1:48 Hawker Hurricane - Airframe Stencil / Data Marking (Part 1)

Hawker Hurricane - airframe stencil and data markings, part 1, 1:48 - Aviaeology

This is a sheet of technical and servicing stencil markings for the airframe, that is, of the small notices and symbols printed on a real aircraft beside filler points, beside servicing doors, beside walkway and no-step areas or beside the jacking points. They are not national insignia, squadron codes or serial numbers; the manufacturer has those in separate series and they are not on this sheet. The manufacturer labels the sheet as part 1 of the series, so it need not cover the whole airframe. Check the extent of the sheet on the box.

The real subject

The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-engine fighter with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. It had mixed construction: a tubular fuselage frame with fabric covering over the rear, which made it easy to repair right at the squadrons. It was precisely that servicing access and the frequent field maintenance that showed on the real machines as a mass of small notices around the panels and filler points, and they bring a model in 1:48 scale noticeably to life.

Application tips

The stencil markings are small, so cut them out one at a time and carry them on a damp brush or with tweezers. A gloss varnish base matters even more on tiny motifs than it does on roundels. A decal fixer applied in advance pulls the decal down, and a decal softener after seating draws it into the engraved lines. Seal with varnish once dry so that the edges of the film disappear.

Who the sheet is for

• builds of the Hurricane in 1:48 scale with demands on fidelity
• modelers whose stencil markings from the box are missing or illegible
• builds for competitions, where the small notices are judged
• adding to an already painted model before the final coat

This is an accessory for a model, not a kit. The base kit, glue and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.