Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc by Lt. Biggles - Hasegawa - 1/48

[Landlubber Mike]

I usually start with Scalemates and then go from there.  It's not fully complete but pretty close.  Sometimes it's worth scrolling down to the bottom of the page where people post their active/potential builds and the aftermarket they are going to use.  You can find a few gems there that might not show up in the list of aftermarket under the kits.  After that, I usually just do a google search that takes me to review sites and build sites to see examples and reviews of the kits and aftermarket.  OC's Relish site also looks pretty good!

 

One thing you'll find is that getting a "complete" aftermarket package for some kits can end up costing more than the kit itself!  What I have tended to do is  look on eBay for kit packages that include a bunch of aftermarket.  Much more cost effective that way, though obviously you have to wait for the auction you want and win it.  I'll give you an example - I bought my current F4F-4 Wildcat kit off of eBay which had the Aires full detail set and a couple of other upgrades for about $50 with shipping (from Greece of all places).  The Aires detail set alone I've seen retail for $60-80.  I ended up adding the Wolfpack wing fold and the Eduard PE set separately.

 

Another good thing about buying a kit with extras on eBay is that someone else has already taken the time (and money) to cobble together the various aftermarket.  It can be a little frustrating starting fresh and trying to source the AM you want as sellers generally don't carry all aftermarket brands.  In addition, it seems that putting aside big operations like Eduard, a lot of the good AM outfits tend to be small and don't seem to last very long in the business.  So sometimes it can be hard to find a particular AM set that has been discontinued.

 

A couple of good places to find kits and aftermarket are Sprue Brothers and Kitlinx.  Sign up for the emails as they run periodic sales that can be well worth it.  There are some good sellers on eBay too who have some of the harder to find AM.

 

One other point to make is that a lot of the AM marketplace is filled by third parties.  Sometimes the parts fit well, other times less so.  I've had to do a lot of work to make the Aires set fit in my Wildcat build and it can get frustrating.  If you don't want to have to fuss with ill-fitting AM, maybe consider looking at Eduard kits.  Their newer kits apparently are great and they are adding lots of customization packages with their Brassin, Lookit, etc. lines (and packages like their Royal Class and limited edition roll outs).  Given that it's all in-house, my guess is that fit issues are minimal to none.  I've got a few of their kits in the stash that I'm itching to do when I get a little more experienced, and the detail packages offered are really cool.

 

I have to say that all and all, it's fun being able to customize a plane kit to the way you want to build it.  Do you want to show off the cockpit?  Show off the engine?  Make a diorama setting?  Very cool stuff.  On the ship side, the aftermarket seems to be generally more geared toward improving the scale details beyond the limitations of plastic parts, and also to add neat things like wooden decks, figures, deck accessories, etc.  There seems to be less AM when it comes to car kits, but there are detail PE sets from folks like Model Car Garage, resin suppliers for "corrected" bodies, wheels, or other parts.

 

Sorry, that's probably a lot more than you wanted to know - two cups of coffee this morning  Hope that helps!

[Lt. Biggles]

Thanks all for the tips and sites! Looks like those 2 coffees really did their job this morning LandLubber Mike!

 

seems I had the right rough idea! But now have some good places to start my searching! It’s abit like researching a build, looking for those gems in all sorts of places! 

Move got enough aftermarket for this Hurricane but wondering if my next build is as internal as external. No idea what a/c that will be though but I do like the WW2 era European theatre.

[popeye the sailor]

there are quite a few places to find aftermarket....even some of the main stream outlets are beginning to stock it.

 

S q u a d r o n . c o m - Squadron Savings

Scalehobbyist.com: Model airplanes, ships, military vehicles and modeling supplies

Gold Medal Models Home Page

 

I got others..........the cockpit looks really good  

[Egilman]

31 minutes ago, Lt. Biggles said:

seems I had the right rough idea! But now have some good places to start my searching! It’s abit like researching a build, looking for those gems in all sorts of places! 

WE aim to please Brother, glad it helped..... It's what we'er here for....

[Lt. Biggles]

Another thing I’ve been thinking about. Has anyone tried using electromagnetic levitation devices inside a model to display it? Planes just look so much cooler in flight and gear up. Silly gravity 

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, Lt. Biggles said:

Silly gravity 

Silly electric bill...

[lmagna]

I have given it some thought by using Neodymium magnets but nothing beyond the experiment stage. You need the right fuselage and everything needs to be balanced unless you use more than one "levitation" point.

 

For electro magnetic you could look into something like this; https://www.wish.com/product/5e03067a5e89a702daa90bde?hide_login_modal=true&from_ad=goog_shopping&_display_country_code=US&_force_currency_code=USD&pid=googleadwords_int&c={campaignId}&ad_cid=5e03067a5e89a702daa90bde&ad_cc=US&ad_lang=EN&ad_curr=USD&ad_price=27.00&campaign_id=7203534630&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzsz-BRCCARIsANotFgMuFyhUJyYZZzpPGB3vXMHkkUZZz6a_d4BFGDrmZRTp52L2lvnQ83gaArjPEALw_wcB&share=web

 

Here is a commercial version in use; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWeEL63Hzs

 

 

 

And if you really need extra lift; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWeEL63Hzs

 

 

[Lt. Biggles]

2 hours ago, lmagna said:

I have given it some thought by using Neodymium magnets but nothing beyond the experiment stage. You need the right fuselage and everything needs to be balanced unless you use more than one "levitation" point.

 

For electro magnetic you could look into something like this; https://www.wish.com/product/5e03067a5e89a702daa90bde?hide_login_modal=true&from_ad=goog_shopping&_display_country_code=US&_force_currency_code=USD&pid=googleadwords_int&c={campaignId}&ad_cid=5e03067a5e89a702daa90bde&ad_cc=US&ad_lang=EN&ad_curr=USD&ad_price=27.00&campaign_id=7203534630&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzsz-BRCCARIsANotFgMuFyhUJyYZZzpPGB3vXMHkkUZZz6a_d4BFGDrmZRTp52L2lvnQ83gaArjPEALw_wcB&share=web

 

Here is a commercial version in use; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWeEL63Hzs

 

 

 

And if you really need extra lift; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWeEL63Hzs

 

 

Wow there are a few little gadgets out there! Thanks for the links. Seems the technology isn’t quite ready for them to be used on a model plane... imagine it moving and snapping down on the base 😂 

with all my projects so far I’ve tried to include something new, my ship I did the ocean base and a few years ago I built a uboat and put it in resin so that’s now my lamp. Thought it would be cool to try have an aircraft in flight for real! 

 

I cant do much on my hurricane until the seat belt arrives and then I can join the fuselage halves.

i did cut out the hand grip though.

 

 

its all I’ve done

[Danstream]

Nice to have the hand grip carved out. If you leave it open, you might want later to extend also the footstep located on the underside of the wing root. The two were mechanically linked (the hand grip opened when the footstep was extended).

Best regards,

Dan.

[Lt. Biggles]

15 hours ago, Danstream said:

Nice to have the hand grip carved out. If you leave it open, you might want later to extend also the footstep located on the underside of the wing root. The two were mechanically linked (the hand grip opened when the footstep was extended).

Best regards,

Dan.

Hey Dan,

 

yea I’ll be putting the footstep on.

i had no idea the hand hold flap was connected to the footstep! Learnt something new!

[Lt. Biggles]

Decided I would model the plane with no control lock in place (I assume that’s the reason) so took the elevators and did a million cuts to separate them, breaking 2 brand new blade tips in the process!

 

 

 

took some patience but got there in the end. I think it will not be directly noticeable but adds just a nice extra touch to the over all look.

 

 

half done 

 

 

Managed to snap off one of the horn balances and it flew across my room and went through a grill and ended up inside my computer. So glued it up and sanded it so hopefully I’ve fixed it good enough that once primed it will be totally unnoticeable.

[Old Collingwood]

Certainly adds more life to the  build with the elavators lowerd,   and  what you say about a  "Flying part"  off your kit  when  working on it  - so fits in to probably all of our  work practices  - wouldn't be normal  unless something going missing.

 

OC.

[Lt. Biggles]

Where I can been working on the wheel bay. Seems out of the factory they were painted in a silver coloured dope and then with maintenance and new paints the colour could end up the same as the underside. So that how mine will be, well used and had a few coats of paint.

 

 

painted with 2 shades of grey and then darker grey for some highlights.

 

 

there are a few few pics of the wheel bay about so just mixed and matched. This part is pretty much never seen anyway.

 

 

 

ill match the rest of the undercarriage bays with what I’ve done so far.

[Old Collingwood]

I love  the datailing in those wheel wells  - very realistic.

 

OC.

[Lt. Biggles]

I’ve got a question for all you plane builders.

 

is it frowned upon to glue the top sides of the wings to the fuselage first.

 

 

then once on attach the underside and do whats needed to make them fit? 

Pros would be the best possible fit on the upper surface meaning much less filler on the part you can actually see.

a con would be if the underside doesn’t fit with the top in correct place could be a disaster.

 

otherwise instructions say join wing halves together then attach to fuselage 

 

 

which dry fitting shows an awful join.

 

any one attempted something like this before? Any ideas? Am kinda leaning towards glueing the tops to fuselage first at the moment just for that amazing join

[Old Collingwood]

One  issue that could crop up with gluing the top halves of the wings to the fuselage  first  -  if the dihedral is out of align after gluing the top wings to the fuselage  - it could throw out the lower section when that is offered up and glued, however dry fitting and subtle adjustment  could remedy  that, but aprt from that I can see the advantage (no join lign or gap ontop)

 

OC.

[Canute]

I'll second OC on the dihedral. It can sometimes be a roll of the dice, based on the quality of the molds.

 

What some folks use is a HobbyZone or similar fixture to ensure the dihedral of the flying surfaces are set properly. This one: https://www.hobbyzone.biz/shop.shtml#!/HobbyZone-AJ01-Aircraft-Assembly-Jig/p/95137622/category=26620395

You may also want a good front or back shot to make sure of the angles with respect to the vertical centerline of the fuselage..

[Egilman]

4 hours ago, Lt. Biggles said:

I’ve got a question for all you plane builders.

 

is it frowned upon to glue the top sides of the wings to the fuselage first.

 

then once on attach the underside and do whats needed to make them fit? 

Pros would be the best possible fit on the upper surface meaning much less filler on the part you can actually see.

a con would be if the underside doesn’t fit with the top in correct place could be a disaster.

 

otherwise instructions say join wing halves together then attach to fuselage 

 

My experience with doing it that way is that usually the lower wings are not the exact length required for a good match at the wing tips..... When you tweak the wings up or down to get the tips to match it throws out the dihedral of the wings..... When you get it glued straight up this way, you usually have to sand down the wing tips, reshaping them which unless done very carefully alters the wing appearance.....

 

The other issue is the glue surfaces, between the upper wings and fuselage may not match or will be perfectly vertical which will flex the fuselage fatter when you mount the lower wing half....

 

Not that it can't be done, but think it through, which is more work? filling a few millimeters along the wingroot at worst and having everything line up correctly, or, having to do five times the work to fix the issues that rearranging the build sequence could entail?

 

Beyond that, you have enough experience to figure it out yourself my friend....

 

Why reinvent the wheel?

[Old Collingwood]

12 minutes ago, Egilman said:

 

My experience with doing it that way is that usually the lower wings are not the exact length required for a good match at the wing tips..... When you tweak the wings up or down to get the tips to match it throws out the dihedral of the wings..... When you get it glued straight up this way, you usually have to sand down the wing tips, reshaping them which unless done very carefully alters the wing appearance.....

 

The other issue is the glue surfaces, between the upper wings and fuselage may not match or will be perfectly vertical which will flex the fuselage fatter when you mount the lower wing half....

 

Not that it can't be done, but think it through, which is more work? filling a few millimeters along the wingroot at worst and having everything line up correctly, or, having to do five times the work to fix the issues that rearranging the build sequence could entail?

 

Beyond that, you have enough experience to figure it out yourself my friend....

 

Why reinvent the wheel?

I was also thinking the same EG,  you gotta stop reading my mind bro  - mind  you Two minds and all that.

 

OC.

[Danstream]

16 hours ago, Lt. Biggles said:

I’ve got a question for all you plane builders.

 

is it frowned upon to glue the top sides of the wings to the fuselage first.

I have done it in reverse, i.e. gluing the lower part first and then, after removing the centering pins, the two upper halves making sure that the junction at the root is tight and nice. Certainly, you might have a small mismatch between the parts of some fraction of mm. At the tips, it is not a problem because few strokes of a sanding stick will solve the issue. The most visible drawback is the alignment of the panel lines at the leading edge and the holes of the guns. For the panel lines, I anyway end up with rescribing them because I putty and sand the junction at the leading edge. The holes of the guns should not be a problem in your case because I understand that they are located on separate parts to be glued in place afterwards.

Good luck,

Dan.

Edited December 17, 2020 by Danstream

[Lt. Biggles]

Thanks for the comments and tips. It was the pros and cons I had been weighing up so good to know I was thinking down the right line. Will have a good think about it

[popeye the sailor]

to add to it............I've never seen it done this way either.   I've not seen it done in the opposite......no matter how it's done,  getting away from gaps is futile,  due to the fact that they are separate parts.  as most have done,  a good filler is used.  now if your a steady hand,  you could carefully squirt a small amount of liquid CA into the gap and let it run down the seam.  don't touch it!....let it dry.  I don't use fillers too much.......reason being is the sanding that has to be done after.  you could lose some detail and rivet lines.   a fine needle point will deliver the Ca without getting any on the outer surface.

[Canute]

Could also slide thin styrene strips into the gaps. Let dry overnight and gently reshape. Make sure you protect all the detail around it.

 

Super glue can be tricky once it hardens. The surrounding plastic can be softer, so sanding can remove details.

[Old Collingwood]

Another idea  - Vallejo  liquid  putty  (the one in the tube with the really fine nozzle)   I used that on my  Spit  and Mossie, its easy to apply and wipe off the excess  before it sets  and because the nozzle is so fine and small you can place down a really thin bead of filler.

 

OC.

[Egilman]

Another suggestion,

 

Mr Surfacer 500, works well in the filling with no sanding department.... Many of the online demonstrations are of actually filling wing root gaps....

[Lt. Biggles]

Thanks.

I might look into Vallejo liquid putty. I’ve got a tamiya one but it’s pretty thick and tough to work with even when thinned a lot.

I like when you can clean up the edges well before it sets to reduce unnecessary sanding (which is my favourite job ever) sarcasm...

[Lt. Biggles]

It’s less than 3 hours till Christmas and I’ve spent awhile working on the seatbelt which arrived a few days ago. 

 

 

Was a lot more parts than I thought and how they go together was quite unclear even with google. But I think it looks better than no seatbelt and finishes off the cockpit well.

 

 

hope everyone one has a nice Christmas

[Old Collingwood]

That is looking  Superb,     all the best to  you and yours  over the holiday.

 

OC.

[Lt. Biggles]

Well with the cockpit complete everything took a sudden huge leap! Was quite a surprise! Glued 3 joints and this was the result.

 

 

some big big gaps in the wing roots which I’d already mentioned and discussed, went with building the wings as per the instructions. Ended up getting both types of Vallejo putty bottles and I like how runny it is. Just wish It would dry a bit harder as I’m finding if I’m not really careful sanding that chunks of the filler come off. The good side to that issue is because it’s a bit rubbery it’s got lots of play so won’t crack when it’s flexed.

have a feeling it will take awhile to do all the filling and get the rest of the bits on before the prime.

[Old Collingwood]

What I found real useful with Vallejo putty  is you can also use a cotton bud or piece of rag and wipe over the gap being filled, or even a finger   - its that plyable.

 

OC.