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Hawker Tempest Mk.V (03851) 1:32


Mike

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Hawker Tempest Mk.V (03851)

1:32 Revell

 

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The Tempest was an attempt by Sidney Camm's team at Hawker to resolve the promising Typhoon's main shortfalls, which although they were few, were important enough for them to warrant throwing a lot of time and money at their resolution.  As far as attempts go, it was pretty successful, but it left us modellers with a fairly confusing array of designs that look substantially different from each other, let alone the Typhoon.

 

The over-thick wing of the Typhoon had resulted in too much drag, so this was ditched and replaced by the new Laminar Flow aerofoil as demonstrated by the then new Mustang, which necessitated an exceptionally smooth riveted finish to maximise the benefits of the design. Because they were to be fitted with engines that were experimental at the time, the Ministry insisted on a number of different engine fits to prevent delays re-engining the airframe if one type was delayed or terminated. This led to a the differences in the front end, from the Mk.I with a Spitfire-like nose, the Mk.II with a Fury-style nose, and the V which had the more recognisable Typhoon-style nose. The V was the first to receive approval from the Ministry and after the IV encountered engine problems the V became the main initial variant, and after the Tornado was cancelled, the Mk.II went ahead with its Centaurus engine and cylindrical cowling.

 

In service the Tempest Mk.V was found to be an excellent aircraft, and was the fastest prop-driven fighter of WWII at low altitude. It was also rugged, and could take plenty of punishment, and could be thrown around the sky by a competent pilot despite its slender wing. It was responsible for downing a number of jet-powered Me.262s and had an exceptional kill to loss ratio.

 

 

The Kit

This is a reboxing by Revell of Special Hobby's well-liked kit of this heavy-hitter from late WWII.  The plastic is the same as their boxings with crisp surface detail, tiny recessed rivets of two sizes, and nice restrained engraved panel lines throughout.  It arrives in a large end-opening box and has eight sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, a decal sheet and instruction booklet with painting guide in colour on the back pages.

 

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Construction begins with the cockpit, which was fabricated on a tubular framework with removable panels to aid maintenance. The rib-work is replicated inside the fuselage halves, which have a nice finish, and inside this the cockpit frames are built up with additional parts adding to the detail. The rear bulkhead, pilot's back armour and the rudder assembly are all built up and added to the frame along with the four-part instrument panel, which has decals for each of the faces, broken down between the facets of the panel. The gunsight is added to the inside of the windscreen later in the build. The fuselage closes up around the finished cockpit and a three-piece tail-wheel bay for the fully-retractable wheel to be placed there later.

 

With the fuselage complete, you'll notice a large part of it is absent from the leading edge of the wings to the prop. Starting the nose and engine cowling, there are a pair of backing plates for the exhaust stacks, which are marked L & R for your ease, plus the big chin-scoop radiator panels. The part count here is high, and you get the central tubular duct into the bargain, with an optionally open or closed shutter at the rear of the assembly. This section is then put to one side until the wings are added later on.

 

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The gear bays are built up from individual panels within the lower wing, and all the roof detail is crisply moulded into the upper wing, with plenty of small parts to detail the large expanse within, and including door actuators, plus some ribs stub. The upper wings complete the bays, and then it's time to put it all together into a recognisable shape. The wing root leading edge has a pair of two-part inserts to be installed before it is added to the two-part fuselage assembly.  The tail fin has a separate two-part rudder, and the elevators have separate flying surfaces that can be posed, although the ailerons and flaps are all moulded into the main wing. Canopy rails and a rear deck cover are added around the cockpit opening, along with clear wingtip and tail lights.

 

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With the airframe ostensibly complete, the landing gear is inserted into its mounting points in the gear bays, and these are quite sturdy-looking, with extra details added to complete the look. Two types of wheels are supplied, and some very nicely detailed bay doors attached on the outboard and inboard perimeters of the bay. The tail wheel has a two-part yoke and pivot, and two doors that have a bulged centre to accommodate the tyre.

 

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The canopy is two part, which is thin and clear, although most canopies are improved by a dip in Klear. The gunsight fits into the windscreen before it is glued in place, and the canopy can be set on its rails at any point in its slide position, as it is able to be left mobile according to the instructions, clipping to the rails.  The prop is made up from four keyed blades that fit into the boss, with the spinner hiding all that away. There are a spare set of blades on the sprues, but don't use those accidentally, as they're the wrong shape for this boxing. Exhaust stubs are included in the box, and each one is made of upper & lower parts to give you a hollow opening. They are nicely moulded with no flash around the stacks, but remember that exhausts often have weld-lines, so check your references before you sand it all smooth.

 

Bombs or fuel tanks?  The tanks and their pylons are two parts each (the pylons were clear, and so are the parts), and decals for the markings, and for the sides of the pylon too, which is nice. The bombs are more complex with two halves each, a two-part stabilising ring and four stabilising vanes, plus two-part pylons with two anti-sway braces each. Each option fits into different holes under the wing, so take care drilling them out during construction. There also seem to be two rows of four depressions in the surface of the wing for rocket rack mounts, although those aren't in this boxing.

 

 

Markings

There are two markings options in the box, and both share the Ocean Grey/Dark Green camo over a medium Sea Grey underside, and yellow leading-edge strips. The colour call-outs are in Revell colours, but as is often the case a little mixing will be required. From the box you can build one of the following:

 

  • No.150 Wing, RAF Newchurch, England, June 1944
  • No.501 Squadron, RAF Westhampnett, England, Autumn 1944

 

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Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

Conclusion

A welcome reboxing from Revell, which will help to boost their revenue and allow them to bring new products to the market in the future.  Afterall, someone else’s Tempest V boxing doesn’t make Revell any money.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

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Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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