Introduction

This is a new tooling of the Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC introduced in 2023. This is the second of four planned releases by Hobby Boss of their Hurricane series. The following comes directly from their website:

The Hawker Hurricane was a combat aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s, designed by the British aircraft manufacturer Hawker Aircraft Ltd. The Hurricane was one of the principal combat aircraft that defended the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain. This fighter plane played a pivotal role in the Second World War, primarily serving with the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Soviet Air Force. The Hurricane was mass-produced, with over 14,000 examples manufactured from 1937 to 1944.

Bottom Line Up Front

It has been a long time since I’ve built the Hasegawa Hurricane and I have not built the Arma Hurricane, so, this review does not do a side by side comparison. Price wise, it is about $20 less than the Arma Hurricane, and you can pick up a Hasegawa Hurricane, if you can find one, for under $10.

This kit is a good kit for those just getting into the hobby. Assembly itself is very straightforward. The instructions are easy to follow, and it builds up into a scale model Hurricane. Surface detail is very good. Decals are very thin and settle down quickly. Make sure they are in the right location before they settle. This can be an issue for the larger fuselage decals, as they are fairly large, and due to their thinness can easily fold up on themselves if you move them too aggressively, or worse, tear.

There are paint masks included with this kit, and they have a great fit to all the clears. They performed well.

There are a number of oversights. The most obvious is the gunsight, which is molded in grey plastic rather than clear and is very noticeable in the cockpit. An additional error is a wrong color call out for a Tamiya Light Green as Tamiya Medium Grey (XF-20). A third issue I discovered during decal application is an additional panel line on the left wing just above the aileron inboard edge. Or, conversely there is a panel line missing on the right wing. Take your pick. And finally, the red roundels in the decals are too bright, at least when compared to Eagle Strike decals of the same aircraft, and the Spitfires I have laying around.

For what is in the box, the price seems high to me compared to more complex kits such as the weekend editions from Eduard.

What’s in the Box

Sprues

There are 8 sprues, including 2 clear sprues, two rubber tires, and photo etch for the seat belt. There is also masking material for all of the clears. A total of 69 parts, not including the photo etch and rubber wheels. The moldings themselves are a nice sturdy grey plastic and I have not noticed any odd deformations in any of the plastic parts. The surface detail is well done. The clears are well cast with no deformations visible and the canopy frames are also well done. However, my first disappointment in the kit is that the gun sight is not molded in a clear plastic, but instead is molded in grey plastic. Since the gun sight is a prominent part in any cockpit, this will not go unnoticed. Separating from the sprues proves to be no problem.

Decals and Markings

There is a nice color painting and decal markings that is commonly seen with other Hobby Boss and Trumpeter kits. The color callouts are for various paints, including Tamiya, Mr. Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Humbrol, and a company I have never heard of Acrysion. I found at least one typo in the color call outs. For marking options one and two, the color profile callout a typical British green/grey color scheme. Unfortunately, the actual color called out for the Tamiya Green, is actually for Tamiya medium grey (XF20). So, use your judgement on selecting a Tamiya Green. Also, there are no unit details associated with the markings. There are three options for markings. One common RAF paint scheme, and two night fighter markings associated with the Hurricane Raiders that flew over France post Battle of Britain. There are no squadron/aircrew details for any of these options. So, if you are interested in this information, some research will be required.

Instructions

The Instruction manual is straight forward and appears to be taken right off of CAD or other design software renderings.

Assembly

Assembly is straightforward. I did have some minor issues, two due to my clumsiness (the gunsight and rear view mirror), and one due to the kit itself. The first self imposed issue was with the grey gunsight. I had difficulty keeping it attached to the instrument panel (see page three of instructions). It is in essence, a cantilever beam glued onto a small indent in the clear instrument panel. I knocked it off numerous times during assembly. After finally getting it installed after drilling a hole through the instrument panel to secure it. It was knocked off for the umpteenth time, and ended up inside the fuselage, never to be seen again. I had a similar issue with the rear view mirror on top of the windshield. While placing it with tweezers, it slipped into the open cockpit and is now inside the fuselage as well. The third issue was encountered while attaching the underside air intakes (part D7) to the lower wing. The guide pins for the attachment points were too large for the alignment holes. Even after drilling them out to allow a better attachment, the intake never fit properly on the bottom wing. There was a noticeable gap that required some filler. The most challenging part of the kit is the landing gear mechanism. With patience and dry fitting though, the gear assembly it all goes together well

Thanks to IPMS/USA and Hobby Boss for allowing me to review this kit.