When I decided to get back into modeling, I visited a local shop to pick up a kit and supplies. When I walked in, I saw a couple of tables covered with old models. The owner told me they were from an estate sale. Browsing through them, what should I see but the old Monogram Hawker Hurricane in the original blue box. I must have built this kit four or five times when I was young. I bought two of them.

Unfortunately, I messed up the first one. When I started the second one, I found that the landing gears struts were missing. I wish I had known that before I threw out the first one! I posted a message on the "Buy and Sell" forum at the Aircraft Resource Center, and within a couple of hours a gentleman in Florida said he had what I needed. Thanks, Larry!

The kit brought back a lot of fond memories, but in fact it is not a very detailed kit. I decided to make the "Last of the Many" version, serial number PZ865. That also had the advantage of minimizing the number of decals, since that version didn't have any squadron markings. The instructions said that PZ865 didn't carry any armament, but there is a photo in the Squadron publication that shows the same 20mm cannon in the wings that all the other IIc's had. I didn't realize this until after I had cut off the cannon and filled in the holes.

I used Model Master enamels on this plane, Sea Grey Medium on the bottom and Ocean Gray / Dark Green on the top. I used masking tape to get the hard edge on the upper surfaces. This was my first attempt at a hard edge that was curved. (The Me163 also had hard edges, but they were straight - much easier!)

However, after I had finished the camouflage, I purchased an Iwata Revolution gravity-feed airbrush. That, plus the use of Tamiya thinner, allowed me to use acrylics for the fuselage band and the spinner and prop blades. The tips of the prop blades and the edges of the wings are Tamiya flat yellow.

I picked up some Techmod decals, since I figured the original decals wouldn't be in great shape. Unfortunately, the roundels for the upper wings on the aftermarket set were too large, so I had to use the kit decals. It took some effort. The serial numbers and the "Last of the Many" labels are also from the original kit.

Page last updated June 15, 2023.