Basic Hurricane IIc

You don’t feel like a scale modelling expert? Don’t worry – Arma Hobby got you covered as well. Sets without bling and stickiness branded simply as “Model Kits” (formerly know as “Junior Sets”). Let’s take a look at just such release of Hurricane Mk.IIc in 1:72.

The Box

Kit with catalogue number 70036 is packed in a standard, side opening box with a nice and simple illustration on the top.

Inside we find one light grey plastic sprue, a transparent one, decals and of course instruction booklet.

Main plastic elements are known from the previously released “Expert Set”, which I also covered here some time ago (see review). Possible side effect – déjà vu during further reading.

Plastic

Let's move on to the specifics. The fuselage was traditionally divided into halves.

With subtly reproduced fabric sections covering the tail part and very delicately marked longerons.

In addition – fine recessed panel lines and a number of raised surface details.

Vertical stabilizer with rudder were designed as one part, with delicately reproduced fabric sagging.

The horizontal stabiliser on the other hand is separated from the elevator.

So the latter can be mounted in tilted position without a fuss.

Some details of the cockpit equipment were moulded directly on the inner surfaces of the fuselage halves.

Others can be found on the glued-in part of the truss.

Rear armour with delicate details looks really nice.

The pilot's seat on the other hand is a bit worse, but considering that it is just an injection moulded element – not so bad.

Similarly to the rudder bar.

Or the nicely detailed steering stick.

Plastic instrument panel is covered with raised outlines of dials, which are complemented by the supplied decals.

Thoughtfully slimmed back of the part prevents the development of sinkmarks.

Cockpit floor is integrated into the upper wing parts connector.

The wings themselves make a really good impression, thanks to the delicate raised surface details.

Lower parts looks nice as well.

Thin trailing edge and the ailerons don’t spoil the general good impression.

The problems may be caused by the splitted mountings of the wing cannons, glued together with the wing halves.

The barrels (two versions provided) look quite decent however. Although of course we won't find any exit holes in them.

The sinkholes on the gear bay tank are also absent.

The bay walls are covered with nice raised rivets.

Just like its ceiling.

Quite delicate landing gears will require increased attention when cutting from the sprue.

Main wheels looks more than decent. The "Dunlop" inscription can put more than one resin aftermarket to shame. One minor glitch is the unevenness in the lower part of the tyres, but it should not be too much trouble to remove.

The tailwheel also doesn't look bad at all.

The main wheels will be partially covered with quite decent covers.

The radiator housing consists of two parts. Rear one with thin edge of the outlet.

And the front one with an undivided oval inlet – probably to make the build easier.

Good idea, but something didn't quite work out and there are some rather bad scratches visible inside.

The radiator itself consists of two elements, directly on which the surface details have been reproduced.

Carburettor air intake was also divided into two parts.

Beware of the positioning tab when cutting the part out of the sprue!

Exhausts, like many plastic ones, doesn't look amazing.

The above are complemented by shields mounted in night fighters – superfluous in this boxing.

Propeller in one piece- no tedious assembling it from single blades.

The spinner features some delicate plastic overflows, which will be easy to remove. Oh, and modellers who like to spin something will be pleased.

Only tropical air filter left to be mentioned.

But just for sake of completeness – it is another unneeded element. The no-extras desert Hurricanes come in a different box.

Transparencies revisited

All of the small Hurricanes from AH currently available in shops (unless you happen to come across some old stock) include new, slightly tweaked clear frame – a result of the original mould being damaged and a new one having to be developed.

Using the opportunity, the canopy (which in my opinion was the weakest point of the Hurricane kits issued so far) was slimmed down a bit. Still not a top notch, but the improvement is evident. Both in terms of elements thickness and the transparency.

Unfortunately the presence of improved transparencies is not indicated on the box in any way. Although it does not matter much when buying new stock kits, it is worth bearing in mind when looking at second-hand offerings.

Decals

Well known Techmod was responsible for printing the decals included in the kit. The rather modest sheet makes a very good first impression.

Persistent staring reveals only slight irregularities on a few roundels.

Stencils on the other hand looks excellent – clear and readable.

The yellow propeller blade tips and seatbelts included on the sheet seems to be a quite reasonable addition in this edition – beginners might appreciate such a convenience.

Manual

Arma Hobby has made us accustomed to aesthetic and clear brochures guiding through the construction process. It is no different this time.

The list of suggested paints contains positions from Hataka, AK-Interactive (Real Color series), Lifecolor, AMMO, Humbrol (!), Vallejo and Tamiya.

What we can paint with those is traditionally shown on colour views, which also contain information about the proper location of the decals.

Once again – I would like to see Gunze acrylics in the table as well, but it's pretty good as it is.

Painting options

The basic (not to say poor) edition of the Arma Hobby's Hurricane contains a bit fewer paint schemes than the "Expert Set". Just two to be precise. WC-G machine from No. 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron.

Kit painting option (Arma Hobby)

And Hurricane QO-P, No. 3 Squadron RAF.

Kit painting option (Arma Hobby)

Yeah, rather limited selection – especially as both machines wear the same type of camouflage.

Conclusion

1:72 Hawker Hurricane from Arma Hobby, even after stripping off all the extras, is still a solid base for building a miniature of the hump-backed fighter in my favourite scale. Especially as there is now a revised version in circulation – with better transparencies, which were in my opinion the weakest element of the original edition.

So if someone feels an uncontrollable disgust for PE parts, or on the contrary – intends to stuff the small Hurricane with a load of aftermarkets from other manufacturers – this is certainly a kit worth considering.

MMXXI