PCM MkI Hurricane

[Greif8]

Hi guys, this is my second build for this group build.  I plan to build the aircraft marked as a No. 17 Squadron aircraft.  No. 17 Squadron was based at Tangmere during a large portion of the battle so it fits well as a protagonist of the JG27 Bf109 I built.  Being a short run kit the PCM offering will have some challenges to be sure, but hopefully I can master them.  Like the 109 I will build the Hurricane mostly OOB; and will use only an HGW seatbelt, some of their wet transfer stencil markings and Zotz decals.  As you can see in the following photos I have already done more scratchbuilding in the cockpit than I did with the 109.  This is mostly minor stuff such as adding knobs, levers and buttons with their mounting plates in some cases, though I did go a bit further with a couple of items.  Ok, on to the photos of what will - hopefully - be a fun journey that will (even more hopefully) result in a decent representation of a BoB era Hurricane.

 

Ernest

 

Overall shot of the cockpit framing showing my additions.  On the port side I added the throttle friction adjustment wheel (the white circular item mounted on a slightly larger black circular friction plate.).  The landing flaps selector lever and cabling, (The beige lever with the copper wire running down from it.).  The chain for the trim adjustment wheel, I pinched a thin piece of Evergreen strip to emboss the chain look into the plastic.  Somewhat crude but as it will be mostly hidden it will do.  Finally, on the upper port tubing, I added parts to represent those found on the actual aircraft, but I'll be darned if I know what it does.   On the starboard side  I added the T Handle that operates the emergency flare.  Above that is what will be a brass painted button that was used to operate the windshield de-icing system.  Finally, the beige object above the de-icing button is FLIGHT/GROUND lever.  The white strip on the tubing will be flap indicator.  All these items will be painted the, what I think, are the correct colors after I spray the interior green.

 

  

Another view of the port side stuff.

 

A shot showing the throttle levers (a repair and an addition),  the oil priming button (the white item) and above those, a silver lever on the circular object that I also don't have any idea what it does.  Like the other stuff these will all be hand painted the correct colors after interior green is applied.

 

Electrical cable for the trigger.  The joystick is pretty basic and I may summon the energy to improve it, we shall see.

 

A closer view of the starboard side additions.

 

A closer view of the mystery item on the port upper tubing.

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by Greif8
Photo Corrections

[Greif8]

The interior has been painted and the detail painting is also done.  I added a few decals to simulate stenciling putting the down with future to avoid silvering.  I will be gloss coating next, followed by some weathering.

 

Ernest

 

A poor shot, light conditions are not the best today for at the bench shooting, of the cockpit parts.  I have finished everything except the joystick which needs a couple of small painting touch ups.

 

The IP looks pretty good.

 

Macro of the port console.

 

Starboard side of the tub.

 

Port side, the "chain" I scratched now looks the part.

 

Another port side macro showing the assembly I made that I know believe operates the Sutton Harness tensioning and release.  This little project actually turned out better

then I thought it would.

 

The joystick about 80% complete.

 

[Out2gtcha]

Excellent!

[dennismcc]

Nice to see one of these being built, I am about to start a PCM themed build period consisting of Tempest, Spitfire and Huricane so any pointers will be gratefully received.

 

Cheer

 

Dennis

[Greif8]

2 hours ago, Out2gtcha said:

Excellent!

 

1 hour ago, dennismcc said:

Nice to see one of these being built, I am about to start a PCM themed build period consisting of Tempest, Spitfire and Huricane so any pointers will be gratefully received.

 

Cheer

 

Dennis

 

Thank you Brian, coming from a modeler with your skills that means a lot.

 

Hi Dennis, right up front I will say test fit, test fit, test fit before any glue is used.  The kit is actually coming together thus far, but I have put far more thought into the assemble process than I normally do.  I spent a good deal of time studying the instructions and thinking about how the kit will fit together before I started to build it.  I am also doing my best to look ahead and anticipate potential problems before they rear there ugly head, and that is where some forward planning - and thoughtful test fitting - can help.  For example, after thinking through how the cockpit will fit into the fuselage, taking into account where resin parts glue together with styrene ones, I decided to modify the construction sequence because I think my way will be less of a "stress test" when the time comes to putting the pit in place.  We shall see if my assumptions hold water very soon!

 

Ernest  

[MikeMaben]

Yep, test fitting is mandatory on these. I started a metal wing Hurricane quite some time ago but

have it first up on the SOD to be picked up when I finish the 109D. So far the only mod I've had to

apply is a shim rod inside the fuselage to help with the ventral strake fit.

The long rod was there just to hang onto while I positioned it, then snipped off later.

 

 

That little lever on the port side of your cockpit frame is called the hood (canopy) catch lever (release latch.)

Lookin' good so far.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by MikeMaben

[Greif8]

9 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Yep, test fitting is mandatory on these. I started a metal wing Hurricane quite some time ago but

have it first up on the SOD to be picked up when I finish the 109D. So far the only mod I've had to

apply is a shim rod inside the fuselage to help with the ventral strake fit.

The long rod was there just to hang onto while I positioned it, then snipped off later.

 

 

That little lever on the port side of your cockpit frame is called the hood (canopy) catch lever (release latch.)

Lookin' good so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the info Mike!

 

Ernest

[mywifehatesmodels]

Great detail work! Gonna be good!

 

John

[Gazzas]

Look at you go, Ernest!  Nice work!

[mozart]

Watching with interest Ernest, I have both the rag wing and metal wing PCM Hurricane to do at some point.

[Greif8]

It has been nearly three months since I have posted any progress.  Work has been very pressing since mid-July and it is only a the beginning of this week that things have slowed down.  Though I worked on the build during the evening, some evenings at any rate, and snapped some photos of the progress, I was too washed out to edit and post them.  Unfortunately, I also missed watching the progress of several very nice builds as well; so I have some catching up to do there.  I will post several photos showing the progress of the Hurricane build - I am at the point that I can begin painting the exterior; and with some luck I might even be able to finish the kit before the deadline.  

 

First up is a shot or two of the finishing steps of the cockpit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next post will have some further in progress shots.

 

Ernest

Edited October 16, 2020 by Greif8

[Greif8]

Following at some photos of the my work on the fuselage and wings.  As I suspected it took a lot of work to get things aligned fairly close and then some more work filling and sanding; but the end result looks acceptable in its bare plastic form.  We will see what it all looks like once a prime this beast.

 

The lower front of the port fuselage piece was a "short shot"  I fixed it with a bit of plastic card.

 

The lower rear fuselage in raw form.

 

And after some filling and sanding.

 

The lower rudder.  Interesting design decision that makes for a challenge to get everything aligned, shaped and blended.

 

 

Which I managed to do after a fashion using some plastic card and putty. 

 

More to follow. 

[Greif8]

The next set of shots show the work on the wings, both of which took a fair amount of filling and shaping to look that part.  Right now they look pretty good - and are really solid - we'll see how well I did once the primer coat is sprayed.

 

I opted to install the upper wings first in order to get the best fit possible.  There was still a very small step in the area where the join makes two nearly 90 degree turns, but nothing a little sanding won't fix.

 

I added some plastic strips as strengtheners to the underside of the upper wings.  They will also help block the light making the wing joins look "tighter".

 

 

The port upper wing join after puttying and sanding, and a bit of super glue here and there.  

 

Here you can see just how rough the initial fit is.  Much work to do here.

 

A compare and contrast shot showing the finished port wing, again after much putty, sanding and some super glue - and the starboard wing in raw form.

 

Finally, a photo of part of the upper fuselage.  The fuselage joins were actually pretty good and did not require much work to get smoothed out.

 

Ernest

[dennismcc]

Looks ever so familiar from when I built their G55, lots of challenges, keep up the good work.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Greif8]

I finished general assembly and primed the Hurricane today.  The first series of photos show the unprimed aircraft after cleaning.  This is always a tense time for me with any build that I had to do a lot of putty work, sanding and shaping.  The fuselage top and bottom front, as well as the leading edge of the wings, especially where they join the fuselage are causing me some concern.  I had to do a lot of shaping of the join between the upper and lower leading edge of the wings with the fuselage, especially the port side.  I also had to do a bunch of work on the joint of the big radiator and the fuselage.  The shape made it a real challenge to blend.  Keeping my fingers crossed!