of the internet showed me pictures of the aircraft of choice which is always good.

Read on…