Hasegawa 1/48 Hurricane I 'Douglas Bader'
KIT #: 09453
PRICE: 2400 yen SRP
DECALS: Two options
REVIEWER: Scott Van Aken
NOTES: 2002 release

HISTORY

Though overshadowed by the Spitifire, statistics showed that the Hurricane was actually the more successful of the two fighters during the Battle of Britain. Initially developed as the UK's first modern monoplane fighter, the Hurricane was built very much like its predecessor biplane fighters with the rear fuselage of tube and fabric construction, a trait that was initially applied to portions of the wings. The first Hurricanes, like early Spitfires was powered by a Merlin engine driving a two blade prop. It was the more rugged of the two aircraft with the fabric covered fuselage allowing bullets to simply pass through the fabric. Despite nearing obsolescence as the war progressed, the Hurricane was the perfect aircraft for the secondary fronts where they wouldn't be meeting the best the Axis had. The type found a new life as a ground attack aircraft, soldiering on in some areas of the war until the very end.
THE KIT

The Hurricane has always been a popular subject for modelers. Airfix, Monogram, and others were early proponents of the type in 1/48 scale, but the introduction of this kit from Hasegawa in 1996 eclipsed those early efforts when it came to detail. Though there are now newer Hurricane kits out there, this one still holds up quite well by comparison.

The initial Hasegawa Hurricanes were varieties of the Mk.II with the initial Mk.I boxing released in 1999. This is the later metal wing version as Hasegawa never did a 'rag wing' Mk.I. The kit is really quite simple with a nicely done interior complete with tube frame sidewalls as an 'open' floor. A decal is supplied for the instruments if you wish to use it. About all that is missing is a seat harness.

The fuselage is in four pieces as it has a separate nose section so that both longer and shorter nose sections can be used with the rear fuselage. Some have commented that the fabric representation is overdone, but I don't see anything horrendous about it. Some trimming of various bits will be needed to properly represent this version.

When building up the wings, there is a separate inner wheel well piece for the center section and there is also an insert for the forward lower wing. This is in addition to inserts for the wing guns. Landing gear is suitably complex and you do need to follow the instructions closely to ensure a good fit. These can be left off until after painting. I'd also recommend leaving off the landing light covers and the wing tip light lenses.

The kit uses a polycap to hold on the propeller assembly. This kit uses only the shorter, more rounded prop spinner typical of the Mk.I. The canopy/windscreen is a single piece, so you'll have to go the vacuform route if you wish to model the airplane with the canopy open.

Instructions are standard fare with Gunze paint references. Two options are provided, both in dark earth/dark green over duck egg green. One option is Douglas Bader's 242 Squadron plane, while the other is for Arthur Clowes of 1 Squadron. Decals are well done and if you don't like those options, there are a considerable number of aftermarket sheets for a Mk.I Hurricane.

CONCLUSIONS

These are still very nice kits and well worth building. A quick web search found a number being offered in the $25-35.00 range with others in the ridiculous range. I dare say that one could find this one for even less at shows and swap meets if one does some looking about. I built this kit but with aftermarket decals many years back and was quite pleased with the result.

Scott Van Aken

September 2024

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