Hawker Hurricane civil trial platform G-AFKX - Airfix 1/72nd

 

I was really looking forward to try this relatively new Airfix kit of the Hawker Hurricane MKI. I had chosen a civil scheme for it, demonstrator and test bank G-AFKX. Unfortunately not many photos exist, so there is a bit of speculation about some aspects of it. With some certainty it could be said that no wing regs. were worn, and that at least at the beginning it is most likely that it had the fabric-covered wing, later replaced by the metal one. For this build I had bought a number of aftermarket parts, but ended up using just a few, namely a resin Rotol prop and canopy masks. The kit offers a lot of detail to start with, so I decided not to unnecessarily complicate my life, also considering that the time spend spicing up the interior would be mostly wasted, as very little can be seen, as usual, once the model is completed. I made my own decals, as they were simple enough and black. The finish is not particularly color-striking, but the contrast in shine and hue between polished metal plates, aluminium-doped fabric and unpolished metal, lends some interest to the model.

To be frank, I find this new-ish Airfix kit quite nice and with very good detail, but some engineering solutions seem a bit odd, and the fit felt in many places imprecise and soggy, a surprise given this a new kit of "long-run" technology. The instructions did not impress as particularly "clean" (more the opposite), or in a couple of parts even clear enough. The plastic was very nice to work with, not brittle and easy to glue and sand, but the finish was a tad dull (perhaps correct for the fabric parts, but not maybe for metal parts). All in all, and in spite of a fuss or two, I would surely build another (if I could find another attractive MKI civil scheme).

The comings and goings of the build can be seen here, in parallel with the build of MKII G-AMAU, based on the Academy kit (my second build of it):

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2022/01/hawker-hurricane-g-amau-and-g-afkx.html

And the build companion, Academy's MKII G-AMAU is here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2022/02/hawker-hurricane-g-amau-racer-acdemy.html 

 

These two planes were never together, but it makes for a good photo anyway!