224 Peter Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 A new project, after my battle with the Vampires! This time it is Typhoon ZK349 in Battle of Britain colours as flown by 29R Squadron from Coningsby in 2015/2016 commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain as a fine tribute to the only Fighter Command pilot to be awarded the Victoria Cross, during the Battle of Britain – Flt. Lt. Eric James Brindley Nicolson. Typhoon ZK349 has been painted in the colours of Flt. Lt. Nicolson’s 249 Squadron Hawker Hurricane Mk.I GN-A (P3576), which was involved in combat with Messerschmitt Bf 110s of the Luftwaffe over Southampton, on 16th August 1940. Whilst attempting to bale out of his burning Hurricane, Flt. Lt. Nicolson saw a Bf 110 pass in front of his aircraft and, without thought for his own safety, immediately climbed back into his seat and fired on the German aircraft, causing it to dive away to its destruction. Only then did Flt. Lt. Nicholson make good his escape, but not before sustaining significant injuries. 249 Squadron flew from RAF Boscombe Down, my local airfield, during that period. The Trumpeter kit is large and includes detail that I'll pass on, in particular the access doors around the cockpit and almost all of the underwing stores. All the photos I've found show either one centerline fuel tank, or two wing tanks, plus the wingtip pods that seem to be on every Typhoon. For the 2015/2016 period the aircraft was always immaculate, no evidence of staining or wear, so this one will be perfect. The recreation has the undersurface in light aircraft grey, not the original sky, but as I'm making the Typhoon, not a Hurricane it matters not at all. The cockpit is, as ever, the place to start: as with a number of modern aircraft it is not all matt black. The it instructions are a bit lacking in colour details, bur there are plenty of photos on the web, so the next post will be a photo of the cockpit.... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 I have the exact same kit with the same decal set in my stash and on my 'to do list' so I'll watch this with great interest Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 2 hours ago, tomprobert said: I have the exact same kit with the same decal set in my stash and on my 'to do list' so I'll watch this with great interest Tom Welcome along... 🙂 It is going to be interesting seeing this sitting next to the Revell 1/32 Typhoon..... somewhat bigger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Count me in for this one. Pulling up a chair... Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 This is what it should look like.... Copyright MOD. It should look awesome... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 (edited) The Cockpit... The kit cockpit is reasonably well detailed and includes transfers and photo etch seat belts. Like the rest of the kit It lacks any real information about the colours. According to various authors here this is what they should be... Overall BS381C 629 Camouflage (Barley) Grey Cockpit BS381C 632 Dark Admiralty Grey Leading and Trailing edge flap interiors FS595B 36280 (slightly lighter that RAF Ocean Grey) Intake flap interior BS381C 626 Camouflage (Barley) Grey Intakes (aft of intake flap) White Radome FS595B 26492 – (Gull Grey) may have a brownish tint I have a photo of the inside of a Typhoon, showing it to be mostly grey with some black. It took a while to match the grey of the transfers with a paint to match, in the end I found RLM 76 Grey to be very close rather than Dark Admiralty grey, so chose that. The seat should be a tan/green woven fabric, the belts tan/grey with blue anodised buckles. This is what the cockpit looks like, sitting on a photo of the real thing. I think the seat cushion needs to be a bit more tan, possibly a bit of dry brushing and the buckles need to be metallic blue. The kit has a vast amount of interior detail, most of which I'll either leave out or not paint where it cannot be seen. Then the U/C... seems to be Barley grey. Edited May 15, 2022 by 224 Peter Additional data 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 Steady progress, the instructions are somewhat vague in places so test fitting is advised at every stage. The wings are assembled, the fuselage halves joined and the inlet trunking and engines located so the next step is to join them together. Getting the inlet trunking lined up requires some clamping and persuasion.... as the photo shows. I don't understand why there is so much invisible internal detail, I left almost all of the setail bits off the engines. I do wonder if this kit was offered with a clear fuselage, other it makes no sense whatsoever. After the wings are joined to the body the flaps and slats can go on: the front canard winglets I'll leave until the very end as they could easily be broken. The main U/C legs look robust enough, but the nose wheel leg looks very flimsy for such a big model. Fortunately Aerocraft Models offer a beautifully cast brass leg, which will be more than strong enough. It is designed for the 1/32 Revell kit, so some work is needed to alter the fitting..I'd forgotten just how tough brass can be! Details here: https://aerocraftmodels.bigcartel.com/product/eurofighter-typhoon-nose-wheel-undercarriage-strut The next photo will show the wings completed and the nose inlet fitted and the I/C sitting on its wheels. I doubt it will need much, if any, weighting at the front but even if it is needed the radome has plenty of space!! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 Nice work so far!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted June 2, 2022 Author Share Posted June 2, 2022 (edited) An update for this week. 1. I got the brass cast front leg from Aerocraft, the part is intended for the Revell Eurofighter and it needs modifying to fit the Trumpeter kit. Quite a bit of trimming and the leg and bracing strut need shortening. To make a secure fitting I drilled out the top of the leg and used epoxy to fit a metal pin. The axle is finer than the hole in the wheel, so the hole had to be filled and then drilled out. This is the result, there is a second jack strut to be added from the kit, but this will wait until the end stage of completion. All the U/C legs are grey, the oleo part needs to be highly polished steel. 2. I finalised the underwing load, simply a C/L fuel tank - it is vital to drill out the holes before sticking the fuselage to the wing - and then a single outboard pylon plus the wing tip ECM pods. Irritatingly the under wing pylon pylon holes are pre-drilled, so all had to be filled: I did tey from the inside but not all worked and needed more filling. .As can be seen from the above photo the joins at the sides of the intakes are poor and will need filling and from the photo below the upper wing surface where the join the lower side, not only a gap, but a step. All the unused weapons load will be offered in the "For Sale" section once the model is finished. This is the underside, the main U/C legs are held with BluTak. With the legs in place I put it on its wheels: it will need nose weight, there is still quite a bit of plastic to add aft of the wheels. But it does have the right "'nose up" stance. And YES, UI know the wheels are facing the wrong way.... The many vents and holes are far too see through, with hindsight I should have blanked them off. The rubber tyres are not very realistic, yes on the real A/C they are inflated to 300 psi, but there is a small flat contact patch There is an after market resin wheel and tyre set from ResKit, and I think I may have to give in... https://www.super-hobby.com/products/Eurofighter-Typhoon-wheels-set-39442157.html#gallery_start Let's see what happens next week. Edited June 2, 2022 by 224 Peter Typo.. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted June 16, 2022 Author Share Posted June 16, 2022 After fitting the wings the next job was to fit the leading edge slats, elavons and so on. The instructions are vague and the fit of some parts is questionable. Joining the upper and lower wings together there are a row of small arms that with the benefit of hindsight should slide in and out so the L/E slat can be positioned extended or retracted. Then when the wings are joined the L/E slats have to be positioned, as I had cemented the arms in I had to fit the slats in the retracted position. After fitting the slats there are jacks and covers to fit, but again the instructions are misleading in that when he slats are retracted so are the jacks and the cover is flush. This is a photo of the underside with. everything fitted. The result is unimpressive: it could have been so much better with clear instructions and good illustrations! The wheel wells are painted, some more sanding is needed and then it will be time to prime....and see how much remedial work will be needed. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Looks good to me Peter, despite the challenges you've encountered. Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 After a lot of filling, sanding and polishing I've masked up ready for a sprayed on primer. The hardest part was where part J22 joins the wing/fuselage, and where parts E1 and E2 fit in. They fit where they touch, and fill and sand a step that on a real A/C would have been 1 inch!! I had to remove parts J6/7, fitte to the fuselage earlier in Stage 12 as with it in place it was impossible to properly seat J22 and it would have been impossible to paint the exhausts. It will go back when painting is complete. The instructions in step 13 call for 2 x K27 to be fitted, the afterburner petals at this early stage but in my view they should be almost the last part to go on, after painting. I'd already mentioned the problems with the wing leading edge and slats, where assembling Steps 9 & 10 risks compromising the fit of the leading edge slats in step 17. Anyway, from the upper side... Lots of filler, lots of sanding. The kit was released in 2008, it wasn't as good as it should have been back then. Since then kit design technology has moved on, alot. The next photos will be after priming and painting, a lot of dark green and dark earth to add... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Looking really good Peter. The finish line is in sight Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 On 20/06/2022 at 23:03, Tomjw said: Looking really good Peter. The finish line is in sight Cheers, Tom Well, the airbrush..... some more bits to correct round the tail cone area first. .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted June 27, 2022 Author Share Posted June 27, 2022 Looking at a photo of the underside on the caracalmodels.com website it is very clear that the recesses for one of the missiles runs to the trailing edge of the wing... The kit is different...... Right is the kit as moulded, left is a first attempt at extending the recess, it will need some more filling and shaping. I also feel that the corner of the wing fillet is too sharp, a little correction is needed. More, soon.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 After a week or so of filling, sanding, more filling and sanding I'm almost satisfied..... The rear of the missile recess now looks like the kit and the fear of the fuselage blends into the wing, as it should. I need to re-scribe in some lost detail.... From the side I'm really pleased. The underside is all camouflage grey ( Barley Grey as was...). Some masking up where the grey comes round to the upper side and then it is brown and green time! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted July 16, 2022 Author Share Posted July 16, 2022 With quite a bit of masking the Dark Earth has been applied, using a (Humbrol) rattle can as it is a big area. I'm pleased, to say the least. Now to the green: I'll mark out the pattern with a pencil and then airbrush, I think. Still quite a lot to do, but I think the finishing line is in sight. I'll post again when it is ready for transfers. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 Looking good Peter 👍 Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted July 25, 2022 Author Share Posted July 25, 2022 I marked out with pencil and painted using a brush: Humbrol 163: Humbrol 30 used to be a good dark green, but the new material is far too blue to my eye. Humbrol 29, Dark earth from today matches paint from the 1970s and a modern acrylic rattle can! Now, with all the masking removed and a gloss coat applied I couldn't resist applying some transfers. The proportion of the roundels is as per the original 2016 aircraft, but they are not 1942 accurate, but it is really good to see a modern jet in WWII markings. There is still a lot to do, many stencils and then final details including the U/C. I've put 15gm of lead in the nose cone to make sure it isn't a tail sitter. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted December 23, 2022 Author Share Posted December 23, 2022 It has been a while since the end of July and the summer heat in my attic workroom rather brought a stop to modelling. I then was diverted by the BIG 1/24th Hawker Typhoon 1b, which is making good progress: you can see it in the background. Applying they many, many small stencil markings takes time and a lot of care, particularly the black dotted lines on the upper wing, but they bring the model to life. I found I needed gloss varnish to get rid of transfer silvering, the aftermarket transfers don't stick well, so both MicroSol and MicroSet proved essential, then once dry a coat of varnish to make sure nothing lifted. The transfers are Caracal Models sheet: CD32017, printed by Microscale. They look good but are a challenge. This model should be finished by the year end, swiftly followed by the 1/24th Typhoon 1b, I aim to get them both ready for inspection during January 23. This should be ready for inspection by the year end, followed by the Typhoon 1b, which is ready for transfers. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Quack Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 Just caught up with this Peter. Looking good. Should be a big impressive beast - and I agree, a modern jet carries off the WWII look extremely well. Q 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted March 1, 2023 Author Share Posted March 1, 2023 And almost ready for inspection, just a few small details to add and transfers to repair, the aftermarket transfers are flaking off already. I'll put up a "Ready for Inspection" post within a week. This has been an occasionally frustrating kit, the plastic parts are not accurate in places and the fit is awful, resulting in much filling and sanding. The result is acceptable, but I could have done better, for example the gap in the side of the intake visible above. Grrrr!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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