Iliad Design have returned to familiar territory with the welcome reprint of their decals for early Hawker Hurricanes. It’s not a straight re-release though, because the new run includes markings for an extra aircraft.

The decals are beautifully printed. The colours look excellent and the registration is spot on. The items are very thin and gloss finished, with minimal excess carrier film around most items - the only larger areas being to provide stability for the fuselage codes. The sheet provides markings for five colour schemes:

Hurricane Mk. I s/n L1975 "UV-K", 17 Sqn., 1939
Hurricane Mk. I s/n L1568 "S", 73 Sqn., 1938
Hurricane Mk. I s/n L1990 "LR-R", 56 Sqn., 1939
Hurricane Mk. I s/n L1643 "NO-B", 85 Sqn., 1938/39
Hurricane Mk. I s/n 615, 1 Sqn., RCAF, 1939

Full sets of markings are included for four of the schemes, with just “NO-B” needing to share wing roundels. The aircraft chosen provide some nice variety, with two of the machines sport the early "kidney" exhausts, while one is fitted with a 3-blade de Havilland propeller instead of the Watts 2-blade type seen on the others.

All the aircraft are depicted with metal wings. The first 430 Hurricanes (starting with s/n L1547) were built with fabric covered wings, but many were re-fitted with metal wings as they became available at maintenance units.

Backing up the decals is a colour A4 sheet of instructions with profiles of each machine and details of the “A” and “B” upper surface camouflage patterns, along with the various combinations of White/Night and Aluminium undersides.

Conclusion

This is another excellent release from Iliad Design that offers plenty of inspiration for modellers wanting to depict the Hurricane on the eve of WW2.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE