One of the most famous aircraft of World War II, the Hawker Hurricane may not have had the same glamorous profile as the Spitfire — but it was probably more responsible for winning the Battle of Britain, and it served gallantly in almost every theater.

The Hurricane has been fairly well-represented in virtually every standard scale. Some of those kits have been available for many years, ranging from somewhat simple, almost “snap” kits to well-designed and detailed state-of-the-art efforts. So how does Italeri’s latest offering compare?

The kit comprises 97 gray and 12 clear injection-molded styrene parts, eight photoetched-metal parts, and a comprehensive decal sheet for six different schemes. There is also a nice reference booklet; just remember, the aircraft depicted are restorations or museum display pieces and may not be accurate for an aircraft in wartime service. 

Construction starts in the cockpit. The photoetched-metal seat belts look good after being bent to shape and painted to match references. The instrument panel can be built two different ways: either with the provided decal and a photoetched-metal overlay, which would require painting, or by simply applying the panel decal to a plastic panel. I went the easy route and applied the decal without the metal. The detail in the cockpit is quite nice except for the control yoke, which only bears a passing resemblance to the real thing. Exact placement of certain items can be sorted out with a little fiddling. 

A nice rendition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin II engine is provided, with more than adequate engine bearers and fire wall. I left the cowl panels off to show the engine, but later confirmed that the panels do fit quite well with a bit of trimming.

Joining the fuselage is where I found fit issues, with filler required in several areas. The wings feature deep, if slightly plain, wheel wells. There were gaps and steps between the well insert and the wing’s top skin. The leading-edge gun inserts are installed at this point and, unfortunately, the fit is terrible. I had to use styrene sheet and copious amounts of filler and sanding to make them match the wing profile. I also used some thin sheet styrene between the wheel-well insert and the top wing skin to make the wing match the fuselage wing root profile. Control surfaces are separate and can be installed in a deflected position if you like. The flaps are molded in the retracted position, however, and would require major surgery to lower. 

Note that Part 14A, the pilot’s emergency exit, does not hinge like the entry door on the Spitfire. It should either be glued closed, as I chose, or left sitting on the wing or on the ground in a diorama setting. The tail-wheel yoke looked wrong and too tall; I cut off the square mount, which lowered the tail considerably and improved the plane’s stance. Assembling the main landing gear is straightforward.

The canopy can be posed either open or closed with no problems. 

I chose the scheme of an aircraft flown by 69 Squadron on Malta in 1941. It wore overall azure blue, with a middlestone and earth brown tail. I did not have the paint color called for in the instructions, so I mixed Testors Model Master blues; it’s post-shaded with lighter and darker hues and weathered with artist’s oil dot filters.

The decals went down perfectly, with no setting solutions required, but they seemed to grab the paint as soon as they touched.

Italeri’s Hurricane measures well to scale and captures the stance and profile of the legendary fighter. There are some hurdles and some missing detail, but the kit is certainly worth considering if it’s a Hurricane you want. Will Italeri issue more of them? A Mk.IIb/c/d would nice!

Note: A version of this review appeared in the September 2012 FineScale Modeler.