Hawker Typhoon FR– Photo M

[ben_m]

This is a Hasegawa 1/48 Hawker Typhoon, with a few tweaks.


Notice anything missing?


Quite fiddly and tedious– opening up the exhausts (note how Hasegwa has only moulded one exhaust entering each nozzle at the base– there should be two per nozzle).
Also opened the hand and foot holds in the starboard fuselage insert– these will have open covers made later.


Filling the inner port shell chutes (used miliput for the first round, as it scribes better than the green squadron putty).


Added a landing light reflector made from foil (pushed over the rounded end of a paintbrush, then cut around the end of the brush with a knife– I don't have a round punch set to make a disc first). The three-spoke wheel at the front of the reflector was made from fine copper wire painted black– took an hour to get one that didn't look a mess). Unfortunately, this is an inaccuracy, as by this point in the war, Typhoons had these faired over. I think they add interest, so I'll be keeping them (and I wanted to try making the three-spoke wheel part, ever since of recently saw some posh photo-etched versions).


You can also see the leading edge camera aperture (20" lens equipped F.24 camera, behind a 5" square glass registration plate). Also note the three scribed panels where the original 3 F.24 cameras locations were covered.


Another view of the scribing- done using a needle, then sanded, then cleaned out using a sharpened piece of sprue– this cannot scratch the surrounding plastic if you slip. The circles were done with a frame hanger's nail hole as a template, and the rounded rectangle was done with the hole in a modelling knife blade.


Foot stirrup hole in lower fuselage opened.


New radiator front scratch-built (texture from an old black T-shirt soaked in superglue– take care the fumes are bad for you, particularly your eyes). The central part will form the base for the the 'cuckoo-door' air filter, to be fitted after most of the painting is done.


Cockpit almost out of the box (seat thinned on all sides, height reduced a bit to allow us to see the scratch-built bar over which the shoulder straps run. Headrest armour thinned down (this also removes a sink mark). Padded seat back added (geeky detail: the diamonds on this are taller than wide, MDC's 1/32 seat has them incorrectly wider than tall).

Edited August 2, 2013 by ben_m

[Col.]

Nice clean work on both conversion and detail. Will enjoy watching your progress so thanks for sharing it with us.

[robw_uk]

thats some very neat work... looking forward to seeing more progress....

[Seahawk]

You don't post often but, when you do, it's always intriguing and impeccably researched: keep it up!

[Jonny]

I think the LE landing lights were faired over on rocket-firing aircraft. I guess from that that PR aircraft (which I doubt were easily converttible from the PR role to 4-cannon 'fighter bomber') would have retained the lights.

Just a guess but I hope it helps a little.

Lovely work on the lights, btw.

Cheerrs,

Jonny

[ben_m]

Thanks for the replies: once again, I have not made the progress i would have liked, but at least things are moving forwards.

Jonny: Thanks, but I have the privilege of being in contact with the pilot of this aircraft, and the lights were not present

This photo shows how I made the landing lights- copper wire stuck down to masking tape, joined with super glue. Imperfect reflector made using end of paint brush, then cut around. The flaw in this plan was that the clear covers supplied in the kit didn't fit over the new reflectors. I could have tried smash moulding a new set of covers, but as this aircraft didn't have the landing lights, I decided to fair them over, using the clear parts as a start.

I could help myself taping the kit together to see how it looks.

I've looked at a lot of Typhoon photographs, and the Hasegawa kit really captures the shape very, very well.

I managed to spray some grey primer (Halfords Plastic Primer) on when the weather permitted, but it is hard to see in these photos as the plastic is exactly the same colour! I then brush-painted some interior grey-green, black and silver bits.

(ignore 1/32 Revell/MDC/scratch cockpit– it's quite ugly in places, but the canopy will be closed on that one)

Not 100% accurate, but I am happy at how the radiator looks at this stage.

Wheel wells simply painted Citadel Mithryl silver (with a touch of grey added to tone down the shininess), with their first wash.

Cockpit painting has only just begun.

If you want to see how the Hasegawa wheel wells and cockpit really should be detailed, take a visit to Jon Kunac-Tabinor's Work In Progress. Funny that we should both be blogging our builds at the same time, as he's just on the other side of Oxford.

[Duncan B]

Not normally my type of subject but the standard of work makes it compulsive viewing.

Duncan B

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Hi Ben - excellent stuff there sir, and you flatter me too!! your air filter is a joy to see, and I like the way you;ve opened up those exhausts too ( none of this cheating with resin like me!)

OK - so where are you then - I'm in Cuttleslowe, Oxford so you are...

Jonners ( do we need another Oxford Tiffie fan to be quorate?)

[ColFord]

Interesting build. However, the Typhoon FR.1bs were a dedicated conversion and could not be easily converted back (in the field) to a normal Typhoon fighter bomber or rocket carrier. Of those that are known to have been converted to FR.1b specification, their use after being with the main unit to use them operationally in any great numbers, being No.268 Squadron RAF, was a number passed to No.4 Sqdn and a smaller number passed to individual Typhoon WIngs. The primary role with No.4 Sqdn and the Typhoon Wings was to tag along and get immediate coverage of strikes against targets. A number were also passed back (ones and twos) to units such as 84GSU, 3TEU, 55OTU, 56OTU, 85Grp Comms Flt.

In all the photos I have of Typhoon FR.1bs serving with No.268 Sqdn or with No.4 Sqdn, they show the landing lights present, not faired over. All were 3 blader, bubble top, small tail plane variants.

They were not much liked, other than for their ruggedness. Effectively you could not fire all three of the remaining cannon, otherwise the uneven recoil would slew the aircraft off target. So normally the remaining outer cannon on each side was used if required. Pilots didn't like that as it was only using effectively half of the normal armament. Photography could be blurred by vibration from the engine and airframe, much harder to isolate the vibration into the camera and camera mounts than in the Mustang. Also much heavier on the controls compared to the Allison engined Mustangs the pilots were also using at the time, gulped fuel like no bodies business and tended to 'snake' at low altitude.

I think there was a thread over in the WW2 aircraft part of Britmodeller which may have been back in 2010 or thereabouts which covered off some of the detail of the dedicated Typhoon FR.1b aircraft which Chris Thomas and I both contriuted to.

Regards,

Edited November 28, 2012 by ColFord

[ben_m]

Interesting build. However, the Typhoon FR.1bs were a dedicated conversion and could not be easily converted back (in the field) to a normal Typhoon fighter bomber or rocket carrier.

I am not modelling the aircraft as having been converted back to a fighter bomber.

The aircraft I am depicting is EK196, carrying only an 'M' code on the fuselage, in February 1945. Ex-268 Sqn, this aircraft was one of three (the others were 'A' JP371 and 'B' EK372) that was unofficially transferred to 146 Wing. Eventually all three were converted to a single forward-facing F.24 20" lens camera fit, that was much easier for the pilots to aim. This installation was developed by David Ince, the Typhoon pilot for whom I am building this model. If you are interested in his account of the use of FR Typhoons, and examples of some the very successful results, his biography is available on Amazon:

Brotherhood of the Skies

In all the photos I have of Typhoon FR.1bs serving with No.268 Sqdn or with No.4 Sqdn, they show the landing lights present, not faired over.

I agree, but the only photo I have of a 146 Wing FR aircraft (and possibly the only photo of an FR variant from 1945)– Photo B, EK372– shows it without. Certainly most/all other Typhoons in the Wing didn't have wing leading edge landing lights at this time.

The other FR Typhoon threads are:

Typhoon FR.1b - the Foto Tiffie

Typhoon FR.Ib

Typhoon FR.IB

Jonners: I'm in Marston. You might remember that about a 18 months ago I was trying to scrounge a 3-bladed Typhoon prop from you: that was for this build. I was originally converting the old Monogram 1/48 Typhoon into this aircraft, and the completed model I was working with had a 4-blader fitted. I got lucky on eBay and got this Hasegawa for £12 (I was a little disappointed when it arrived that it didn't have decals, but as I'm using masks it's not the end of the world- for stencils I will make my own decals, as I have to do that anyway for a 1/32 Typhoon model I'm making).

[ColFord]

EK196 'M' photographed whilst with No.268 Sqdn at B43 St Omer-Fort Rouge in September 1944, landing lights visible in photo.

JP371 'A' photographed whilst with No.268 Sqdn at B43 St Omer-Fort Rouge in September 1944, landing lights visible in photo.

If the aircraft received further modification when passed to 146 Wing that saw the deletion or plating over of the landing lights, that is something that happened after they were passed on from No.268 Squadron in mid-November 1944.

268 were already experimenting with a forward facing 35mm cine camera fitted in the inboard cannon position before they passed the Typhoon on to other units. They had already experimented with forward 35mm cine camera installations on their Mustangs using various types of mounts on various parts of the airframe.

Regards,

[ben_m]

EK196 'M' photographed whilst with No.268 Sqdn at B43 St Omer-Fort Rouge in September 1944, landing lights visible in photo.

JP371 'A' photographed whilst with No.268 Sqdn at B43 St Omer-Fort Rouge in September 1944, landing lights visible in photo.

I didn't think the landing lights were going to be such a contenious issue!

If you could share (either here or via email to [email protected] ) the photo of EK196, it would be much appreciated, as it might help with the camouflage pattern. I was going to put the 'M' aft of the roundel on both sides- is this visible on the photo?

268 were already experimenting with a forward facing 35mm cine camera fitted in the inboard cannon position before they passed the Typhoon on to other units.

Yes, but a 5x5" negative and a 20" lens would have given significantly more detail for damage assessment. Late in the war rocket-firing Typhoon flight leaders had US 35mm gun cameras fitted into one of the (vacant) wing landing light compartments, and these were a significant improvement on the 16mm gun cameras in the engine bay. I think I'm right in saying the early car-door-types had leading-edge 16mm cameras outboard of the landing light (the Hasegawa wing has a hole you can open in this location)- but these were later moved to the engine bay location, in a (not very successful) attempt to improve image quality.

[ColFord]

Not wanting to be contentious, just indicating the actual configuration of the subject aircraft at a specific point in time.

'M' is aft of the roundel both sides of the fuselage. Information being sent to your email address.

There were different reasons around using a forward facing 35mm cine camera vs a forward facing F.24 camera, not the least as you point out the degree of detail for damage assessment purposes from the 5x5 negatives of the F.24. vs what you would get from the 35mm camera. The 35mm cine camera was favoured for 'linear' targets, such as roads or canals, where the aircraft would fly along the road or canal at low level filming the length. Also favoured for 'live' footage of attacks where the camera aircraft would formate off to the side and slightly behind the attacking aircraft and film its attack run against a target. The camera aircraft pilots didn't like that duty as they would often have to make a number of passes hanging off the wing of the various attacking aircraft, especially if there was flak around. One of the issues with the F.24 was the frame advance rate and getting that properly synchronised to the aircraft's forward airspeed so that as the camera was triggered the exposure and focus was correct and the neccessary overlap between frames was obtained. That usually meant the pilot had to overfly the target or fly along the object to be photographed within a predetermined speed range otherwise the image obtained would be out of focus.

Regards,

[ben_m]

Slowly crawling along: seat belts done

 

 

 

 

Made from paper, cut with a knife from a print-out of a scaled photograph of a 1/24 photo-etch fret.

[ben_m]

Calling the cockpit complete now. Need to get this closed up and moving on...

 

 

Drybrushed the instrument panel, then went over needles in white. Added brown surround to coolant temperature gauge,  and red-orange around oil level and oil temperature gauges.

 

Touched up the black-lining around the seat belts. Drybrushed the foot plates (that had already had an ink wash), then added some dried mud in brown inks and paints.

 

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Looking very tasty!!!

My build is stalled at the mo while I check out the shape of the upper cowling. In fact I'd be interested in your opinion.

Cheers

Jonners

[ben_m]

Thanks Jonners!

 

I've not held it up against any plans, but I've spend a while flying it around taped together....

 

 

And from all angles it seems to match photos.

 

If you want a definitive answer, email or PM Chris Thomas. I recall he likes the kit.

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Have a look at the top line of the nose compared to a photo. The kit angles down, whereas it should be flat. If you have an Eduardo tempest to had, the difference is apparent ( well to me). I don't think Chris Thomas is aware of it either, and it is perhaps a shape difference for the anal ( ie me!)

Cheers

Jonners

[JasonC]

Have a look at the top line of the nose compared to a photo. The kit angles down, whereas it should be flat. If you have an Eduardo tempest to had, the difference is apparent ( well to me). I don't think Chris Thomas is aware of it either, and it is perhaps a shape difference for the anal ( ie me!)

Cheers

Jonners

Hmm, not convinced. The photo below from wikipedia also seems to show some slope forward of the canopy. If there's a difference, it's subtle IMHO.

regards,

Jason

EDIT: Cracking build by the way Ben! Looking forward to seeing it develop.

Edited January 14, 2013 by JasonC

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Hmm, not convinced. The photo below from wikipedia also seems to show some slope forward of the canopy. If there's a difference, it's subtle IMHO.

regards,

Jason

EDIT: Cracking build by the way Ben! Looking forward to seeing it develop.

Hi Jason let me do some pics later in a new thread so as not to hijack Ben's cracking build

Cheers

Jonners

[ben_m]

Closed her up tonight.

 

Needed two spreaders made from sprue (beige pieces in photo below). There was quite a gap at the wing roots without these (see photo in last post).

 

 

Gaps gone.

 

 

I probably didn't need this much filler, but I'd got it out for a tiny bit of filling on the join in the radiator intake, and though I might as well at a bit here and there.

 

[MPaul]

Looking good!

I am going to make a Revell MicroWings 1/144 if this in the next few days sometime. Loving yours so far

[phildagreek]

Interesting build so far, some excellent work.

[Nobby]

Looking good! I like your approach to the detail on the landing lights! I did much the same with 72nd Typhoon and the Defiant but just painted the swirly bits. 

[perdu]

As my Typhoon was the first model I built in this incarnation of modelling I studied them quite assiduously

 

So I know I am quite right when I say this is bloody lovely, The framing and footboards look great on this kit. Very nice cockpit.

 

I built the old frog one in 1/72 and added the landing lights reflectors the way you did, unlike Nobby though (and you) I Ieft out the three legged wirey bit.