My First WIP - Eduard 1:48 Tempest MkV Series2

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Now I've discovered the joy of sharing this great hobby with like-minded people, I've decided to share my first WIP! I'm going to have a crack at Eduard's 1:48 Hawker Tempest MkV. The box :

 

 

I'm really going to push my capabilities this time, as I will be modelling this aircraft (image copyright World War Photos):

 

 

This aircraft was flown by F/Lt Remi 'Mony' van Lierde, a Belgian national flying as 'B' Flight commander with 3 Sqn from RAF Newchurch in June 1944. Here's Eduard's take on the colour scheme, which looks to match pretty well (including the incorrectly painted white undercarriage doors):

 

 

The invasion stripes on the actual aircraft look pretty crisp and well-defined (unlike some which were applied with brooms), so I shall follow this lead, as well as masking around the national and squadron insignia on the fuselage. In addition, the aircraft as shown shows very light weathering, which suits my limited skillset just fine! The aircraft photo also shows very crisp colour demarcation, so the old wiggly worms will come into play. This will really push my masking and painting skills, so I push forward with some trepidation!

 

The sprues:

 

The level of surface detail (rivets, oil-canning etc) is beautiful for a kit of this scale. You may note some water droplets which were from washing to remove mould release agent - always pays to keep ya bits clean!

 

 

Decals (which look lovely and fully in register😞

 

 

And finally the photoetch fret:

 

 

Let the Tempest begin!

[72modeler]

It's a Hawker; it's clean- what's not to like? I'm saving a seat up front for @Corsairfoxfouruncle- I imagine he'll be around shortly! Not my scale, but definitely one of my favorite WW2 RAF fighters! 

Mike

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

1 minute ago, 72modeler said:

I'm saving a seat up front for @Corsairfoxfouruncle- I imagine he'll be around shortly! Not my scale, but definitely one of my favorite WW2 RAF fighters! 

Im here Mike ... Im here.

[Dunny]

7 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

It's a Hawker; it's clean- what's not to like? I'm saving a seat up front for @Corsairfoxfouruncle- I imagine he'll be around shortly! Not my scale, but definitely one of my favorite WW2 RAF fighters! 

Mike

 

5 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Im here Mike ... Im here.

Great to have you on board, gents!

[dnl42]

Looks like you're off to a good start! 

[Christer A]

This is a must watch!

I'll follow with great interest.

[Dunny]

After a pleasant weekend with the family on the Eyre Peninsula, I managed to get into this beast! As there is a fair mix of black and interior green, I thought I'd try the former as a base coat and overspray the green. So first stage:

 

 

And second:

 

 

I haven't yet discovered an interior green which I'm happy with. This one is Mig Jimenez - it is slightly glossy and with my limited airbrushing skills it is very easy to get orange peeling. Any recommendations for a good alternative paint gratefully received.

 

Also had a minor disaster with the seat, (soon fixed and drybrushed with dark grey to pop out the detail):

 

With the cockpit floor, Eduard have included floor where there should be none. I therefore decided to cheat, and paint these areas black. My suspicion is that the area will not be visible when buttoned up, so I'll take the risk. Here is the result:

 

 

Next I addressed the IP, which Eduard have made in 7 pieces. With the magnification of the photo I can now see the misalignment of the centre panel, which I may or may not choose to address (risk vs. reward, or 'how to make a sow's ear from a silk purse')

 

 

So here's the limit of progress after 5 or so hours of hard graft:

 

 

Those side panels are devilishly brittle, and in addition I had some fun locating the upper peg on the starboard side (I ended up putting a drillbit through to open out the hole slightly). Still need to assemble the other side panel, drybrush, add the harness, and oil wash. Until next time...

[Dunny]

Hello All!

 

Some good progress today, after a morning taking kids & their friends to see Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr with a Welsh accent - hmmmm). First up I rectified the misalignment of the IP (it does look much better, despite the poor photography!)

 

 

Next - drybrushing, harnesses and an Abteilung Shadow Brown oil wash for the cockpit and undercarriage bays:

 

 

I'm reasonably pleased with the way the cockpit has turned out:

 

 

 

Next the radiator assembly. Eduard do not specify which option for the aircraft I am working on ('Marking "A"'):

 

 

I've therefore elected to add the PE grill, because Marking "B" is chronologically closest to the aircraft I'm modelling, I can't find any references, and 'cos I likes it!

 

 

I've been following the lovely build of this aircraft by @shortCummins. John advised much dry fitting of the internals due to the precise fit of the fuselage. I have proceeded with this advice with happy results - many thanks John! Here's the cockpit, radiator and tail wheel bay inserted prior to joining:

 

 

And with the fuselage buttoned up - no dramas!

 

 

The undercarriage bays proceeded smoothly - although the part count is quite high the fitment and engineering is superb. The wings were then assembled and joined to the fuselage. Once again, Eduard have done a masterful job of tooling this kit and the fit is faultless!

 

 

 

 

Next, cleanup and sanding, with a little filling of the upper surfaces of the tail and under the radiator. I then added the canopy, having first masked and given it an undercoat of black.

 

 

Masking with damp tissue for the undercarriage bays and radiator:

 

 

 

Finally, after a light coat of primer I squirted the port and starboard flanks with Ocean Grey and Dark Green respectively, prior to applying an oversize 'background' mask for the national insignia and squadron codes using Tamiya masking tape.

 

 

 

I'm hoping to crack on with the painting tomorrow, so watch this space! Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

[Dunny]

Saturday was a major painting day! First up I did the pre-shading (using Vallejo NATO black):

 

 

Next I pencilled in the extents of the invasion stripes on the wings & fuselage and airbrushed the white (including the wing leading edges to be later sprayed in yellow):

 

 

I then masked the white areas - the invasion stripes were 18" wide, which translates to 9.525mm at 1:48 scale - that 0.025mm is all important, you know. Yellow was then sprayed onto the leading edges and black onto the invasion stripes.

 

 

Once these were dry I masked up the lot in preparation for the underside Medium Sea Grey (Tamiya rattle can). 

 

 

I then masked the undersides and sprayed the Ocean Grey (AK Interactive). After the flush of success from my Mustang I elected to freehand the Dark Green (Tamiya) - here's the result, which I wasn't unhappy with.

 

 

After a suitable drying period I then carefully disrobed the lady. No major dramas, so got to be happy with that!

 

 

This is my most complex masking & painting effort to date so I'm pretty chuffed with the outcome.

 

 

Gloss coat next (Microscale Micro Gloss) prior to decals. The decals are simply beautiful and perfectly in register.

 

 

Unfortunately I made a bit of a schmozzle of the 'background' areas on the fuselage, which I carefully reworked by brush. Although the results are clearly visible, I'm going to blame it on the 'erks' that painted the invasion stripes - not an unreasonable assumption?

 

Next, matt coat and Mr Flory's black wash. So here's my Tempest in all it's Flory 

 

 

That took me to the end of Saturday, so I thought I'd leave it to dry. Yesterday was Australia Day, so here's a gratuitous shot of the leg of lamb I cooked on the Weber for a couple of hours. Very nice too...

 

 

So finally, another big day today. Wiped & buffed away the Flory wash, a little light weathering (exhaust smoke and mud on the wing roots, tyres and undercarriage doors), and addition of all the fiddly bits. I'm calling her done! This kit really is superb, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Despite the many minor errors I'm pretty pleased with the outcome - she sure is a striking beast. I'll transfer her over to RFI - thanks for looking!

 

Roger

 

[RadMax8]

Top job, and in such short order, too! And I suppose the model turned out rather well... 🤪

 

Seriously, you got this kit built so quick, and it doesn’t look to have affected the quality, which is always the challenge. Camo looks great, I’d say you should be chuffed!

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

9 minutes ago, Dunny said:

so here's a gratuitous shot of the leg of lamb I cooked on the Weber for a couple of hours. Very nice too...

Oh you're going to fit in around here quite well you are.   

[Dunny]

1 hour ago, RadMax8 said:

Top job, and in such short order, too! And I suppose the model turned out rather well... 🤪

 

Seriously, you got this kit built so quick, and it doesn’t look to have affected the quality, which is always the challenge. Camo looks great, I’d say you should be chuffed!

 

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the kind words Max! I reckon it was around 20 hours work - the stars just aligned in terms of free time. Glad you like it,

 

R

1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Oh you're going to fit in around here quite well you are.   

Thanks Corsair! It tasted pretty good too...