Hawker Tempest of Wing Commander Evan "Rosie" Mackie, Wing Co of 122 Wing RAF at the end of WW2. (Finished)

[stevehnz]

1 hour ago, klr said:

I won't be parting with the other kit in the stash for any money.

Smer & Misterkit rebox the same plastic so they are still readily available. I've three others boxings in stock.

Steve.

[klr]

45 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Smer & Misterkit rebox the same plastic so they are still readily available. I've three others boxings in stock.

Steve.

I can easily lay my hands on a Mistercraft boxing, but for some reason I've not bothered thus far. Too much in the stash already I suppose.

[stevehnz]

This one is chugging along & now I've got the Tiger Moth done in the "Kit you built as a Kid" GB, I've been able to crack on a bit, the filling & rubbing down, not very much at all, is pretty much done now & I've put a coat of Aeromaster Russian Light Grey on the bottom surfaces & U/C doors. Its my go to for MSG & a decent match for the chip in the RAF Museum book.

 

Steve.

[stevehnz]

This one stopped chugging a bit just a few minutes ago. I had the Ocean Grey on yesterday but with the coolish weather here & modelling in the basemnet where it is definitely on the unheated side, drying wasn't happening, so the OG was still not as dry as it could be. Trying to move it along a bit, I pulled out the Hu 116 which (of course) was a bit on the gloopy side. No probs, out with the Humbrol emanel thinners & maybe just maybe I put a teensy weensy bit too much in. Over thinned paint coupled with insufficiently dry base coat, got me a sort of splotchy grey green colour,   Ok, I can buy another tin of 116 tomorrow, leave the model in the top of the hot water cupboard overnight & hope, but realistically, I don't like my chances of getting this one over the line.

Steve.

[stevehnz]

This was a couple of days ago, top side Ocean Grey on, then it all went pear shaped, as described above, the OG wasn't dry enough & the green started to mix with it. Even though I'd maybe over thinned the gloopy staring to dry out remains of the Hu116 I had, I don't think that would have mattered if the OG was properly dry.

 

Friday I bought a new tin of Hu 116, like the 46, 24 & 53 in the latest Humbrol formulations, it was a joy to use, easy to mix & stayed mixed till today anyway.  So I painted the Dark green camo on but then became unhappy with the demarcations I had, the Airfix colour scheme diagram did not cover the right side of the plane & the Roland Beamont one which is an option in the kit was covered in D-day stripes. Upstairs to 'puter, consulted the photos of this aircraft I had downloaded from various places & printed off a Eduard colour call for the same kite & I could see I was out quite badly in a couple of areas, still am after touching up today but not unacceptably so.

 

 

Anyway, long story short, I'm back at work tomorrow, 12 hour days for next 3 so there is no way this will make it past the line. I should be able to complete it next week ok, can I still use this thread?, & then will put up a RFI. As I did a couple of touch ups this evening, I realised the decals didn't have the yellow leading edge stripes, so out with the Tamiya tape & Hu 24, still mixed after finishing my Tiger Moth early in the week, try that with old Humbrol. 1st coat on.   See you all here next week I hope.

Steve.

[Silver Fox]

Great save Steve, looks good from 10,000 miles and I'm sure from close up as well. Take care and stay safe.

 

Andy

[stevehnz]

The mods have now shifted this (thanks Mods) from the Journey's end GB which ended before my journey with this did.   So I've plodded on quietly, with the idea that today I was going to get the decals on prior to a matt coat & then the sticky out, breaky off bits being applied. yeah right. The decals that came with the kit were crap, lousey colour density especially on the white but also on the red of the one fin flash I put on. There was a white crescent showing outside the blue of the underside roundels & the yellow ring on the topside roundels, at that point I decided enough was enough. Not Airfix's finest.  I've an Almark sheet with this aircraft on it, I'll try those but that'll be a job for next week, off to work tonight.

Steve.

[bigbadbadge]

Looking very nice in paint Steve, great work.  I do love the brutish look of these machines too. May have to look out for one for the stash.

Keep up the good work. 

All the best 

Chris 

[stevehnz]

Ticking along quietly. I had a chance to put the Almark decals on this week & apart from one that had a slight crease & decided to split. (should've put some Liquid Decal Film on it) they behaved quite well & looked quite fine to my eye. A couple of wee touch ups required, then a coat of matt varnish & the afore mentioned sticky out bits to put on & it'll be done. Next week all being good, Back to work tomorrow & over the weekend.

Steve.

[Silver Fox]

Gosh, Almark decals, they must be 25 years old at least. They do look like they have stood the test of time. You are nearly there mate looking good.

[opus999]

I just now found this thread.  You've done some great work so far on this one, Steve.  I like your fix for the intake; it looks like it worked well, although the latest photos don't show it too well.

 

I did a deep-dive into Typhoons and Tempests a while back when I did my Airfix 1/72 Typhoon (wonderful kit, that).  Those were two types that, despite my love of WWII aircraft since childhood, somehow got past me.  Well, I discovered that they are both "handsome brutes".  I fancied making a 1/72 Typhoon, but I haven't taken the plunge because I'm unsure of the quality of kits available. The most recent seems to be an Academy, but they seem like more "miss" than "hit".  Good to hear the old Heller/Airfix is a good kit.

 

Anyway, I'll enjoy seeing this one get over the finish line.

[stevehnz]

6 hours ago, opus999 said:

I like your fix for the intake; it looks like it worked well, although the latest photos don't show it too well.

I'll make sure to take a close up of the radiator, it's not perfect at all but I am quite pleased with it all the same.

Steve.

[JosephLalor]

7 hours ago, opus999 said:

I did a deep-dive into Typhoons and Tempests a while back when I did my Airfix 1/72 Typhoon (wonderful kit, that).  Those were two types that, despite my love of WWII aircraft since childhood, somehow got past me.  Well, I discovered that they are both "handsome brutes".  I fancied making a 1/72 Typhoon, but I haven't taken the plunge because I'm unsure of the quality of kits available. The most recent seems to be an Academy, but they seem like more "miss" than "hit".  Good to hear the old Heller/Airfix is a good kit.

Heller plastic for the Tempest in 1/72 for me every time.  There's a swept-forward look to the Academy main- and tail-planes, and the Heller prop blades look much better.  You could probably use the Academy cockpit, radiator and undercarriage components to dress up the Heller kit a bit.

[stevehnz]

Oh Nora, over three months since I updated this & that with so little to do. As noted in my Harvard thread in the Heller GB, the tiny corner I model in had become a real tip & I didn't enjoy going there, but having had a sort out/put some stuff away/retired some old kit boxes, I sat down in the last couple of days & got some stuff done, enjoyed it too. Here is where I'm at with this now, pretty much just a matt coat & a brush bristle whip aerial to install & I'll put a RFI up.

 

Steve. 

[Beard]

That looks really nice, Steve.

 

I snapped up a couple of the Smer re-boxes a couple of years ago, when the big H had them discounted. It's a nice little kit, although a little short on detail compared to the Academy one, but goes together well and looks the part.

[bigbadbadge]

Great work Steve , that does look bloomin gorgeous .  

Chris 

[Ray_W]

Great perseverance Steve, good to see it is now so close to the finish line. Lovely rendition of one of my favourite aircraft. One thing I noted was that nice thin fin leading edge. Did you do some thinning work or is that as it comes in the kit? 

 

Ray

[jean]

Hi Steve,

 

yes, time flies! From August to December in the blink of an eye.

This kit has fought you a skirmish war, but you got the upper hand and it looks lovely! Super well done!!!

I saw that you still have Aero Master paints. I cherish the few I have left: these were the best paints ever IMHO. Fantastic to use with a brush.

Shame they discontinued the brand.

 

Congrats on a beautiful Tempest.

JR

[alt-92]

That looks great, Steve

It appears the Smer boxing just jumped a couple of places up in the queue

 

[opus999]

Wow Steve, what a beautiful aircraft!  It's really inspiring me to seek out a Tempest to work on!

[stevehnz]

2 hours ago, Ray_W said:

Did you do some thinning work or is that as it comes in the kit? 

Just as it came in the box Ray. It really is a nice kit, some better location points for the U/C support struts would be a help but otherwise it is not a bad build, it was the builder was the problem with this one.

Steve.

[stevehnz]

I had just a few small things to do & they didn't take long, however, with the recent silliness upon us, it has taken longer than it should have to post this. Now finished & a RFI thread here. matt coat on & hearth brush has surrendered another bristle as a whip aerial.

 

Steve.

[bigbadbadge]

Great work Steve, a lovely model indeed.   Has SWMBO  noticed the Hearth brush bristles missing yet and issued a suitable punishment, or have you concealed your tracks by taking them from here and there ???

Chris

[mike romeo]

Nice job, Steve!

[VT Red Sox Fan]

Steve, this turned out great!  Best, Erwin