Hawker Tempest Mk I and Mk V

[Enzo the Magnificent]

I've built quite a few Tempests lately.  What with the Airfix MkV and the KP Tempest family, it's like a Tempest Golden Age!

 

It has always struck me how different the Tempest II looks when compared to the familiar Tempest V.  However, they get stranger.  The originally intended layout for the Tempest looks nothing like what eventually transpired.

 

The story of the Tempest prototypes is fascinating.   I was always puzzled why the first variant in service was the Mk.V, followed by the Mk.II.  Why the odd numbering?

 

It seems that it was because of engine development difficulties. 

 

Originally the Tempest was supposed to have a Napier Sabre IV engine.  This was to be housed in a close cowled nose with the radiators in the wing leading edges.  As the Sabre IV was initially problematic, the decision was taken to try different engine installations:  a Centaurus engined version became the Mk.II and two Griffon engined versions were the Mks III and IV.   As all of these installations gave probems there was a fallback option using the Sabre II engine of the Typhoon with the same radiator slung under the nose.   This was the Mk.V and as the easiest and cheapest option, it became the first production and service variant and also the Tempest with which we are most familar.

 

Eventually the Sabre IV became a reliable - and very powerful - engine.  The elegant and streamlined Tempest I was probably the fastest British piston-engined fighter of the second world war.

 

See how different it looks...

 

https://oldmachinepress.com/2020/10/05/hawker-tempest-i-fighter/

 

The sole Tempest I HM599 went through a number of modifications during its lifetime, the most noticeable of which was the fitment of a bubble canopy.  I will be building the earliest iteration of HM599, with an early Typhoon-style car-door canopy.

 

I will also be using the KP kit for the conversion.  The reason for this kit in particular should become apparent in the next post. 

 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

The KP Kit is a nice representation of the MkV in its own right.   Just out of interest, these are the markings options provided.

 

 

Having said that, personally I would not build a Mk V from the KP kit.   For a Mk V, in my opinion it is better to use the Airfix kit.  The reason is related to why the KP kit is suited to a Mk I conversion.

 

The KP kits are designed as a family.  Other boxings for the Mk II and Mk VI have an additional sprue providing parts for the wing leading edge radiators and different noses.   This means that the Mk V kit, which does does have anything on the leading edges, simply has blanking plates.  These could be a pain to fit and fair in properly, so I would recommend the Airfix kit for a Mk V which does not have these parts.

 

On the other hand, the cutaways in the wing make the KP model ideal for a Mk I conversion.

 

All pretty standard so far...

 

 

Here is the wing sprue.

 

 

As you can see, the starboard wing has a major cutout to house the Mk II/VI radiator.  This is exactly the same size as the Mk I radiator.  I think that fitting the leading edge blanking plates set forward a couple of millimetres should provide a very good representation of the Mk I radiators.

 

The port wing does not have as large a cutout as it only houses an oil cooler on the Mks II and VI.  It shouldn't be too difficult to enlarge the cutout.   I have built a KP Tempest before as a Mk VI, so I have a spare leading edge which can be used to represent the radiators on the port wing as well.

 

As this will be the earliest version of HM599, I will not have to remove the gun blisters and other armament related details.  Oddly enough, later modifications removed the armament.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

This will be interesting and sleek. 

[bigbadbadge]

Agreed this will be an interesting conversion. 

 

[Col.]

The Tempest I was indeed an elegant and sleek design so I applaud your (first?) choice of subject boss

[AdrianMF]

Nice one, and a lucky break on the KP parts design. I love the looks of the Mk1. Not so keen on the Griffon contra-prop though!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[dogsbody]

I've had this conversion kit for many years now. It's meant for the Heller Tempest but I bet it could used on some other Tempest kits.

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

[Enzo the Magnificent]

1 hour ago, dogsbody said:

I've had this conversion kit for many years now. It's meant for the Heller Tempest but I bet it could used on some other Tempest kits.

 

Indeed!  The KP wing would be perfect for it.  However, note that Ventura have shown the aircraft with Typhoon-style fishplates around the rear fuselage.  I have seen quite a few photos of the aircraft and none of them show fishplates.

[Enzo the Magnificent]

The tail fin needs to be cut down to match thatof a Typhoon.  Here you can see the KP tail matched up with an Airfix Typhoon tail.

 

 

 

The relevant part of the port wing leading edge was then cut out to match that of the starboard wing.

 

 

The bottom edge of the Tempest rudder has been built up with a sliver of plastic card to match the shape of the Typhoon rudder.

 

 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

The radiator fairing section of the nose was crudely snipped off.  The nose was then built u with some plastic card spacers to give it a bit of structural integrity.  Then a large ball of Milliput was pushed in there and roughly shaped.  It will need more Milliput later on.

 

 

On to the wings. These were assembled in accorance with the kit instructions, allowing the wheel wells to provide the structural integrity.   The radiator cores were then added with plastic card laminated to about 80thou. I used some strip to represent the radiator structure with 20thou plastc card to represent the fairing sides.

 

 

 

The cockpit interior was painted and detaled as normal.

 

 

Back to the radiators.  The upper and lower wing leading edge parts were cemented into place against the radiator cores.  They are simply positioned about 4mm forwards.   This leaves a gap which was filled with plastic card shims.

 

 

Ready for main assembly. 

 

 

[stevehnz]

On 9/26/2022 at 7:45 AM, Enzo Matrix said:

I have seen quite a few photos of the aircraft and none of them show fishplates.

Where have you been looking? You could try this one & this one & the heading photo of this website  for starters. Fish plates aside, I do like the look of what you're doing there. Seeing the photo that @dogsbody put up, has given me thoughts about this too, I've a couple of those conversions in stock & a spare Heller kit (or two).

Steve.

 

[TimJ]

Nice work so far. 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Main assembly complete.  Time for some clean-up...

 

 

 

Lacquered and primed with the undersurfaces sprayed in Fiat Broom Yellow from a rattle can.

 

Now I have to revisit the sheer lunacy of masking yellow paint with yellow masking tape.    

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Is that blue paint, filler, or a colored C/A ? 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

3 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Is that blue paint, filler, or a colored C/A ? 

It's blue paint, applied so that I can see whether the joints still need work.

[Enzo the Magnificent]

The Tempest Mk I is coming along nicely and I'm quite pleased with it.  So what's the next step?  Logic dictates that I continue with the camouflage painting, but that's for boring old traditionalists.   I'm a wild-eyed loner standing at the gates of oblivion ready to ride the last freedom moped out of nowhere.    So the obvious thing to do is start another project!   

 

Once the Tempest V entered service, Hawkers continued to tinker with the aerodynamics.  The intention was to get rid of the large chin radiator which limited the Tempest's performance somewhat.   Hawkers had already produced the Tempest II with a Centaurus radial engine and that improved performance.  Hawkers therefore decided to trial an annular radiator on the Mk V which would give a profile very similar to the Mk II.

 

The new radiator was fitted to EJ518 and NV768 which did indeed gave them an appearance very similar to the Mk II.  Later on, NV768 was fitted with a large ducted spinner which gave it a very bizarre appearance indeed.  This is what I intend to build.

 

https://www.hawkertempest.se/index.php/thetempest/2014-05-12-18-28-30/annularradiator

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Kora make a resin conversion set intended for the Academy kit.  However in this case I am going to use the second KP Mk V that I have in The Stash.  It's a better choice than the Academy kit, for reasons which will become apparent.

 

 

Just out of interest, these are the schemes provided on the KP decal sheet.

 

 

I have already used the decals for JN876 in the first blitzbuild of this year, applied to an Airfix kit.

 

 

The Kora conversion set has two new fuselage halves cast in resin.

 

 

Plus an assortment of parts for the ducted spinner and oil coolers.

 

 

As you can see, the fin on the resin fuselage parts is short-shot.  Rather than mess around fixing the problem, I am simply going to saw the nose from the resin parts and fit it to the KP fuselage, which is already set up for it.

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Nice choice with the resin bits. Oh Id like to build JN876 someday, I like alternative colors for codes they stick out on a shelf. Will need to find the KP or an Aftermarket sheet. 

[CliffB]

This is great stuff Enzo.  I'm learning a lot about weird and wonderful Tempests 

[Col.]

This here, gang, is Enzo leading by example and building 'em all

 

Seriously though, another cool subject choice boss, the resin parts do look rather rough around the edges so slicing and splicing will hopefully result in less work than using the complete fuselage parts.

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Construction of NV768 is basically as recommended in the destruction leaflet.   As this is a later aircraft that the Mk I prototype, I painted the upper interior of the cockpit in matt black while the floor and lower side panels are interior grey green.

 

 

The wing was build as instructed.   As you can see, it makes a perfectly excellent Mk V wing.  It's just that it requires a bit of care when adding the leading edge components.  This is in contrast to the Airfix kit, where you can just bang the wing together without any cares...

 

The resin nose section is shown.

 

 

And here we see it fitted.

 

 

In other news, the Mk I was sprayed with Xtracrylix XA1006 Ocean Grey.   The camouflage pattern was masked with my usual technique of Blutak worms, masking tape squares and Copydex.

 

[Col.]

How well did the new nose section fit Enzo?

[Enzo the Magnificent]

22 minutes ago, Col. said:

How well did the new nose section fit Enzo?

 

To be honest, not very well initially.  The Kora resin fuselage is narrower than the KP one.  I used a bit of shim at the joint line to widen it at the top and then dunked the whole assembly in hot water so I could widen it at the bottom.  Milliput sorted the rest. 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Back to the Mk V.   The kit wings have been fitted, together with the resin oil coolers.

 

 

After priming, it was sprayed with Xtracrylix XA1006 and masked in the same manner as the Mk I.

 

[Courageous]

Primer on, looking better and better.

 

Stuart