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Italeri Vs. Airfix Hurricane Mk.I 1/48


  

17 members have voted

  1. 1. Which would you rather?

    • Airfix Hurricane Mk.I
      15
    • Italeri/Tamiya Hurricane Mk.I
      2
  2. 2. What influences your choice?

    • Price
      7
    • Quality
      13
    • Detail choices
      4
    • Dimensional Accuracy
      11
    • Detail Accuracy
      9


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I think that the topic Description should cover it. Some time ago I got a very good buy on some Italeri Hurricanes Mk.I in the Tamiya boxings for less than $28 each including postage. I have three at this point. To say the least it is a beautiful kit. Now there is the new Airfix kit which "it is said has no equal" I want one so bad but is it worth another kit in my stable when I have three of the Tamiya kits? Is it that much better? I have looked at the reviews and they both look excellent. The only thing that I can see is that the Italeri has a bit more pronounced fabric but still not as bad as the Hasegawa and Airfix has those stuck our Dzus fasteners on the fuse. Both minor things and fasteners can be sanded down a bit. What is the local opinion before I order two more Airfix kits?

Edited by Otto
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The Italieri is more expensive (MUCH more so in Italieri boxings), is noted for some challenging fit, mostly due to extra modularity in the wings (they tooled up to allow for cannon, forgetting that a IIc requires a retool of the wings anyways due to the different wing/fuselage joint at the leading edge, which they did do for their IIc) and is less accurate in outline & detail. Although it's pretty decent kit, there's some notable and some minor detail errors, likely due to using less accurate drawings. Issues include a flubbed nose ring, oversize spinners, short flaps & mislocated gun bays and a less accurate cockpit (there's no floor in the real thing or the Airfix, the Italieri has one)

Better decal sheet from Italieri for sure and the Tamiya boxing gives up the IAC option for a more interesting Ilmavoimat example, but aside from that Airfix wins all-around.

Personally, I'd sell on 2 of the ones you have, and replace with 2 Airfix, then build all three using the Italieri/Tamiya decal sheet for 2 and 1 from the Airfix sheet. Definitely re-use the spare Airfix spinners on the Italieri, or replace with aftermarket (Spinners or a HS prop for a Canadian Mk.X)

Edited by mawz
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Not sure if what you mean about the oversized spinner is the one that IS Supposed to be oversized. There was a Spitfire spinner used on some of the Mk.I hurricanes which actually was oversized. That is one of the aircraft which I find interesting. I was not planning on using any of the box markings from the kits because i am going to build aircraft from the Czech 310 and 312 Squadron aircraft. I already have all of those decals. so for me the decals play no role in my decision. Besides the obvious differences in the Mk.I and Mk.II airframes and obviously the well covered flaws in the Hasegawa kits, how would you compare the Italeri and Hasegawa kits? There are a couple of Mk.II aircraft I would like to build also. I am still debating about what I am going to do about the exaggerated fabric effect on the Hasegawa kit. I am thinking about using the fuselage from the old Hobbycraft kit which I think is not as bad.

scan0347_zpsdd3baf66.jpg

Edited by Otto
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No kit is perfect, but the new Airfix Hurricane comes as close as we're likely to see in this lifetime. It's light years better than any previous effort from any manufacturer.

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Not sure if what you mean about the oversized spinner is the one that IS Supposed to be oversized. There was a Spitfire spinner used on some of the Mk.I hurricanes which actually was oversized. That is one of the aircraft which I find interesting. I was not planning on using any of the box markings from the kits because i am going to build aircraft from the Czech 310 and 312 Squadron aircraft. I already have all of those decals. so for me the decals play no role in my decision. Besides the obvious differences in the Mk.I and Mk.II airframes and obviously the well covered flaws in the Hasegawa kits, how would you compare the Italeri and Hasegawa kits? There are a couple of Mk.II aircraft I would like to build also. I am still debating about what I am going to do about the exaggerated fabric effect on the Hasegawa kit. I am thinking about using the fuselage from the old Hobbycraft kit which I think is not as bad.

scan0347_zpsdd3baf66.jpg

The problem is they did the Hurricane spinner with the same rear diameter. Only the Spitfire spinner should be oversized.

Italieri is currently king for the Mk.II, hands-down.

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OK you've convinced me. Just bought two of them plus two of the new Spits from Hannants. I have had them in the shopping cart for the last couple of weeks and just had to be pushed over the edge. BANGHEAD2.jpg

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No kit is perfect, but the new Airfix Hurricane comes as close as we're likely to see in this lifetime. It's light years better than any previous effort from any manufacturer.

I'd agree, apart from the "Clunky" panel fastener detail, missing upper fuselage ident light, rear view mirror, throttle controls and seat detail, plus fastener detail on the port wing leading edge and the "blanked off" cartridge ejection slots on the wing undersides, so yes, an excellent kit !

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I still prefer the Hasegawa kit : It's much easier to build, and has all the things that I said are missing from the Airfix kit. Granted the fabric effect is a little overdone, but with gentle sanding and a coat of paint it looks fine. The only thing I will say is that the mainwheels are a bit small, but not enough to spoil the kit in my view. Still, as they say it's just a matter of choice which kit one prefers. :)

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Hasegawa has a Mk.I Hurricane? I never saw one. The saggy fabric effect is a real turnoff for me on their Mk.II kits and to sand it off leaves completely the wrong effect with all the stringers being blended. They tried to fix the stringer problem on the second release but still got it wrong.

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I got the Italeri kit a while back and I took one look at it and shoved it at the back of my stash. The canopy on it was so horrendous I couldn't even be bothered looking much at the rest of the kit. It seemed like a limited run kit to me with a nice booklet.

I hope to get the new Airfix kit soon.

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OK, We have one vote for Italeri but the last comment was definitely negative. Can we know why we have a vote for Italeri from the individual who made the positive vote?

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I've built all three Hurricanes, Italeri, Hasegawa and Airfix. The Airfix is the best out of the three in my opinion.

WOW that was quick. When did this kit come out? I know i'm a slow builder. It takes me MONTHS to build a kit.

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Here's my Airfix Hurricane built up

IMG_1022_zps5gahg5hz.jpg

Here's the Italeri kit

IMG_0397.jpg

The Airfix kit has been out in the UK since April, if you check on Britmodeller there are several builds ongoing.

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Is it just an optical illusion in the pictures or is there such a big difference in the front windscreen area between the two kits? Also the top of the engine cowling is nice and round like it is supposed to be on the Airfix but seams to be a bit flat like on a Spitfire on the Italeri kit.

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I just got my kits from Hannants. Talking about nice to the point of overkill. The fabric effect is absolutely PRFECT. I picked up two of the kits. The only thing that is missing is a good Rotol spinner as seen in the link.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234980181-hawker-hurricane-propellers-and-spinners-a-modellers-guide/

501-rotolhurri-france.jpg

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