Here I am having a new study and work bench and in great itch to return to active scale modelling instead of just staring at my stash and drooling over fantasising, and I am after something easy, something quick. Something that is both an easy build and an easy paint, just to work my speed up. Ah-ha! New(ish) mould Airfix Sea Hurricane! “Nice simple kit” Isay, “Mostly white, how hard can it be?” I said! Boy was I about to get myself sucked into a rabbit hole! For starters, the kit is lacking in correct detail. Of course I didn’t rescribe any panel lines or re arange rivets or suchlike, but is it too much to as for even as decent position lights or radio antenna mast or even a pitot tube from a model in 1/72 scale? I mean we are not in the 60’s anymore right? Anyways, mustn’t complain much. I assembled the kit with not much of a trouble.
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And then I tried to find out about the colour and camouflage scheme… The colours suggested by the instructions were a little dubious. Although I still prefer to use Humbrol and Model Masters (yes my heart is old) colours were not very very precise…plus I didn’t have them…mixed! Since I had to read several topics in Britmodeller, Armored Carriers and a few other places and follow a few Photo reference sources, I realised that nobody is ecxactly sure about how much of what colour is where on the aircraft…s…because the squadron was not in unison aboard HMS Nariana. At least I came to two conclusions: 1- At least we are sure that the white “Anti-Submarine Warfare” scheme is painted over (and hastily) the usual 2 tone FAA camouflage…and decided to paint at least to the Dark Sea Grey, all over:
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…and 2- Airfix instruction sheet, and in conjunction most modellers posted the finished model online, are wrong. The 7 o K is not Niki. Confused yet?
I went on painting the underside to “sky” Humbrol 90, after a few more sleepless nights trying to determine if the commender of the fleet ordered “white all over” or just top sides, if so is it sky the earlier beige version or the bluish hue. Then I tried to emulate the torture these unfortunate birds endured on a converted merchant vessel in the Northern Atlantic out in the open by adding a little hull red and post shading.
…and realised there were missing lines… at least I tried to make up for the more prominent ones.
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Topside whites were another problem. I could understand that it is an “off white” but if it is hard masked or free hand, or down to what poit it is white, is it all white were my unanswered questions. From the archive Photos, I could deduce that it wasn’t hard masked. Nearly all close ups showed overspray at the cowling, propeller blade and spinner conjunction and at some aircraft even on the topsides of the exhaust pipes. Thus I decided to paint as following:
Note the, admitedly unskillful, overspray on the propeller roots.
Next stop is decals. I mean, this is the fun part right? Good printed thin filmed and conciderably fresh decal sheet, what could go wrong right? And then this happened:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2oozsZB]
And also some serious silvering in some parts although I have excessively used Future underneath!
Anyways, decals are more or less done. Next up detail painting.
I have added some minor details to the wheel bays but I am still not sure what colour I should paint the bays. I am almost sure the undercarriages and lids are metallic dope inside but the pays? Does anyone have any idea if they are metallic or interrior Green?
Could be interior green, silver or same as the exterior.
You can’t see the full bay in this old colour photo, but the legs inside of the doors are in azure blue.
There is a Sea Hurricane flying with the Shuttleworth Collection, might be a good place to start with a Google image search.
Thanks for the direction. I think I know the aircraft you are referring to. The landing gears and inside of the covers are silver, bays themselves are interior green. Since it is a different mark + it is heavily restored and taken good care of + as you mentioned anything goes I am still in confusion. I think I will go with silver.
Happy to help. I’ve seen Hurricane builds with the wells, doors and legs painted in all ways. The Shuttleworth Hurricane is probably a good place to start, as they do try to restore to a high degree of accuracy.
Only thing I can think of about silver, is that there was a point mid war when the Air Ministry ordered all aluminium to be used in airframe construction rather than paints. It was something I read in the armour forums a while back concerning British afv interiors. Pre and early war they used a silver paint that contained aluminium powder, but they had to switch to white. It’s always possible that Hawker continued to use remaining stocks of silver paint until they ran out. They would definitely have used some sort of paint to protect the metal against the elements. Salt water reacts in a really weird way with aluminium!
Looking good to me … I like the dirty - grimy look in the undercarriage area.
I like it!
Ok, if you say so…I cannot argue with majority:} Another question to whomever prefers to answer: Since I started to weather and soil the model before painting the enigmatic(there are no clear photographs showing them) D-Day stripes, should I omit them entirely and depict the aircraft in the period between the white scheme application and 5th of June 1944, or apply the decals/paint the stripes and portray in close to Operation Overlord?
I think that’s entirely up to you if you go for the stripes. Personally, I think it would add some visual interest to the aircraft. Ifrc the stripes are on the underside of the wings and it didn’t have any on the fuselage sides?
Now, if you do decide to, it might be good to paint them. It would tie in with the hastily applied white. Little notice was given about the stripes and they were usually painted quite sloppily. On my old laptop I have a photo saved of a B-26 with the pattern reversed on one wing! The guy painting that side didn’t talk to the one painting the other If you can find a photo of a Hurricane with stripes (or even a Typhoon which had a similar shaped wing), use it as a guide. You could certainly use the Airfix decals as a template for masks too.
That was more or less what was on my mind. @phantom_phanatic thanks for the encouragement. Oh dear God, this model is not going to ever finish !
My pleasure. It’s close to the finish line, keep going with it.
There’s a few photos of Hurricane with stripes, but not many. The type had largely been withdrawn from service in Europe by '44. A few were still knocking around for training and squadron hacks.
This one seems to have been used to deliver post across the channel!
Haven’t uncovered anything yet for the Sea Hurricanes, so it’s a bit puzzling. Would be worth looking into the squadrons and carriers history to find out exactly what they were doing in the summer of '44 that needed the stripes.
Thanks once more for the encouragement for further research. With a new search for HMS Nairana I came across here . Acording to this source, which I somehow didn’t find before, the white scheme is applied on or before January 1944…aaaand, Sea Hurricane NF 672 “7K”, my plane, got into a close fight with Ju290, shooting it down with another squardon mate on 26th of May 1944. There is no mention around 6th of June, but on mid July 7K crashed at landing in Gibraltar(I think), while operating from Land. I am definitely not sure about the stripes now. My only clue about stripes is the vague shadow on the edge of the photograph below, and I can’t date it. See left hand side just under the 20mms.
It’s a tricky one to interpret. Could be a black stripe. Could be a different coloured panel appearing darker in the shadows.
I’ve recently had similar confusion with FAA operation names. Not long back I picked Revell’s really nice new tool clip wing Corsair but found the markings a bit uninspiring. Not a problem, I’ve got the ye olde Airfix reissue from a couple of years ago with much more interesting colours. One of which is flying from the Formidable in Operation Goodwood 1944. Cool, I thought! Never knew Corsairs fought over Normandy!
But, it’s not THAT Operation Goodwood, but the strikes against the Tirpitz in Norway. Now this is bizarre because operation codenames are not supposed to be repeated. And certainly not within the same time frame.
Very strange. Still, will definitely be a good one to do as I have nothing from those operations.
Ok, here it is, done!
I decided not to paint the D-Day stripes after all, since I couldn’t find sufficient evidence. On the hind side, I had better put some dirt/dust on the wheels but I don’t think I will.
Unexpectedly she won a 3rd place in the 1/72 Propeller Aircraft (Masters) cathegory of the 2023 annual Istanbul contest, along with her sister.
Looks great! 