Hawker Hurricane Mk.I

Italeri, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Italeri's 1/48 scale Hurricane Mk.I will be available online from Squadron.com
 

The Hawker Hurricane is one of the most iconic fighters of the Second World War.

Although it was one of the rare breed of aircraft that remained in front line service from the first day of the war until the last, it will forever remain associated with the Battle of Britain. It is therefore appropriate that Italeri has released a Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, the variant that was used in the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.

This is not the first Hurricane Mk.I in 1:48 scale. The Airfix kit of the 1970s was very nice for its time, but typically of this era it featured a very basic cockpit and raised panel detail. Hasegawa’s more recent kit is an improvement in both departments, having fine, crisply recessed panel lines and a decent cockpit, but it is hard to find today on hobby shop shelves.

Italeri’s 1:48 scale Hurricane Mk.I is a brand-new kit. It comprises 93 parts in light grey plastic (three of these are marked “not for use”), 12 parts in clear and eight photo-etched parts.

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The focus of any Hurricane kit is the distinctive fabric skinning on the rear fuselage, and Italeri has done this very well. It is subtle and convincing. I think that it is better than the Hasegawa kit in this respect. The texture does fade toward the top of the fuselage, but this may be a realistic representation of the tightness of the fabric in this area.

The rest of the surface detail is well done too. Panel lines are crisp, and fasteners are subtly recessed. The surface of the plastic is smooth.

The cockpit features the typical tubular structure of the real thing and photo-etched harness straps. Italeri makes an attempt to represent the bottomless cockpit floor by moulding the footrails above the rest of the floor. This should look okay through the cockpit opening if you paint the recessed floor area a darker shade. The control column is a bit squat though, and the yoke is squashed at the bottom.

A nicely detailed engine is supplied. This is broken down simply into 12 parts including mounts and firewall. The top and port side cowlings are separate parts, allowing part of the engine to remain on display if the modeller wishes.

A number of useful options are supplied, including de Havilland or Rotol propeller blades and spinners, separate escape panel and poseable canopy, ailerons, elevators and rudder.

The kit is broken down conventionally, and benefits from all the handy accoutrements of modern injection moulded technology including locating pins and tabs. The bottom fuselage is a separate insert, suggesting that we might see a Sea Hurricane in the future.

Clear parts are thin and free from distortion.

The decal sheet is glossy, in perfect register and is printed by Cartograf. Six marking options are offered, including one Irish and one Malta defender. The other four options are British-based RAF aircraft depicted between September and December 1940.

The package is rounded out with a 36 page A5 size reference booklet that includes wartime photos, technical drawings, detailed studies of museum examples and colour profiles.

Italeri has ticked all the boxes with their brand new 1:48 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.I. It is well detailed, the surface texture is excellent, and the engine is an interesting touch. With its relatively modest parts count, it should be a straightforward build too.

Thanks to Italeri for the sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2011 by Brett Green
Page Created 22 November, 2011
Last updated 23 November, 2011

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