HAWKER HURRICANE MkIIC Tropical, Fly 1/32 (catalogue no.32013)
Fly is a Czech manufacturer of limited run scale aircraft model kits, with injection molded, resin and PE parts, designed and produced with utmost care to detail & authenticity for the satisfaction of the decerning modeler.
Their decision to model the Hurricane IIB, IIC and IIC Tropical versions (available in three separate boxes) is very welcome indeed as there was a large void for this subject in 1/32 scale. Revell has done a rather basic IIC Tropical kit in this scale back in the seventies and more recent PCM kit is the earlier Mk I only version. So your only choice for a IIB/IIC/IIC Tropical today is Fly’s offers and what a nice try it is as we will see!
The kit comes in an attractive box that carries a beautiful image of a Mk.IIc Tropical, engaged in combat with a Ju88, flying over the desert of Libya, sporting a unique “snake” pattern in the nose and over wing leading edges, together with the normal mid stone/brown/azure blue North Africa camouflage scheme or the RAF.
On the side of the box, we see four (4) schemes that are provided for this release. As this kit is a multimedia offer, there are just four sprues, moulded in a tan-coloured styrene, and a single clear sprue, all very well protected inside clear bags. In the bigger bag there is another ziplock clear wallet, containing numerous resin parts, produced by Artillery. Another sleeve contains a colour painting guide, stencil guide, decal sheet, instruction manual (20 pages in color), acetate instrument sheet, and two frets of photo-etch parts.
The moulded parts have no numbers on the sprues, but is easy to refer to the numbered parts plan on the instruction manual. Fly instructions are a bit different from mainstream manufacturers but you get used to them very fast as you go. The fuselage is a full-length moulding (the rudder is a separate part), and the external detail is really very nice. The forward fuselage consists of various panels, finely scribed, and containing delicate fastener detail. Stringer and fabric detail is superbly represented, without any unrealistic hard edges. The same applies to the vertical fin, with its ribs and wooden covered leading edge.
Wings are moulded as traditional upper and lower panels, but the large lower centre section is a separate part. Fly selected correctly to use many rows of raised, domed rivets, instead of the usual tiny holes that are much cheaper to tool for mass moulding (Trumpeter style). Not all rivets are raised though, as an effort has been made to replicate the countersunk style also in some areas. The total mix effect is very realistic and Fly’s kit stands apart from the competition in this area, including other surface details, like filler ports, fasteners, and other plating such as the stiffening plate on the upper wing. The ailerons are integrally moulded to the wings but it is a simple matter to pose them in an angled position with a little extra work, using a scalpel and thin metal ruler.
Landing flaps are also integrally moulded in up position, and if you want to pose these dropped, you will need some scratch-building work or use an after-market PE set.
Despite the wings not having posable control surfaces, the rudder and elevators are moulded separately, allowing the modeller to show them in any position desired.
Two versions of intake scoop are also supplied, so you will need to check photos and references before selecting either one.
Transparencies sprue contain 13 parts of excellent visibility and all are very thin. The sliding hood is separate from the windscreen and, alternatively, another canopy is offered by Fly (sold separately as an aftermarket but in a very low price) in clear vacuform plastic to choose from, especially useful if you depict an open cockpit.
21 resin parts include main undercarriage bay with interior detail, wheels, exhausts, and a set of four Hispano cannon barrels with recoil springs, which look far more realistic than the styrene ones supplied in plastic.
Two Photo-etched frets are included, with many cockpit detail parts, such as the two-part instrument panel, armoured headrest, optional night-fighter exhaust anti-glare plates, radiator elements, pilot tread plates, and also wing reinforcement plates.
A small clear acetate sheet is printed with instruments and is to be placed to the rear of the photo-etch panel. You will need to paint the reverse of this in white paint, prior to installation, so as to highlight the ink printing of the gauges.
The instructions manual is a 20-page glossy paper booklet, printed in color and with many clear and easy to follow steps. Painting instructions are given stating Humbrol and AK Interactive color codes for interior and all camouflage schemes.
Τhe decal sheet is finely printed and includes the following four colour schemes:
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Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc Trop - No.1 Sqdn RIAR (Royal Indian Air Force) part of No.167 Wing RAF
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Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc Trop - No.213 Sqdn RAF - North Africa 1942
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Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc Trop - No.1 Sqdn SAAF - pilot Cpt. J.H. Gaynor, North Africa 1942
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Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc Trop - Flying School Armée de l´Air, Marocco 1945-46
All in all a very detailed and really accurate kit of the Hurricane IIC Tropical in 1/32 scale, that will be difficult for any other -even mainstream- manufacturer to beat in the future. We liked the fact that, despite the large amount of detail and its multimedia character, this model is fairly easy to be built by all modellers who have the patience to study the instructions, do some basic research and use some good books/photos as a reference. Finally, the low price (51 euros) is a very pleasant surprise for this kind of kit, in contrast to some mainstream companies lately asking far higher prices for their name printed in the box and sometimes offering much less inside! Keep these rich kits coming Fly!
You can order your kit from many on-line model shops or straight from FLY using this link:
http://shop.fly814.cz/index.php?currency=EUR&main_page=product_info&cPath=40_46&products_id=865
Fly aftermarket parts: For the Hurricane kits Fly offers a number of alternatives, more detailed parts and tools, sold separately, like a vacuform canopy, more detailed/different style Hispano canons in resin, masks for painting the markings (instead using decals) etc, in very low prices at their website. Some of these parts can be seen in our photo gallery below, together with the parts included in the standard kit. Also, the Mk II version is offered in another non-tropical scheme (Mk IIC kit No. 32012 and MkIIB kit No. 32019) but most parts, excluding decals and box, are common in all three kits.
References and useful links:
http://www.fly814.cz/products/a32013-hawker-hurricane-mk-iic-trop/
http://forum.largescalemodeller.com/topic/4583-132-hawker-hurricane-mk-iic/
http://forum.largescalemodeller.com/topic/4641-132-hawker-hurricane-mkiic-trop/
http://www.hyperscale.com/2016/reviews/kits/fly32012reviewjh_1.htm
https://doogsmodels.com/2016/05/24/review-132-fly-hawker-hurricane-mk-iic/
http://www.mmscalemodels.com/2016/05/hawker-hurricane-inbox-review-fly32012.html
