three 2TAF Hawker Typhoons June-July 1944 (Hasegawa 1/48)

[ilj]

MN317 ZY-B “China British” of No. 247 Squadron RAF, Hurn - Coulombs (B6) June 1944
MN409 TP-G of No. 198 Squadron RAF, Thorney Island - Orléans-Bricy (BA123) June-July 1944
JP671 XP-R of No. 174 Squadron, Le Fresne-Camilly (B5) July 1944

Hasegawa 09060, 09862, 09059; Ultracast exhausts 48057 x3, tail wheel well 48237 x3, seats 48072 x3, elevators 48056 x1, radiator with dust filter 48059 x1, Tempest tailplanes 48080 x1, four blade propellor 48074 x1; Barracuda BR48138 - Typhoon and Tempest Series I wheels x3; Master metal 20mm cannons MR48-083 x3; Rob Taurus late car door vacuform canopy 48055 x1.  Tamiya XF and Alclad metal paint, Prismacolour pencils, brass rod (IFF, felt canopy seal strips), brass sheet (open handhold door), Nitinol wire (0.006" diameter, whip), Albion Alloys aluminum tube (0.6mm od x 0.4mm id), 6# nylon fishing line (pigtail wires).  There are some anachronisms here.

 

ilj

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by ilj
added two details to materials used

[wellsprop]

Stunning! 

[fubar57]

Agreed

[k5054nz]

As with the Tempest, these are gorgeous works! The weathering is just right. I'd be proud to have any of them on my shelf.

[Dave Klaatu]

What can I say- beautiful! So well done!

[ilj]

Some thoughts on building this 22 year old production from Hasegawa...

 

kit weaknesses:

1. tailwheel well is just a hole and benefits hugely from the Ultracast 48237 resin tail wheel well.

2. main landing gear wells are primitive, completely lacking in detail - the fix would be major scratch building project in itself, so all I added was the square pouch for the wheel locks along the aft wall so I could say I did something.

3. the cockpit area insert requires puttying and smoothing - not difficult

4. the cockpit area is extremely lacking in detail - I added the felt seals for the bubble canopy on the top deck (bent and flattened brass rod), the armour plate support rod for the seat belts (evergreen plastic rod) - I did not add a compass nor did I mess with the kit gunsight that is fictional (very little of the cockpit internals are visible on the bubble top model so I didn't see the point) - in hindsight, should have done something about the gunsights

5. the dimensional issues that have been described aren't that noticeable

 

kit strengths

1. fit is good - it falls together very well - positive location is sure on all the main parts and landing gear et c. (avoid shimming the wing root unless you want a Stuka-like anhedral - the wing to fuselage fit for me was perfect, required minimal putty and produced the correct wing geometry)

2. end result looks like a Hawker Typhoon pretty much

 

other modifications

1.  I chiselled out the little door opening on the starboard side below the canopy and added a flipped up brass sheet door - this handhold door pops up whenever the foot stirrup thing is down, and this is conspicuous feature in period photos of parked ac, so it makes a positive difference to add this

2. resin exhausts from Ultracast were used, and these add a lot as do the resin seat (Ultracast 48072), wheels (Barracudacast) and metal cannons (Master) if you afford them

3. rocket ignition wires - I don't like the appearance of dangling pigtails so I modelled these plugged in (used 6# nylon fishing line, could have used 4#) to short sections of Albion Alloys tube glued to the rail assembly.  I have some rocket aftermarket items but didn't consider them worthwhile - the kit parts look OK and are easy to assemble

4. vhf antenna whips - done with Nitinol wire (0.006") with Albion Ally internal support tubing - they look a little thick so I may switch out with the 0.005" wire that I have a stock of

5. flattened brass rod for underside IFF antennas... unbreakable

6. very minimal riveting with a rivet wheel in certain areas of rear fuselage

7. drilled pockets in clear part wing running lights and filled with Tamiya clear red (port) and green (starboard) to simulate coloured light bulbs

8. Napier dome dust shield on XP-R was done using the well-sanded down nose of a 500# bomb from the spares box

 

who knows when Eduard is going to attempt a modern kit for this ac - in the meantime the Hasegawa plastic is not a bad option IMHO

 

ilj

 

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by ilj
details 7 and 8 added

[Winded Penguin]

You've thoroughly done your research - modestly understated here -  but then let the models speak for themselves. Absolutely stunning project outcome 👍

[Fred piket]

Wow...  I'm speechless... I just love a Typhoon, and three of them in this build with this quality gives me the symptoms comparably like a sugar rush... fantastic!

[phildagreek]

Very, very smart! Good effort.

[providence]

what a lovely trio, great job !

 

Regards

 

Providence

[mick b]

I love a Typhoon and these are particularly lovely. Great work.

 

Mike

[Gary Brantley]

Beautiful brutes ilj!  And some great "old school" model building, well done sir! 🍺

[Bell209]

Very nice indeed!