1:72 Hawker Hurricane Mk.II/IV in Polish service part 1

When a fighter became an attack aircraft

After 1940 the development of the Hurricane set off in two directions at once. The Mk.II series received a more powerful Merlin XX and, in the Mk.IIB sub-version, twelve machine guns, while the Mk.IIC exchanged the small caliber for four 20 mm cannons. The peak was the Mk.IV with the so-called universal wing, which could carry unguided rockets as well as underwing 40 mm cannons. The elegant defender of the islands was thus transformed into a heavily armed attack machine for low-level flying.

Polish crews on the heavier machines

The Polish units changed over to the second generation during 1941, that is at the moment when the type was leaving the day fighter role and moving to attacks on ground targets and to night patrols over the Channel. It is from exactly this transitional period that the combinations of markings the sheet captures come.

A thin film and dark camouflage

The print is carried right up to the edge of the carrier, so it pays to cut as closely as possible. A wide transparent border will leave a glossy outline on dark paint that not even the final matte varnish will cover. Degrease the area before work, transfer the insignia onto a wet surface and, once settled, do not move it any more. With the cannon sub-versions, check against a photograph where the warning markings at the gun muzzles belong, because they differed between individual examples.

When to reach for the sheet

The choice falls on this set when you are building a later rendition with a different exhaust shroud and a larger radiator under the fuselage. On the first batches the markings would match neither the period nor the shape of the airframe.