Andy341 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hi, this is the first time I have put the start of one of my builds on this forum, although I have put a number of entries on the ready for inspection forum. My most recent posts and builds have been of 1/48 scale, this one is a return to my roots with a 1/72 scale kit. The chosen kit is Special Hobby's Hawker Tempest MkII or F2 in post war parlance , which will be either an aluminium or camouflaged painted aircraft of 33 Squadron RAF whilst based at RAF Kuala Lumpur around the 1949 - 1951 timeframe. I am trying to model all the types of aircraft operated by 33 Squadron, initially post War types in 1/72 scale. I will be building the kit OOB, but using Model Alliance decal sheet MAS-729021. The kit is injection moulded but has resin components, primarily the wheel bays, a film slide instrument panel and a etched panel to go over the film slide. Any comments or advice would be welcome. Andy Not it many pieces - but looks like some work will have to be done in the sanding or filing department. The decals... k 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Lovely subject Andy. To my mind the Tempest II had a certainly beauty in its elegant brutality . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy341 Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hi Col. I agree, and considering it was one of last, if not the last piston engine fighters it is not that common in model form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy341 Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 I said there would be some sanding and filing work to be done. In order to get the resin wheel well to fit between the upper and lower wings major work is required. I did quite a bit of sanding last night, but as you can see there is still a considerable step left in this piece. The resin wheel well The nasty side.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shatters Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 The wheel well fit has put me off buying this model, good luck and I will watch with interest. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossofiron1971 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Interesting Project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadgaddad Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 I've only built one Special Hobby kit. It certainly gave me an opportunity to improve my scraping and sanding skills but it looked nice when finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy341 Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 Ok, where do I start. After two stab wounds from the scalpel I was using and a 'Who's made all this mess on the dining room table' sort of disagreement things are moving on a pace. The cockpit tub fits together well, however fitting photo etched harnesses in 72 scale I still find difficult, unlike 48 scale. The wheel well has finally been tamed and is a shadow of its former thickness as you can see below. I have done some dry fitting and things aren't looking too bad, although some filler will be necessary. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnd Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 There's a thread here that gives some advice on sorting out the wheel well. Good luck, John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy341 Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 Johns, many thanks for the thread you suggested it was well worth reading. I consider it par for the course with kits such as this and it's worth putting in the hard work to achieve a good outcome. Kind regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy341 Posted February 24, 2017 Author Share Posted February 24, 2017 Ok, I have managed to complete the wing section for the Tempest. In order to get everything to fit properly it was necessary to sand the wheel wells so the upper surface was wafer thin. Furthermore, it was necessary to sand the inner surface of the upper wing section so that it would sit nicely on the lower wing part. Additionally I drilled our the landing lights on each wing and the centreline signal lamp. These will be painted and glazed in the later stages of construction. An attempt to illustrate the sanded inner upper wing in order to have the wing fit perfectly. The lower wing surfaces. Note the drilled out lights and the filled in cartridge ejector ports. The plastic is too soft to accurately open them up. The upper wing surfaces... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 On 04/02/2017 at 1:22 PM, dadgaddad said: I've only built one Special Hobby kit. It certainly gave me an opportunity to improve my scraping and sanding skills but it looked nice when finished. I've built the F-86H and it went together like a dream. Its a shame its outline is poor, though :(. Actually that is unfair. It is really only the cockpit, which is about 1mm too far to the rear - yes, it makes all the difference to the look of it! The other issue is the canopy, for which I resorted to a Hasegawa F-86D option. The Tempest... I'd buy one..... No, I will buy one and it will be an Indian. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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