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Thoughts on Academy´s Tempest Mk.V?


Sturmovik

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I found Academy´s Tempest at a good price, and I wanted to know the opinions of other people before I buy it (fit etc...) Also, about the decals. An article on Modeling Madness says they worked perfectly, but the author of the kit´s preview on the same site mentions Academy decals would peel off the model after some time, and comments on other sites say the decals wouldn´t even stick to the model. Is this something that could be solved by soaking them in very hot water and then applying decal softener (I use Vallejo´)?

Thank you kindly.

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I personally have no issues with most decals from asia. I soak them in super hot water and use Microset/sol. I have the academy and am also building the heller Mk.V i think both are decent kits as far as fit. 

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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IMO the Academy Tempest is a relatively good kit, however can be improved by incorporating a few small modifications.

 

1. The outer wingtips (from approx outboard of the ailerons) are too rounded in shape and should be sanded back to match some decent plans - Arthur Bentley's scale plans will help here.  

2. The Prop blades are also too rounded and should be reshaped or better still replaced with one from the Heller kit.

3. The slidng canopy is also a liitle off, however you should be able to get away with it.

4. The rear fuselage is also a fraction short, but this is major surgery to rectify and probably not worth the hassle.

 

On the plus side, it has very fine recessed panel lines, nicely detailed wheel wells and undercart and a good cockpit, enough for this scale.

All in all, this is still a servicable kit, however a new Airfix (or better still) 1/72 Eduard Tempest kit is well and truly overdue.

 

Cheers.. Dave.

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3 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

The Prop blades are also too rounded and should be reshaped or better still replaced with one from the Heller kit.

Hell Dave would the blades be more pointed or squared ? I have two in my academy kit. The kit was a donation from Procopius. And it had two props inside ? 

 

Dennis

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24 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hell Dave would the blades be more pointed or squared ? I have two in my academy kit. The kit was a donation from Procopius. And it had two props inside ? 

 

Dennis

Dennis,

IMO, the blades are too broad, however I think the overall length is about right. A few careful scrapes of an angled blade should fix it, however this is something that we could all easily over do and ruin. Should you have a Heller donor kit lying around, compare the two and possibly pinch the better prop. Once seen, the kit's prop and bloated wingtips are very difficult to 'un-see'! 

 

Cheers.. Dave    

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I have built both kits and liked both of them although I used Modeldecal/Xtradecals for all the decals. I agree with Dave about the wingtips, the Heller kit is much better here. My memory suggests the Heller kit matches the Bentley plans whereas the Academy kit is a good approximation to them.

 

A cautionary note - both have fragile undercarriage which has broken during transit to shows, if you are likely to be moving them around it's worth making a cradle from polystyrene foam or similar.

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I built one about 10 years back and the kit itself is nice and goes together well. I had a devil of a time with the decals though, they were thick and initially wouldn't lie down. I ended up hitting the bloody things with Mr Mark Softer and eventually they bedded down to an acceptable degree.

 

I have another one in the stash but I'll be going with aftermarket for the stickers!

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19 hours ago, Sturmovik said:

but the author of the kit´s preview on the same site mentions Academy decals would peel off the model after some time, and comments on other sites say the decals wouldn´t even stick to the model. Is this something that could be solved by soaking them in very hot water and then applying decal softener (I use Vallejo´)?

 

read this

the Academy decals may just be rubbish tho....

 

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On 11/4/2018 at 3:42 AM, Rabbit Leader said:

2. The Prop blades are also too rounded and should be reshaped or better still replaced with one from the Heller kit.

 

IMHO, they are also too wide, making the kit look like a caricature.

If You reshape those, the rest of the Academy kit errors are minor stuff, with which You can get away with.

 

Here's mine, that I completed a while ago

A rather enjoyable build, only problem being the modeller (i.e. myself), managing to drop it a record two times before painting and having to re-fill most major joints twice :banghead:

 

 

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On 11/4/2018 at 9:55 AM, Sturmovik said:

I found Academy´s Tempest at a good price, and I wanted to know the opinions of other people before I buy it (fit etc...) Also, about the decals. An article on Modeling Madness says they worked perfectly, but the author of the kit´s preview on the same site mentions Academy decals would peel off the model after some time, and comments on other sites say the decals wouldn´t even stick to the model. Is this something that could be solved by soaking them in very hot water and then applying decal softener (I use Vallejo´)?

Thank you kindly.

I use a formula I got off the interwebs (so it must be good) Hot water with a drop of dishwashing liquid and a couple or three drops of white glue all stirred in. Theres no precise ratios just what seems right on the day. The dish wash helps to release the decals off the backing paper and the white glue helps as an extra adhesive. Usual process is to apply decals over a surface that has been gloss coated (most important) with your favourite clear finish, be it acrylic or whatever and using whatever you normally use for decal setting etc....micro system, Solvaset, future et al. Follow this at some point with a clear matt coat to seal it all in. Theres lots of help and advice on the webs, particularly YouTube. Some brands of decals may need reinforcing with a coat of liquid decal film or clear coating. Some are just rubbish and sometimes you get a sheet which is just plain useless. I have several sheets of ancient ESCI decals going back 30 + years...a prolonged soaking in hot water etc has resurrected them....mostly.  HTH 

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