first impressions

The box its self is quite nice, not only in size but it also shows all the decal options (1 on the front-5 on the back) in colour as well as images of the decal sheet and the etch fret.

Once opened you'll find the decal sheet, instructions, photo etch, 3 separate bags of sprues and Italeri's photographic reference manual, with drawings and photographs showing almost every aspect of the Hurricane - no engine detail is shown though...a nice booklet and worth keeping.

Instructions and decals

The decal sheet printed by Cartograf is very nice, excellent registration, lovely colours and little or no carrier film showing at the edges. Italeri have to be congratulated on giving a couple of different schemes and not just the usual RAF markings. Of note is the fact that there are 2 dashboard decals, 1 to use with the etch (just the dials) and 1 without the etch.

The instruction sheet is basic black and white but clear and gives paint instructions for Italeri acrylic paint and model master.

One the subject of specific aircraft and whether the serial numbers etc. are correct, I'll leave that for someone else with better knowledge of markings...

fit

The overall fit of major parts is very good the wings and fuselage go together with no problems as do the rudder and tail surfaces. I taped all these parts together and there didn't seem to be any major gaps or issues with fit, its also nice that there is very little flash.

The engine and cockpit assemblies both slot in and line up nicely and the clear canopy that comes in 2 parts fits well and can be positioned open as the clear parts are nice and thin.

The photo etch is basic with dash and seat belts being supplied but it should look fine once painted.

nice touches

• 1. Separate control surfaces with subtle fabric detail
  engine and bulkhead
  
• 2. Bulged wheels with separate hubs
  
• 3. Landing gear raised and lowered options
  
• 4. 2 piece canopy that you can have open!

comparison with hasegawa hurricane

Hasegawa's 1/48 Hurricane has always been the benchmark when it comes to comparisons, it has its own faults such as the underside fabric and separate nose but generally its the “one” to have.

Size wise both kits are pretty much the same, some people don't like the fabric detail of the Hasegawa kit but will probably be happier with the Italeri offering, especially the fabric under the fuselage(this comes as a separate part) where there are no issues with join lines.

However the Hasegawa detail is in general finer than Italeri's especially in the cockpit area, but the Italeri has a lot more rivet/panel fastener detail. I'm not a rivet counter; again I'll leave that to someone else!

Both kits have good and bad points that have to be sorted while building.

Major problems

• 1. 3 sink marks on the outside of the cockpit correspond to where there are 3 locating pins inside the right hand cockpit side.
  
• 2. The left half of the fin (not the rudder) is thinner/flatter than the right side???
  
• 3. Total loss of fabric detail on the top rear of fuselage of about 1 sq. inch.
  
• 4. While the separate engine cowling fits nicely the separate side panel doesn't and would require trimming to fit as the hole for the left side exhaust is too small. Also the exhausts are not very good.

overall

The big question! Is this 1/48 Hurricane good enough for you to get rid of your Hasegawa version... for me... no... considering this is a new tooling it has a few glaring problems as mentioned above.

The overall shape and fit of the major parts is good but its let down by the details and as a result the price doesn't seem as attractive, its a shame as this could have been an awesome kit with a few tweaks before production.

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