Hawker’s Hurricane was the culmination of a series of capable metal biplane fighters evolved by the Hawker Aircraft Company throughout the 1920s. The Hurricane's fuselage shape and design borrowed much from the Hawker Fury biplane line and the Hurricane was known for a time as the ‘Fury Monoplane II’.
It is also perhaps best remembered for its role in the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940. The Hurricane outnumbered the competing - and far more popular - Supermarine Spitfire by more than 2/1 in Fighter Command and proved its most valuable asset against hordes of incoming enemy aircraft. The Hurricane went on to account for more enemy aircraft destroyed in the battle than any other means - including the Spitfire and any ground based AA fire - such was its importance to Britain's defence. Where it sometimes lacked for speed, its tight turning circle and ability to absorb damage made it a formidable opponent. Beyond its wartime exploits, the Hurricane became the Royal Air Force's first monoplane fighter and the first capable of exceeding the 300 mile per hour barrier.
Frog Penguin issued the first 1/72 model of the Hurricane (a Mark II) and almost every modelling company since has added to the range and choice of this iconic aircraft in a plethora of scales. My favourite (as stated elsewhere) was the KeilKraft 1/72 version with 'retractable undercarriage’ – something not attempted since in this scale – but for the purposes of this Battle of Britain themed article, I will concentrate on the Airfix issue(s).
The most recent 1/72 version from the Airfix stable is a piece of artwork in itself! I find it cleanly moulded, devoid of any flash or dimples and the degree of detail is more than one would expect from a 1/48 or even 1/32 kit. With 63 parts and a three piece canopy (on this version) not to mention Airfix's new fully illustrated insructions - well, it promises an interesting build.
The original kit as issued as (A02067) a Mark.1 has alternative parts to enable the original two blade, wooden ‘Watts’ propeller to be fitted with the three blade ‘de Havilland’ one as an option. Sadly, as with the Airfix Mk.1 Spitfire, the re-boxing of this kit sees only the later included thus denying an equally important version to be available.