World War II props are always easier builds for me as I do much less research for them. Well… that came back to bite me in the ass. This was my prop build for 2023 until everything went sideways. Oh and I realized that I didn’t have the correct aftermarket markings for this version of the Hurricane.
Anyway let’s see how I untie this knot of my own making! The box has the usual beautiful Shigeo Koike art.
As per usual with Hasegawa, the kit is designed so that you can build the various versions (or Marks in this case) with inserts and parts replacement. To get the best possible nose join, I assembled each half together first.
A quick dryfit using masking tape shows a generally good overall fit.
The seat has decals to replicate the seatbelts but I decided to try out the plastic seatbelt set from Fine Molds instead.
Each box comes with four sets of belts and each set gives you the various options to dress up one seat.
Looks good right? The plastic used is softer so the belts can ‘properly’ plop on the seat.
The cockpit looks really good once properly painted and weathered.
The belt set really adds to the look of the cockpit. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to using masking tape for 1/48 props if I can help it.
Some pre-painting is required like the intake.
This area is not that visible after it’s assembled but why take the risk?
The underside join between the wing assembly and the fuselage is not great with scalloped details running across it.
Some work is required to fix this join.
I did the best I could. The result is not great but thankfully it’s on the underside. No one I know will flip this thing to see the bottom. 😀 Other than this join, everything else fit well.
By this point, I was quite sure I had the correct aftermarket decals for this kit: that of a Battle of Britain Hurricane. But no, the markings I had was for a Mk. IB whereas this kit was a Mk. IIB or Mk. IIB Trop. At first I considered just going ahead with using the decal on this kit like what I did with the Spitfire Vb so I chose the gun port inserts that matched with the Mk. IB. So now I have a Mk.IIB in Mk.IB markings. Joy.
I installed the few antenna upfront and I hope I won’t break any of these (fat chance of that not happening).
The canopy fits well but you can’t pose it open but n issue for me though!
Now comes the most time consuming part of building WWII aircraft: canopy masking. I was told this builds character. Right…
Once that ordeal was done though, I’m ready to sling paint onto this thing.
Then, as luck would have it, a Mk. IIB specific set of decals from DK Decals popped up at an online retailer. Even better, one of the marking options on the sheet matched the gun port layout on my build. I decided to get the sheet so I’d have an ‘accurate’ Mk. IIB. But this means I have an extra spare set of Hurricane decals. Oh well.
Build Log
Pt.1 – Construction | Pt.2 – Painting & Finishing
