😮
Yes that’s right you heard me scratch built!!
While we were touring through the moutains in western Canada, I happened to meet this fellow who was on his way to meet a fellow modeller. He showed me his scratchbuilt 1/48 scale Hawker Hurricane. It took him 4000 hrs to complete. This was a masterpiece if there ever was one! The attention to detail is incredible! The pilots seat moves up and down 1/8th of an inch which is just about to scale! The landing gear retracts and the shocks on the landing gear compress and extend. The flaps work when you move the selector handle in the cockpit as do all the flight comtrols. The wings sit on their own scratch built wooden trestles. The attach to the fuselage centre section with authentic fittings etc.
Enjoy the pics!!
Also he has built a Wellington using the 1/72 airifx kit as a pattern he wrapped the fuselage in saran wrap and then began making the geodetic structure. He was not pleased with this method so scrapped it and “hand carved” a new wooden fuselage from oak which he then used as a pattern to make the geodetic around it. It took him 8000 hrs to build but sadly he didnt bring this one with him. he is also building a Hawker Sea Fury 1/48 He has hand built the landing gear from metal and the struts extend and compress and even the brake lines move in scale! He has manufactured the wing folding hinges from eyeglass hinges. He is currently building the wings but needs info or drawings for the ductwork that runs from the intakes in the leading edges. Oh I forgot he hand built the articulated tail hook from metal as well!
By: dhfan - 7th June 2004 at 23:00
I posted a link to a 1/72 scale Wyvern last year. Unfortunately the page has gone now. It was based on the old Frog kit and would have been awesome in any scale.
By: TEXANTOMCAT - 7th June 2004 at 17:43
Has anyone seen the UK chaps scratchbuilt Wyvern and Martin Baker MB5? I think in 1/32 – they are pretty well known but quite superb…i wish i could do it!
By: dezz - 5th June 2004 at 14:43
That’s amazing but, and I know its not a aviation related, but this guy has to be the king model maker dude, if only I had the time and more importantly the talent. Id have my little real Merlin in the front of my little real hurricane. Mind you if you go to all this trouble why not build a 1:1 size one? At least you could drive it around.
www.fine-art-models.com/e/gallery/scerri/
Dezz
🙂
By: Peter - 4th June 2004 at 03:49
One and the same Neil!
Thanks for the info and the correction on the hurricane!!
By: Neil Medcalf - 4th June 2004 at 00:28
master modeler
This fellow sounds very much like one of the members of the (IPMS Victoria) club I belong to. His name is Howard Hill. The Hurricane is 1/24 scale. The Wellington fuselage is 1/72 scale. However the complete Wellington is in 1/48 scale. The Seafury he’s working on in in 1/32 scale and he is in desparate need of diagrams showing the hydralics and pnuematics. Howard also started a 1/24 scale scratch built Spitfire this past year. I’m not sure how far along he’s gotten with that one as I haven’t been able to go to a meeting for some time. If you all would like to see more of his work visit the Aircraft Resource Center web site. ( www.aircraftresourcecenter.com ) and look up the Hurricane and Wellington. He truly is a master modeler who is more than willing to share his skill with others.
Neil Medcalf
By: Dave Homewood - 3rd June 2004 at 23:42
WOW !!!
That is an incredible model. If you’d simply posted the first photo without text I’d have thought it was a real one under reconstruction.
This chap has some incredible talent. I’m sure we’d all love to see photos of the Wellington and Sea Fury sometime if you are ever in touch with him again.
Dave
By: Flood - 3rd June 2004 at 20:07
I once scratch-built a 1/48th Hurricane – using only the contents of an Airfix kit box and some plastic card, etc. Nothing like this one, of course.
Flood.™
By: Tuck257 - 3rd June 2004 at 18:35
very impressive, shall have to get my modeling stuff out.
By: DazDaMan - 3rd June 2004 at 17:48
Blimey! 😮 And I thought my Airfix 1/24th Spit was a tiny bit impressive!
By: Bluebird Mike - 3rd June 2004 at 17:18
Blimey!!! 😮 😀
By: Peter - 3rd June 2004 at 16:23
landing gear
Yes the landing gear manually retracts very smoothly i might say!
By: Stieglitz - 3rd June 2004 at 16:17
Yes, it looks like ther was a lot of work to complete this scale model. Great detail 😎 ! Does the landinggrear retract manualy? 😉
I want one of those to place in the house. Could I afford it? 😮
Great item!
J.V.
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June 3, 2004 at 3:56 pm