1/72 Hawker Tempest Mk. V by Airfix - release Autumn 2021

[Thomas V.]

5 minutes ago, Truro Model Builder said:

 

You do realise that CAD artwork is not indicative of a finished product?

 

Unfortunately, the image presents how the model will look.

[Work In Progress]

12 hours ago, Thomas V. said:

in 2021 to see CAD and such thick trailing edges, beyond belief, both Eduard and ICM, come to think of it even Italeri and Revell have stepped up the game in last 10-15 years in 72nd scale, not to mention others,Airfix truly does deserve better owner.

 

 

You think Phoenix Asset management are round there looking over the designers' shoulders saying "that's too delicate, come on, make it fatter!"??

[john224]

12 hours ago, Thomas V. said:

Unfortunately, the image presents how the model will look.

Not necessarily, I think the details on the Spitfire Vc are definitely finer than what appeared on the CAD images released.

[Thomas V.]

4 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

 

You think Phoenix Asset management are round there looking over the designers' shoulders saying "that's too delicate, come on, make it fatter!"??

Of course not, but what upper menagement echelons unfortunately do is to allocate meagre tooling funds to already lower end of tooling production and injection moulding process chain, set up to maximize income without much thought to long term profitability and brand position compared to competition.

 

[Work In Progress]

22 minutes ago, Thomas V. said:

Of course not, but what upper menagement echelons unfortunately do is to allocate meagre tooling funds to already lower end of tooling production and injection moulding process chain, set up to maximize income without much thought to long term profitability and brand position compared to competition.

 

 

And your superior owners are where? Come to that, where were these superior investors when the company needed bailing out by Phoenix in 2017?

[Denford]

39 minutes ago, Thomas V. said:

Of course not, but what upper menagement echelons unfortunately do is to allocate meagre tooling funds to already lower end of tooling production and injection moulding process chain, set up to maximize income without much thought to long term profitability and brand position compared to competition.

 

Can you substantiate this?

[Thomas V.]

Evidence is in every Airfix box aside from few with " Made in UK " printed on them, when as a consequence of better quality material and injection process even mediocre toolings like Defiant dont suffer from warped parts, poor transparent ones etc...

Its not question of India vs UK or any other place its going to the lowest bidder, nothing good comes of it.

How competitive ( outside of UK )will this Tempest be when Eduard formally announes theirs?

 

[alt-92]

1 hour ago, Thomas V. said:

without much thought to long term profitability and brand position compared to competition.

I don't think that is how PAM operates, but to each his own.

[Procopius]

22 hours ago, Denford said:

Mine will be Fairbanks alongside a victim (yet to be built) Ar234B.

 

Fairbanks, as an American who ran away from home to join the RCAF, and then remained in the RCAF after the US entered the war, and then opted to become Canadian, is one of my heroes. I dearly hope someone makes decals for his aircraft.

[Denford]

1 minute ago, Procopius said:

Fairbanks, as an American who ran away from home to join the RCAF, and then remained in the RCAF after the US entered the war, and then opted to become Canadian, is one of my heroes. I dearly hope someone makes decals for his aircraft.

An enlightened view: people forget that the Great Depression lasted, well, in places till US entered the war.  Any young man, seeking employment and adventure could cross the border into Canada and enlist.  'Oh I have slipped the surly bonds or earth.....' was written by another American.

 

Regarding 'decals for his aircraft', he flew a number of them, presumably according to 'availability'.  Do a Google search: something like 'Tempest Home Page'.  It gives the serial number etc of the aircraft with which he destroyed the Ar234, but not the individual letter.  These would surely have been re-used as individual machines were written off, so difficult to trace unless actually recorded at the time.

[alt-92]

22 hours ago, Denford said:

alongside a victim (yet to be built) Ar234B.

Timely announcement here 

 

 

[Johnson]

Looking at the CAD drawings, the spinner seems quite long and bulbous, more like that from a Mk. VI.

 

I've compared the Airfix drawings to the A.L. Bentley drawings, and WW2 photos of Mk.V series 2.

 

Possibly the Airfix drawings are based on NV778, which has a large, possibly Mk VI, spinner? This is purely my speculation, but it's known that NV778 is constructed using other Tempest parts after it's restoration, about 85% is from original NV778 parts.

[Wez]

43 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Looking at the CAD drawings, the spinner seems quite long and bulbous, more like that from a Mk. VI.

 

I've compared the Airfix drawings to the A.L. Bentley drawings, and WW2 photos of Mk.V series 2.

 

Possibly the Airfix drawings are based on NV778, which has a large, possibly Mk VI, spinner? This is purely my speculation, but it's known that NV778 is constructed using other Tempest parts after it's restoration, about 85% is from original NV778 parts.

 

Quite a few Mk 5's ended up with the Mk.VI/6 spinner e.g. TT.5 SN326 when with 226OCU, a case of check your photos but assume that's only the case at the time the photo was taken.

[TEXANTOMCAT]

IIRC the RAFM examples spinner might have been cut down from a Valetta or Varsity (or that might have been their Typhoons!) 

 

TT

[Work In Progress]

15 hours ago, TEXANTOMCAT said:

IIRC the RAFM examples spinner might have been cut down from a Valetta or Varsity (or that might have been their Typhoons!) 

Regrettably you do not RC in this case. 

You are thinking of Typhoon MN325 which has a Hastings spinner

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Cheers fella I knew it was one of them.. I don’t RC much these days *wanders off mumbling...🙂

[Christer A]

Where does this "fishplates on the rear fuselage for Series 1" come from?

Neither the Valiant wings book,  nor the pictures found in the Eduard Royal class books shows any plates, other than on one of the prototypes.

[Max Headroom]

15 hours ago, TEXANTOMCAT said:

IIRC the RAFM examples spinner might have been cut down from a Valetta or Varsity (or that might have been their Typhoons!) 

 

TT

The Typhoon has a cut back Hastings spinner.

 

Trevor

[Denford]

I'd be very surprised if, by now, Airfix didn't ask ask what 'non standard' components were present in any subject in which they were interested.

[Work In Progress]

2 hours ago, Christer A said:

Where does this "fishplates on the rear fuselage for Series 1" come from?

Neither the Valiant wings book,  nor the pictures found in the Eduard Royal class books shows any plates, other than on one of the prototypes.

They are clearly visible on the pre-delivery photo of JN729 on the BAe website, though when I say "clearly" I mean if you open it up to full size and look carefully. Fact is, on many web and printed reproductions of grainy WW2 photos there isn't enough effective resolution to see whether they are there or not. 

JN729 is the first series-production aircraft supplied to the customer, so not a prototype.

 

Have a look here, right-click on the pic of JN729 and "open image in new tab" - exact wording may vary according to what browser you use - open up to 100% and study closely the aft edge of the Sky rear fuselage band.

https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/hawker-tempest

 

Chris Thomas has collected photo evidence of fish plates all the way up to JN862, and the first one he can establish as not having them is JN875. Those in between could be either as far as the currently-available photo evidence can determine,

 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Work In Progress

[Meatbox8]

19 hours ago, Procopius said:

Fairbanks, as an American who ran away from home to join the RCAF, and then remained in the RCAF after the US entered the war, and then opted to become Canadian, is one of my heroes. I dearly hope someone makes decals for his aircraft.

Also the most successful pilot, in terms of air to air kills, on the Tempest.  Definitely one for me.  I'm planning on getting another Airfix Typhoon so that I can build one of Baldwin's aicraft and thus have the two top scoring aces in Hawker Napier Sabre fighters.

[Dave Fleming]

On 09/01/2021 at 15:56, Meatbox8 said:

I think it must be as both aircraft represented had the fairings.  I'm guessing Airfix might have wanted to push this out for their 2021 release announcement and so these are 'roughs'.  I hope the fairings are separate parts so that a Series II can be built without surgery.  On the CAD pictures they are a different colour which suggests they will be.  Still, early days. 

 

The artwork for the announcement usually is - in the past we have seen the subjects depicted change as well as the artwork firmed up. 

[Rabbit Leader]

I know we are still speculating a lot about this release (without seeing any sprues) however I’ve just downloaded the 2021 catalogue and have spotted something new. If we ‘assume’ that this first release will be a Mk.V Series 1 Tempest, then the larger wheel hubs are not quite accurate. Those shown on the CAD would be more suitable to a Series 2, rather than those Series 1 kit schemes that Airfix suggest. The Series 1 hubs are smaller and more closer in resemblance to what you’d find on a typical Hawker Typhoon. 
Cheers.. Dave 

[Work In Progress]

Good info, but perhaps it's too soon to say. We've seen these early CAD renderings mix and match parts from various planned releases on the same basic kit before

[Yes_Man]

On 11/01/2021 at 15:57, Thomas V. said:

How competitive ( outside of UK )will this Tempest be when Eduard formally announes theirs?

 

 

Pretty sure Airfix will have the market for a good 6-8 years based on Eduard's lethargic 1/72 output of recent years (unless you're excited about obscure East European agricultural aircraft). We're all still patiently waiting for the 109Gs and early Fw 190As in 1/72 and we've only just seen their 109E in 1/72 (even if it's in a Special Hobby box). So I'm not expecting an Eduard 1/72 Tempest anytime soon.