1:32 Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc - Big Ed Set for Revell

The naval Hurricane in large scale

The Sea Hurricane was born of necessity. British convoys heading for Murmansk were attacked by long-range bombers far beyond the reach of shore-based fighters, so the proven Hawker Hurricane was adapted for service at sea. The Mk.IIc version carried four 20 mm cannons, and in its naval form it was given an arrestor hook and a strengthened fuselage. Some of the machines were launched from the catapult of merchant ships with no hope of returning to a deck; once the pilot had done his job, he bailed out or ditched.

What the combined package changes

Big Ed is not a single set but an assembly of several photo-etched frets and a masking film for one particular kit. Bought separately, the same items would have to be tracked down one at a time. In 1:32 scale photo-etch makes more sense than in any other scale: a part two centimeters across will carry a density of molded detail that an injection mold can never deliver, because the tool needs draft angles and a minimum wall thickness. Metal goes down to 0.1 mm and holds its shape once bent.

What to watch out for

Photo-etched parts are cut from the fret on a hard surface, not snapped off. Paint adheres badly to bare metal, so the surface is degreased and covered with primer. Bends are made over a sharp edge; a spot bent twice will crack.

There is a limit to what is worth doing here as well: where the plastic carries the coarser shape of a whole panel, there is no point in cutting it away for a metal sheet that only repeats the same thing. The assembly is tied to the kit from Revell; its parts, paints and the cyanoacrylate glue for metal are not in the package.