Building Hasegawa's Hurricane Mk. I

by Bruce Bell

Yippie! Finally an up-to-date Hurricane Mk. 1. I'll need at least six kits to start, oh yeah and don't forget the Sea Hurricane, that will make seven.

This is the second batch from Hasegawa, the first being the Mk. II's. When I reviewed them a little over a year ago I mentioned the front nose being off so an earlier bird could be built. There are even clues on this kit of a Mk. IIb 12 gun wing. You have to remove the outer gun panels on this kit in order to do a correct Mk. 1. This is a nice feature instead of having to add the panels on the II kit. Also at this time there is a series of strengtheners on the inboard leading edge of the wings just forward the cockpit that needs the right set removed from all Hurricanes.

There are only a few flaws with this model, and they are easily repairable. The first is the cowling. This should have been done as one piece and dropped on, instead of two halves. There is a seam that will require putty and sanding and probably more putty and more sanding to get a one piece appearance. The English modeling mags seem to think that the fabric area behind the cockpit is a bit too heavy and that a little light sanding with 600 grit should tone this down under a coat of paint; it does. Otherwise, the kit is what I call "shake the box": pour the glue in, shake and out falls an assembled model. ( Oh if only it were that easy, I could finish everything I have in my lifetime. . .)

My biggest criticism came from Hasegawa's curious idea that the spinner and front of the cowl of Ian R. Gleed's aircraft were what appears to be "Ford Fiesta Blue." I went over every reference I have on the Hurricane and can not find anything pointing to this color. Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces #18, "Hurricane Aces 1939-40" by Tony Holmes shows this aircraft to have a dark red spinner and no chevrons. These seem to have been added later when the aircraft was painted overall black for night fighter duty. In fact, I don't show any Battle of Britain aircraft to have anything other than Black and later Sky spinners with occasional red. I may be wrong on this, but everything points to these colors for both Hurricanes and Spitfires.

My kit was done in number 56 squadron for Flt. Lt. E. J. Gracie from North Weald in August of 1940. Decals are from Aeromaster, roundels are from the kit and seat from UltraCast. Testors Model Master was used for exterior paint and True Detail wheels were substituted for the kits. Hasegawa's wheels seemed to have too small a wheel hub for my taste.

Happy Modeling and support your local hobby shop!