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Special Hobby 1/32 Tempest


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One of the joys of the hobby I have discovered since returning (admittedly 8 years or so ago) is ludicrously fast drying acrylic paint (take a bow, Tamiya) and vinyl masks.  They can take you from an undercoated primed model to the following state in just a few hours...

 

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The first picture was taken seconds after I had dropped my camera phone onto the plane.  I am very thankful that I wasn't using my full-fat 'proper' camera, which I think would have caused significantly more damage.  The large blank areas on the underside are where I remembered to leave a bunch of white because invasion stripes will be arriving next, and on the upper surfaces they aren't so obvious because I forgot, basically, caught up in the thrill of painting and masking.  Similarly the camouflage just drifts off on the sides (I haven't bothered with pics yet) because a raft of stripes in black, white and sky are going to make their presence felt, shortly, along with painted on roundels and ID codes.

 

I'm now at the stage where I have to force myself to slow down, because otherwise I will start to make silly mistakes.  Like, for example, forgetting to leave the blanks on the upper surfaces for the stripes.  I am currently torn between doing them very neatly (because it's Roland Beamont's second (at least) plane, and maybe it wouldn't have been painted in a hurry, and being slightly more slapdash to represent rapidly applied stripes.  The biggest problem with doing them roughly is that I reckon I would need to brush paint, and I have *never* had a good experience brush painting Tamiya.  Also, I think it would look too different when compared to the airbrushing elsewhere.  So who would like to agree with me that the Wing Cdr's second airframe got excellent preparation at the stores unit before being delivered to him?  🙂 

 

 

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I agree that a Wng Commander's aircraft would have had neat stripes, especially as you say, if it was his ' second aircraft ' there might have been more time to do it neatly. If you decide on a less neat finish you could try masking tape that's been torn not cut to give slightly ragged lines.

Ref brush painting with Tamiya, I have started using their own thinners and get a better result, applying a couple of very thin coats.

 

John

 

 

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A few days and many square metres of Tamiya tape and Kabuki mask later, and what do we have?  A Tempest, most of whose original camo has been replaced by a riot of black, white, yellow and grey green...

 

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A little bit of touch up to deal with underspray, overspray and paint creep under masks, and we're good for ID marks.  That won't happen for a few days, though.  I'm getti the feeling of progress all of a sudden, though.

 

Mike

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So I've been at it again.  This time, it's been Maketar masks and a range of home-brewed RAF roundel colours (75% Red, 25% NATO Brown, and Blue with a dash of black).  Definitely look better to me than decals, although I might have to revisit some of the roundel areas if I can't live with some elements being a tad eccentric, in the true meaning of the word.  Anyhoo, 3 more pics...

 

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Rivet counters will be pleased to see that I reversed the photoetch around the gun bays so that the fastener holes are now by the trailing edge.

 

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Next step will be out with the hard-to-spray Humbrol 90 Grey-green, to do Mr. Beamont's codes.  I know its hard to spray because when I did the tail band, all manner of delightful splattering and/or dreaded needle tip drying occurred.

 

Laters, taters... 

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  • 1 month later...

Although things have been quiet, that doesn't mean I've not been doing anything.  Oh no.  I have been hard at work masking roundels and letters, decaling and varnishing prior to getting the *many* sub assemblies I have lying around my workshop integrated onto the airframe.  Today, I have mostly been working on the gun bas: installing the cannon and some wiring suggested by Special Hobby.  Here it is...

 

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I have also been masking up the gun bay covers.  I'm not looking for millimetrically accurate continuations of the D-Day stripes because I'm leaving the covers scattered negligently around the airframe, *but* see if you can spot the slight error I made when masking the outboard ammo cover...

 

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Can you spot the deliberate mistake?  :facepalm:  Sometimes I wonder how I've lived this long.

 

Warning for future builders: when you do the undercarriage bays, take great care not to put some pieces in upside-down: actually quite an easy thing to do because the instructions move between right way up, looking into the  bay from below, and looking into the bay from above without showing the upper wing (because of course, you wouldn't see anything were it to be drawn.  Spatially challenged individuals like myself will have 'issues' - I spotted the error far too late in the build to rectify at source, so I will be indulging in further plastic surgery to try and retain the brutish stance of the Tempest through tweaks to the undercarriage attachment points.

 

Laters...

 

Mike

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I have heard others mention it and how they spent ages trying to figure it out. Filing bits down to get it to fit. Thankfully they corrected the mistake in the Mk.II kit. It would be nice if they could place a correction sheet in the Mk.V boxes from when they were aware of the issue. Not sure if that has ever happened. 

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On 6/15/2018 at 7:25 AM, Chaotic Mike said:

Look!  I'm taking an unusual amount of care to ensure that the straight lines I need to cut will be straight...

What make/type of tape are you using here? I keep buying label tape / plumbing tape etc but it’s always not thick enough for this kind of job! Would love a specific type to look for. Also love what you’re doing with the model. She’s looking great so far...

Edited by Kitchen Modeller
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Hello... It's just standard Dymo tape, probably acquired from Ryan's (other stationers are available!). Good and tacky, and solid enough to provide a solid edge to cut against. Hope that helps. 

 

Mike 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi honey, I'm baaaack...

 

So, the most recent piece of lunacy was probably drilling a hole into the pitot head...

 

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Yes, it's a hole, not a back dot.  Then I spotted I had displaced both of the wingtip position lamps.  B*gg*r.  A fingertip search of the shed found starboard; I have 2 plans for port - (1) Order a replacement transparent frame from SH, because I cracked the bubbletop a few pictures back when I dropped my phone on the plane, and in the meantime (and because I asked SJ a couple of weeks ago how I could buy replacement parts but haven't heard anything yet) (2) scratch a replacement out of the transparent sprue frame.  Here is work in progress...

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This may take some time.

 

I now have her on her undercarriage.  Here come 4 bonus pictures:

 

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Getting close to installing the engine.  I'll hold off until I've fettled the wing tip light, though, because there will be copious sanding and polishing.  I suppose I could grubby her up a bit, as well. 

 

 

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You lost the wing tip lights?

B*gg*r indeed!

 

Some grubbiness would indeed look the part, even though it is very nice as is.

By the way, does the undercarriage feel strong enough, and not like Airfix 1/24 Tiffy-legs (or even the dreaded SAC white "metal" parts)?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Still grinding on...  I have the engine mated to the airframe now - and that wasn't easy!  No pix until its finished.  Future builders of the resin engine should note that the instructions have a few pipes being introduced after the main engine and frame joint the firewall.  Some were easy.  Some were buried inside the framework and the engine itself, and I'll let you into a secret...  I didn't do all of them.  I tried, God knows I tried, but I thik even a flea sized gynaecologist would have struggled.

 

Back on midget resin.  Here is a picture of yet another midget doohickey...

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In theory, you have to butt join fine wire to the two legs you can see pointing South West in the above shot.  In reality, as you finish polishing the piece before supergluing it to the-part-of-the-engine-you-thought-you-lost-to-the-carpet-monster-several-months-ago-but-which-turned-up-4-metres-from-your-work-bench-recently-and-which-you-have-swapped-in-for-the-scratch-built-element-you-hand-carved-from-a-resin-offcut you feel it ping off your upper lip, never to be seen again.  Soddit.  So instead you carve another resin offcut, and drill holes to pin it to the rest of the engine.  Then all you have to do is work out how to attach the wire...

 

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The piece of brass rod at left has been attached at each end, and trimmed to fit my scratched piece.  The piece on the right is attached only to a microscopic T-crank, and is heading off to the right where it is being gripped by  a modeller's 'third hand'.  When the CA cures I will attach the other end to my scratched piece and try to snip off the extra.  It's nerve-wracking, because every interaction with the resin engine is accompanied by the sound of stressed joints where it is attached to the polystyrene firewall.

 

I think the end is in sight, though.  And Special Hobby are going to send me a replacement bubbletop.  It should be finished at about the same time my HK Lancaster arrives...

 

Mike

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The the-part-of-the-engine-you-thought-you-lost-to-the-carpet-monster-several-months-ago-but-which-turned-up-4-metres-from-your-work-bench-recently-and-which-you-have-swapped-in-for-the-scratch-built-element-you-hand-carved-from-a-resin-offcut sounds troublesome!

No one will notice a few missing pipes, that's for sure. I was unable to install a couple on my 1/24 Tiffy so I guess the problem is well spread.

I guess they were tricky to install in real life too?

 

I can't wait to see this one finished!

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Yippee! Sprue K appeared through the letter box today, so I can finish the canopy and have another go at the drop tank fairings. I cut the original pieces down because otherwise the tanks themselves don't engage with their holes. But then the rivet decals don't fit. This time, I'll extend the mounting pegs on the tanks. 

Nearly at the end. I painted the bits of wire and resin attached last time. 

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