Tempest II Colour Question

[Cpives2022]

So I’m about to start the Special Hobby/Eduard 1/48 Tempest II. I’m going for the No 33 squadron scheme, and I have a few questions that hopefully the hive mind here might be able to answer:

 

(a) the instructions call for aluminium finish, but would it have been that or High Speed Silver, as that came out in 1949 too.

 

(b) wheel wells and insides of flaps - would they have been aluminium or interior green?

 

(c) cockpit interior- would the inside walls of the cockpit been black and interior green, or all black? And would the internal frame have been aluminium or cockpit green?

 

best regards,

 

chris

[Troy Smith]

54 minutes ago, Cpives2022 said:

(b) wheel wells and insides of flaps - would they have been aluminium or interior green?

Wheel wells, Grey green.  Don't know about the flaps.  Flaps were always raised on the ground except for servicing anyway.

54 minutes ago, Cpives2022 said:

(c) cockpit interior- would the inside walls of the cockpit been black and interior green, or all black? And would the internal frame have been aluminium or cockpit green?

 

All grey green AFAIK.  Upperwalls may have been black,. 

 

I posted a link to time of a Tempest documentary on youtube, which clearly showed a mid grey tone, aluminium paint photographs as near white, and has shots of bother the wheel well and cockpit tubing. Images of production at hawkers show the same.

 

I'll dig the link out later and reasoning. 

 

I'll also @Chris Thomas as he'd be the chap for the definitive answer

[Cpives2022]

Thanks, I appreciate that! Yeah, I know flaps were always raised, but I like putting them in anyway. After all, they would have had to lower them to service them! 👍🏻😀

 

I assumed the cockpit would be cockpit green/black, but it was around the time they were changing over to all black, so thought there might be a change with them too, but I’ll go with green lower and black upper.

 

[Troy Smith]

48 minutes ago, Cpives2022 said:

Thanks, I appreciate that! Yeah, I know flaps were always raised, but I like putting them in anyway. After all, they would have had to lower them to service them! 👍🏻😀

Hawker Tempest Mk.V's, 1944. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

from the little bit of the inside visible, grey green

 

48 minutes ago, Cpives2022 said:

 

I assumed the cockpit would be cockpit green/black, but it was around the time they were changing over to all black, so thought there might be a change with them too, but I’ll go with green lower and black upper.

 

re cockpits. 

https://www.hawkertempest.se/index.php/survivors/2015-01-19-19-22-20/jn768

 

In circa 1980 Ted Sinclair, Norfolk UK, purchased two Tempest front fuselages from a car scrapyard in the Bristol area. The Tempests had still their front windscreens. The correct RAF serials were not known, but on one fuselage there was a number of 'Doodlebug' V1 kills painted. The photo (left) shows one of the cockpits as found.

 

 

which looks to be all grey green, as there are some black bits to compare.

 

 

 

this was thread, which has the film link.   

 

HTH

[72modeler]

I have a couple of saved period color photos of Tempest II's  lined up outside the factory awaiting delivery; the inner surfaces of the main gear doors look to be grey-green, with the grey-green on the upper half of the doors and the undersurface color on the lower half; in another closeup photo of three Mk II's, the inner surfaces of the gear doors are painted in the buff/mustard colored primer. . IIRC, it was in later production when Hawker began using the buff/mustard colored primer on the inner gear doors and wheel bays- but as I recall, that was  was mainly on Sea  Furies, For sure, @Chris Thomas would be the man who would know!

Mike

photo via Wikipedia:

 

Here is a link to photos of the Mk II on display at Hendon- appears to be the yellow Hawker primer, but the usual caveat regarding museum aircraft applies; I also don't know if this Tempest is in original unrestored condition or was restored at some point. Photos from the excellent IPMS Stockholm website. Maybe these photos will be helpful?

 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/hawker-tempest-mk-ii-in-detail/

 

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by 72modeler
added link

[Troy Smith]

2 hours ago, 72modeler said:

 

Here is a link to photos of the Mk II on display at Hendon- appears to be the yellow Hawker primer, but the usual caveat regarding museum aircraft applies; I also don't know if this Tempest is in original unrestored condition or was restored at some point.

It's not yellow Hawker primer, but grey green on the Hendon Tempest,  which is missing most of it's wheel well pipework,  and there is a lot of that, 

and the airframe was an ex Indian Airforce one,

history here https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/1992-0345-A_Tempest_II_PR536.pdf

note "the aircraft at Hendon, making it a composite of three airframes - rear fuselage from Manadon, wings from Kanpur c.1971, leaving just the forward fuselage from PR536, this identity being found in the tailwheel well before the rear fuselage sections were exchanged. The original rear fuselage was later traded for spare parts."

 

which along with some Spitfire 18s were used as airfield decoys until the late 70's when their value as museum pieces was realised, so they were basically hulks at that point.  

 

see also

https://www.hawkertempest.se/index.php/action/inindia

 

2 hours ago, 72modeler said:

the inner surfaces of the main gear doors look to be grey-green, with the grey-green on the upper half of the doors and the undersurface color on the lower half; in another closeup photo of three Mk II's, the inner surfaces of the gear doors are painted in the buff/mustard colored primer.

 

IMO, just dodgy colour reproduction and trick of the light,  and it's all grey green.  (why would you paint half the door another colour?)    The British (ideally) defined paint colours depending on how the areas were classified,  so on a type with enclosed wells, this is all internal, so the internal colour.   

see here, which I linked above, but this is too the colour photos

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/69505-hawker-tempest-colour-of-wheel-wellsgear-doors/#elControls_4000153_menu

 

And, yes it leads to fun like Spitfire wheel wells, which are half internal and half external.....   until the 21, 22, 24  with all enclosed wells....

 

The Sea Fury's were built later on,  which is why I think the internal colour switch.     

 

Somewhere in there may even be notes on this in factory records if they survive......