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Eduard's new Hawker Tempest 1/48th scale. Wow!


Jon Kunac-Tabinor

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Evening all!

I think I bought the last two yesterday!  However to anyone thinking of building one - all I can say is Cor Blimey Guv- what a diamond.

The moulding is incredible - really lovely fine recessed detail, the fin fillet is perfectly sharp and the fuselage length looks to be right too, as does the wing thickness.
For those of an impatient nature - all the parts are in the box too for a series ii Tempest ( ie the one you all know & love ) - there are no drop tanks in this series i boxing though - which is no surprise as they weren't fitted with them as far as I know. (the attachment points are still there on the undersurface which is my one ponder - I cant find a ref that says they were there or not on series i birds)

AND - for those of your with a penchant for Napier flavoured Hawkers - the kit has (as parts not required)  not only zero length RP launchers, but also lightweight Mk III RP launchers -  so if you are building alate war Typhoon - you can now do a proper one with the MK III launcher rails.  And that is a GOOD THING.

I realise Telford has been the Hellcat & HP 1/400 show to some extent but this kit is fantastic.

Jonners - I'm back :)

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I can't wait for the Series 2 official release.

Mike Romeo if the kit follows Eduard's standard business, I assume it costed 35£ to 40£.

Edited by Sturmovik
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Please note in the above - all things are just push fitted, and none of the internals are added - so you can see a lot of void inside.
There are a few things to note - First, fit is good - but WHY did Eduard choose to spit the underside rear wing join like that  - OK I know why - but still....
There's a wee bit of flash on several parts . Nothing bad - just saying.

The rows of horizontal rivets along the rear fuselage are easy to "feel" and do show up in the pics - Not sure if they need a gentle rub down. Only way to tell is a coat of paint and see. My gut feeling is yes.

That's the larger, late spinner hub in the pic.

The recessed area around the front of the cockpit windscreen ( itself a very nice insert as you can see) takes the windscreen which is moulded with a section of fuselage -  almost exactly like the Airfix Sea Fury kit solution. Great idea - easy to mask.

The rudder is slide moulded and hollow inside. Cool. 

My cutting mat has a warp. NCC 1799 USS Cutting Mat then I guess :)

The top shot shows the drop tank/ bomb rack location points - which I'm still trying to ascertain as to their existence on series 1.   I'm not saying they weren't there on Srs i, Im just saying I need to find a pic.

 

cheers

 

Jonners

 

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Thanks for the pics and update Jon. There’s another build thread going on here at the same time where there’s mention of inaccuracies with the spinner, mainly the open prop blade slots. I now see what this is all about and do agree that what’s provided ‘unfortunately’ looks nothing like the real thing. One mustn’t dwell on the negatives though as what you are showing here does look very nice indeed. I’ve been after an OOB series 1 for quite some time and will snap this up when I see one. 

 

Cheers and thanks for the pics and text.. Dave 

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Thanks Jonners

 

That is impressive overall.

one little glitch carried over from before,  the shell ejection slots are narrower than the link slots

 

P9CP5CG.jpg&key=8553dfbc0a359d20aa9fe964

 

nv778-180.jpg

pic from here, which has lots of useful images

http://www.hawkertempest.se/index.php/indetail/walkarounds/298-walkaround-hawker-tempest-mk-v-tt-nv778

Also, how is the red/green light on the left of the pic above done in the kit? 

 

Also, the earliest series 1 plane had the fishplates on the rear fuselage join, and a bump over the wing spar bolts

 

large_000000.jpg&key=17e519b788fb49d6024

 

Quote

As for Series 1 differences, I have copied below some notes on my findings, which appeared in Britmodeller elsewhere but are applied with further information.  Hope they help.

 

Cracking work so far.  Personally I'm sitting it out until the revised Tempest V (revised) finally arrives!

 

Tempest V Series 1 and 2

 

First let me say that difference between Series 1 and Series 2 Tempests is not entirely clear to me. The terms seem only to appear in Hawker records; I have yet to find an RAF record that mentions them, let alone defines them. Records of individual airframe status no longer survive so photographs (frustratingly few) provide the most reliable record, supplemented by official correspondence which states intent rather than the actual event.

 

By definition ‘Series 1’ Tempest Vs were the first production aircraft and somewhere in the the first batch (100 aircraft JN729-773, JN792-822, JN854-877) the Series 2 appeared (or after the first 100 some would have us believe). There were a number of changes in this period and I feel that the difference between Series 1 and Series 2 would have been defined by more than the replacement of long-barrelled cannon with the shorter variant (as usually cited). 

 

The first 50 Tempest Vs (presumably JN729 to JN773 and JN792-796) were built using the centre-sections from a cancelled Typhoon contract. This is the box-like structure, made from steel tubes, that sits between the wings. The Typhoon centre-section was very similar to the Tempest version but because of the latter’s slimmer wings, the wing root fairing would not quite fit over the Typhoon version. This resulted in a small blister over the offending structure which is evident in photos, often with much of the paint rubbed off by fitters’ feet. One can be clearly seen in the photo of JF-L or J (which may be JN768).

 

I rather suspected that this feature might have been associated with the ‘fishplates’ discussed in the above posts. However I was a bit surprised that when I examined relevant photos closely and the fishplates were evident well beyond the first 50 Tempests, almost to the end of the JN-series. Latest airframe identified so far is JN862 (85th).  First confirmed without the plates is JN875 (98th).

 

The longer-barrelled cannon (Hispano Mk II) was replaced much earlier than sometimes claimed – some sources indicate all the JN series were Series 1 with the long cannon.  The latest airframe I’ve been able to identify with the protruding cannon is JN767 (39th). There is a photo of JN801 (55th) in full stripes at Newchurch in late June/early July 1944, which is the earliest found with the short-barrelled Hispano Mk V. Some sources state that the shorter cannon was retrofitted to some of the earlier airframes but I have not found any evidence to support this.  

 

The main wheels certainly had Typhoon hubs to start with - 5-spoke they had special thinner tyres, necessary due the limited depth of the wheel bay in the Tempest's slim wing. The hubs were changed during the JN series for a new 4-spoke design which remained for the rest of Tempest production; they were fitted with new smaller tyres.  JN818 photographed at Langley just before delivery in mid-May 1944 had the 5-spoke, but JN875 at Newchurch in early July 1944 had 4-spoke.  I guess they would have been easy to retrofit, but no evidence of that.


The 5-spoke were fitted with Dunlop "EX, HVY, code 1.EE.17" 11.25-12 tyres.

The 4-spoke were fitted with Dunlop "FE11" 30 x 9.00-15 tyres.

 

 

There was a change of prop and spinner, from De Havilland to Rotol, but that was late in the Mk.V production run, so out of the reckoning in the Series 1/Series 2 issue.

 

The exhaust fairing visible in your second photo above was only present on the earliest production aircraft. The four Tempests delivered to 486 Sqn in February 1944 (and later reallocated to 3 Sqn) had them but they are the last that appear in any photos. Presumably they were withdrawn from use in the spring of 1944, as they were on Typhoons, due to cooling issues.

 

Finally we have a set of internal changes that cannot be determined from photos, namely the fittings required for the carriage of long-range tanks, bombs or RP (unless the aircraft in question is actually carrying one of these devices). Also in this category is the equipment with spring-tab ailerons.  

 

However, it is known from Air Staff correspondence that LR tank capability was expected from the 51st production aircraft (JN797) with bomb carriage fittings from the 151staircraft and RP fittings from the 351st, i.e. bombs and RP were not available until the 51stand 251st EJ-serialled Tempest Vs entered service. This was no handicap as bombs were not used until April 1945 and RP not until the last quarter of 1945. There was no possibility of the LRT (and possibly the bomb/RP) mods being retrofitted owing to the limited access in the Tempest’s thin wing.

 

The arrival of the much-vaunted spring tab ailerons remains obscure (to me any way).

 

So exactly which of these features heralded the change from Series 1 to Series 2 I don’t know for certain but the ‘pukka’ Tempest centre section, the short cannon and LRT capability all seem to arrive after the 50thaircraft which might well be changeover point?

 

 

Not meant to be negative, just a heads up that not all the little details maybe available in the box, unless the fishplates are supplied as PE?

 

HTH

T

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5 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Thanks for the pics and update Jon. There’s another build thread going on here at the same time where there’s mention of inaccuracies with the spinner, mainly the open prop blade slots. I now see what this is all about and do agree that what’s provided ‘unfortunately’ looks nothing like the real thing. One mustn’t dwell on the negatives though as what you are showing here does look very nice indeed. I’ve been after an OOB series 1 for quite some time and will snap this up when I see one. 

 

Cheers and thanks for the pics and text.. Dave 

Hi Dave - just took a look at the other thread - and yes I agree. I didn't mention the bumps on the upper wing fillet as it really is rather esoteric but they should be there over the rear wing spar attachments (thats from Rowan B not me - to give him full credit).

The spinner hub prop hole should be more slit like - that's for sure - Ultracast got it right I think on their resin version. I suppose one could fill in the larger holes a tad and reshape to make it better - its not hard - but I think it would be something most would shy from?

 

Troy - the red green light is done as a clear insert with orders to paint the the relevant colours on the back. It drop sin to a shaped recess on the wing underside.

You will all be pleased to  know that the cannon ports are moulded open with small inserts for the muzzles, while the srs i longer stubs for this version are slide moulded with open muzzles.

 

Cheers all - off to watch Peter Jacksons  They Shall Not Grow Old now

 

Jonners


 

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10 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

Not meant to be negative, just a heads up that not all the little details maybe available in the box, unless the fishplates are supplied as PE?

 

Troy, actually has a good point. Are the fish plates included in the kit as PE? According to the Bentley drawings they were included on the prototypes and series I aircraft and a quick look in a couple of other books would seem to support that. My copy of Sortehaug's "The Wild Winds" is in storage but obviously has a very large amount of photos of series I aircraft in service - can anyone dig out their copy and have a look?

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A note for builders:  The rear lower wing flap area needs a bit of a sand down inside to get it to sit flush with upper surface single piece trailing edge. 

And the integral actuating jacks in the wheel well (for the UC inner gear doors) are a dead cert to break off - so protect them or remove and reserve. You have been warned! :)

 

More as it happens.

 

Jonners

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Afternoon. I'm back from sorting out some family estate stuff - and before I left I made a start on 2 things:  Sorting out the spinner prop hole shape and the cannon ports ( for the later "series II" type)

 

Here you can see the spinner/ backing plate with holes as they come ( this is the later slightly longer spinner - but the early "Series I" DH hub has a similar type of hole)

aKP98JC.jpg

 

Here's the initial attempt - which needs refining, but is better. This is plastic card shims added, then trimmed to shape and then blended in with filler- with some Mr Surfacer applied to you can see the "shape" rather than the "bits"

Pwjq29m.jpg

 

Here's a shot with the prop added  

e3DAo4c.jpg

 

And here are the cannon ports- which I think are too circular and too central on the wing leading edge. The Tempest ones should be like the Sea Fury ( well vice versa actually LOL) with a "cut back" into the lower leading edge.  I filled holes with CA & Talc and re drilled, then added brass tube.

btj4xOz.jpg

qyB1VgM.jpg

 

Also note that the ailerons need a little sanding at either end to fit into the spaces on the wings.

 

cheers

 

Jonners

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I guess you saved  around 10€ from the certain futures AM spinners bound to arrive sooner than later.

i am impressed by your  skill, not sure if I would take the time and motivation plunging into that sort of thing. Funny how Eduard keeps missing some parts in their new kits... and to be fair their kits are to me the best value/quality around these days.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all - will post a few pics of the 'pit on here later. Have been delayed by a SAAF Mirage IIID2Z camo scheme!!

One thing to watch - the rear cockpit bulkhead has a small locating pin on its base - which is supposed to fit into a small hole on the wing centre section - except there's no hole there. So either drill one, or cut off the pin. The cockpit fits so well you don't need this extra bit of alignment.

 

For those of you wondering - if you use the plastic "blank" instrument panel parts - designed for the decals, and shave of the small amounts of raised detail. The PE etch panel parts fit perfectly and it all fits in the cockpit without hindrance. it makes the PE parts far more stable doing this-in case you wonder why you might do this :)

Currently working on a cuckoo clock door air filter for the radiator/ carb intake - I'm doing mine as a series II  2nd TAF immediate post war bird - so it needs one adding.

 

cheers

 

Jonners

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  • 2 months later...

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