Ariete!

Historical Background

From the 1970s to 1995, the Italian Army armoured units were equipped with American M60A1 and west German Leopard 1 MBTs. In the 1980s, a decision was made to replace these tanks with a new, indigenous design. A consortium formed by Iveco-Fiat and Oto Melara called Consorzio Iveco Oto or CIO was entrusted with the development of the new tank. The basic specification called for a fast, day/night capable vehicle with the ability to fire on the move utilising sophisticated fire-control system. The new tank was designated C1 and given the name 'Ariete' (ram) in honour to the Italian 132nd Armoured Division 'Ariete' of World War 2 fame, The first prototype was rolled out in 1986 and by 1989, six pre-production vehicles were produces. The Ariete was supposed to enter service in 1993 but due to delays, the first vehicle was only delivered in 1995. In 2002, the 200th (and the last) vehicle was delivered.

The tank is of conventional design and bears a passing resemblance to other contemporary Western tank designs (especially the German Leopard 2). The hull, designed by Iveco has a very well-sloped glacis and flat sides. Armour is classified, although it is understood to be a laminated steel/composite type similar to Chobham armour protecting the Abrams and Challenger tanks. The Ariete is fully NBC treated and can be sealed so that it can ford rivers up to 5 meters deep. The turret, together with the main weaponry was developed by Oto Melara. The turret, which looks similar to the Challenger tank has well-sloped front face and short lower beaks, the latter to reduce shot traps. The gun, designed by OTO Breda, is of the 120 mm smoothbore type and able to fire standard NATO 120 mm rounds. It was provided with 42 rounds, 15 of which is in the ready-to-use locker at the rear turret bustle. Secondary armament consists of two 7.62 mm MG42/59 machine guns: one located co-axially with the main gun and another was placed at the loader's hatch. For self-protection, two four-grenade launchers armed with smoke or chaff grenades are placed on the turret sides.

The Ariete's FCS, designated OG14L3 TURMS was manufactured by Galileo Avionica, includes day and night capability for the commander's SP-T-694 primary sight and a stabilised platform for the gunner's thermal sight and laser rangefinder and also a FCS computer which calculates all the relevant data such as weather and wind conditions, elevation of the gun, attitude of the tank and even barrel wear to increase accuracy. The FCS is also part of the Ariete's communication system and can be used to share battlefield data with other vehicles. The Ariete is powered by a 25.8-litre turbocharged V-12 Fiat-Iveco MTCA diesel engine rated at 1,250 hp. This gave the Ariete a top speed of 65 km/h and a range of 600 km. Power was transmitted through a ZF LSG3000 automatic transmission with four forward and two reverse gears. The computer-assisted transmission allows the Ariete to accelerate from 0-32 km/h in 6 seconds, climb a gradient of 60 degrees and ford a depth of 1.25 m without preparations.

The Ariete has been used in peace-keeping operations in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s and also in Iraq following Operation Iraqi Freedom. In Iraq, the Ariete has an additional armour package added on the turret front and sides and the front half of the hull sides. An additional MG 42/59 was mounted on the commander's cupola and both roof machine guns have shields added to protect the user. An upgraded version, the C2, with a higher-rated engine, additional armour, autoloader, FCS and hydropneumatic suspension are scheduled to be in production in the 2015-2020 time frame.

The Kit

Trumpeter's kit of the Ariete (in fact, at the time of writing, the only one in 1/35) was released in 2005. The kit represents an early production vehicle, as the Ariete has undergone changes in the meantime. The kit consists of 229 olive-coloured parts, a small sheet of clear acetate for the optics, a length of twine,  a pair of single-length vinyl tracks, a small decal sheet and of course the instruction sheet. The parts look well-moulded although some details are not very well-defined, such as the track grousers, which looked cruder (but not by much) than the ones from Tamiya's Leopard 2 kit. There is essentially just one marking scheme (the 'option' is just whether to use the green or red rhomboid decals on the turret front). Colour is simply marked as 'TC10' without reference as to what it is called nor to its manufacturer. I suspect that it was from the Gunze range and after googling found out that it was part of their German Colour Set, specifically RAL 6031 Bronzegrun.

Construction

As usual with armour kits, construction starts at the bottom. All the suspension parts were cemented to the lower hull, starting with the shock absorbers. While Trumpeter have you finish one side before moving to the other, I decided to add the similar parts on both sides before tackling the suspension arms. So I only fit the latter after all the absorbers have been cemented. The suspension arms have positive locating tabs so there is no issue of misaligned suspension here. because of the lack of poly caps, the wheels (and also the lower hull sides) were first painted, with the wheels being painted on their sprues. They were then cut off the sprue, the scars retouched and the wheels mounted on the suspension, bar the drive sprocket. The tracks are also left off at this time.

I then moved on to the upper hull. It is of single mould with separate engine deck and rear panel. The air intake is moulded solid but with nice grille effect (still it can't beat a PE grille). The driver's hatch has separate periscope parts but unfortunately they are of solid opaque plastic. The headlights, track grouser, grab handles and some small but not fragile parts were also added at this time. It was during the assembly of the upper hull did I realise how close the Ariete resembled the German Leopard 2. I then returned to the lower hull. The tracks were painted, with the metal parts (on the real thing) washed with AK Interactive track wash. They were then looped and the pin heads melted down with a heated screwdriver. The upper hull was then cemented to the lower half and the side skirts can now be put in place. The spare track at the rear of the hull and the vulnerable rear-view mirrors were left off.

While the hull reminded me of the Leopard 2, the turret looked fairly similar to the Challenger. The turret assembly kicked off with the mating of the barrel halves. Fit is okay although there is a tiny bit of seam line down the middle. The barrel comes moulded with the muzzle reference system, meaning a bit of detail of the system was lost. The clear acetate for the vision blocks were painted clear blue and the cut off the sheet and superglued to their places. I wish that clear styrene was used here. The gun assembly was then put in its place and the turret halves were glued together, leaving the gun moveable. The turret hatches were assembled and as there were no figures whatsoever, were cemented in the closed position. The various small parts for the turret were then cemented. While most feature decent detailing, the smoke grenade tubes look very plain. Trumpeter also suggested the builder to replace the moulded-on bolt details on the turret face with separately-moulded bolts (Part C53) if one so wish. The tools and the roof machine gun were left off at this moment to facilitate painting.

Painting and Decalling

As I mentioned before, Trumpeter stated that the colour for the Ariete is TC10, without reference to any model paint manufacturer. I have a hunch that it was from GSI Creos (ex-Gunze Sangyo) and after a short Google search, I found out that it was NATO Green. I used my tried-and-trusted Tamiya XF-67, lightened with some 20% XF-2 Flat White.The tyres and mudflaps were painted GSI H77 Tyre Black while the MG42/59 was painted Flat Black and when dry, were 'polished' with graphite powder. After paint had dried, the decals were placed. As the numbers involved are quite small, this was quickly completed. I used the red rhomboid decals, just to make it stand out from the green of the hull. Although not really needed, I gave the decals a Mr Mark Softer treatment. The model was then given a black-brown wash.

Finishing

There really aren't much to do here. The tracks were painted XF-64 Red Brown overall and XF-1 Flat Black was then applied to the 'rubber' parts. They were then looped and the ends secured with superglue. I don't bother using heated screwdrivers or something like that, and the connecting posts were left as they were, since they will be hidden behind the skirting. The tools were painted their respective colours and then cemented to their places on the turret. The lower hull, running gear and the tracks were then covered with a thin mixture of water and Mig Productions' European Dust pigments. Once dry the excess were removed. The AA MG was put in its place and since I don't have anything to put inside the turret stowage basket and that I have run out of brass/copper wire for the aerials, the build ends here.

Conclusion

The Ariete is one of Trumpeter's 'modern' kits and it shows in the quality of moulding and engineering. While the details do not reach the level of say, Dragon, what was in the kit is enough to satisfy the average modeller. The fit was also good, where no putty was needed. Of course Trumpeter has gone from strength to strength and established themselves as one of the leading companies in the industry today.

Der Luftwaffen Panzer

Historical Background

In 1933 the then-Oberst Heinz Guderian wrote specifications of a tank tasked with dealing with other tanks (and another supporting the infantry). In January 1934 the German Army's Army Weapons Department (Waffenamt) drew plans for a medium tank weighing 24,000kg with a speed of 35km/h under the cover names Versuchkraftfahrzeug 619, Mitlerer Traktor and 3.7cm Geschutz-Panzerwagen. There was a conflict between the Waffenamt and the Inspector for Mechanized Troops about the armament. The Waffenamt was satisfied with the 37mm gun while the Mechanized Troops wanted a 50mm gun. In the interests of standardisation with the infantry, the 37mm gun was chosen. However the turret ring remain able to support the proposed 50mm weapon. Daimler-Benz, Krupp, MAN and Reheinmetall were chosen to produce prototypes, which were to be made ready by 1936. The Daimler-Benz design was eventually chosen for production. The first series, Ausfuhrung A started coming off the assembly line in May 1937. The tank was given official designation Panzerkampfwagen III with ordnance inventory designation Sd.Kfz. 141/1.

The most distinctive feature of the Panzer III and sets it apart from most of its contemporaries was the three-man turret. Allegedly influenced by the British Vickers Medium Tanks, the turret allowed the separation of jobs between the commander, gunner and loader. The commander was thus not distracted with other tasks and can fully maintain the situational awareness and commanding the tank. Since other tanks at time, such as the French Somua S35 and early versions of the T-34 did not have this feature, the German tanks had a tactical advantage in combat. This was further reinforced by the fact that the German panzers were equipped with intercom, allowing clear communications between the crew members.

The early marks of the Panzer III (Ausf. A through C) was clad in 15mm of rolled homogenous armour on all sides. This was considered insufficient and was thickened to 30mm in Ausf D to G. Ausf H had another 30mm layer while Ausf J added 50mm plate on the front and rear while the late Ausf J to M added another 20mm to the front hull and turret. The Ausf. A to early Ausf. F Panzer IIIs were armed with a 3.7cm KwK 36 L/45 gun which was adequate during the early campaigns of World War 2 but when confronted with the powerful Soviet tanks, the larger 5cm KwK 38 L/42 were fitted to Panzer III Ausf. G to early Ausf. J and finally the longer 5cm KwK 39 L/60 on late Ausf J and L. The final Ausf. N was armed with 7.5cm KwK 37 L/24 weapon (the same weapon arming early Panzer IV marks) as they were designed as support tanks. Secondary armament was two MG34 7.92mm machine guns mounted co-axially with the main gun (reduced to one after Ausf. F) and another MG34 mounted in the hull. Power was provided by a Maybach HL 108 TR petrol engine rated at 250hp which was later replaced by a Maybach HL 120 TRM rated at 300hp. The early Marks used various leaf-spring suspensions while Ausf E standardises on torsion-bar suspension.

Panzer IIIs were used in the campaigns against Poland, France, the Soviet Union and in North Africa. The early versions used in Poland were found to be vulnerable to Czech-built 47 mm anti-tank gun, Solothurn and UR anti-tank rifles and even the low-velocity 37 mm guns arming FT and R35 tanks (although at short ranges). The first real test was during Fall Gelb, the invasion of France and the Low Countries. Panzer III Ausf. E, F and G armed with 37 mm guns were all involved. The Allies however were equipped with better protected tanks, able to shrug off the 37 mm rounds. The French Char B1 and the British Matilda were impregnable to all German anti-tank weapons except the 88mm flak cannon. The German panzers eventually prevailed through better tactics, excellent communications and coordination (down to individual tank level), speed and coverage by the Luftwaffe. In the deserts of North Africa, Panzer III Ausf. F and G formed the early backbone of Rommel's Afrika Korps. They had some success against the British cruiser tanks but still failed against the Matilda. Later, late Ausf.G and H, armed with KwK 38 50 mm gun were received and towards the end of the campaign, KwK 39 L/60-armed Ausf. L and M were received. For the invasion of Russia, all Panzer IIIs have now been upgunned with the 50-mm gun. While sufficient to destroy BT fast tanks and T-26 light tank forming the bulk of Soviet armor, the gun was inadequate against the T-34 and KV tanks.

By the end of the war, the Panzer III were no longer in front line service and only a handful were present at Anzio and North-West Europe. The Panzer III chassis were selected as the basis for the Sturmgeschutz III assault gun. Apart from new-built vehicles, many Panzer III were converted into Sturmgeschutzes when they were returned to factories for overhaul. More than 5,700 Panzer IIIs were built during the war. The Ausf. L entered production in June 1942. 653 were produced by Daimler-Benz, MAN, Alkett, Henschel, Wegmann, MNH and MIAG until December of that year.

The Kit

Tamiya came up with a new-tool kit of the Panzer III in 1997. The release depicts an Ausf. L, replacing the 1960s/1970s vintage Ausf. M. The Panzer III was released alongside the Sturmgeschutz III in the same year, so the two kits share most of the chassis. The parts are spread among five dark yellow sprues, a pair of vinyl one-piece tracks, four polycaps and a decal sheet. Although the parts count are not as extensive as those found in a Dragon kit, the Tamiya offering has very good details moulded onto it. The rather glaring exception was the lack of engine deck screens, which have to be purchased separately (which I did). The vinyl tracks, although have great details, have the guide teeth moulded solid, instead of hollow as they should be. There isn't really any options when building this kit, just two styles of spaced armour for the front plate. Decals provide markings for five tanks:
1.  II01, 15th Panzer Regiment, 11th Panzer Division, Battle of Kursk July 1943 (Dark Yellow/Red Brown)
2. 02, Fallschirm-Panzer Division 'Hermann Goering', Germany 1942 (Panzer Grey)
3. 1 15, 10th Panzer Division, Tunisia 1943 (Gelbraun)
4. 200, 18th Panzer Division, Russia 1942 (Dark Yellow)
5. 133, s.H.Pz.Abt. 502, Russia 1942 (Dark Yellow/Olive Green)

There is also a couple of 'extra' decals that weren't shown in the instructions. This took the form of a skull and crossbones, which I believe is meant for probably the most notorious of the SS divisions - the 3rd SS-Panzer Division 'Totenkopf'.

Construction

The instruction follows the usual assembly sequence for an armoured vehicle in that it starts by sticking things to the lower hull. The torsion bars were cemented to the hull and attention has to be given to the details as there are two types of them and need to be put accordingly. Sticking to the Tamiya philosophy of easy to be build kits, there were only the outside structure of the suspension, unlike Dragon's Panzer III J I built before. This was followed by crew escape hatches (?) and the final drive housing; a poly-cap was inserted into each of the housing to allow movement of the sprocket wheel. Afterwards it was time for a rather tedious job assembling the road wheels; good thing the Panzer III has only six sets per side (I still curse the designer of the Panzer IV and the one who suggested that the German heavies and Panthers use the overlapping wheel arrangement). The muffler and the rear hull panel was then cemented into place. Tamiya in the 1990s-early Noughties has that annoying trait of having separate PE parts and I have to suspend the build for nearly a week, while waiting for the PE parts to come through post. 

Before assembling the upper hull, a number of holes were drilled into it in order to accommodate the lights. All the hatches and covers were then cemented on the upper hull. The hull machine gun barrel was not cemented at this time. Next up was the spaced armour plate at the front of the hull. Tamiya provided two styles but without mentioning which style goes to which marking. The second style involved some cutting; although straightforward, I chose the first style. Well you should always try to use the path with the least resistance right? More stuff were added to the upper hull but I left all the pioneer tools off. Part D27, the turret ring guard was marked as optional; again, there is no indication whether it should or should not be used in conjunction with any of the markings. The wheels were all assembled but they would only be fitted to the model after painting.

Attention was then turned towards turret assembly. The turret upper and lower halves were mated

first and all hatches, ports and sundry small parts were cemented onto it. The commander's cupola is a rather simplified affair with no periscope details. The gun, which include rudimentary breech was assembled and inserted into the mantlet. Some careful gluing was done so that the gun is still moveable. The recoil mechanism housing and the mantlet spaced armour mount were assembled and fitted to the gun. As the parts count are relatively low, the build process was rather quick and now it was time for painting.

Painting and Decaling

All the markings are interesting but after looking at my collection, I found that there were only two panzer grey vehicles in my collection: a Panzer II and a Sd.Kfz.222 armoured car. I used a mixture of 70% Tamiya XF-63 German Grey and 30 % XF-18 Medium Blue, plus roughly 20% white for scale effect. The decals were then applied. I was having second thoughts as the Hermann Goering Division's markings were rather bland, but I decided to stick with it. The tools were painted on their sprues and will be touched up later. Afterwards, I applied the sludge wash on certain parts of the model - not really appropriate for a tank model but sufficient for me to pop up some of the recessed details.

Finishing

To start the final leg, I attached all the remaining loose parts such as the pioneer tools and the aerial holder. The wooden block was painted XF-59 Desert Yellow and dry-brushed XF-64 Red Brown to simulate wood grain. I had another attack of laziness and simply paint the pioneer tools a straight XF-59 and XF-56 Metallic Grey. The exhaust and muffler were also painted XF-64. For weathering, I started by applying thinned XF-57 Buff all over the lower hull, tracks and wheel. For the lower hull, I was quite undecided whether to use 'desert' or 'European' pigments as there was no real indication as to the time frame of the tank's markings. The HG Division took part in Barbarossa and a battle group of them took part in the Battle of El Alamein. Grey paint meant a general time period before the summer of 1943. There were barely any photos of the HG prior to their participation in Sicily and Italy. So in the end I took a middle way (sort of) by mixing Mig Productions' Gulf War Sand' and "European Dust'. They mixed with water and applied liberally. The excess was then removed using a stiff brush. 

Conclusion

Tamiya has come up with another simple yet finely executed model. Assembly is hassle-free as usual, and the moulded-on details, while rather simple for some modelers, are good enough for the casual (or those not suffering from AMS) modelers. Like I mentioned elsewhere, a simple, yet detailed kit is a good antidote for stress after building a 1,000 part 'premium edition' kit!

Storm On The Offensive

Historical Background

Some time in 1933, Sydney Camm, the lead designer working for Hawker Aircraft Ltd decided to design a monoplane fighter prototype, which was based on the failed Hawker P.V.3 proposal for Air Ministry F.7/30 requirement (which in turn was based on Hawker Fury fighter). The aircraft's  wing is of cantilever design, armed with four rifle-calibre machine guns and powered by a Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine.The drawings were completed in January 1934 but it failed to generate interest from the Air Ministry officials. Camm and his team went back to the drawing board and make changes which include fitting of retractable undercarriage and replacing the Goshawk engine with RR PV-12 engine, soon to be known as the legendary Merlin. In September, Camm approached the Air Ministry again with his improved design, and this time the response was more enthusiastic. In November 1934, the Air Ministry issued Specification F.5/34 which called for a eight gun-armed fighter. The design was at too advanced a stage to modify the original armament. By January 1935 a new mock-up was finished and approval has been given to build the prototype. Specification F.36/34 was written to around this design and in July of the same year the specification was amended to include an eight-gun armament. Work was completed in August 1935 and the prototype first flew on 6 November 1935. RAF trials began in February 1936 and reports from test pilots were favourable. Hawker proposed the name 'Hurricane' to the Air Ministry, which was approved in June 1936.

Despite being more advanced than the biplane RAF fighters of the time, the constructional design of the Hurricane was already outdated. It has a Warren truss box-girder primary fuselage structure with steel longerons and duralumin cross-bracing fastened mechanically. Over this basic structure, wooden formers and stringers carried the doped linen covering. The wing, while having steel spars also have doped linen covering. In April 1939, stressed-skin duraluminium wing was introduced and was used for all the later marks. The metal wing allowed a higher diving speed than the fabric-covered versions. Although many early airframes were retrofitted with the new wing, many Hurricanes still have the fabric-covered wing during the Battle of Britain. The prototype and early production aircraft was fitted with a fixed-pitch, two-bladed propeller, which was inefficient at low speeds. In April 1939, De Havilland variable-pitch propeller was used in production aircraft and was later replaced with a Rotol constant-speed propeller. The Hurricane was ordered into production in June 1936. In December 1937, it entered squadron service when four aircraft joined No.111 Squadron at RAF Norholt.

The Hurricane had its baptism of fire on 21 October 1939 when 'A' Flight of No.46 Squadron intercepted nine Heinkel He 115s which was earlier attacked by two Spitfires of No.72 Squadron. Four of the Heinkels were shot down. During the Phoney War, the French Government requested for 10 fighter squadrons to bolster the Allied strength. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding was concerned that the request would deplete the home defences, so he initially send only four squadrons (Nos. 1, 73, 85 and 87). They were soon joined by Nos. 607 and 605 Squadrons. In May 1940, with the German Blizkrieg erupting in the West, three further squadrons, Nos. 3, 79 and 504 were sent. During the Battle of France and Operation Dynamo, Hurricanes claimed 499 kills and 123 probables. German records, available to the Allies postwar, showed a loss of 299 aircraft destroyed and 65 damaged. Of 452 Hurricanes fighting in France, only 66 returned to the UK; 178 of the Hurricanes were abandoned at their French airfields when the squadrons were ordered to return the Home Islands. During the Battle Of Britain, from 10 July-31 October 1940, the workhorse Hurricane formed the majority of Britain's fighter defences and despite the aura and glamour of the Spitfire, actually shot down more Luftwaffe aircraft than the latter. Generally the Spitfire goes after the fighter escorts while the Hurricane concentrated against the bombers.

In North Africa, the Hurricane reigned supreme over Italian fighters such as the CR.32, CR..42, C.200 and G.50 but suffer reverses when confronted with Bf 109s and Macchi C.202 and were replaced by Curtiss Tomahawk/Kittyhawk. Back in the ETO, the the Mark IIBs with 12 machine guns  and underwing racks were used in cross-Channel raids. The additional machine guns and the bomb load of the so-called 'Hurribombers' weighed down the aircraft and restricted its performance, nevertheless, it made for excellent attack aircraft, especially when re-armed with 20mm and 40mm cannons (the latter was used in the tank-buster role). They also played a significant role in the defence of Malta. In the Far East, 51 Hurricanes were sent to Singapore but the addition of the Vokes air filter plus additional four .303 machineguns fitted made them rather unwieldy while lack of an early warning system caused many aircraft being destroyed on the ground by Japanese bombing raids. The Hurricane was later used in a fighter-bomber role.  Also, the Hurricane was modified slightly, by adding arresting hook and catapult spool to become Sea Hurricane fighters for the Royal Navy. A total of more than 14,853 Hurricanes of all marks were built.

The Kit

Hasegawa first came up with a kit of the Hurricane (a Mark IIC, with four 20mm cannons) in 1997. Kit JT66 used here depicted the Hurricane Mk. IIB (or Mark IIA Series 2). The IIB featured a Merlin XX engine with peak power output of 1,280 and was armed with either twelve .303 Brownings (eight original guns plus two in new gun bays outboard of each of the landing lights) or four 20 mm Hispano cannons. A hardpoint for ordnance and/or fuel was added under each wing. The kit first came out in 1999. The leading edge panel for the weapon is separate, featuring the four-gun opening plus holes to be drilled in order to accommodate the extra guns and the bomb rack. The parts are well-moulded, having good surface detail and judging from previous Hasegawa kits, it should be easy to assemble. As the markings include a Hurricane from the North African theatre, a two-piece Volkes filter was also included. Neither PE nor resin parts were include. The decal sheet provide markings for two aircraft: a No. 274 Squadron and a No. 402 (Canada) Squadron.

Construction

Construction, as usual, started at the cockpit. The cockpit floor, certain interior parts and the instrument panel was painted flat black while the rest of the parts were painted British Interior Green using Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit Green (IJN) as it is fairly similar to the British Interior Green, plus it saved me the hassle of mixing the Tamiya mixture I used on my previous British WW2 aircraft. The cockpit parts are fairly detailed with the proper tubular frame between the seat and the instrument panel. No seat belts are provided however. The assembled cockpit was set aside and I started building the fuselage. The fuselage was typically split vertically but Hasegawa moulded the nose section separately, so that they would only make nose moulds for the different Marks. The nose and fuselage section were mated first on the respective sides first. Holes were drilled in the nose (to fit the exhaust glare shields) as I had already chosen the No.402 Squadron option beforehand (the holes can be puttied over, should I change my mind). The cockpit was then glued to one of the fuselage sides and the fuselage was then closed. Fit wasn't terribly good though, some puttying was needed, especially on the nose.

The wing assembly was next. Before gluing the parts together, more holes were drilled in the lower wing panels for the bomb pylons and the cartridge ejector holes for the additional outer pair of machine guns. The landing gear bay and part of the forward fuselage/wing junction were then glued to the lower wing panel. And speaking of the landing gear bay, it was riddled with ejector pin marks - I left it as it is as they won't be visible to the casual observer. Holes should also be drilled into the bay as they are, on the real aircraft, windows used by the pilot to confirm retraction of the gear. The raised details on the starboard upper wing root was removed using a hobby knife as per the instructions. Although instructed to be added later in the build, I added the panels for all the wing guns. Fit wasn't good, especially for the main gun panels. The bomb pylons were also added at this time. Holes were drilled into the additional machine gun panels before cementing them to the wing's leading edge.

The upper wing panels were then cemented to the lower half. Next, the wing assembly was then cemented to the fuselage. Fit was really not good with a rather large gap at the rear of the wing-fuselage joint, perpendicular to the raised rib effect. Not only the seam line broke the rib lines, any puttying and sanding works would remove further details from the area. Good thing it's fairly out of sight! The interior of the radiator was painted and cemented and this was followed by the radiator fairing. Decision as to which markings to choose has to be finally made when finishing the front lower fuselage as the No.274 Squadron, being based in the MTO, was fitted with the Vokes filter. I chose the No.402 option and used the regular chin fairing. This also meant the the exhaust glare shields have to fitted.

Painting and Decalling

RAF tactical aircraft in Europe after 1941 were painted Medium Sea Grey (bottom) and a camouflage pattern of Ocean Grey and Dark Green. The paints I used for the colours are Tamiya XF-83 (Medium Sea Grey) and XF-81 (Dark Green). I do not have XF-82 in stock, yet I am not in a mood to mix XF-24 Dark Grey, XF-21 Sky and XF-18 Medium Blue. IPMS Stockholm suggested that XF-54 is a good match for Ocean Grey and that's what I use, although I modify it a bit by adding XF-18 Medium Blue. The ID band on the leading edge and propeller blade tips were painted XF-3 Flat Yellow. The prop spinner was painted XF-21 Sky while the blades were painted Flat Black. The wheel bay and landing gear were painted Tamiya XF-11 (I had run out of Gunze 8). The decals were then applied the usual way. There was a bit of silvering for the squadron code letters (because of the raised ribs on the rear fuselage), even though decal softener has been applied. I waited until the decals are safe to touch, get a sharp blade, make cuts at the affected areas and reapply Mr. Mark Softer. I also punched holes in the decals over the machine gun openings.  

Finishing

What's left is to finally fix the still-loose parts. The landing gear was assembled, the paint retouched and cemented to their places, allowing the kit to stand on its own. The exhaust was painted Burnt Iron and then cemented. This was followed by the rest of the more vulnerable parts, although I left the boarding stirrup off (the stirrup is not visible in many photos of the Hurricane, so I assume it was retractable and hence, it was not attached here). I almost forgot about the outboard guns and I placed the pieces-of-plastic-pretending-to-be-gun muzzles to their places. I then applied sludge wash on the model. The bombs were then finally fixed in place. The model then received a spray of flat clear and once the paint has cured, the masks were removed, finishing the build.

Conclusion

The Hasegawa Hurricane is typical of their offering with the good points of clear instructions and generally good detail and fit. The bad points are not-so-detailed interior, no seatbelts (even in decal form) and some fit issues; and particularly for Hasegawa's Hurricanes, the joint across the fabric effect at the bottom of the wing-fuselage junction. Oh, and thick decals too. But otherwise it was actually an easy build, you just need to have that little bit of patience. It was for years the best 1/48 Hurricane(s) in town until Italeri and Airfix came up with their offering a few years back.