Search the Community

The princely sum of £5.99 secured this immaculate and unmolested example of PK-23 which I will be doing as an Indian Air Force example and as proof of my Indian heritage , it will be seen in the gallery with my homemade Chicken Balti. Build will be enhanced by a failed Airfix Typhoon which will be cannibalized for parts, accurate or not. Should at least keep my F-5B company as it approaches primer and masking. I'm hoping that with some judicious dry fitting and fettling I should avoid the large amounts of priming and sanding that's been the F-5B to date. Cheers Anil

Hawker Tempest Mk.V 1:72 MisterCraft The Tempest was designed by Hawkers to address some of the performance issues with the Typhoon. The wingspan was originally greater than the Typhoon but this was clipped back to be slightly shorter. The wing was changed with the cannon being moved further back. Ammunition capacity was expanded to 200 rounds per gun. The landing gear was given a wider track to improve landing characteristics. The new wing and four bladed propeller was to cure the high frequency vibrations problems suffered by the Typhoon. With a top speed of 432mph it was faster at low level than other propeller aircraft. The Tempests great speed would make it an ideal aircraft to intercept V-1 flying bombs. Over 1/3 of V-1 shoot downs were attributed to Tempests. Just over 800 Mk.V aircraft were built. The Kit The plastic in this kit is from Heller and dates back to 1978. Those in the know say that the shape is correct, and better in shape than some other kits. The kit arrives on four smallish sprues of light grey plastic. The mould look to have held up well. Construction starts with attaching the spinner to the propeller. Next up the prominent radiator is assembled. Following the it pilots seat is attached to the rear bulkhead/armour and the cockpit floor (though this seems missing in the instructions!). Construction then moved to the main landing gear. The wheels are added to the leg and the gear doors attached. The streamlined underwing tanks are next built up. Now that the various sub assemblies are built up construction can start on the main aircraft. The cockpit and radiator are installed, along with the instrument panel, and the fuselage can be closed up. Once this is done the propeller is attached with the backing part inserted through the wing aperture. The wing is then made up which is of a conventional one part lower, with left/right uppers. Once the wing is attached to the main fuselage the landing gear and tanks can be attached along with the tail wheel, tailplanes and canopy. Just a note on the instructions, don't be alarmed that they look to be for an Su-17, strange but it appears there has been a printing error and you get both a set of instructions for this kit, and the Su-17 as the Su-17 construction diagrams are on the back of the Tempest cover sheet/decal diagram and visa versa. Markings Markings are provided for 3 aircraft. Wing Commander P Closterman JV732. Wing Commander R Beamont JN732. JN766 RNzAF. The decals look to be in register, the SKY codes look a little dark to me and the tail bands will need to be matched to these. All bands and stripes will need to be painted. There is a set of White aircraft codes on the decal sheet but no reference to these on the instructions. Conclusion This is a good looking kit of the Tempest Mk.V, recommended. Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

Gun Barrels & Pitot Probes 1:32 Master This month’s releases from Master Models include these two sets for 1:32 scale aircraft. [AM-32-095] – Designed to be used with the Special Hobby Tempest Mk.V they are a simple replacement for the kits barrels, these being with a full jacket. Since they are a direct replacement, the wings will not require drilling out. Instead a backing plate will need to be made, if there isn’t one in the kit, and the barrels glued to that, ensuring the inner and outer barrels are correctly orientated, as the outer barrel is longer than the inner. [AM-32-096] – Designed to be used with the Special Hobby Tempest Mk.II and the hopefully released Sea Fury, they are a simple replacement for the kits barrels, these being with the fully inserted, shorter barrelled type. As with the above set the barrels will need a backing plate and ensure the inner barrel is recessed further into the wing than the outer. The pitot probe needs a 1.2mm hole to be drilled out before the probe can be glued into place. Conclusion The Special Hobby Tempest series of releases are superb in their own right, but adding more detail can be just as enjoyable and these sets, as simple as they are will do just that. Review sample courtesy of Piotr at

I finished this model last night. It represents the plane on which Pierre Clostermann was flying. You know everything about the models, there are no problems for work, except for the decals that are terribly fat. I am pleased that it all turned out in the end. Here's the picture. [

Hawker Tempest Wheels CMK/Special Hobby 1:32 CMK continue to increase their range of resin enhancement sets for various kits. This set if to provide the option of having square tread pattern tyres instead of the smooth style provided in the kits. The simple card headed poly pack contains two very well moulded; in fact I’d say brilliantly moulded wheels and tyres. The detail is quite amazing, right down to the name of the manufacturer on the tyre walls. The webs holding the wheel to the moulding block are nice and thing, so shouldn’t take too much work removing them and cleaning the up ready to be painted and fitted to the model. Review sample courtesy of Conclusion This is a lovely little set that will enhance any of the Tempests available.

Hawker Tempest II Hi-Tech 1:32 Special Hobby As one variant of the Typhoon replacement that were both penned by Sidney Camm, the Tempest was split into a number of threads to prevent the project stalling in the event that any of the possible engines ran into difficulties or were cancelled. The Tempest II was designed from the ground-up to sport a radial engine, and ended up using the Centaurus that had originally been destined for the failed Tornado project, which initially caused some teething troubles until the engine mounts were replaced and some other tweaks made. The aircraft was very similar to the well-known V aft of the firewall, but with the huge cylindrical cowling it bears more than a passing resemblance to a Sea Fury. Due to the state of the war as it reached service, the initial orders were successively cut back, even though the aircraft's massive power delivery and more streamlined front section resulted in a faster aircraft. Under 500 airframes were eventually built, some as pure fighters, while the rest were converted to fighter-bombers, as the needs of the war shifted once the Allies dominated the skies. The Kit This is the second Hi-Tech boxing of the basic Tempest moulds, with much of the plastic retained from the Mk.V, and new sprues tooled to replicate the Mk.II's differences. As is usual with Special Hobby, the Hi-Tech boxing includes a wealth of what would normally be considered "Aftermarket" to most modellers, and on opening the box you see a card insert that holds the four (four!) decal sheet plus a set of those marvellous HGW fabric seatbelts, plus a small inner box in yellow that is literally rammed with resin in two separate bags. If you have come to expect just a set of resin wheels from a luxury boxing, you will be impressed at the 44 parts within, and you will hardly need anything other than paint and glue, even if you are addicted to aftermarket, especially when you spot the Photo-Etch (PE) and masks behind the seatbelts. The main sprues are in two separate bags, split between "Tempest" and "Mk.II" parts, as you would expect. There are seven sprues in the former category, and two in the latter, both in mid-grey styrene, plus a set of clear parts in their own bag, the aforementioned goodies, and of course the instructions in full colour glossy stock. Coupled with the lovely box art, you really do get a luxury package with the Hi-Tech boxing, which is well priced considering the contents. New Sprues The new sprues contain the important engine cowlings, their fairings into the standard fuselage, the huge props and spinner, plus a few mounting parts. Also included are a full set of rockets and rails for the ground-attack role, each of which have separate fins that are fitted with tapering roots that fit into corresponding grooved in the tail of the rocket, which will improve fit and alignment. Construction follows the same path as the original boxing until the fuselage halves are mated around the beautifully detailed cockpit assembly. The new cowling is built up from the main halves, plus a number of ancillary parts top and bottom, as well as resin exhaust stacks on the sides, and a depiction of front of the engine that was actually present in the Mk.V boxing too. The big four-bladed prop is built up on a backing plate with keyed blade roots, with the two-part spinner added after, and a spacer setting it to the correct position within the cowling, so that it can be left to spin freely if you desire. Some of the additional resin in this boxing is used in adding a pair of cannon and their ammo feeds in the port wing, which requires a T-shaped portion of the upper wing to be removed, the resin bays to be constructed and painted in the suggested colours, and inserted from below with PE supports for the edges, and resin panels that can be left nearby to give a more candid appearance to the scene. There is a small addendum to the instruction booklet to correct a mis-step during construction of the wings that advises you to cut off a section on the wing lower corresponding with the removable panels in the upper wing. This is incorrect, and you should not do this. The engine cowling and wing-root intakes are then mated with the completed wings and fuselage, along with the tail feathers. The landing gear is almost identical to the Mk.V, but instead of smooth tread tyres throughout, a choice of smooth or blocked tyres is given, and these have paint masks supplied on the accompanying sheet. The choice of drop-tanks with clear pylon sections or bombs is included in this boxing, with the new option for eight unguided rockets on their rails, which just need a launch wire added at the rear of each rocket to add a bit of extra realism. Markings As already mentioned, there are four decal sheets, containing national markings, aircraft codes, stencils, and finally some additional codes with squadron crests and instrument dials for the cockpit. The decals have been printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness and colour density, sporting a thin glossy carrier film cut close to the printed areas. From the box you can build one of the following: HF-X/MW774 NO.183 Sqn, RAF Chilbolton, August 1945 – Grey/green camo over medium sea grey. White cowling front and fin stripe. 5R-V/PR533 No.33 Sqn, RAF Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, 1949 – All over aluminium with yellow leading edges and blue spinner. EG-X/PR733 S/L R E Mooney, No.16 Sqn, BAFO Fassberg, West Germany - Grey/green camo over medium sea grey. Sky tail band and white circle on the fin. T/A139 (ex PR809) No.14 Sqn, RPAF 1948 – Earth/Middle Stone over Azure Blue. M/HA557 (ex MW704) RIAF, late 1950s – All over aluminium with black wingtips. Quite a broad spread of options that should suit most modellers, given the variety of the schemes. Conclusion Another stand-out Tempest from our friends at Special Hobby, with a box full of goodies that might usually be options with other manufacturers. The quality is excellent, and there are finished models popping up all over the internet, which is usually a good sign of buildability, popularity and that the manufacturer has hit the sweet-spot with the price. The standard boxing will be along shortly for those that don't want to tackle all that resin, or have a tighter budget. Review sample courtesy of

Tempest Update Sets - For Special Hobby & Pacific Coast Kits 1:32 Special Hobby Special Hobby have recently released both a super detailed, and basic Tempest kit in 1.32. For those who have either of these kits, or the Pacific Coast kit they have now released a series of upgrade sets under their CMK label. Pilot's Seats These seats are direct replacements for the kit seats and available with or without belts. Pilot's Seat With Harness Pilot's Seat Landing Gear These sets are a direct replacement for the kit parts. The legs are made from strengthen resin. The main gear set contains the gear legs and the tail wheel set contains the leg and a new resin tail wheel. Tail Wheel with Strengthened Leg Main Undercarriage Legs Cannon Barrels Here the modeller has a choice for late barrels. There is a set of small barrel to put into the wing, or a set moulded into the wing leading edge. For the early aircraft a full set of barrels is included. Cannon Barrels With Wing Leading Edge Early & Late Cannon Barrels Control Column This is a new multi part control column with added photo-etched parts. Control Column Gunsights Here the modeller has a choice of a Type I Mk.III gunsight or a Gyro Gunsight. MKII. The Gyro sight comes with photo-etch parts and clear film. Gunsight Type I Mk.III Gyro Gunsight Mk.II Wheels Here the modeller has a choice of a Early and late wheels as needed. They are moulded with a slight bulge on the ground contact surface. Early Wheels Late Wheels Conclusion Special Hobby have certainly produced a lot of sets for the tempest. The resin quality is excellent, not something which can be said of the packaging. The flat packs are alright for most items, however the seats need to be in box type packaging as they had already escaped by the time they reached me. Overall highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hawker Tempest Mk.V 1:32 Special Hobby Standard Boxing The Tempest was an attempt by Sidney Camm's team at Hawker to "fix" the Typhoon's shortfalls, which although they were few were important enough for them to throw a lot of time and money at them. As far as attempts go, it was pretty successful, but it left us modellers with a fairly confusing array of designs that look substantially different from each other, let alone the Tiffie. The over-thick wing of the Tiffie had resulted in too much drag, so this was ditched and replaced by the new Laminar Flow aerofoil as demonstrated by the then new Mustang, which necessitated an exceptionally smooth riveted finish to maximise the benefits of the design. Because they were to be fitted with engines that were experimental at the time, the Ministry insisted on a number of different engine fits to prevent delays re-engining the airframe if one type was delayed or terminated. This led to a the differences in the front end, from the Mk.I with a Spitfire-like nose, the Mk.II with a Fury-style nose, and the V which had the more recognisable Typhoon-style nose. The V was the first to receive approval from the Ministry and after the IV had engine problems the V became the main initial variant, and after the Tornado was cancelled the Mk.II went ahead with its Centaurus engine and cylindrical cowling. In service the Tempest Mk.V was found to be an excellent aircraft, and was the fastest prop-driven fighter of WWII at low altitude. It was also rugged, and could take punishment, and could be thrown around the sky by a competent pilot despite its thin wing. It was responsible for downing a number of jet-powered Me.262s and had an exceptional kill to loss ratio. The Kit We've been waiting for this one for quite some time, as Special Hobby's designers have been doing their best to get it right. It is finally here. the Hi-Tech boxing was recently reviewed here. While the oodles of resin and photo etch are eagerly awaited by some modellers, their are those who do not like all of the aftermarket parts and just want a standard kit. With this boxing Special Hobby are catering to this market. The other upside to this is that the kit arrives at less cost to the modeller. The basic plastic is the same as the hi-tech kit with crisp surface detail is crisp, tiny recessed rivets of two sizing's, and nice restrained engraved panel lines throughout. Construction begins with the cockpit, which was fabricated on a tubular framework with removable panels to aid maintenance. The rib-work is replicated inside the fuselage halves, which have a nice finish, and inside this the cockpit frames are built up with additional parts adding to the detail. The rear bulkhead, pilot's back armour and the rudder assembly are all built up and added to the frame along with the four-part instrument panel, which has decals for each of the faces, broken down between the facets of the panel. The gunsight is made up from resin, PE and acetate sheet, which should give an excellent level of detail to the finished item. The kit seat is supplanted by a resin item that just oozes with detail, and you have a set of the superbly designed HGW fabric seatbelts with PE furniture to give what I consider to be the most realistic belts currently on the market. Of course they are delicate parts, but with some care, and with the aid of this larger scale, they can be built up in fairly short order to stunning effect. The fuselage closes up around the finished cockpit and a three-piece tail-wheel bay for the fully-retractable wheel to be placed there later. With the fuselage complete, you'll notice a large part of it is missing from the leading edge of the wings to the prop. This is a separate section that will allow SH to get the Mk.II to market, and whether you build it in sequence or add the halves to the fuselage before closing it is up to you, as both methods have merit. Assuming you follow the instructions, there are a pair of backing plates for the exhaust stacks, which are marked L & R for your ease, plus the big chin-scoop radiator panels. The part count here is high, and you get the central tubular duct into the bargain, with an optionally open or closed shutter at the rear of the assembly. This section is then put to one side until the wings are added later on. The gear bays are built up from individual panels within the lower wing, and all the roof detail is crisply moulded into the upper wing, with plenty of small parts to detail the large expanse within, and including door actuators, plus some stub ribs. The upper wings complete the bays, and then it's time to put it all together into a recognisable shape. The wing root leading edge has a pair of two-part inserts to be installed before it is added to the two-part fuselage assembly. These inserts will be replaced by carburettor and oil cooler intakes in the forthcoming Mk.II, in case you were wondering. The tail fin has a separate two-part rudder, and the elevators have separate flying surfaces that can be posed, although the ailerons and flaps are all moulded into the main wing. Canopy rails and a rear deck cover are added around the cockpit opening, along with clear wingtip and tail lights. With the airframe ostensibly complete, the landing gear is inserted into its mounting points in the gear bays, and these are quite sturdy-looking, with extra details added to complete the job. Two types of wheels are supplied, and some very nicely detailed bay doors attached on the outboard and inboard perimeters of the bay. The tail wheel has a two-part yoke, and two doors that have a bulged centre to accommodate the tyre. The canopy is two part, which is thin and clear, although most canopies are improved by a dip in Klear or the new AK Gauzy canopy enhancer. One of the two gunsights fits into the windscreen before it is glued in place, and the canopy can be set on its rails at any point in its slide position, as it is able to be left mobile according to the instructions, so I'm guessing it clips to the rails. Pretty cool, but I can't test that without completing the rest of the model. The prop is made up from four keyed blades that fit into the boss, with the spinner hiding all that away. There are spare set of blades on the sprues, but don't use those accidentally, as they're the wrong shape for this boxing. Exhaust stubs are included in the box, and each one is made of upper & lower parts to give you a hollow opening. They are nicely moulded with a little flash around the stacks, but remember that exhausts often has weld-lines, so check your references before you sand it all smooth. There is to be a CMK resin set if you wanted a little more detail with less work. An aerial and base are added to the fuselage spine, and you're off to choose what to hang off the shackles. Bombs or fuel tanks ?. The tanks and their pylons are two parts each (the pylons were clear, and so are the parts), and decals for the tank, and for the sides of the pylon too, which is nice. The bombs are more complex with two halves each, a two-pair stabilising ring and four stabilising vanes, plus two-part pylons with two anti-sway braces each. Each option fits into different holes under the wing, so take care drilling them out during construction. There also seem to be two rows of four depressions in the surface of the wing, which looks like rack mounts for rockets, although those aren't in this boxing. Markings There are four markings options out of the box, and all share the Ocean Grey/Dark Green camo over a medium Sea Grey underside, and yellow leading edge strips. As is often the way with Czech companies, the colour call-outs are in Gunze, but they have also provided codes for the new Alclad II enamel range on this occasion. From the box you can build one of the following: NV969 / SA-A No. 486 [NZ] Sqn RAF, Fasberg, Germany April 1945. Personal machine of Sqd Ldr Warren "smokey" Schrader, JN862 / JF-z, No.3 Sqn RAF, RAF Station Newchurch August 1944. Full invasion striped carried. EJ705 / W2-X No.80 Sqn RAF. Vokel, Netherlands Jan 1945, (only under fuselage stripes carried) SN165 / ZD-V No. 222 Sqn RAF, Malden, Netherlands April 1945 The decals are supplied on three sheets of a bright blue paper, which throws the appearance of the colours out a little bit in proximity, and looks a little brighter in the flesh. They are printed by Eduard for them, which was my suspicion from the colour of the sheet before I read the legend. Register, colour density and sharpness is good, although on the roundel sheet there were a few white dots that looked like dust motes that got trapped under the carrier film. Although it doesn't show in the picture, there are very slight micro-bleeds of the dull red centres into the white, but as you'd have to be looking VERY hard, it's barely worth mentioning. Conclusion A lovely kit from our friends at Special Hobby, and well worth the wait . It is good that the company have realised there is a market for a kit without all of the photo-etch If you can't wait until yours arrives, you can read the instructions online here. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hawker Tempest II 26 Sqn, Zeltweg, Austria, 1947 I was recently sorting some old kits and found a half-finished Matchbox Tempest in a Heller Tempest box, so I decided to get on with it. This has most of the Matchbox trenches filled with Milliput (though I must admit I got a bit lazy when it came to the engine cowling area) and panel lines/fasteners drawn in with pencil, which was then sealed with Klear. Markings are from Xtradecal. I found illustrations of this aircraft with a red spinner and also a blue / white spinner, but I went with the Xtradecal illustration. Satisfying to have rescued it after all these years.

IIRC the identification stripes (four 12" black and three 24" white ones) on Typhoon wing undersurfaces were introduced in December 1942 and ordered to be removed in February 1944. What's funny they were also introduced on production Tempests (after all Hawker called the Tempest briefly Typhoon II) and the first units flying Tempest from April 1944 (No 3 and 486 Sq.) didn't feel obliged to remove the ID stripes, as the order listed only Typhoon Thus some (not many) Tempests from these two squadrons mentioned above featured in June 1944 "mixed striping", having D-day stripes (three white and two black ones, 18" each) on wing uppersurfaces and around the fuselage while retaining old ID stripes under the wings. Frankly speaking I have not seen any photos of such a/c, but several colour profiles of them do exist (by various artists), namely the JN766 SA@N and JN803 SA@D of No 486 Sq. and JV784 JF@E of No 3 Sq. RAF. Moreover during my 50+ years of interest in aviation I have also met the profiles of late production (Tempest-tail, teardrop canopy) Typhoons featuring old ID striping under the wings and the remnants of AAEF invasion stripes under the fuselage. Examples are two a/c from No 198 Sq. (RB222 TP@F and TP@Q with unknown serial - both with 4-bladed props) as well as the 3-bladed JP811 MR@K of No 245 Sq. Also the MN570 (big tail, 3-blades) coded @B after W/Cdr Peter Brooker of 123rd Wing is sometimes shown with full AAEF stripes around the fuselage and over the wings plus old ID stripes on the wing undersurfaces. Could anybody confirm these oddities with any photos? The 4-bladed, large-tailed Typhoon with "mixed" stripes is what I need Cheers Michael

1/72 - Tempest Mk.V/Mk.II - by Eduard 3D construction in progress confirmed here, post 26531: http://ipmsnymburk.com/forum/viewtema.php?ID_tema=11559 1/48 Tempest was confirmed some time ago but a scaled-down 1/72 kit is new for me

Hi, this will be my second entry and I reall yhope I can finish it in time (would be the first time I finish two kits in one GB but hey - this should be workable): My Eduard boxing of the 1:48 Tempest was a special offer by A2Zee and included Alley Cat resin pieces like wheels and a corrected tail: I will build it as Roland P. Beamonts Tempest. Rene Edit: Forgot to list - the kit canopy will be replaced with the Rob Taurus vacuformed canopy.

Build 17 This is a clone of the Minicraft mould with even worse decals! I have Minicraft's version and I thought those decals were badly out of register... Price: 84p eBay

Hi folks first one for 2013.Academy,s tempest flown by Pierre Clostermann as she appeared just after the war ended.A simple and nicely detailed kit all for a fiver.no doubt I,ve made a few mistakes but it sits well with their typhoon which is near complete thanks for casting an eye over it.

Hello all, I started this build as a quick and easy thing to pass the time while I wait for paint/stuff to dry on either the Mustangs or the F-15. I thought it would be a quick build, how wrong was I?? Where I am after two hours work on/off. Was trying to make the name plate look like it was written in weathered stone. Was only testing my drybrushing tho. I decided to close the undercarriage as well as I thought it looked silly otherwise. Im not planning on seeing the bottom anyhow so I am not bothered if it's not perfect. Thanks for looking! Kind Regards, Dazz

All, This is probably the dumbest question to ever get asked here, however - Q. Are the canopies for the Typhoon and Tempest the same or slightly different? I have a number of publications, have looked here and on other web pages, however I cannot seem to find the answer I am looking for. I am assuming that if they are the same, then the new 1/72 Airfix Typhoon transparencies are more accurate than the 1/72 Academy Tempest clear bits. From photo's I've studied. there seems to be a more tapered end to rear of the canopy, which is captured with the Airfix Typhoon parts. The Academy Tempest has a more fatter shape towards the rear. I'm tempted to use the Airfix parts on my Academy Typhoon Tempest, however would like some expert opinion to back up my assumptions. I'll also need a new set of Typhoon parts if that's the case!! Thanks for looking / answering my dumb question. Cheers .. Dave. Edited - I wrote building an Academy Typhoon rather than Tempest.

Hi folks I have just picked up academy,s Tempest which includes markings for Clostermann,s famous aircraft.does anyone know if JF-E ever carried invasion stripes?there are loads of pictures out there of JF coded aircraft with them but not his, any help would be appreciated.

Ken Lawrence from Pacific Coast Models has sent us a picture of the production sprue, showing the corrected tailplanes on their new 32nd scale Tempest kit. Yum Yum.

After Czech company Special Hobby and its 1/32nd Hawker Tempest family (Mk.V and Mk.II) announced on December 2012 - http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234931374-132-scale-tempest-mkv-by-special-hobby/?hl=tempest - it's time for Pacific Coast Models (PCM) to enter the race with a Sword (another Czech company) designed Tempest Mk.Vc. V.P.

Hi mates, I've just had a go through my stash, and found a 1:72 Academy Hawker Tempest V which I don't ever recall buying! It has a handwritten price tag of $5, so I must have picked it up at a show. Looks nice in the box, fine engraved panel lines and all, but is this a good kit? Let me know what you guys think of it. Thanks! Cheers, Bill