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Airfix Tempest V


John

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I picked up the latest Airfix boxing of the rather nice Heller Tempest earlier today. Nice box art featuring RPB's aircraft in full D-Day regalia:

tempest1.jpg

Parts are well moulded in a light grey plastic, with some flash on the sprues but none on the parts. Clear sprue was bagged with the grey ones - naughty!

tempest2.jpg

Decals provide for RPB's JN751 or Mackie's SN228. You need to paint the stripes on Beaumont's aircraft.

tempest3.jpg

Not bad for £4.99.

John

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The decals look reasonable, although I can already hear the complaints of those objecting to having make up roundels from separate discs. My own gripe is that there was an opportunity for two new schemes, but Mackie's SN228 gets rolled out again.

peebeep

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I can already hear the complaints of those objecting to having make up roundels from separate discs.

No doubt, but rather that than the red disc being off-centre!

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Looks pretty good, the only Tempest I've done was the old Matchbox kit.

Paul Harrison

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It is worth remembering that this lovely Heller Tempest was released at about the same time (viewed from 30 years on!)as the crude Matchbox one. In the days when blackbox Heller kits led the modelling world.

Sometimes I think Airfix have yet to catch up to this standard......consistently, at least. Roll on their new Spitfire.

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Well yesterday was my birthday and youngest daughter arrived with a Revell 1/72nd Mustang III (good) and a Revell 1/72nd Tempest V...dreadful....I last made it in 1960-something and it's terrible. The decals are crap too. It'll be used for spares if I can find anything useful. I suppose the canopy HAS to be better than the HobbyBoss Typhoon though, so it can go on one of those.

Looks like I need to get an Airfix one.

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How does it compare with the academy example?

Very well. It doesn't have the engraved panels and cockpit details, but general outline shapes match up better with the Bentley drawings than the Academy kit which somehow doesn't quite capture the wing curves. Having said that both kits are worth a build.

peebeep

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Revell 1/72nd Tempest V...dreadful....It'll be used for spares if I can find anything useful.

I think they must have discovered a job lot of unsold kits in a warehouse and decided to issue them. Most of the other old WWII fighters have been happily pensioned off for some time. You could use the tailplanes and prop on a Typhoon.

peebeep

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Just a thought - but wasn't JN751 a Series 1 Tempest with the protruding cannon barrels?

If it was, from what I can recall of the Heller kit, am I right in thinking there aren't any parts to do the aircraft as a Mk V Series 1?

Or did JN751 receive shorter cannon barrels at some point between it arriving for Beamont's use and his moving on to a different airframe in about Sept '44?

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The decals look reasonable, although I can already hear the complaints of those objecting to having make up roundels from separate discs. My own gripe is that there was an opportunity for two new schemes, but Mackie's SN228 gets rolled out again.

peebeep

I suppose part of the problem is that the Tempest V was a fairly anonymous aircraft, and the examples with personalised codes are the only ones a bit out of the ordinary.

John

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Looking closely at the decals I can see the same problem present as with the Nimrod and Club Spitfire decals. If you look at the right edge of the decals you can see an area where it looks smudged or as though somethings stopped the ink going on properly, it's particularily pronounced on the black stripes.

It's not as bad as the Club Spitfire, but disappointing to see it occuring in yet another kit! I do hope they get this problem sorted soon, preferably before the 1/72 Canberra's appear on the shelves.

Best

Rich

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the examples with personalised codes are the only ones a bit out of the ordinary.

There are plenty of variations in the Osprey Typhoon/Tempest book - whatever you might think about the veracity of the artwork. I'm not particularly fussed as I have plenty of codes and serials in stock plus the old Almark sheet.

peebeep

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