H0274 Heller Tempest - Finished!

[fightersweep]

The Heller Tempest is a nice kit, and your's is coming along nicely. Looking forward to the progress. Think I'll have to dig mine out as I can see it in a nice post war RAF scheme.

 

Steve

[Wez]

23 minutes ago, stever219 said:

I rather wish they had done; do you have any details please?  I feel a " not Closterman's Tempest but French anyway" build coming on.

 

I'd have to do some digging to find out but @Chris Thomas could answer that off of the top of his head.

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

On 15/11/2020 at 15:51, stever219 said:

Sadly the transfer options aren't very well produced, particularly Roland Beamont's JN751.  Both suffer from horribly blue sqadron codes/id letters and those for '751 were R:B, not RP:B.  '751 also had the longer cannonn barrels (not sure if they're in the kit).

 

I know that Heller's a French company but why oh why revisit Closterman's markings when they've been done so many times in a variety of scales?  Surely there must have been other French pilots who flew Tempests who deserve a bite of the fromage?

 

Rant over; I love this little kit and hope I've still got one lurking in the nightmare monster psyche horror stash from Hades.

 Stever  -  I totally agree. My uncle, Sgt Peter C Brown s/n 1800332  flew several sorties with the great man Pierre Closterman in March/April 1945 in No 56 (Punjab) Squadron from Volker airfield in Holland. i've managed to get a full copy of the Sqdn Ops Record from the National Archives it makes sobering reading. The number of pilots KIA on an almost daily basis , Ground Attack tactics at this point of the war were exceptionally dangerous. If hit by AA fire they were often so low no bailout could be successful.  I think it would be a fitting tribute to the lesser known pilots who also did their duty if manufacturers were willing to provide decals to celebrate them too? My uncle did 6 sorties then suffered total engine failure and survived a forced landing in to trees where his aircraft  code US-X reg NV728 broke up and exploded. He survived but was burnt. 

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

Maybe unkind of me but..? When I see that Cross of Lorraine on another Tempest radiator cowling ..... i start thinking I want a Full Refund! 😆

[stever219]

On 11/19/2020 at 6:53 PM, Col Walter E Kurtz said:

 I think it would be a fitting tribute to the lesser known pilots who also did their duty if manufacturers were willing to provide decals to celebrate them too? My uncle did 6 sorties then suffered total engine failure and survived a forced landing in to trees where his aircraft  code US-X reg NV728 broke up and exploded. He survived but was burnt. 

Thanks Walter.  One of my stalled projects at present is Spitfire Mk. IX BS435 flown by 611 Squadron's S/Ldr Hugo Armstrong who has no known grave having been shot down into the English Channel. 

I'm glad that your uncle survived his forced landing, and you may have given me a colour scheme for one of my Eduard 1/48th Tempests.  Do you know if your uncle's aeroplane had any unusual and/or personal markings?

Edited November 28, 2020 by stever219

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

1 minute ago, stever219 said:

Thanks Walter.  One of my stalled projects at present is Spitfire Mk. IX BS435 of 611 Squadron, flown by 611 Squadron's S/Ldr Hugo Armstrong who has no known grave having been shot down into the English Channel. 

I'm glad that your uncle survived his forced landing, and you may have given me a colour scheme for one of my Eduard 1/48th Tempests.  Do you know if your uncle's aeroplane had any unusual and/or personal markings?

Thanks Stever. I have been doing a lot of research this week in to my uncle hence my "Tiffy" obsession at the moment. I can tell you the exact Serials of the aircraft he flew from the Ops Records. The horses mouth so to speak.. official RAF docs.

 

Sgt PC Brown flew the following aircraft

22.3.45 – US-O reg NV970 – Claimed 1 x FW190 D of 6/JG26 on his FIRST fully operational sortie!

US-X reg NV970  

US-M reg EJ804

US-G reg NV968 – 1st sortie of day

US-G reg NV968 – 2nd sortie of day

3.4.45 – US-X reg NV728 – Crashed at ref ‘W1390’  Total Engine failure over Cloppenburg, forced landed E of Friesoythe, Germany

 

As far as i know he didn't have any special markings. He was a junior NCO replacement pilot so i guess he got the leavings of more senior pilots regarding a/c assignments. The loss rate in the squadron was pretty bad at this period of time so aircraft were replaced before they could become personalised. but this link maybe be accurate  see the profile US-B reg NV973.

 

https://www.hawkertempest.se/index.php/indetail/2014-05-19-10-25-06/209-claes-sundin-s-profiles

 

My uncle passed on 17th Nov 1983 and I never got to fully understand what he did until this week! My Dad used to say he was BoB pilot and got shot down on his first mission flying a Hurricane. I wish my Dad was here to share my researches. He would have been even more impressed by Uncle Peter's bravery. 

 

If you did choose to portray one of my uncles ' steeds'  i would be very humbled indeed.  I want to do US-X NV728 in 1:32 Revell scale kit. My personal tribute to him and his generation.

 

Kind Regards, 

Andy

[stever219]

Thanks Andy, that's brilliant!  If you're depicting NV728 maybe I should go for NV970 as US:O (intriguing but not impossible that she's shown as both "O" and "X" bearing in mind the attrition rate that you refer to).  I've had a punt round for 56 Squadron and Hawker Tempest on the 'net with little success but I have Chris Thomas' Typhoon and Tempest Aces in the Osprey series and Ian Allen's Typhoon and Tempest at War to have a rummage through tomorrow: I've also got an Xtradecal sheet that includes one of 56's Tempests but in post-war colours with the Squadron spearhead on the fin.

 

All the best,

 

Steve.

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

Thank you Steve, I'd be very honoured if you did a depiction of NV790 US-O. 

I've found some info that 56 squadron also used the reg letter "L" but there's no mention of this only "US" in the squadron record. so might be an error. 

 

I've got the Revell 1:32 kit arriving today 😀. so it's on to Hannants website for some decals i.e 24" RAF Sky letter sheet. 

 

There's little in the way of 56 Sqd Tempest pics on the net sadly. I have seen some early war Typhoon1b  footage of the squadron but not Tempests in 1945. Possibly the National Archives or IWM might well have some further material. As i can't visit either at the moment it's difficult to discover by their search engines.

 

Aged 8 i do recall my uncle Peter getting out some wartime albums and papers to show myself and my brother. He was a keen photographer and post war became a professional photographer so i think it very likely he would have taken pictures of 'some of the chaps' etc . He was in July 1945, listed as a junior member of the Royal Photographic Society. Another person sent me a link to a scanned document confirming his name, rank s/n and home address. This was the breakthrough data that confirmed his service records etc. When he died his daughters cleared the house and i'd imagine anything like wartime photos and his flying log book would have been thrown in a skip. What a pity! 

 

This is a personal journey of course but i find it very interesting looking at the Operations book and hope to do a proper analysis of it all in time. It's a miracle my uncle survived facing the odds he did. He was described as a 'promising new NCO pilot'. I wonder what would have happened to him had he not suffered engine failure that fateful day in April. If you could survive your first 2-3  sorties you seemed to extend the odds. When i pull hi8s service records from the MOD i'll get to fill in what happened. 

 

If i can be of any further assistance please let me know (and any other Tempest fanatics!)

 

Kind Regards

Andy

 

[stever219]

My pleasure Andy.  I've not started my researching yet today; hopefully I'll get a chance before my daughter gets back from school.  It's a shame that your cousin didn't realise the value of your uncle's wartime memorabilia, that material would be an absolute goldmine.  He must still have been quite young when he died, late 50s or early 60s?

 

As I said I'll be using the Eduard 1/48th kit for this build: I have Barracuda Studios' resin radiator intake upgrade and exhausts and Master turned brass cannons that should hold the lily a bit. 

 

With regard to paint I don't know if NV790 ever wore invasion stripes, which would have been removed by early 1945, and whether any evidence of them would have remained on the aeroplane.  The spinner and Sky fighter band would have been overpainted and post-January 1945 upper wing rounded would have been applied but underwing serial numbers didn't appear 'til after VE-Day.

 

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good afternoon

 I for all those who are interested in the Tempest I recommend this sitehttps://hawkertempest.se/

Best Regards

Patrice

[TEMPESTMK5]

19 hours ago, stever219 said:

I rather wish they had done; do you have any details please?  I feel a " not Closterman's Tempest but French anyway" build coming on.

 

Good afternoon stever219

 According to THE Tempest site https://hawkertempest.se/index.php/piloter/summary 

 The 2 others french pilots who flew Tempest were

Regis Deleuze killed in action on 22 February 1945

 https://hawkertempest.se/index.php/piloter/summary/59-deleuze

http://www.francaislibres.net/liste/fiche.php?index=64167

https://search.aol.com/aol/image?p=regis+deleuze+hawker+tempest&s_it=img-ans&v_t=webmail-searchbox&fr=webmail-searchbox&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fnsa39.casimages.com%2Fimg%2F2018%2F06%2F14%2F180614022027531753.jpg#id=8&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fnsa39.casimages.com%2Fimg%2F2018%2F06%2F14%2F180614022027531753.jpg&action=click

 

Jean Vaissier

https://hawkertempest.se/index.php/piloter/summary/105-vaissier

 

Best regards

Patrice

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

1 hour ago, TEMPESTMK5 said:

Good afternoon

 I for all those who are interested in the Tempest I recommend this sitehttps://hawkertempest.se/

Best Regards

Patrice

Hey thanks Patrice. That site is very good. Its where i got my uncles claim report from for his FW190 D victory. I will collate and write up my uncles experiences and hopefully get them added to the site. Much obliged!

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

2 hours ago, stever219 said:

My pleasure Andy.  I've not started my researching yet today; hopefully I'll get a chance before my daughter gets back from school.  It's a shame that your cousin didn't realise the value of your uncle's wartime memorabilia, that material would be an absolute goldmine.  He must still have been quite young when he died, late 50s or early 60s?

 

As I said I'll be using the Eduard 1/48th kit for this build: I have Barracuda Studios' resin radiator intake upgrade and exhausts and Master turned brass cannons that should hold the lily a bit. 

 

With regard to paint I don't know if NV790 ever wore invasion stripes, which would have been removed by early 1945, and whether any evidence of them would have remained on the aeroplane.  The spinner and Sky fighter band would have been overpainted and post-January 1945 upper wing rounded would have been applied but underwing serial numbers didn't appear 'til after VE-Day.

 

It's a pity Yes . My cousin probably had other considerations at the time. Uncle Peter's wife sadly died the next year after him. He was 61 and Aunt Margaret ( herself a WAAF) aged 62.  He was as i remember a fun filled , very kind man. He taught me how to 'cheat' at cards! 😉 and how to play 'Chopsticks' on the piano! I know he did a lot of charity work through the Rotarians and Freemasonry and established links with French and Dutch charitable organisations.

 

1:48 is my usual scale. my hands and eyes are not good for 1:72 scale anymore lol

 

I can certainly read through the record (it's a 45MB PDF file so many mail servers won't allow it??)

The document is called AIR-27-532 

 There may be references to Invasion stripes painting on or off. Certainly there are references to Cannon Tests  both air firing and ground harmonisation.. and in one case accidental firing during taxiing!  80 Squadron and 274 Sqdn are mentioned in the records as being on some of the same missions and think they were based at Volker a/f at the same time.  

 

 

[mike romeo]

OK, after some more attention to the seams, the Tempest got a blast of Tamiyal fine surface primer and this is the result:

 

 

 

That appears to have come up quite well, so it's on to the painting.  Yellow leading edge stripes first.

 

More soon, hopefully.

 

Rgds

 

Martin

[Johnson]

Coming along nicely, looks good (I can't resist a Tempest!)

[mike romeo]

3 hours ago, Johnson said:

 (I can't resist a Tempest!)

Who can?

 

 

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

Looking good!

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

i can resist everything but TEMPESTation ! lol

[mike romeo]

So, done a bit of painting:

 

I had a bit of Tamiya ocean grey left in a rattle can, so that was applied.  That was after the yellow leading edges, which are now masked off, together with the xtracrylix medium sea grey.

 

 

I may mask up and use Tamiya rattle can dark green, or I may brush paint, depending if I can get masks printed off.

 

Rgds

 

Martin

[mike romeo]

I went with the hard edged brush painted finish as I didn't like Tamiya's dark green.  So, here it is after 3 coats of xtracrylix.

 

 

 

 

What do you think of the contrast?

 

I'll probably do another coat and then let it cure for a bit while I work on the sticky out bits.

 

Rgds

 

Martin

[Johnson]

2 hours ago, mike romeo said:

What do you think of the contrast?

Looks good.

[mike romeo]

2 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Looks good.

Thanks. 

 

I thought it made the og look a bit pale.  Maybe not.

 

Rgds

 

Martin

 

 

[Johnson]

1 minute ago, mike romeo said:

I thought it made the og look a bit pale.  Maybe not.

 

OG does vary quite a bit, getting lighter as it weathers. Your pic certainly didn't strike me as too light, on the lighter side of OG possibly, but it depends what you're going for. Need to look at photos for a more definitive opinion. Check out JF-Z (JN862) on the Hawker Tempest Page which looks like yours, then the next photo down the OG looks darker. 

[mike romeo]

When I were but a lad, I hated 1 piece spinner and props; there was always a mould seam to clean up, the moulds were often misaligned and one would often end up with a non-circular prop cross-section.  as mouldings grew in sophistication, one started to see separate spinners and props: much better!  The Heller Tempest has this arrangement.

 

Of course, as I've got older and more sophistimicated, I began to miss the provision of a spinner backplate behind the prop blade roots.  So, I'm now lah-di-dah enough to gash up my own from thin card, shown here:

 

 

Rgds

 

Martin

[mike romeo]

Decals on!  Some of ED Models' finest, with continuous carrier film.  So, you have to closely trim each image!

 

The decals are incredibly thin, yet resilient to a bit of push n' shoving to get them into place.  Also, the carrier is completely transparent.  Roundels are in register but colours are, perhaps, a little dull.  Never mind, we'll call them pre-weathered.

 

 

And you get a view of the spinner backplate to boot!  Took a bit of careful trimming to fit, but there we are.  I'm letting the backplate set up, then I'll trim down the arms  behind each blade flush with the spinner, then a bit of a touch up, and paint the prop tips and job's a good 'un.

 

 

Next, a coat of klear, some weathering, and onto the sticky-out bits.

 

Rgds

 

Martin