Another build log from yours truly! This time PCM's Hurricane, a rather nice kit right out of the box with plenty of photoetch and resin. you can build it as a first production run with a two bladed prop or as an early production model upgraded with a three bladed prop. I'm leaning towards doing a Finnish version with the three bladed prop.

I've been working in sub assemblies doing what I deemed the "easy" ones first. Cockpit, fuselage, landing gear bays, prop. Then moved onto the more complex ones and by complex I mean working with photoetch. I've built the radiator and attached it to the wing. I've built the instrument panel, not complex as such just rather fiddly getting everything to line up.

Now there were issues with several of the sub assemblies I've built and I'll cover those individually.

1/. Fuselage:- the pilot's armoured headrest needed a little finessing to get it to fit properly specifically around the edges that fit into the fuselage. They needed sanding down to get everything to fit snugly. Not unexpected in a short run kit though is it? The underside of the fuselage leading up to the tail needed careful attention to get it all to line up nicely and it does so with a little care. The underside spine? Fin? Is a separate piece and had a couple of rather large sink marks in it that needed filling which I did before I attached it to the fuselage. There are no alignment pins in any of the plastic parts so place everything carefully. I glued down the front of the spine first ie closest to the radiator. Once I had this centered I glued down the back of it. The rudder has two different bottom portions to allow for the different versions. This is split along a taped seam but will require careful blending.

2/. Bottom wing:- The bottom wing by itself is fine with plenty of lovely detail, however there are a few things that we need to attach to the inside of it. The major two are the landing gear housing and a plastic spar the ensure the wing curves correctly to fit the fuselage. I've read a review that stated categorically that you needed to attach the upper wings to the fuselage first to ensure a decent fit at the wing root. I found that the upper wings don't actually curve enough to accurately fit them to the fuselage without bending them to ensure a decent fit. This would require some form of mechanical compression to ensure the shape is correct. Which rather shortened the width of the wing. I carefully approached this part of the build with the spar to ensure proper location to maximise the curving of the upper wing over it. The instructions here are vague to exactly where it goes and there are no markings on the bottom wing to line it up with. I looked at it logically and decided the best placement would be where the fit would be most difficult. To me this was where the upper wings are cut to go around the wing walk areas at the wing root. To do this I taped the upper wing to the lower and drew around the cut so I knew exactly where to place the spar. This worked to my satisfaction, however it was not exactly centered and was a little to the left. It was easy enough to rectify I simply cut a piece of thick plastic stock to extend the top of the spar so it went under the fuselage. (The white piece on the spar) I braced the back of the spar with some of the thick plastic stock to improve its grip on the wing as I'm sure there will be a reasonable force applied to this area. And I worried the butt join would be to weak by itself. I also glued some of the thick plastic stock to the ends of the wheel wells to hide ends of the wells and to ensure a positive fit. I've test fitted both top and bottom wings by taping them to the fuselage and everything fits quite well. I was also advised by the same reviewer that the wheel well needed sanding till it was transparent on the top to get a decent fit. I've not found this with my build. PCM may have worked on the kit to rectify the problems the previous reviewer had with these areas.

3/. Propellor hub:- Again no alignment pins and the attachment points are narrow and don't provide a big mating surface. To combat this I put the back of the spinner on a ruler to lift it off the bench and allow me to rotate the blades to a pitch that looked "right" to me. I then applied glue to the surfaces and put the blade on the desk on a blob of blu tack to hold it in position while the glue dried. I placed a scalpel on the spinner disk to ensure it didn't move while the blade was drying. I worked one blade at a time and waited for each blade to cure enough to be able to support itself while I worked on the next blade. (around two hours to be safe)

4/. Radiator housing:- This proved challenging as the photoetch appeared to be too big for the surfaces they were to be glued too. The front of the radiator was a fairly simple fix I simply put a fine sawblade cut in the piece so the etch part dropped down far enough to be out of the way. I then glued it into position, again it required a little finessing as the front of the part was a semi circle and it needed careful work to get it square. This part was to proud to ensure a flush fit with the wing so it was filed down till the fit was to my satisfaction. The back part of the radiator was to wide AND too deep to fit in the space provided. So again I ran a fine saw blade around the inside of the housing till it dropped in far enough. I got to the point where I was almost cutting through the body of the housing to get it to fit. But fit it did and it also required sanding for a good fit to the wing.

Also the kit's instructions are vague as to how the seat belts attach to the back of the seat but after perusing the web I realised that it actually goes through the seat and then attaches. The instructions don't show this, not a big problem for the RAF modellers out there as after a few kits it must seem obvious but for a dedicated Luftwaffe builder it was rather confusing.

Rather a long spiel but I wanted this build log to be a record of what I did exactly to solve each problem I've encountered. So that you my fellow modeller may either use what I've done or discard it as you see fit. Okay here are the pics and there are a few of them, next up time for a little paint.

Another kit on my wish list, Another build log on my Following list. I saw the IP in one of the photos in your Zero build log and wondered where it was from.

Good luck with the build c4, really looking forward to this one.

Cheers, D

Chris,

This is great stuff and I will be shamelessly stealing it to keep on hand when I get around to my metal wing kit! Thanks!!

FWIW, I've read "elsewhere" that, particularly with this kit, you can get a much better wing/fuselage fit if you completely construct the fuselage, then glue on the tops of the wing (bending them first until the curvature matches the wing root) before adding the lower wing. Allegedly much less hassle at the wing root that way. I did that for both of my last two Hobbycraft 1/32 kits (the Sea Fury and P-51A) and found that things worked much better.

Michael

@D Great to have you along on another of my journeys look forward to it. I actually got this for a song on eBay even with shipping but they don't come up often. I noticed the IP as well and thought it might make some curious. It took me a while to compile the text for the build log so there was something of a delay in posting (2.00am my time LOL)

@Michael Great to have you along for the ride I look forward to picking your brains if necessary. Steal away my friend that was my intention I want you to be able to approach this kit and know exactly what I found and then either use what I've written or find your own work around. I've never actually found gluing the top of the wings to the fuselage to be particularly helpful. However I usually glue the bottom wing to the fuselage first and then add the top wings packing between them to get the join I want if necessary. (See my 1/24 Fw190 build log.)

Great start Chris.
I will follow along with this build to see how it progresses having just finished fhe Trumpeter Hurricane. I too have this in the pile somewhere so will be interested to see what foibles it throws your way.
Cheers
Michael

Thanks Michael look forward to having you along for the ride and giving what insight I can when you come to build yours.

Chris, that looks like a good start and also like a good load on the way to the finish.

But the kit is nice, great decal options and pe parts. Happy modelling with this one.
1:32 is a good size for WWII fighters.

Chris,
a double build in 1/32 scale. I've already signed up for the A6M5c Zero, and now for the limited run PCM 1/32 Hurricane. About the only limited run kit I've ever built and finished is the 1/32 scale F2A-3 Buffalo, and it had it's challenges. As you've already found out, the wing roots seem to be a universal issue with these type of kits.

Nice start to the pit with all the multi media parts. Should really look quite good once it's finished.

Joel

@Bernd:- Thanks for the encouragement my friend! Pleased you like it so far. Yes it's going together nicely not an overly complex kit but some rather nice details. 1/32 is definitely an easier scale to detail and paint.

@Joel:- my thanks for the kind words Joel. Pleased I could entice you into another of my builds. As I said to Bernd not a complex kit but some rather nice details. I should have probably added in some wires etc but not a great deal will be seen once everything is closed up.

Okay I managed to throw some paint at the cockpit today firstly a coat of black Vallejo undercoat sprayed from the underside up and a coat of Tamiya's cockpit green sprayed down from the top. Using a technique I saw in Matt Odom's (Scrodes) double 1/32 scale Zero build the idea is to spray the top coat in the direction of falling light thereby creating shadows with the black undercoat. It's turned out fairly well I also masked where the I.P. will sit and the points where the cockpit will attach to it and the armoured headrest. Also the instructions appear to tell you to attach the sidewall detail to the cockpit frame before inserting it into the fuselage. I chose to attach it to the fuselage first and then put the frame in later. This worked out perfectly well for me and everything has lined up really well.

I've also undercoated the wheel wells and the props. While I'm speaking about the props I think the instructions have got it wrong with what backplate goes with which prop blades. The instructions would have you use the Hamilton blades which have a notch out of them with the back plate that has narrow semi circular mounts. This would make attaching them to the back plate a total female dog as you had a flat surface attaching to a concave one. It would seem logical to use the other plate with a raised prop boss section with the flat top, essentially gluing two flat surfaces together. Which is precisely what I've done is it right? I certainly believe so but your opinion may differ.

Hi Chris,
Looks like good progress. I am interested in the black/green approach to the cockpit. It looks quite effective as is but I wonder whether you would really notice as the cockpit framing sits quite low in the fuselage and can only see the detail by looking straight down on to it. Keen to hear how it looks when its installed.

cheers
Michael

Chris,
Matt's method and reasoning does indeed work, but I still use the old methods to achieve basically the same results. I prime with Mig Ammo black Acrylic primer. but I usually prime the cockpit and sub assemblies before the fuselage is glued together. I do try to paint the color coats from a slight angle pointing down which does create light shadow effect as less paint reaches those areas. What I feel really adds to the shadow effect is that the bottom of the Pit is closed off from direct light, and we're lookin down into it, so that any surface that extends out will call a natural shadow to occur under it, coupled with the less paint factor gives you exactly what you're looking for.

From your pictures, you've achieved the results you're after.

As for the prop blade issue, you're description sounds like you got it right, and they got it wrong. And your pictures sure proves that very point.

Joel

Take a look for yourself Michael the framing is easily visible now but the seat has to be added yet and that will cut down what you see quite a bit. But given the open nature of the Hawker construction you'll still see enough hopefully.

Joel gracias mi amigo! I've got the cockpit assembled and in the fuselage I've yet to throw some washes at it and add a little wear to the painted surfaces. but it was fairly easy to get in and looks fairly realistic. I've also added a coat of silver to the wheel wells so I'll be adding a wash and then adding them to the bottom wing. At which point I'll attach the lower wing in place and let everything cure for 24 hours before adding the upper wings. Which should be fun as I'll get to see if my theories are correct.

Nice work so far !

Yes, it's good looking cockpit Chris. Nice progress!

cheers
Michael

Chris,
The Pit really looks good especially with the closed up fuselage halves. The IP really stands out. WTG.

Joel

You are making excellent progress on this one Chris . Pit looks good



Terri

@Bernd:- My thanks good sir! Glad you're sticking around Bernd.

@Michael:- Thanks for the affirmation! Things are starting to move along now soon it'll be time for paint!

@:- Joel my friend I appreciate the kind words and your continued presence.

@Terri:- Thanks terri glad to know you think so.

Spent a bit of time working on the Hurricane last night got the wings on and a wash in the wheel wells and the cockpit. The wheel wells and cockpit were coated in a wash before I assembled the wings. The cockpit fouled the resin wheel well but a quick buzz with the motor tool shaved everything down nicely. Nothing major just a little off the front and the rear. This made sure the cockpit didn't come into contact with the lower wing causing the cockpit to deform out of shape.

Went together really well just a slight gap on the right hand wing root. Dihedral looks good and I've got the gun ports attached to the wing as well. Filled the gap with plasticard and let it cure before trimming. A quick wipe with putty and it'll be sorted. Discovered I've neglected to paint the lower wing which I might rectify a little later today.

Glued the stabilisers together and gave them a sand. I'm investigating the pinning of these to the fuselage as it's a simple butt join and pinning will make it a much stronger joint.

Chris,
The Hurricane is coming along quite nicely. I've become a big fan of pinning flying surfaces, wings, and even landing gear whenever possible.

On my F2A-3 the landing gear struts couldn't possibly hold the weight over the long haul. So I figured out a way to pin it, and to my utter amazement it worked. It's still standing without any issues.

Joel

Yes Chris , pin the tail planes . I do this with butt joins all the time . It will strengthen the join .

Must say you are motoring along very well , she is taking shape nicely



Terri

Niiiiiiiiice!

Thanks D!

Taking your collective advice I've pinned the stabilisers and glued them in place. Actually much easier then I remember but I did actually approach it logically and accurately marked where to drill holes etc. paid dividends in the end.

Chris,
The pinning looks great. You've given me the push to go that route as well.

I've got about the same issue on the Wildcat as the wings are not to encouraging butt joints. My issue is to find two places on each side that I won't end up drilling into the cockpit.

Joel

Thoroughly impresses sir, very nice work indeed!

Michael

Looks good, Chris !
Short run kits like this one needs a good bunch of skill, well done so far.
Nice decal versions by the way !

@Joel:- Given the cockpit modifications Joel I'm not surprised. I'm sure you'll work out what to do as you always do and generally the solution is an elegant one my friend. I look forward to seeing your solutions as I usually file them away in the memory banks for future reference.

@Michael:- You're most gracious kind sir!

@Bernd:- My thanks Bernd and yes I'm struggling to make a choice as to which one I'll build.

Well most of my time recently has been consumed by refining the fit of the various flying surfaces and defining the panel lines and fasteners. It's time for a little putty and some sanding but I'll minimise the amount by using a little solvent to wipe the putty down after application. I've added the tail wheel after drilling out the attachment point on the fuselage and on the tail wheel itself as it was rather ill defined.

The last couple of days have been spent installing the seat and harness. The harness was a multi part affair with separate buckles straps etc it made for a more flexible arrangement of the belts but made it a little more frustrating assembling it. Fortunately PCM provided a couple of extra buckles as I lost one of them into the man cave .... somewhere. I'm also looking at the aerial mast and the stub aerial on the tail as the kit part for the main mast doesn't look the part. And there is no stub aerial on the tail so I'll have to fabricate one.

I've drilled out the undercarriage attachment points in the wheel wells and started to look at the assembly of the undercarriage as it's a multi part affair.

So onto the pictures!