Airfix Hawker Typhoon Car Door (A19003) 1:24

[Mike]

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that really made the most inroads into solving the Typhoon's shortcomings however, and the original Typhoon was soon withdrawn after WWII came to a close, lasting only a few months of peacetime.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 11^o each way, while the rudder itself can go 27^o 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

[stevej60]

Fine review Mike and a reminder of what a stunning kit this is,it's been noted before that the price of these 1/24 kit's when broken down in weekly terms is less than a tenner 

a month over a year and in what is now a rather expensive hobby that's really not a lot for what you get and the time you can spend building them,me I think I could look at and

fondle those sprues everyday for at least a year before I take a knife to them!

[Flankerman]

3 hours ago, Mike said:

R7752 flown by Sq.Ldr. Roland Prosper "Bee" Beaumont (DFC & Bar), No.609 Sq., RAF Manston, Kent, April 1943

Just a quick nit-pick on an otherwise excellent review...... (is it on the kit instructions?)

 

The name is 'Beamont' (without the letter U) :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Beamont

 

Ken

[Julien]

32 minutes ago, Flankerman said:

Just a quick nit-pick on an otherwise excellent review...... (is it on the kit instructions?)

 

The name is 'Beamont' (without the letter U) :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Beamont

 

Ken

No that ones down to @Mike 

 

Now corrected.

 

Julien

[Mike]

1 hour ago, Flankerman said:

Just a quick nit-pick on an otherwise excellent review...... (is it on the kit instructions?)

 

The name is 'Beamont' (without the letter U) :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Beamont

 

Ken

I'd like to be able to blame Autocorrect in Word, but no.  I know he's a Beamont, but my fingers typed Beaumont, and Word didn't know any better

 

Fixed it now