If you go directly to the AZ/Legato web site, you can also see their exciting new Mk.I spitfires, which include a two-blade prop option, and a PR Mk.IG. They seem to be emphasising accuracy over the Tamiya offering. Also Beechcraft Traveller and UC-43 kits, which are nice to see (Roden is doing this in 1/48 soon)- as the Sword kit is hard to get hold of (personally would have like a C-18 variant, which is shorter in the fuselage, steeper windscreen, etc. than the D-17 upon which these military versions are based).

Cheers Ben Yes, i'm certainly looking forward to Roden's UC-43. All the best Rowan

"1. L2099, RF-O, flown by Flt. Sgt. Josef František, 303 Sqn., November 1940. " That's a remarkable achievement for a dead man. He flew it 30th September from Northolt and scored one destroyed and one probable. Died 8th October. The Hurricane was photographed at Leconfiled in November. Was L2099 a rag-wing? I am sceptical.

Hi Antoni Did AZ's researcher do any better with the other two pilots? All the best Rowan

looks like alot of flash on those sprues.......i dont think it will be a quick build.

Option 1 is rather an obscure Hurricane to choose. Perhaps the link with Frantisek is the motive. May have come from Polish Wings 4 where there is a photograph of it. Well it’s more of a ground crew team photo. All you can tell about the hurricane is that is had a prop with three blades and the old style pole type aerial mast. Perhaps the idea that it had fabric wings stems from this and the serial number. That is, it was an early production machine. Production of metal wings was stepped up in September 1939, the last fabric wing Hurricane left Brooklands March 1940. Almost immediately they started cannibalising older machines and fitting metal wings so I am sceptical, even if it was manufactured with fabric wings,it still had them in November 1940 Options 2 and 3 look like they come from an Osprey publication but they don’t seem to have taken note of what is said in the text. They are both genuine fabric winged examples but I have some issues with option 3 and the date. Option 2. There are a couple of photos of L1679, one dated October 1939, and the profile from the kit matches them. Aircraft of the British Expeditionary Force had the serials removed and roundels under the wings ere ordered from December 1939, I think. Red, White and Blue stripes were painted on the rudder to make them look similar to French aircraft. So it’s pretty much what you would expect it to look like in late 1939 early 1940. It appears in On Target Profile 12 Hawker Hurricane in RAF and Commonwealth Service, as it looked in May 1940 during the battle of France. They give the serial number as L1697 but it is clear from the text that it is the same Hurricane. The squadron codes have been painted over but can still been seen as a shadow under the paint. The undersides have been painted over with an “unspecified pale blue” but again the original paint could be seen underneath. They say that originally the rear fuselage and nose undersides and undersides of the tail planes were painted aluminium but don’t explain what they mean by originally. Perhaps when it left the factory as in the photographstaken in 1939 the undersides of the nose are black and white. The reference they give is private sources so no idea if this is based on photographs or written or verbal accounts. Run out of time tonight will deal with option 3 tomorrow.

Hi Antoni Fantastic! Thank you for wading through your refs for us! All the best Rowan

As promised, Option 3. L1630 appears in the photographs taken when The King et al inspected the Air Component of the BEF at Lille/Seclin on 6th December 1939. It’s the one furthest from the camera on the end of the line of Hurricanes. Before the war squadrons were allowed to display the squadron standard on the fin in the shape of spearhead. In the case of 87 Squadron this was serpent. The photographs show that by this date the squadron standard had been removed from the fin of L1630 although the other two 87 Squadron Hurricanes in front of L1630 still have theirs. I checked and the Air Ministry ordered roundels on the undersides of the wings for aircraft in France in September 1939 so it would have had those for some time by then. None of Hurricanes in the foreground appear to have serial numbers which is quite normal for this period and I expect the same was true of L1630. Prior to the German invasion (presumably of France) a crowned red lion on a yellow crest (must mean the shield) was painted on the starboard cockpit door. No mention of one being on the port side as well. As P/O David scored more victories small skulls, five in total, were added above. When L1630 was abandoned in France a rigger removed the door and brought it back to Britain. In the 1970’s it was on display at the RAF Museum Hendon. In 1996 it went on long term loan to the Shoreham Aircraft Museum, Kent, where I expect it can still be seen. Therefore L1630’s appearance as depicted in the kit is as it would have looked before the war, or just after the start, but the red lion would not have been there ,port or starboard. If you want it with the red lion then leave off the squadron standard from the fin and the serial number. Put roundels on the undersides of the wings a la L1679 and confine the lion to the starboard side only. That’s the best guess for how it looked in the spring of 1940. Roundels and fin flashes on the decal sheet seem to be the pre-war bright red and blue. As far as I can tell the markings on these three Hurricanes were Dull Red and Dull Blue. The squadron codes for options one and two should be Medium Sea Grey not white.