Revell 1/32 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIb plastic model kit review

The second partner in a dynamic British fighter duo with the Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane did not change its looks significantly, but its role and armament were quite varied.

The Revell 1/32 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIb plastic model kit re-creates one of the lesser-known aircraft versions with six guns per wing. Intending to expand the range to other versions, Revell includes parts not used in the Mk.IIb that point to a cannon-armed version, a tropical variant, and a hook-equipped Sea Hurricane. The options in this boxing for the Mk.IIb include differing exhausts, a choice of rearview mirrors, nose caps, and open or closed canopies. All control surfaces are separate but require slight modification to pose them in use. Revell provides options for open and closed flaps, though flaps are seldom seen down on full-scale planes. Decals for two paint schemes are included: a standard brown and green camouflaged plane and an all-black intruder.

The cockpit correctly portrays the internal, tube-shaped construction. Its assembly is a bit fiddly as the main structures use interlocking “fingers” that do not have alignment pins. I used the firewall (Part E18) as a jig to help while I built the prepainted structure. In general, the kit parts require some simple cleanup, as the edges and some details are a bit soft. With care, a well-detailed cockpit is the result, although no seat belts are included. The instrument panel decals fit the raised detail very well. I glued the exhaust recesses to each fuselage half instead of together.

The wing includes a clear part for the main gear bay, cleverly avoiding the need to attach two tiny vision windows. The gear-bay walls and details all fit well and result in a nice representation of the real thing. Slotted tabs that slide over pins aid alignment. Nice landing light recesses are fully detailed. I left the wingtip navigation lights off for painting.

The wing center section attaches to the outer lower wing halves, aided by a clever pin-and-tab arrangement. The tabs on the upper wing halves should be opened up for an easier fit. The leading-edge inserts for the guns need careful fitting — I still had to add a touch of filler to tidy them up. The other inserts for the nose and rear fuselage all fit nicely — no need for filler here. All control surfaces fit without issue, although I needed to trim the slots for the flap hinges a bit.

The excellent decals had me worried at first because of their flat sheen. They settled over details and into recesses with minor prompting from a setting agent. The white is nicely opaque — another concern addressed.

The exhausts disappointed me because they don’t have openings, which is easily noticed in this scale, and adding flared ends would be difficult. The landing gear slots into a recess between the gear bay and the wing; I had to trim one a bit probably due to builder error. Be careful removing the retraction struts because I snapped one in half when cutting it from the sprue.

I spent just over 20 hours on this model, slightly less than normal, because I chose the night scheme. The Revell 1/32 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIb plastic model kit provides a decent amount of detail in an easy-to-assemble kit, as long as you test-fit and tweak parts as you build.