Helidriver Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Just finished this today. Piece of background history, shamelessly copied from http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/theaircraft/hurricanepz865.cfm. Hurricane IIc BE581, ‘Night Reaper’, the aircraft flown by the Czech fighter ace Flt Lt Karel Kuttelwascher DFC* during night intruder operations from Tangmere in 1942 with the RAF’s legendary No 1(F) Squadron. In only 15 night intruder missions ‘Kut’, as he was know to his colleagues, shot down 15 enemy bombers (3 in one night on 5 May 1942) over their own airfields in France; he also damaged a further five bombers and shot up several steam locomotives and ‘E’ boats. The single-seat Hurricanes were not radar equipped, so targets could only be found visually and without the benefit of modern aids to night vision. With their Hurricanes fitted with long-range drop tanks, night intruder pilots flew long sorties of 3 to 3½ hours, often in poor conditions and completely alone. ‘Kut’s aircraft, BE581 ‘JX-E’, wore the ‘Night Reaper’ motif on the starboard engine cowling and ‘Kut’ had swastika ‘kill’ symbols painted under the cockpit on the port side. When his three kills from the night of 5 May 1942 were added there were 11 swastika symbols displayed (‘Kut’ eventually achieved a total of 18 confirmed kills). The aircraft’s rudder and a panel on the port wing had to be replaced with black-painted items from a ‘Turbinlite’ Hurricane (BD770) due to ‘flak’ damage incurred by BE581 on that sortie. ‘Kut’ survived the war but died in 1959 from a heart attack – he was only 42. This is the Hasegawa kit, with aftermarket decals, tires, canopy, gun barrels and anti-glare shields. On to the pictures... And here it is in the bookshelf, the horseshoe in the background is WWII German. My granddad kept it after the Germans pulled out of Norway in '45. My display case from IKEA, on top is the result of the GF asking me to buy a flower...a pineapple plant. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Mikester Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Very nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Jolly nice build! :huh: Very interesting background on Kuttelwascher. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
POMPEO Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 very well done cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MikeC Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Very Nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lgl007 Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Very nice indeed. It's always nice to see a bit-o-history behind the work. Great job! I think you should do a little plackard to go with this aircraft for your display cabinet as the history is just so fascinating... especially for the casual viewer. -Greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JakubJakepilot Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Very very nice, too see a plane from with a connection to my country is always a pleasure. There are still debates if the upper surfaces were black or camoed like you did, but hey .... GREAT result !!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LZ82 Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Very Nice!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Very nice work. Stephen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Helidriver Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Thanks for the comments guys! As for the color debate, the decal sheet came with options for both. I figured it was just the same plane at different times. I strayed from the decal sheet instructions and painted/decalled it like the plane presently flown by the RAF's bbmf. Thanks again Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ST0RM Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Great model to go with such an interesting story. Well done. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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