bobsyouruncle

Just in case you fancy adding one little bit of extra detail that you can add for free, that features in quite a noticeable place on the aircraft (if you're not unhappy about carefully drillling/filing in the rear of the canopy part), there's the the small 'hole' on the rear starboard canopy framing. Also, there's also another similar shaped (possibly slightly smaller?) hole that sits just in front of the windscreen on the fuselage centreline between the windscreen and the panel line or the oil tank panel. I'd personally love to hear what these are exactly for, if anyone's got the answer please? This is the rear canopy hole on MN235 at Hendon (starboard side only). Airfix have marked the area with outlines on port and starboard sides but to my eyes, a little too near the centreline and I've not come across a photo of one on the port side in period photos ......(yet!). This next one also shows the small notch on the bottom edge too. Then there's the similar shaped hole in front of the windscreen between it and the oil tank panel line on the fuselage centreline. Here's a link where you can make it out on Hugh Fraser's 'Nicky' (you can also see one here on Clostermann's 'Grand Charles' Tempest. https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/180854-modification-typhoon-ibl-tempest-mkv-glassless-gunsight-mkiitype-i-mkiii/ I'm going to try putting them on mine, anyway. Cheers Bob.

Went to see XT604 myself yesterday as it was the first weekend of the year that the aero park was open. Anyway there she was...........gone! She’s been moved inside the hangar you can’t get a look inside apparently because she had some ‘magnesium panels’ (?), which didn’t do well outside. In for a re-furb and re-paint according to the chap behind the canteen/shop counter.

That's what I thought. They've been very good with me, especially with the after sales service, what with sending out replacement decal sheets and the like.

I e-mailed them in 2011 when I heard that they would be re-releasing the EE Lightning F6 in 48th scale, asking them to consider correcting the kink on the spine topline. I realised that they'd want to maximise the profit from the moulds, but wondered how much it would have cost to modify one part. I got a reply saying that it would be too late to change anything (which I thought was a shame, as they released the 72nd scale one with a better topline).

I think it totally depends on what you personally mean by 'needs'. IMHO the Airfix kit just by itself will make a fabulous model and any amount of detailing that's added will probably be overshadowed by how good a paint job and the overall look of the finish is. By that, I'm trying to say that you'll get an awesome looking model without adding any extras. If (like I did) you start going down the road of researching ('dangerous' in some ways as it risks becoming a sort of obsession - actually I've really enjoyed it) and looking at period photos, there are plenty of opportunities and challenges to add extra bits for added 'authenticity' and Airfix have made a perfect frame for you to add any of your personal touches. I've had to be 'on and off' with my build (search 'Zipp' in the Works in progress) as I'm having to fit it in between doing paintings for people, plus we had a family bereavement and plenty of care issues, but I love it when I get the chance to spend some time on it. My personal take on it is: If I see something that differs between the kit and the real thing, I think:- How noticeable is it?/ Will it make any real difference at the end?/Might it stop me actually reaching the end? Does it personally bother me? Has anyone else made an aftermarket product to cover it? Can I think of another way of doing anything about it? Do I want to take the extra time and trouble to do something about it? If I can pull it off, will it be a satisfying small victory? I decided early on that I was only going to have panels open on one side of the aircraft, which meant I felt I could spend more time on those areas than if I had to do both sides and therefore add some extras. So far, the main things I've personally felt I wanted to try to do something about without going to aftermarket products were:- Adding and altering engine piping and details. Adding cockpit wiring and details (port side only mainly). Adding a 'Normandy dust solution' Vokes/RAE air filter to the intake. Making a new shape 4 bladed spinner from 3 bladed short one. Making a new 'minimal external framing' windscreen. Adding parts to the cannon bay and brass cannon muzzles/adding external cannon fairing detail. Adding extra wing surface at the port wing root because fuselage side panel removed (sits beneath the wing/fuselage fillet). Adding the holes in the wing undersurfaces seen in photos where the rocket rails can be mounted (mine's a 'bombphoon' but the holes are still there in photos). Aftermarket extras I went for so far: Radu Brinzan radiator mesh. Airscale cockpit instruments. Eduard cannon bay resin (just mainly for the look of the cannon rounds). Things I'm looking at doing something about when I get there: 1000lb MC Bomb stencilling/Bomb details Adding extra underwing mounting points for the bomb fairings ....and of course it could all end up looking like a dog's dinner if I mess the painting up. Still, it's been fun so far. She's 'hangared' at the moment as I'm on a Lightning painting and I'll be looking forward to her coming out again. Here's one you can solve for me though:- Where can I find a 50cm deep display cabinet for it that doesn't cost the earth? At the moment I'm looking at having to build my own from furniture board. That's the one thing I hadn't thought of until recently. I hope you enjoy your build as much as I'm doing. Looking forward to seeing it when you get started. Good luck and enjoy! Bob.

Oh Yes!! Had to look again to make sure I was looking at a model. Looks superb flying like that in the sun. Awesome job.

Enjoying reading this thread. I've been looking through my various phantom books and to me it looks like some had the slightly darker shades whereas others didn't (differences especially noticeable in the diamond nine formation shots). A lot of them have grubby looking upper wing surfaces. One fairly clean one that looks (to me) to have the slightly darker tone on the inner wing is XV470 on page 67 of Ian Black's 'Last of the Phantoms'. With a lot of scuffs and muck trails that muddy things a bit like this shot of XV393 (Liggat and Manwaring's 'Q' display ship) on the cover of Air Display magazine and it's tricky to see what's exactly what. Mods please feel free to delete if showing the magazine cover is breaching copyrights (photo credited to RAF inside cover).

That looks superb, Andy. I love the paint job on her, subtle and effective. Great result.

Here are some shots of XV424 at Hendon (under artificial lighting) and XV474 at Duxford (Daylight coming through windows). Interesting to compare the Grey on the Hendon Phantom inboard wing to the Greys on the missile pylon and rails and external tank and with the fuselage. I've always thought that there didn't look to be much difference to my eyes, looking at the aircraft overall from a way off, especially the later 74 Sqn machines (were they painted differently?). Wouldn't it be likely that the sun fades the paint after time, especially on the upper surfaces? Included this one for the lower aux air doors (red) HTH Bob.

That's a great looking Tempest you've built there. Love it.

Another small update and now that the wings are on, top and bottom, I feel that I might actually complete this one day. A prediction:- With it being the 75th anniversary of D-Day this year, Airfix will re-release the bubbletop version of the Tiffie and Master will make some 24th scale cannon fairings for it. I'm saying that as I only realised when putting mine on, that there wasn't any mid-fairing external detail at all (which I found quite surprising considering the level of detail on rudder pedals, etc. and things not as exposed to view), so I decided to add some sort of detail there myself. I'm now waiting on some Archer raised head rivets that will go on there (in a band to the rear of my lines), with single rivets just ahead. In the end I replaced the cannon muzzles with brass rod too. Things also done this time were:- Realised that there's a sort of curved 'box' fairing that needed to be added just behind the rear of the radiator, which sits on the top of the 'roof' of the radiator internal fairing and to which one of the cowling attachment points is mounted to (visible just to left of lower cowling attachment point in front of leading edge wing root), so added that. Added the extra piece of wing that would normally be hidden under the wing/fuselage fillet (but will be exposed or me as I'm leaving that panel off) and removed the curved kit fillet mount and replaced with 'rear wing attachment point'. Realised there was a space where a 'flap pressure relief valve' should be, so made something like one of those (just to right of rear wing attachment point).

Just another very small update. I lost my Dad in Feb and had a few health things to sort out myself, but did manage to enjoy getting back to 'normal assembly' things and had a go at the Cannon Bay in bits of spare time. I've added a few small bits and pieces (not all obvious here), such as wires and that brown lining, based on photos looking into Hendon's machine. I've tried to go for the look of the 50/50 Semi Armour Piercing Incendiary (SAPI)/High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) mix in the ammo belts, too. I might replace just the tips of the muzzle ends of the cannon barrels with metal, depending on how they look (although I guess they had protective covers on if they could whilst sat on the ground). The top half of the wing's just sitting on there (not glued-in), as I've not put the undercarriage bay 'roofs' in yet, but I fancied a sneak 'preview'. Cheers Bob.

I saw this last night and only remembered about it this evening. Lovely looking Jag. For me it really captures the feel of flying at low level. I know that planes are mainly built on the deck, (probably to display more detail) rather than flying, but it's great to see them doing what they were designed to do. Great job and I love the look of it in that camo.

Thanks Troy and Dogsbody. Yes I'd seen the bottom one but somehow the colours were more muted. The top one was the 'WAAF' one wit the clearer colours. In the version I've got, of the top shot the tips of the SAPI rounds look like a light 'blueish-grey'? rather than the yellow on the site I linked to. Thanks again. Addition:- Whilst 'googling' for information about the lighter tips I've just mentioned, I came across this forum, which has a mention of what sounded like the ideal reference:- (British 20mm Hispano by P. Labbett and P.J.F. Mead) and a very convincing looking chart showing the different heads on the rounds. Looks like the SAPI ones have a small white tip then, according to this. https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/176121-the-addition-of-an-air-targets-belt-for-british-hispano-armed-planes-produced-after-mid-1942/ I also came a cross a photo of a box of rounds including the types mentioned if you scroll down on this page a little past the Beaufighter shots:- http://www.tearle.org.uk/tag/cannon/

I love your build so far and it's one of my favourite aircraft too. I wished I'd have got to this before the rivets thing around the rear end. Archer do some very nice raised rivets that I'm sure would've worked, but I love it anyway.