Hobbycraft Hawker Hurricane IIC -in progress pics

Gary Brantley
I added a pic of the gloss coat.

Spanjaard
looking good, and by the way, i like the home made seat belts. seriously 🙂

Gary Brantley
Thanks my friend. About those belts...ya know, I believe they can be done so that they do look fairly good. The tutorial I followed is on the Flory Models website and they do look good there. The belts in the pic were my first attempt and I was feeling rushed for some reason, and thought, well sod it! Good enough since so very little can be seen in there anyway. BUT, omg, they looked so bad in the close up that I hesitated to post them. I do have some nice PE British WWII belts/harnesses but I wanted to save them for an open cockpit build. At this point, I just want to get the kit finished and move on. Your comment makes me feel better about them anyway. Thanks so much Spanjaard!! 🙂

Spanjaard
you are very welcome 🙂
i am starting to go back to my old habits of scratch-building. true, aftermarket sets may look better. and pre-painted ones even more, and then why not have the model completely done by somebody else....? i have to try and make those belts in 1:48 next time. or when i finish all the after market sets i already purchased 😛

Gary Brantley
Here's a look at that tutorial: florymodels.co.uk/ho..tch-build-seat-belt/

gorby
Looks like your making a good job of it so far Gary. The seatbelts look fine, everything looks odd when you look too close. It reminds me that another of my weird groups, called 'Grandaddy', have a song entitled 'Everything beautiful is far away'. I learned to do belts from the same site and it isn't my favourite job (that was one of them in the recent Raiden build). Fingers, eyes and patience aren't what they used to be.
I think that white and black are the most difficult colours to do realistically. For black, I use Tamiya XF-69 NATO black, which I think has just the right amount of fade.
I noticed that you are attempting weighted tyres on this one!
I may change my mind, but I'm planning on doing not one, but two Hurricanes after I complete my Stuka.

Gary Brantley
Isn't it odd how that paint really looked more gray until the Future coat? Is that just a characteristic of flat black enamel or what? I used the Testors 1/4oz bottle flat black for the entire plane and then faded it with shades of gray, mostly Humbrol 32 dark gray. Thanks for the belt comment. Yes, I learned long ago not to get too freaked out using macro mode. It just "reveals" too much, most of which I'd rather not see!

I turned 64 in December (29th) and yes, my eyes and hands sure can't do the work they once did. I have so many nice kits in my stash, and so few modeling years left, that I feel like I just can't devote the time and effort I once might have and still get many kits built. I guess at this point, I'd rather have more completed models in the display rather than a few super-detailed ones. Quantity over quality? Maybe, but I hope I can maintain a happy "medium" between the two.

Yeah, I thought why not sand the tires on this one. I have done so a few times before, and have used weighted resin sets on a couple. It seems to be a big point with some so why not?

I was planning a Tamiya Meteor F-1 for my next build but I wanted Tamya to send the correct wings. I spoke with their USA customer service but they were not encouraging; said perhaps Japan could provide them but the kit was out of production so cross your fingers. Instead, I'm leaning toward doing the Monogram 1/24 Bugatti Type 34 for a real change of pace. It would be my first car model in 40 years! 🙂

Spanjaard
thanks a lot for the link Gary 🙂

Gary Brantley
You are most welcome sir!