1:32 Hawker Hurricane I

Polish squadrons in the Battle of Britain

The Hurricane entered the summer of 1940 as the most numerous British fighter. A steel tube frame covered in fabric and plywood could be repaired on the airfield itself after a hit, which at the pace of the fighting then meant more than a few kilometers per hour of extra speed. Units made up of pilots who had reached England through France from a shattered Poland flew the type as well, and their combat record was among the best of the whole campaign.

Three machines, two units

Two of the subjects come from No. 303 Squadron at Northolt airfield. The first was flown by the commander of one of the flights, the Canadian officer John Kent, the second was led by Witold Urbanowicz, one of the most successful Polish fighter pilots of the time. The third aircraft belonged to No. 306 Squadron and is captured at Ternhill station. All three carry standard British camouflage with roundels, and the difference between them lies in serial numbers and flight letters, so the whole trio can be built and both units kept together.

Application in a large scale

British roundels have several concentric rings and at 1:32 they are already so large that the slightest ripple under the film is glaring. Smooth the base out and coat it with gloss, settle the decal onto a film of water and squeeze the excess out with a tissue from the center to the edges. Align the letters on the fuselage by their lower edge, not by eye. The kit and paints are not here; the sheet completes a finished model.