Airfix 72nd Hawker Typhoon

[Rodders]

Hi all,

i've made a real mess of the airfix 72nd Hawker Typhoon and want to get another one. i've been sent some D-day markings quite a long time ago which i was going to use on the one i've ruined. I was going to get some metal gun barrels by master and a quickboost seat and a 3 bladed prop. The prop is for the Academy kit but wondered if it fit's the Airfix kit. This leads me to a question. does anyone know when 4 bladed props were introduced on Typhoons ie would there be any at D-day. i'm doing the 247 sqn on 6th june. Also, does anyone have any easy way to do D-day stripes as that contributed to me ruining the kit,

Any help would be appreciated,

thanks,

rodders.

 

[Chris Thomas]

Not sure about the Academy v Airfix props although IIRC the Academy spinner was too small.  If you are still interested after the following I can ascend the loft and find out for sure.

 

Four-bladers were introduced shortly before D-Day.  There may have been a small number with serials in the range MN307 to MN600 but serials after that are a more certain indicator.  If you are focussed on 247 Sqn and D-Day a check of their ORB on that date reveals 4 possibles, MN710, 823, 961 and 975.  However ORBs come with a health warning and although often quoted as 'gospel' they are extremely error prone.  They were compiled several weeks after the events from temporary records, which often used code letters rather than serials; as there was a brisk turnover, particularly in this period, errors are rife.  And that is the case here. MN961 an 975 were actually MM961 and MM975, both 3-bladers with the smaller tailplane.  MN823 was very probably a replacement aircraft that did not arrive with 247 Sqn until a few days after D-Day.  However MN710 arrived with the unit shortly before D-Day and was coded ZY-N. Unfortunately there are no known photos. I knew its regular pilot, 'Chuck' Cossar quite well and did an oil painting of this aircraft for him if it is any help.  

 

I know only one photo (well, two actually, same aircraft slightly different angles) of a 247 sqn Typhoon in full stripes, ZY-B MN317. 3-blader, but large tailplane.

CT 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Chris Thomas
Correcting error

[Rodders]

On 2/27/2018 at 10:28 AM, Chris Thomas said:

Not sure about the Academy v Airfix props although IIRC the Academy spinner was too small.  If you are still interested after the following I can ascend the loft and find out for sure.

 

Four-bladers were introduced shortly before D-Day.  There may have been a small number with serials in the range MN307 to MN600 but serials after that are a more certain indicator.  If you are focussed on 247 Sqn and D-Day a check of their ORB on that date reveals 4 possibles, MN710, 823, 961 and 975.  However ORBs come with a health warning and although often quoted as 'gospel' they are extremely error prone.  They were compiled several weeks after the events from temporary records, which often used code letters rather than serials; as there was a brisk turnover, particularly in this period, errors are rife.  And that is the case here. MN961 an 975 were actually MM961 and MM975, both 3-bladers with the smaller tailplane.  MN823 was very probably a replacement aircraft that did not arrive with 247 Sqn until a few days after D-Day.  However MN710 arrived with the unit shortly before D-Day and was coded ZY-N. Unfortunately there are no known photos. I knew its regular pilot, 'Chuck' Cossar quite well and did an oil painting of this aircraft for him if it is any help.  

 

I know only one photo (well, two actually, same aircraft slightly different angles) of a 247 sqn Typhoon in full stripes, ZY-B MN317. 3-blader, small tailplane.

CT

thank you chris for the thorough reply as i'm not an expert i'm assuming the airfix kit is the later tailplane. i was kindly sent the decals and really want to make MN317 zy b at D Day so it looks like the 3 bladed prop but i don't know what to do about the tailplane. I didn't even know there were two different tailplanes,

cheers,

Rodders.

[MDriskill]

The new Airfix kit has the large tailplane, and the older Academy kit the smaller one. As I have learned from Mr. Thomas’s extensive and excellent writing on the subject, all 4-blade operational Typhoons had the larger tail, while most (but not all) 3-bladers had the smaller one.

 

This may not be relevant to your situation, but the recent Brengun series of 1/72 Typhoon kits cover all basic variations of the airframe. They are very accurate, but like most limited-run kits are more expensive and harder to build than the Airfix one.

 

For me, it’s easier to mask and paint the D-Day stripes, have never had much luck with such large decals. 

[johnd]

I agree, painting the invasion stripes is easier than wrestling with the transfers and looks better too. Paint the whole area in white and then mask off the portion to be kept white using 1/4" tape*. Paint in the black: job done! An alternative, if you don't like mucking about with tape, is to cut out the black portion of the transfer and stick that down over the white. 

 

John.

 

* some modellers (including me) use 6mm Tamiya tape for the masking but this is slightly too narrow.

[Chris Thomas]

2 hours ago, Rodders said:

thank you chris for the thorough reply as i'm not an expert i'm assuming the airfix kit is the later tailplane. i was kindly sent the decals and really want to make MN317 zy b at D Day so it looks like the 3 bladed prop but i don't know what to do about the tailplane. I didn't even know there were two different tailplanes,

cheers,

Rodders.

Better news, Rodders, at last. I have corrected the statement in my above post re MN317.  It was actually one of the first with the large tailplane, which as MDriskill states, is provided in the Airfix kit. Will have a look at the Academy 3-blades later today.

CT

[Rodders]

15 minutes ago, Chris Thomas said:

Better news, Rodders, at last. I have corrected the statement in my above post re MN317.  It was actually one of the first with the large tailplane, which as MDriskill states, is provided in the Airfix kit. Will have a look at the Academy 3-blades later today.

CT

thanks Chris that's very kind. the boss aka the wife has just let me get another Typhoon. i've just to wait to get the metal gun barrels by master. i was also going to possibly get the quickboost seat with harness as you can't see much in the cockpit and can't see much point in getting any etch for said pit. The typhoon i've ruined had the brengun interior. also i've got the brengun intake cover but will use it on the new model. i'll try not to mess up the dday stripes.

cheers,

Rodders.

[Chris Thomas]

The Academy 3-blade spinner is a whisker smaller than the Airfix spinner baseplate. Correcting that may be difficult but if you don't I think it would always catch your eye.  You might get away with deepening (and widening at the same time) the base plate, with a thin extra layer of plastic sheet.  Maybe there are some wizards out there with a better solution.  

CT

[Chuck1945]

51 minutes ago, Chris Thomas said:

The Academy 3-blade spinner is a whisker smaller than the Airfix spinner baseplate. Correcting that may be difficult but if you don't I think it would always catch your eye.  You might get away with deepening (and widening at the same time) the base plate, with a thin extra layer of plastic sheet.  Maybe there are some wizards out there with a better solution.  

CT

Would it be easier to fill three of the Airfix spinner blade openings with plastic rod and redo it as 3-blade spinner? The fourth opening can be used as a starting point for the 3-blades. This assumes you have a 3-blade prop 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Chuck1945

[Rodders]

On 3/1/2018 at 5:07 PM, Chuck1945 said:

Would it be easier to fill three of the Airfix spinner blade openings with plastic rod and redo it as 3-blade spinner? The fourth opening can be used as a starting point for the 3-blades. This assumes you have a 3-blade prop 

hi, thanks for the advice. I was looking on Hannants website and found a scale resin/resin art replacement spinner for the Academy kit. So i don't know if that will work. It's only 3.99 so if it doesn't work not much is lost.

Cheers,

rodders.