Search the Community

Hawker Typhoon Wingleader Photo Archive #21 Part 2 – Summer 1943 to early 1944 Wingleader Publications In the design process even before the Hurricane reached squadron service, the Typhoon was initially intended to be a direct replacement for its older stable mate, but with development scope to take advantage of the upcoming circa 2,000hp piston engines that would be near the pinnacle of propeller powered flight. Initial problems were overcome, although there was a shortage of working Sabre power-plants initially, and the early razorback design was amended to a bubble canopy that gave the pilot a vastly improved view of the sky around him. A larger, strengthened tail was added following a near disaster, and a change from 12 machine guns to four wing-mounted 20mm cannon also improved the aircraft's offensive ability. The initial airframes had the car door canopy, which had a forward-opening door in the side of the canopy that was reminiscent of a car door – hence the nickname. It was never fully developed into a medium altitude fighter, but it did find a role nearer the ground, especially in countering the Fw.190 that was playing havoc with the Mk.V Spitfires at the time. It was a big stable aircraft with masses of power, which made it ideally suited to low level flight and naturally lent itself to ground attack. Fitted with unguided rockets or 1,000lb bombs under each wing, it became a feared sight by enemy ground troops and panzer crews with good reason. Although the rockets were difficult to aim well, they had a massive effect on enemy morale, and played a large part in halting the advances made by German troops in the Battle of the Bulge once the heavy clouds parted, flying hundreds of ground attack sorties using rockets, bombs and cannon to great effect. Like any successful aircraft of WWII the list of improvements is long, and deletion of the car door canopy was one of the early upgrades with the new canopy giving the pilot far greater situational awareness and reducing weight, although they took some time to filter through the production lines due to the complex nature of the changes needed. It was the Tempest that really made the most inroads into solving the Typhoon's shortcomings however, and the original Typhoon was soon withdrawn after WWII ended, lasting only a few months of peacetime. The Book This twenty-first volume in the series covers the activities of the Typhoon from the summer of ’43 to spring ’44, during which period it provided sterling service. It begins with the so-called Car-Door Typhoons that look somewhat claustrophobic with the pilots in-situ, as they are for some of the photos. As the experience with the aircraft and technology developed, the canopy morphed into the bubble-top, which was called a slider by aircrew and in their log-books, later adding long-range 40gal fuel tanks that had been re-used from under the wings of Hurricanes, plus bombs and eventually rockets to its repertoire in due course that improved its destructive capabilities against ground targets. Interleaved between the pages of photos are sheets devoted to particular examples of the type, pointing out parts and colours specific to that individual airframe that will assist the modeller, as well as points of conjecture where appropriate. The photo pages are filled with large crisp pictures within the constraints of the quality of the original medium, some of which are even in colour, which is a rare treat, and as usual there are interesting captions that are sometimes accompanied by arrows or letters to help the reader identify the subject in question, whether it is a particular exhaust on the sides of the cockpit, or the length of the tropical filters behind the chin intake on the aircraft bound for hot, dusty climates. Some of the photos are staged of course, but there are also a large number of candid shots, a precious few of which are in colour, and some nearer the end of the book are of battle-damaged and weather-beaten aircraft, one upended in a ditch due to an overshoot caused by a stuck throttle, and another flat on the deck with heavily bent prop blades after a text-book belly landing at one of the testing facilities. The photos of the pilots who flew these aircraft and were subsequently lost in later sorties are poignant as always, and the various stripes and markings are interesting, showing how the squadrons and even the pilots individualised their personal aircraft. Conclusion Yet another visually impressive book with plenty of reading material into the bargain that will have you coming back to it again and again, especially if you have more than one Typhoon in your stash, which is highly likely thanks to the car-door and bubble-top slider variants. I look forward to each new volume of this series, and as promised, I’ve become a firm adherent to them, waiting impatiently until they are published. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hawker Typhoon Car Door (A19003) 1:24 Airfix In the design process even before the Hurricane reached squadron service, the Typhoon was initially intended to be a direct replacement for its older stable mate, but with development scope to take advantage of the upcoming 2,000hp piston engines that would be near the pinnacle of propeller powered flight. Initial problems were overcome, and the early razorback design was amended to a bubble canopy that gave the pilot a vastly improved view of the sky around him. A larger, strengthened tail following a near disaster, and a change from 12 machine guns to four wing mounted 20mm cannon also improved the aircraft's offensive ability. The initial airframes had the car door canopy, which had a forward-opening door in the side of the canopy that was reminiscent of a car door – hence the nickname. It was never fully developed into a medium altitude fighter, but it did find a role nearer the ground, especially in countering the Fw.190 that was playing havoc with the Mk.V Spitfires at the time. It was a big stable aircraft with masses of power, which made it ideally suited to low level flight and naturally lent itself to ground attack. Fitted with unguided rockets or 1,000lb bombs under each wing, it became a feared sight by enemy ground troops and tankers with good reason. Although the rockets were difficult to aim well, they had a massive effect on enemy morale, and played a large part in halting the advances made by German troops in the Battle of the Bulge, flying hundreds of ground attack sorties using rockets, bombs and cannon to great effect. Like any successful aircraft of WWII the list of improvements is long, and deletion of the car door canopy was one of the early casualties with the new canopy giving the pilot far greater situational awareness and reducing weight, although they took some time to filter through the production lines due to the complex nature of the changes needed. It was the Tempest that really made the most inroads into solving the Typhoon's shortcomings however, and the original Typhoon was soon withdrawn after WWII came to a close, lasting only a few months of peacetime. The Kit The initial release of this überkit caused quite a stir when it was unveiled in 2014, and we were lucky enough to review one here. We missed the initial release of the car door variant a while back, but as Airfix have now released a new boxing that has a decal option for a well-known captured airframe that we are lucky enough to have some photos of. The kit is ostensibly the same save for these decals, and that's no bad thing because it's a very impressive kit both in terms of size as well as detail and that ground-breaking "oil-canned" realistic skin texture that impressed us all so much on original release. If you've got the original release of the car door, you can probably skip to the decal section, but for those of us that didn't see the original, here's a ton of pictures of the sprues as they're really rather nice. The kit shares most of its sprues with the bubble-top variant, but as we've changed logos and hopefully improved out photography since 2014, we've taken the pics afresh, which should hopefully show up all that lovely detail. The box has a slight redesign to incorporate the new decals, and inside we have fifteen sprues in grey styrene of various sizes, two sprues of clear parts, two decal sheets and a thick instruction booklet. Before construction begins you have to decide whether you will be displaying the engine fully undressed, with the top panels removed, or fully enclosed, because it makes a difference to which parts you add to the engine and airframe before you close it up. Your options take up a full two pages in multiple languages, so study them, decide which one you would like to portray, then mark the instruction booklet accordingly. It will save you time and hassle later. Construction starts with the wing spars, which are properly detailed with tubular frames through the centre of the fuselage that change to structural members with lightening holes as they get further from the fuselage. The cockpit is suspended in a tubular frame, which is next, along with the front bulkhead, and these just slot down onto the main spar and the smaller single-piece spar further aft. The rudder linkages, pedals and foot-plates are inserts in the bottom of the cockpit once it has been firmed up, and the engine mounts are built up next, with lots of ancillary parts and a circular fuselage frame to the rear. The pilot's seat is made up from five parts, and has a nice looking quilted back panel that has asymmetric folds and wrinkles in the fabric to achieve an organic effect, or a bare steel one if you prefer. This allows space for the triangular head armour and seat belts that are individually moulded in 3D and are wafer thin, designed to drape over the seat in a natural way. The pilot is six part figure and very nicely done, having one hand on the stick, the other on the throttle. His feet should also slip neatly within the rudder pedals, as shown in another scrap diagram later on, with the belts cut off if you are using him. The instrument panels are slipped into the framework cockpit before he takes his seat, and they have their hoses or wires depicted in styrene, which you'll have to be careful of when removing them and cleaning their seams. A small tank fits behind the front bulkhead, and the instrument panel attaches to its front on a large tab. The panel is made from a styrene front part that includes raised bezels and dials, and this is backed with a clear part with cylindrical upstands that bring the dial faces to the correct level. A set of instrument decals are included, but as they have to be placed on the front of the clear part (if you follow the instructions), it makes the choice of clear styrene a bit of a head-scratcher. The alternative is to apply the decals to small white slips of styrene sheet, and offer them up behind the panel to show through. Either that or your can treat yourself to an Airscale set and improve the detail further. The big Napier Sabre is fully depicted in the kit, with all 24 cylinders in the massive H-shaped block. The first step of this section covers the installation of the electric motor to get your prop turning, and it is a very tempting option. The motors can be had quite cheaply directly from Airfix, and you are given a suggested route for the cables, but left to your own devices about switching and the power supply, as you might expect. If you go for the static option, the engine block is built up without modification, substituting the motorised drive shaft with a nicely detailed splined static one. The supercharger is installed before the block is added to the engine mounts, after which much plumbing and adding of additional engine accessories is done. The radiator assembly is begun with the upper half of the main duct, and the central duct are both added before the big filter is fixed o the front. At this stage the first of the outer panels is almost ready to be added. A word on those first. Airfix have really pushed the boat out with the exterior of the Typhoon, and have tried their very best to depict realistic panels, with deformation and "oil-canning" in between the rows of rivets, and even lapped panels, which are most noticeable on the fuselage sides. They have to be seen to be appreciated fully, and set the bar for others to follow, although few have so far. The lower wing inner is the first to be added, and must undergo plenty of drilling, depending on which armament option you choose, whether you will be placing it on a stand or motorising it, so again – study the diagram and drill the correct ones out now. For reference, the motor wires leave the underside just aft of the slot for the stand, which has a product code of AF1007. If you are posing your Tiffie with the wheels up, you can add the main gear bay cover now, which are installed from the inside, and have handy lips to give a good grip to the fuselage. With wheels down, you install the landing gear leg mounting points that protrude through the lower wing rather than the stowed variant used for wheels-up. The skeleton fuselage is placed onto the lower wing, and you'll want to consider whether to paint the insides before you do this to save fiddly painting and masking later. The gear bay walls and wing interior are made up in the following stages, which includes a lot of nice ribbing that is added to the lower wing skin, rather than risking sink marks on that gorgeous outer skin by moulding them in. The flap bay hinges are also inserted at the rear into large sockets to ensure consistent placement. Each wing holds two Hispano Mk.II 20mm cannons and their ammo, which is held in remarkably simply boxes that sit on the lower wing. The cannons have full breech and barrel detail, and fix in the lower wing with their prominent drums uppermost. The barrels have moulded-in recoil springs, but aren't hollow, so you'll need to get the pin-vice out and drill them with 0.9mm drill for scale accuracy. The wings' internal fuel tanks are then added inboard of the cannon bays and along the wing's leading edges, then the area of the wing inner above the gear bays is detailed with delicate ribbing before being added to the top of the bay. This is covered later with the wing's outer skin. The outer wing undersides are added next, with aileron hinges and a choice of two wing lights, which is all hidden away with the installation of the upper outer wing panel, which overlaps the lower join and gives the whole assembly lots of strength. The wingtip lights are added, and the cannons are covered in either long or short aerodynamic spats, which would cover up any sexy brass barrels you might have installer earlier. The fuselage halves are bereft of tail skin as the fuselage parts drop to half-height just before the tail, so the parts appear relatively short. The reason for the missing tail is to facilitate the alternative profiled elevator fins, which affected the shape of their fairings. These are added before you join the fuselage halves, which is a sensible move and allows you to get the best join possible, with the large overlap helping in this regard. The tail wheel fits in the port side, as does a small round window low down at the front of the cockpit, and then you add this to the skeleton fuselage, which is an odd thing to do for most of us, and yet more like the construction of the real thing. If you are exposing all of the engine, you should chop the front of the fuselage off using the scrap diagram and engraved line inside as a guide. If you are leaving the top cowling off, just the two upstands should be removed, and if you are covering all that lovely detail completely, just leave it intact. The same process happens with the starboard fuselage half, at which point you should probably deal with the seams, although you'd be forgiven for leaving them until the tapering underside of the fuselage has been added, so you can clean them up together (if any is needed). The exhaust stacks are added next, and each one takes the exhaust from two points, converging into one as they exit the fuselage. Each stack is separately moulded, and slide-moulding has been used to give them a nice deep opening, but with a hint of flash that should be easy to remove during preparation. Depending on how undressed your engine will be, the cowling panels are added to the mix, including some highly curved areas around the chin intake. A large styrene mesh part is inserted into the aperture, and although Airfix have done their best to make it as scale as possible, it's a bit chunky, and would be best replaced with the new one from Radub or Eduard, which gives a much more realistic look to the area. The radiator bypass panel at the rear of the underside cowling can be propped open using a longer ram, or closed by using the shorter part. The cockpit is similarly boxed in later, with the remaining sidewall details added as you go, and a choice of either open or closed crew-steps on the starboard side panels. The canopy is also installed late in the build. The elevators have separate trim-tabs, so can be offset, adding some visual interest. The fins fit using tab and slot, with the elevators able to be posed anywhere between the two maximum deflections noted in a scrap diagram nearby. The big rudder panel had raised fabric ribbing, and again has a separate trim tab that can be offset 11o each way, while the rudder itself can go 27o in either direction. The covers for the cannon bays give you yet another choice, and you can use the single-piece covers to close the bays over, or use four-piece alternatives to pose them open, with scrap diagrams showing their correct position on the surface of the wing from two angles. The ailerons are made up with two outer skins and a long rod that is placed inside without gluing. It has three spurs that plug into the fuselage, and I suspect that will lead to more than a few "stuck" ailerons due to glue seepage. The flaps are simple affairs, and glue in either the open or closed position, with a small slice cut off the inner edge of the outer flap to allow the correct flush fit. The wheel bays are already detailed with ribbing and structural detail, and are now treated to a quantity of wiring/hosing as well as ancillary equipment and retraction gear, before that main gear legs are slotted onto the stubs installed earlier. The legs are fitted with separate oleo-scissor links, and the upper part of the leg is split into two pieces for moulding ease. Retraction jacks are added, and the captive outer bay doors are glued to the back of the leg, as shown in scrap diagrams that also show the correct angle for the two-piece tyres, which have a choice of styles, both of which have integral hubs and slightly weighted bottoms. Eduard have already released some resin wheels with greater sidewall detail, and I reviewed those soon after the original release. The inner doors fit to the lower wing with separate closure jacks, and the smooth or anti-shimmy tail wheel is fitted within its yoke and glued into the small bay in either up or down conditions, depending on your choice. The car door cockpit is then substantially different from the original, and begins with the attachment point for the crew belts behind the armour, then some armoured glass either side to help with the pilot protection. The windscreen has a de-fogging element added to its backside when it is fitted, and the aft part of the canopy also has the antenna base added inside before it is glued in place, to be joined by the two car door parts, which incidentally had actual wind-down windows, would you believe? The opening roof panel gives you a choice of the original simple panel, or the later and slightly unsuccessful blistered panel that was fitted with a rear-view mirror that vibrated horribly in flight by all accounts. You can pose that hinged to the side and the starboard door open, as shown in one of the scrap diagrams. To complete the airframe, you need to add the prop, which comes in three-bladed flavour for this early airframe, with each blade having a small insert at its base to key it into one of two two-part bosses, which clamp the blades in the correct orientation. Separate front and back spinner plates are also included, and if you are going for the static prop, you just glue it on the end of the prop shaft. If you are using the motor, you will get a small length of hollow ABS rod that you cut to 33mm and slide into the back of the prop, then push through the hole in the front of the engine until it fits snugly on the drive shaft of the little electric motor. Connect up a battery and enjoy the breeze… hopefully! A crew step, antenna under the fuselage, and pitot probe are all added, and that's the airframe done. Weapons The Typhoon was capable of carrying four RP3 unguided rockets under each wing, or two on the outer pylons plus long-range fuel tanks. It could also carry a 1,000lb bomb under each wing on squat pylons, so could pack quite a punch. Although it was theoretically possible to switch and change, squadrons tended to specialise as bomb or rocket carriers, due to the skills needed, and the hassle of changing the fitment. Happily for us, Airfix have included all of these options again on sprues that are laid out differently from the non-car door version, so we get eight two-part rockets with matching rails, a pair of two-part drop-tanks, and two 500lb bombs, which fit on two-part pylons. Markings There are four markings options depicted in the instructions, plus the additional one of the captured airframe as mentioned earlier. You can build one of the following five as below: R7752 flown by Sq.Ldr. Roland Prosper "Bee" Beamont (DFC & Bar), No.609 Sq., RAF Manston, Kent, April 1943 R8781 No. 486 (NZ) Sq., RAF Tangmere, West Sussex, Dec 1942 EK270 flown by Sq.Ldr. Denis Crowley-Milling (DFC & Bar), No.181 Sq., RAF Appledram, June 1944 JP*71 No.174 (Mauritius) Sq., RAF Holmsley South, Hampshire, June 1944 EJ956 No.486 Sq., flown by Flight Sergeant William K Mawson, crash-landed near Fecamp, Normandy, France, 24th March 1943. Repaired by 2./Versuchsverband ObdL (later KG200) as W.Nr.0956 T9+GK 1943-44 The profiles are printed in colour, with the captured option printed on an additional glossy page, and the stencils for all the airframes are shown on a separate page to the rear of the booklet. Decals are printed anonymously, although they look very much like Cartograf who are Airfix's usual choice, as they are a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It's a super kit in both senses of the word. You get some seriously leading edge CAD work and moulding, a great, aggressive looking subject, and a huge size in the box as well as when completed, and all for a decent price. The additional decals will be a boon to anyone feeling like doing something a little different too. It needs little in the way of aftermarket to improve on what is supplied in the box, and apart from figuring out where to store the box and then the resulting model, there should be little to stop you from getting one. If it worries you that you have never built anything so complex before, you could look out the book that ADH Publishing have prepared to guide you along your way. Extremely highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

RP-3 60lb Rockets & Bronze Undercarriage Legs for Tempest V (648450 & 648446 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin We've only just got over the excitement of this marvellous new tooling from Eduard, and along come some extras that will improve your model further. Eduard As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin rectangular or clamshell box, with the parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions inside to complete the package. RP-3 60lb Rockets for Tempest V (648450) This set rocks up in a cardboard box, and contains eight resin rocket bodies with moulded-in fins, eight launch rails, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass and a small decal sheet. The rockets need their exhausts drilling out with a 1mm bit, and are then decked out with numerous PE fittings that facilitate their attachment to the rails later on. The rails are handed, so take care when installing them, then glue the rockets in place and attach the launch command wire to the back of the rocket and the rear of the pylon. Strangely, Eduard show the tails hanging down from the wing in their diagram, which is only the case when they are fitted to the rails but aren't yet plugged into a socket on the back of them. Remember this though, and you'll be fine. As usual the paint codes are in Gunze shades, and the decals are also shown in place on the same diagram. Tempest V Undercarriage Legs BRONZE (648446) This set is in a clamshell, and includes six resin bay door parts and two handed gear legs that will allow you to replace the kit's plastic gear legs with more robust bronze ones with super-crisp detail. Everything proceeds as per the kit until completion, when you attach a small 0.5mm diameter wire to the rear of each leg. You'll need to supply the wire yourself, but they give you the length at 4.5mm, and a scrap diagram to ensure correct orientation. Again, the colour codes are in Gunze shades, and are called out during construction instead of separately due to the manner of construction. Review sample courtesy of

Hawker Tempest V Resin Upgrades (for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin We've just finished the review of the gorgeous brand new tooling of the mighty Tempest Mk.V in 1:48 from Eduard here (very much worth a look if you've not seen it already), and Eduard have very sensibly released a host of PE and resin sets to coincide with the launch for those that just can't get enough detail. This review covers the resin sets minus the new Löök instrument panel, which is a bit of hybrid, so it's in with the PE sets on the basis that it shares the same packaging format. As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box or a rectangular cardboard box for the larger sets, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. As always with resin, take the precaution of wearing a mask when cutting or sanding resin, as the tiny particles are harmful to your health if breathed in. Washing the parts in warm water will also improve the adhesion of paint, as there may still be some moulding release agent on the parts when you receive them. There are five Brassin sets, as follows: Wheels Early (648420) & Wheels Late (648421) Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip and sink mark issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. The early wheels here have a smaller diameter hub and larger balloon tyres, while the later ones have the opposite. Both sets include main and tail wheels, plus a set of masks (not pictured) to make painting the demarcations a breeze. Early (648420) Late (648421) Exhaust Stacks (648418) These simple drop-in replacements have deep hollow exists and rolled lips with much more crisp and finely moulded detail that lifts it head and shoulders above the already good kit parts. Just razor saw them off the blocks, glue them in and paint (or paint them first – your choice). Cockpit Set (648416) On opening the box you are greeted with a huge collection of fine resin parts in a number of bags, plus instrument decals, PE seatbelts and a small sheet of clear acetate film with the shape of the gunsight printed on multiple times. Due to the cockpit's location between the fuselage framework, there are a lot of delicate parts, but they have been sensibly moulded with flash supporting them where necessary, and clever use of pouring block locations that make liberating them a fairly easy task. The build begins with the framework parts for each side, to which lots of resin controls and panels are added along with the angled side consoles, which are detailed with more levers and controls as appropriate. A large portion of the main spar is provided and this spaces the two sides apart along with other framework parts, some of which are used later to support the floor, which isn't quite as solid as the kit floor would have you believe. The foot "trays" are fitted on top of the mechanics of the rudder and control column parts, with those parts added respectively, both having PE parts used to detail the yoke and pedals for the ultimate in detail. A pair of diagrams show the correct location of the assembly when joined with the framework, and you'll need to decide in advance which bits to attach together and when to apply paint. The seat is supported by two cross-braces, and has a set of pre-painted seatbelts to go with it that you can apply after painting. This is then inserted into the cockpit framework and is hemmed in by a bracketed piece of back armour, and the rear cockpit frame, so you'd better hope that you don't knock anything off inside after this stage. A fuel tank is plonked in front of the pilot (yikes!), with the highly detailed resin instrument panel laid in front of it, with decals provided for all the instrument faces, and separate compass part. The kit cockpit insert that is fixed into the aperture after the fuselage is closed gets a piece of resin head armour and a Y-shaped length of belt, over which another rail is glued. This is then fitted with the gun-sight with clear film glazing to the front, and set aside while the interior of the fuselage is detailed. The moulded-in detail is retained, and the equipment is augmented by resin and PE parts with much more detail squeezed in. The fuselage can then be closed around the cockpit, using the kit front bulkhead and remembering to put in the other kit parts that are encased in the fuselage, with the cockpit insert installed along with the shoulder straps of the seatbelts, hiding most of the awesome detail away. Gun Bays (648419) The gun bays on the model are moulded closed, so the first thing you'll need to do it cut the wing apart, making a T-shaped hole in each upper panel, following the panel lines shown in the instructions. You'll also need to chamfer the inner side of the landing light blister inside the lower wing, or your bays won't fit. The whole bay frame is moulded as a single part per wing, and is given a PE floor with the lower wing internal structure depicted. The two ammo boxes fit into the top of the T each side of the cannons, which are added after, and plumbed in with some small resin parts. The rear of the bay is a mixture of resin and PE parts to obtain the correct thickness of the trailing edge once the bay is offered up to the underside of the upper wing. It fits within the hole, recessed to give a more realistic look and thickness to the bay edges, which are then lined with PE parts that replicate the lip and fastener locations, with the front sections inlaid with more PE to depict the hinges so that the new resin bay doors can be attached folded forwards, while the aft section is loose and usually laid upside down on the wing when removed. A CAD image shows their correct orientation, and Mr Hobby paint codes are called out throughout construction to aid paint choices. Review sample courtesy of

Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib (11117) Limited Edition 1:48 Eduard In the design process even before the Hurricane reached squadron service, the Typhoon was initially intended to be a direct replacement of its older stable mate, but with development scope to take advantage of the upcoming 2,000hp piston engines that would be near the limits of propeller powered flight. Initial problems were overcome, and the early razorback design was amended to a bubble canopy that gave the pilot a vastly improved view of the sky around him. A larger, strengthened tail and a change from 12 machine guns to four wing mounted 20mm cannon also improved the aircraft's offensive ability. It was never fully developed into a medium altitude fighter, but it did find a role nearer the ground, especially in countering the Fw.190 that was playing havoc with the Mk.V Spitfires at the time. It was a big stable aircraft with masses of power, which made it ideally suited to low level flight, and that naturally lends itself to ground attack. Fitted with unguided rockets or 1,000lb bombs under each wing, it became a feared sight by enemy ground troops and tankers. Although the rockets were tricky to aim well, they had a massive effect on morale, and played a large part in halting the advances made by German troops in the Battle of the Bulge, flying hundreds of ground attack sorties using rockets, bombs and cannon to great effect. Like any successful aircraft of WWII, the list of improvements is long, but with the Tempest making inroads into solving the Typhoon's shortcomings, it was soon withdrawn after WWII came to a close, lasting only a few months of peacetime. The Kit This limited edition is based upon the Hasegawa plastic, as evidenced by the little slips of paper inside the inner bags that state it was made in Japan and imported by Eduard. It arrives in the usual sized box with a painting of a Tiffie and the words Typhoon writ large in red underneath. Inside everything is bagged together, with the clear parts and some polycaps bagged inside. The full contents includes nine sprues of varying sizes in grey styrene, one in clear, a small sprue of black polycaps, a bag with a bunch of resin parts in it, two sheets of Photo-Etch (PE) one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other bare brass, a sheet of kabuki-style masks, a sheet of decals and the usual Eduard instruction booklet with the painting guide to the rear. Quite a comprehensive package! Construction begins with the cockpit, replacing the complete instrument panel and side consoles with a highly detailed painted lamination, or using the original part with decals – your choice. The rudder pedals are also replaced, and the seat is tossed in the spare pile to be replaced by a complete PE replica with improved detail and scale fidelity. The Typhoon's cockpit is more-or-less suspended within the main frames, and the kit parts replicating this are augmented with some PE strengthening webs, as well as additional controls and equipment, before they are brought together with the floor and rear bulkhead to create the cockpit, the rear of which has new in-scale PE head armour that fits in the space where the old plastic is cut off. More PE is attached to the interior of the fuselage, and the chin scoop is made up with an additional PE central filter fitted for a couple of the marking options. This is the car-door Tiffie, so when you sandwich the cockpit and chin intake between the fuselage, you also add the appropriate inserts to the top of the fuselage around the cockpit that present you with the correct aperture for the type. The wings are simply made from three parts, with the full-width lower having the main gear bays moulded-in with surprisingly good detail. before closing them up however, you will need to establish which holes (if any) you want to open up for the underwing stores later on. The cannon fairings are moulded into the wing, and for three of the markings options, a small section under the chin will need removing and replacing with a pairing of PE and resin parts. The tail fin is moulded into the fuselage with the rudder, while the new replacement resin elevators are a big improvement on the old parts, with realistic joins between the parts permitting easy placement of them at a suitably deflected angle. The landing gear is pretty much stock kit parts, with the exception of a few small PE stiffening parts applied to the bay doors, at which time there is also a choice of two types of additional PE for the chin intake. A whole host of additional PE and styrene parts are fitted to the underside, as well as landing lights in the leading edge, cannon barrels, and you will then need to fill around the landing lights, as they aren't present on these airframes. A choice of stubby pylons or rocket rails for the underwing storage are supplied, all from kit parts, with different fitments for the various decal options. The resin prop is built up using the accompanying jig, and is then covered with a resin spinner, while the remaining parts such as the gunsight, canopy sliding details, a new PE aerial and the two canopy parts are applied last along with the exhaust stacks and prop. Speaking of the canopy, there is a full set of masks (not pictured) supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Markings As usual with Eduard Limited Edition boxings, you get a good selection of markings, although given the aircraft's relatively short term of service in the late war, it's all based on grey/green over light grey with a variety of tactical and unit markings. From the box you can build one of the following: MN529, flown by F/O Ian Handyside, No. 184 Squadron, No. 129 Wing, RAF Westhampnett, Great Britain, June 1944 MN819, flown by S/Ldr Jack Collins DFC, No. 245 (North Rhodesian) Squadron, No. 121 Wing, RAF Holmsley South, Great Britain, June 1944 RB431, flown by W/Cdr John ‘Zipp' Button DSO, DFC, No. 123 Wing, B.103 Plantlünne, Germany, April 1945 RB207, flown by F/O Bill Beatty, No. 438 (RCAF) Squadron, No. 143 (RCAF) Wing, B.150 Hustedt, Germany, May 1945 MP197, No. 245 (North Rhodesian) Squadron, No. 121 Wing, B.164 Schleswig , Germany, June 1945 SW399, flown by F/O Ronald Sweeting DFC, No. 175 Squadron, No. 121 Wing, B.164 Schleswig, Germany, July 1945 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It's good to see this Limited Edition release, and if you've been wanting one, don't hang around as they have a habit of selling out quickly. Hasegawa plastic with Eduard aftermarket makes for an excellent combination that's likely to sell well. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Typhoon Mk.Ib Fuel Tanks (648370 for Hasegawa/Eduard Kit) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Most fighters since WWII have always needed more fuel to either extend their range or loiter time, so it was common for additional tankage to be suspended under the fuselage or wings. The Typhoon had two hard-points under the wings, and often carried a pair of fuel tanks that could carry 45 gallons of extra fuel, and increase the aircraft's range by 400 miles, which was particularly useful once the beachhead was established after D-Day. Eduard As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. The contents consist of two resin tanks on one casting block, with a small sheet of decals. The tanks are attached on their trailing end cap, and the short pylons are moulded-in, requiring just a little careful sanding of the stubs once detached, after which they can be glued to the wings. The painting guide shows you where to position the small stencils on the sides, and the colour call-outs are in Gunze codes as usual. Review sample courtesy of

Typhoon Mk.Ib Upgrades (for Eduard/Hasegawa) 1:48 Eduard Eduard's reboxing of the Hasegawa Typhoon has sparked renewed interest in the type, and to coincide with the number of them likely to be heading towards workbenches and stashes, they have released a couple of upgrade sets to add some detail to the kit. Exhaust Stacks with fairing (648315) As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. There are two sets of exhausts in the box on one pour stub, which I have cut in half to show both sides of the stacks in one photo. When liberated from the casting block, the exhausts are a drop-in replacement for the kit parts, and includes the fairing around them, which sits over the slot in the side of the kit fuselage. As usual with resin, take the precaution of wearing a mask when cutting or sanding resin, as the tiny particles are harmful to your health if breathed in. Washing the parts in warm water will also improve the adhesion of paint, as there may still be some moulding release agent on the parts when you receive them. Upgrade Set (48916) As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. This set builds on the PE included with the now out of stock Tiffie kit (1131), so is probably best mated with this or the Overtrees (1131X) to avoid confusion. It includes a replacement set of mesh for the intake scoop under the nose; cooling flap behind it; brake hoses, plus additional internal detail parts for the gear bays. Review sample courtesy of

So chaps! I plan to finish these ones off to clear the bench and my head before starting on some other projects. First up is a mkii hurricane, this is the hasegawa 1/48 mkii. A while back I did this http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234979665-148-spitfire-vbmalta/ This was started to be it's mate up on the boys ceiling but only got as far as this. I was going to do a SEAC hurricane but as is pal was a malta bird I thought it NEEDS to be a malta hurricane. ... can of worms opened I spoke to a chap who knows a bit about the place and he was very helpful, Mr Tony O'toole, thanks again for everything you gave me. In the end I decided to go with the classic There are lots of pictures of this crash landed around and Tony gave me a number of pointers on colours that it could be, but for artistic reasons I am going with the above. This will be nice and weathered just how I like them! Next is a tiffie which was started a bit back and did a wip for here http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234983281-172-tiff/ This is where it was left So I stopped this one for the BofB GB (which I didn't finish, so close but so far) I also topped it as the paint, specifically tamiya's ocean grey. I think it must have been the thinner that I used? But anyhow the finish really needs some work. It will be finished out of the box as ZY-Y. Last one is a funny one, started as a conversion of an airfix hampden into the torp carrying version, then my nephew was born... another one! I have 28 nieces and nephews. For the last few chaps (I have offered for the girls but supposedly it's not the done thing, even the pink spitfire's troy let me know about! ) this one then turned into a plane for his room with his name on. It's at this point No pay load or weaponry on this as supposedly it's not a good look for a kids bed room.... whatever Nearly finished with this one. I hope I still have all the bits.... Hmmmm should have checked that first.... Anyway that's where these are at and what I need to finish Rob

Hi guys - just trying to work this out for my next build. Sorry its esoteric even for here! Were the stubs that the MK III rails were attached to on the wing underside, the same as the stubs that the Mk I rails used. I have Mossie MK III rails, but these have "Mossie" stubs. The Hasegawa Tiffie MK I rails have stubs which are shorter, and also longer for the rear stub. So I guess my question is - did the stub come with the rail, or was it part of the airframe? BTW - its the 245 Sharkmouth Tiffie, using Aviaeology decals, and a glut of Ultracast resin, 1/48th scale of course! Cheers Jonners