The Last Hurricane - Finished

[geedubelyer]

Really nice job Michael. 

A very unique looking Hurricane 

 

Well done mate 

[RCPlym]

45 minutes ago, Dpgsbody55 said:

And so on to the final installment of this build.  The exhausts were the first thing to be installed.  These are different on this model to the normal Hurricane as they are individual stubs just as on a Spitfire.  So I got hold of a set of Quickboost exhausts for the Tamiya Spitfire and adapted one of the two sets of exhausts provided in this kit.  There's a picture in an earlier update of how I did this, so here they are painted and mounted up on the "engine".

 

 

Tail wheel and pilot's stirrup are next, along with the clear lights on the fuselage spine and rudder.  I've chosen the retracted stirrup as extending this down also opened up a hand hold in the fuselage which I haven't modelled.  The tail wheel leg is the one poor part of this kit in my opinion, not because it's unrealistic, but because the mounting stub into the fuselage is very shallow.  This may work fine on a smaller model, but on a 1/32 scale model, you need a deeper stronger tail wheel mount.  It's taken three days to fully set so that it can take the weight, and I expect that one day it will sag and the tail wheel itself will be in contact with the fuselage.

 

 

The main wheels were next.  They're pretty much stock from the kit except that I made my own brake lines.  These are molded into the undercarriage doors, but they're very faint, so I embellished using wire.  The wheels were filed to simulate the weight of the plane on them.  I used a straight edge to determine where to file, before the wheels were glued in place.  You have to be spot on here as the wheels have a notch in them to match the axles so there's only one way to mount them onto the axles.

 

 

A closer view.  As soon as the wheels were finished, I put the prop on as well.

 

 

A closer view of the exhausts after a little dry brushing and weathering.  A small amount of exhaust staining has been added, but this plane was kept pretty clean and it's hard to see anyway on a dark glossy finish.

 

 

Next, the canopy went on, after adding something to engage the canopy runners on the fuselage sides. The last job was to paint on the walkway on the wing roots which I initially forgot to do before taking lots of pictures...    Here it is all done.  With the painted walkways....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another build wrapped up, and I'm very pleased with the result.  This is one of two "passion" projects I want to do this year, both of planes that inspired me as a teenager.  I first saw a picture of G-AMAU in a booklet on the Hurricane given to me when I was sixteen by a very close and dear, but sadly long since departed, friend and fellow modeller so this is in his memory.  I did try this plane back in the early seventies, but due to a lack of suitable decals or any other aftermarket plus a lack of talent on my part, it wasn't that good and got binned when my family moved from Sydney to Perth in 1972.  I'm very, very happy with Revell for offering this option in this kit.

 

There will be an RFI, but that will have to wait for a couple of days.  Then it's on to the next one which will also be blue, but is not the other"passion" project.  That will be after the next blue one.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

Well doesn't that look different! 

Amazing how a simple change of normal colours produce an entirely different look altogether!

 

Super blue!

[Greif8]

Wow, really well built and eye-catching Hurricane Michael.  It looks like it could fly as part of the USN Blue Angels team!  Very impressive work!

 

Ernest

[Shoggz]

That’s a really lovely build.

[Mal_Belford]

Woaaa.

 

And say as everyone done.

 

i Like This Build alot, many reasons, its blue, a story, its different,  yes well executed, and very impressive work...and among many things.

 

Love it..

 

as it stands out.

[mozart]

Absolute beaut mate! 

[Gazzas]

What a great job!

[Dpgsbody55]

On 4/7/2026 at 1:39 AM, geedubelyer said:

Really nice job Michael. 

A very unique looking Hurricane 

 

Well done mate 

 

On 4/7/2026 at 1:42 AM, RCPlym said:

 

Well doesn't that look different! 

Amazing how a simple change of normal colours produce an entirely different look altogether!

 

Super blue!

 

20 hours ago, Greif8 said:

Wow, really well built and eye-catching Hurricane Michael.  It looks like it could fly as part of the USN Blue Angels team!  Very impressive work!

 

Ernest

 

9 hours ago, Shoggz said:

That’s a really lovely build.

 

8 hours ago, Mal_Belford said:

Woaaa.

 

And say as everyone done.

 

i Like This Build alot, many reasons, its blue, a story, its different,  yes well executed, and very impressive work...and among many things.

 

Love it..

 

as it stands out.

 

8 hours ago, mozart said:

Absolute beaut mate! 

 

3 hours ago, Gazzas said:

What a great job!

 

Thanks everyone for your kind words.  It's very much appreciated.  It's very much a stand out on my display shelves, that's for sure.  I was getting a bit tense towards the end of this build as it's so easy for accidents to happen or just make an error at the last moment, and not having spare decals in such cases would have been disastrous.  

 

Doing a civilian registered and painted warbird can be quite a challenge as there's many differences to the models we normally do here.  Lots of small details to change and parts left off that have you thinking "this doesn't look right".  But I've got a taste for it now and I'm considering another similar project later on.  I'm considering getting a display case made for this one as well.  Matt finishes can be dusted and cleaned much more easily than glossy jobs and this is one model I don't want to deteriorate.  Researching the colours can be difficult too.  This one had to be right and I spent many hours searching the internet for clues as to the exact colour.  My initial thought was that it closely resembled Blue Angels blue, and I did buy a bottle of this colour as it looked exactly like colour pictures I found.  But it isn't.  It's a few shades darker and I was fortunate to come across a picture of PZ865 undergoing a complete paint removal and repaint at the BBMF, confirming that it should be royal blue which is exactly like Tamiya's X3.  

 

I'm glad you all like the final result.  Now I wonder if doing more civilianised warbirds would make a good subject for a future group build.  Something to think about for next year.!!

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Uncarina]

Really impressive work Michael, and thanks for showing just what can be done to bring this kit to life!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[malc]

10 hours ago, Dpgsbody55 said:

Now I wonder if doing more civilianised warbirds would make a good subject for a future group build.  Something to think about for next year.!!

Plenty of 1/32 decals at Drawdecal for P51/F8F/F4U etc as Reno race planes!

Malc.

[MikeC]

Excellent work. 

I like the idea of civilian warbirds. A certain Ormond Haydon-Baillie springs to mind, but you'd need some sort of decal for the "Black Knight" markings on the T-33.

 

[Dpgsbody55]

14 hours ago, malc said:

Plenty of 1/32 decals at Drawdecal for P51/F8F/F4U etc as Reno race planes!

Malc.

 

12 hours ago, MikeC said:

Excellent work. 

I like the idea of civilian warbirds. A certain Ormond Haydon-Baillie springs to mind, but you'd need some sort of decal for the "Black Knight" markings on the T-33.

 

 

Good to know there are civilian decals available for similar projects.  Stencils and masks should help too.

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

I've just put up an RFI for this build.  Hopefully some better pictures, but also some history on PZ865.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[DugyB]

Love this, only a few people ever see my builds and this Hurricane would be a plane which would catch peoples eye, would be fun explaining the story. Well done ol chap 🫡

Edited April 28 by DugyB