A tale of two Hurricanes

[Allen Dewire]

Finally catching up here Steve! A comparison is always a good thing to follow and learn from. it's funny that the Fly plastic was so brittle in your kit. I have their Ar-234 Nightfighter kit and I found the plastic was very good to work with. The lack of alignment pins made it tricky in assembly, but not a prob. The resin parts were really well cast and had a good fit. Same with their etch. I'm in for the long run here, so keep it coming, Sir!!!

Prost
Allen

 

[stona]

For some reason the Fly plastic is very brittle. There's no give at all meaning some of their attempts at molding thin parts are tricky both to remove from the frame and to clean up. They need quite a bit of clean up. The larger parts, like the fuselage sides are fine and fit together well.
I agree about the resin, that's all nicely cast, I haven't had to fill any bubbles or anything. The wheel well requires a lot of filing/sanding to make it fit. Mine is currently so thin on top that it's translucent, and it still only just fits.
Likewise the P-E, it's just that some of the parts are so small, and the metal so thin, that attaching some of the parts is always going to be problematic. I've still got almost all of it into the cockpit using a 2.5x magnifier and what's left is mainly larger parts for the radiators, intakes etc. and should be no problem.

The weird thing is that for all that work on the Fly kit, there's a lot more in the Revell cockpit, albeit all in plastic. Some of the Fly parts clearly look better. Their P-E/film sandwich for the instrument panel or P-E foot boards are much better than Revell's plastic equivalents. It's why making direct comparisons is tricky, they are two very different kits.

One thing is certain, bearing in mind that I have only just started the Revell kit, the Fly kit has presented more challenges...so far.

 

[stona]

Today I have received some paint masks from Australia (DN Models, but the cheapest I could find them was from an outfit called BNA Model World) and a Sutton Harness from the Czech Republic (Martin Bobeck/HGW odels).

They were ordered on the same day! The world really is becoming smaller.

Does anyone else use Maketar masks? I have a feeling that they may be out of business. Their website has been showing this message for many weeks now. To my mind 'back soon' doesn't mean in months

 

[stona]

Back to the job in hand.

I've got the Revell cockpit almost done. There are a couple of parts which need decals (instrument panel and compass) which I will add later.

There's far more in the Revell cockpit and it is not difficult to build. It's why comparisons are so tricky. This is a kit from a major manufacturer, with all the resources that it can bring to bear. It's reflected in the amount of plastic you get and the clever engineering.



The harness is NOT in the box, that's an aftermarket addition.

 

[stona]

I've had limited time of late, but I now have both models at close to the same stage of construction.

You can make your own minds up about the two offices!



Next, I'll turn my attention back to the Fly kit.

 

[adt70hk]

Coming on nicely Steve!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking good Steve. Left hand office looks like it has more going on to me….

 

[stona]

Left hand office looks like it has more going on to me….

It definitely does.
The Revell cockpit looks a lot busier and, frankly, more realistic.

 

[stona]

This post is probably only relevant to those who already have one of the Fly kits, or fancy taking a swing at one.

I understand, via the wonders of the internet, that some people struggle to fit this very nice looking resin wheel well into the kit.



You can probably see that this is a dry fit with everything taped together!

Trust me, the wheel well will fit.



It's tight. The bottom of the cockpit structure is bearing on the top of the wheel well in places, and I have thinned it down to be literally translucent in places (when held up to what passes for daylight here in Birmingham). You wouldn't want to take much more material off, you would risk holes in the top of the wheel well. I have established that there is enough room for me to position some plastic card 'tabs' to aid me with the position and attachment of the upper wings.

While we are at it, I've just noticed that I have inadvertently taken a picture of one of the best features of this kit, the representation of the fabric of the fuselage stretched over the timber stringers.

 

[KarlW]

Cracking on nicely, I see poor fit as a common complaint regarding resin wheel wells.
Also use BNA model world quite often for stuff I can't find in Europe.

 

[stona]

Cracking on nicely, I see poor fit as a common complaint regarding resin wheel wells.
Also use BNA model world quite often for stuff I can't find in Europe.

I honestly believe that a lot of the time it's caused by not liberating the actual resin part from the casting block properly. I suppose I have the advantage of having worked with resin and having built resin kits, which does require a bit of experience.

BNA did a good job of getting their stuff to me, so tip of the hat to our Aussie friends. It was just some masks, so a very small package. I wouldn't know how getting more substantial packages all the way from Australia would work. What about customs? I got stung a few years ago ordering a Zoukei-Mura kit from Japan.

 

[KarlW]

I honestly believe that a lot of the time it's caused by not liberating the actual resin part from the casting block properly. I suppose I have the advantage of having worked with resin and having built resin kits, which does require a bit of experience.

BNA did a good job of getting their stuff to me, so tip of the hat to our Aussie friends. It was just some masks, so a very small package. I wouldn't know how getting more substantial packages all the way from Australia would work. What about customs? I got stung a few years ago ordering a Zoukei-Mura kit from Japan.

Definitely only AM bits, though I did get a resin conversion kit from them once, but pre brexit.

 

[stona]

Final update for a couple of days (at least) due once again to the requirement to earn a living.

There is an issue with the top of the fin to fix. This is just a poorly formed fuselage half, but nothing too difficult. There's also a little bit of sorting on the underside to do. This is at the rear of the wing centre section where it joins the fuselage and is pretty typical of a lot of aircraft models.

Generally the fit, for this type of kit, is pretty good. I've seen far worse!

Clearly visible are the tabs I've fitted to give something for the wing sections to index on. Also typically for this sort of kit there are absolutely no pins or any other type of locators. The instructions seem to show the wings and centre section being built first and then added to the fuselage, though occasionally things do seem to magically appear on the model, in the instructions, with no prior mention Building it the way I think the instructions suggest is a really bad idea! If there are going to be any issues I don't want them at the wing-fuselage join(s), I want them on the leading edge where they are much easier to address. I will attach the upper wing and then the lower wing and see what's what.



I'm endeavouring to keep the two models at least vaguely in-sync, not as easy as it sounds for two very different kits. When I get back I will get the wings on this one and then attempt to bring the Revell kit to a similar stage.

 

[Richard48]

Sorry for the late arrival.Am very partial to the Hurricane.If i may i shall join the watchers from the cheap seats.Watching with interest.Doing a marvellous job so far.
Rich.

 

[stona]

I had an unexpected afternoon off today, so, being at a bit of a loose end, I got the wings on the Fly Hurricane.

This was in fact a bit of a challenge. So far I have got the upper surface looking pretty good:



Oh, I fixed the fin too.

There's still a bit of faffing to be done on the underside, but that will be for another day. I don't use a proprietary filler, I'm happy with a mixture of superglue and talcum powder. You can make it the consistency you want, it is a glue and will stick or hold things together (unlike some fillers), it does not shrink and it dries very hard. This last point means that you need to sand it before it becomes much harder than the surrounding plastic! I typically wipe away any excess before it dries.



If you want a kit which throws itself together, then this is not for you. If, however, you enjoy a bit of a challenge and are prepared to make a bit of an effort to build what is starting to look like a very nice Hurricane, then go for it

 

[colin m]

All looking very nice Steve. Am I correct in thinking you've built a Fly kit before ? If so then I'm not sure if this emotion I'm feeling is pity or worry, as in why another one ? However, I do remember from my build, whilst the Fly is a bit of a frustrating build, the end result was very nice.

 

[Jim R]

Definitely coming together now Steve. Although the fit isn't perfect there doesn't appear to be any major issues.

.. one of the best features of this kit, the representation of the fabric of the fuselage stretched over the timber stringers.

Yes that is well done indeed.

 

[stona]

All looking very nice Steve. Am I correct in thinking you've built a Fly kit before ? If so then I'm not sure if this emotion I'm feeling is pity or worry, as in why another one ? However, I do remember from my build, whilst the Fly is a bit of a frustrating build, the end result was very nice.

Hi Colin, yes I've built at least one of these before. It was long enough ago that my memory had drawn a discrete veil over the kit's....shortcomings.

It does require a bit of work and you're right, it is shaping up to make a nice Hurricane.

The Fly kit was the only game in town for a 1/32 Hurricane (apart from a really horrible Revell kit, as far as I know) until this newer Revell kit was released. That would certainly be why I built one previously.

 

[stona]

I've managed to squeeze in a bit of bench time so far this weekend. I've been pushing on with the Fly kit and have suddenly realised that I need to stop that one and get on with the other one. It's hard to do because you always see that one more thing you could do, rather than leaving something in a mess!

This is how the Fly Hurricane currently stands. The sharp eyed will notice a tropical air intake, so I've committed to that version, it will be a 'Malta Hurricane'.



The Revell Hurricane has, I think it safe to say, fallen a bit behind.

 

[stona]

I wasn't going to do an update until I'd made some progress with the Revell kit, but I have come to a point that illustrates the difference between the two and why direct comparisons, though inevitable, are always going to be unfair.

Remember this?



The fuselage of the Fly Hurricane, ready for its wings. There are no locating/indexing pins or tabs of any nature, apart from those I have added myself. It's up to you to figure it out and to make the wings fit. It requires some work.

Then there is this:



This is the way the lower wing is engineered to attach to the wheel well/bottom of the fuselage in the Revell kit. It is almost impossible to get this wrong. Everything will line up nicely, as evidenced by the join on the other, eventually visible, side.


Now, whilst kudos is due Revell for making such a well engineered kit with parts that fit this well, it would be completely unreasonable to expect a company like Fly to do the same and stay in business.

I think that's an important point to make.