1:72 Hurricane Mk.I

The real subject

The Hawker Hurricane Mk.I is a British single-seat fighter aircraft from the beginning of the Second World War. In its structure it still stood with one foot in the previous era: the skeleton of the fuselage was a tube frame, fabric-covered at the rear, so a damaged machine could be repaired quickly and right at the airfield. It was powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engine. During the Battle of Britain the Hurricanes were more numerous than the more famous Spitfires and the largest share of the kills is credited to them, even though it was mainly their companion that drew the attention.

What the set solves

This is a set of photo-etched parts in 1:72 scale for a model of the Hurricane Mk.I. An etching is thin sheet into which a pattern a few tenths of a millimeter thick can be etched; in a small scale it thus replaces the places where injection-molded plastic necessarily simplifies, and adds depth to the model where the eye looks first. What decides is the manufacturer's instructions enclosed with the set; go by them and lay the parts dry in place before the build.

Working with an etching

The sheet is springy and a small part is easily lost between the fingers, so work over a surface with a raised edge and take the parts with tweezers with smooth jaws. Cut the bridges through with a sharp blade on a hard base, not with nippers. Make the bend in the marked groove in a single pass. The parts are not polystyrene and ordinary cement for plastic will not join them; use cyanoacrylate glue in a minute amount, as excess is very hard to remove from an etching. Before painting, wash the sheet, degrease it and spray on a base coat. Where an etching is to replace a detail from the kit, cut the original shape off first and sand the area flat.

Terms of supply

A set of photo-etched parts is supplied. The kit, paints and glue are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.