1/72 Hawker P.1027 Eagle Tempest

[patmaquette]

Hi everyone.

I bought this "what-if" kit from Freightdog at the Telford show. It looked like such an amazing aircraft and a fun build. Also, as a new recruit to the IPMS Hawker Typhoon, Tempest & Sea Fury SIG would give me something new to put on their display table next time.

Freightdog's resin parts are packed inside the KP Tempest V kit box (but are also available separately I believe).

 

 

 

It also includes an A5 sheet containing historical notes, recommendations for builders and instructions cross referenced to the kit's instructions. Thanks are given for contributions by Paul Lucas & Dominic McEvoy, with a dedication to Mike McEvoy.

The historical notes read "Proposed in 1943, the Hawker P.1027 was a Tempest development using the then unbuilt Rolls-Royce 46H Eagle. Changes to the Tempest design included a longer nose cowling foro the powerful 4,020 hp Eagle engine, contra rotating propellers and relocation of the radiators from the nose chin (or later wing leading edges) to mid way on the underside of the fuselage, similar to the Martin Baker MB.5. The P.1027 remained a paper project that, if built, could have seen service into the early post-war period."

I think it was intended that the aircraft would be a long range fighter.

 

Here are some shots of the parts....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A decal sheet is not provided with the conversion, but there is the one supplied in the kit itself of course.

I'll go ahead with building the model and hope I can decide on a scheme and markings by the time I get to apply paint!

 

Any comments during the build would be most welcome: also any thoughts you may have on suitable schemes!

Thanks for looking,

Pat

[Gondor44]

I have two of the conversion sets waiting for me to get around to them. One of mine will be fitted to the KP F.6, no real difference between the versions when using the conversion, and the second will go onto the Airfix kit.

I have previously used the Freightdog Mk.VI conversion set on the Airfix kit and thought that it would be nice to do the same with this kit.

 

Gondor

[2996 Victor]

I'll be following this, if I may? Such an interesting concept, one wonders what it would have flown like had it been built!

 

Looking forward to seeing your next instalment.

 

Cheers,

Mark 

[patmaquette]

14 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

I'll be following this, if I may? Such an interesting concept, one wonders what it would have flown like had it been built!

 

Looking forward to seeing your next instalment.

 

Cheers,

Mark 

Please do, Mark - welcome aboard. I think it would have been a stunning aircraft to see and hear!

The build has started with the cockpit, which is built from the KP parts. I went for an overall black interior for which I used Vallejo grey-black followed by a wash with Citadel Nuln Oil, diluted in equal measure with water. I dampened the surfaces with water first, and then applied the diluted wash. The framework and details were then picked out in silver.

 

 

 

Seat belts were strips cut from painted baking paper.....

 

 

 

The instrument panel fits well, but was difficult to position for gluing. I attached a rectangle of plastic card to the reverse side and this made things a lot easier....

 

 

The control column grip clashed with the underside of the gun sight, so had a piece removed to shorten it.

 

 

 

With the cockpit and tail wheel components attached to one fuselage side, the other side was glued into place. ....

 

 

You can't have too many clamps!

 

Next step is to assemble the wing with the resin nose casting trapped in place.

 

Thanks for looking!

Pat

 

 

 

 

[2996 Victor]

The cockpit looks fantastic, Pat, the detail really pops! Excellent work. The baking paper (like greaseproof?) belts are very effective - I struggle with PE belts, getting them to "sit" convincingly so I might give your technique a go.

 

Cheers,

Mark 

 

BTW, I've just ordered this set - don't tell my better half!!!

[Gondor44]

Never thought of greaseproof paper for belts, I usually use masking tape stuck onto an old bathroom/kitchen tile and painted the colour I want then cut as required.

 

Gondor

[patmaquette]

On 04/01/2023 at 21:05, 2996 Victor said:

The cockpit looks fantastic, Pat, the detail really pops! Excellent work. The baking paper (like greaseproof?) belts are very effective - I struggle with PE belts, getting them to "sit" convincingly so I might give your technique a go.

 

Cheers,

Mark 

 

BTW, I've just ordered this set - don't tell my better half!!!

 

On 05/01/2023 at 15:14, Gondor44 said:

Never thought of greaseproof paper for belts, I usually use masking tape stuck onto an old bathroom/kitchen tile and painted the colour I want then cut as required.

 

Gondor

Thank you both for your comments and questions. I share your view of photoetched seat belts and have used Tamiya tape for belts as well (especially for 1/72 scale), but decided to try out this paper that I've had for some time and it worked really well.

About the paper. The packet mentions (in French!) that the paper is heat resistant and non-stick, I use it on my wet palette for acrylic paints......

 

 

 

....and I've about run out and need to get some more.

From a quick look on the web, many greaseproof papers are silicone coated, but that is not mentioned on this French one and may be an important factor for using it in a wet palette of painted seat belts. Although an excuse to visit France 🍷 is a welcome one, going there just for this budget paper is maybe pushing it. However, this one looks a good prospect as it doesn't mention there being any silicone coating....

 

 

*************************

 

The fuselage halves went together without too much fuss, however I had a large gap at the base of the fin that needed filling....

 

 

The kit has a wheel well surround you attach to the wing upper halves, but there is no positive location for it. However, by sandwiching it between the upper and lower wing parts it can be prodded into position and secured with glue. I painted it in a pale grey-green as seen on the RAF Cosford Museum Tempest.

 

 

 

 

 

The identification lights were picked out as well before the lenses were attached. These were a tight fit into the openings. I lightly pressed them in and then brushed some MEK around the edge. After waiting a moment for it to soften the plastic, I then pressed them in further (using the face of a steel rule to stop them going in too far. A piece of backing paper from a sticky label was put over the face of the ruler to stop soft plastic adhering to it.) The lens was then abraded and polished flush with the wing surface. 

 

 

 

The Freightdog instructions direct you to glue the wings together trapping the engine cowling in place. I took a lot of time to repeatedly trim and check the fit before committing to glue. I used oil paint to indicate high spots,removing material until the oil paint witness went the length of the joint. This was washed off with white spirit when done. When I was confident enough that all was okay, I glued the port upper and lower wings together and left them to set.

 

 

The resin casting could then be slotted into place and work continued with refining the join on the starboard wing and the fit to the fuselage. Quite a lot of material needed to be removed and I found a drum sander in my mini-drill to be the best way to do this (used damp to reduce airborne dust) along with a scalpel for cutting and scraping.

 

 

Large gaps were present along the wing roots....

 

 

These were packed out with plastic strips glued to the wing side of the join. These went in oversized and then trimmed and sanded down to the wing profile once the join was solid. 

 

 

The starboard wing was then glued into place, trapping the resin nose in place, but unglued. Final trimming of the fuselage was then done and then superglue applied to the back end of the nose, plastic glue along the wing roots and then everything assembled together and left to set.

 

 

 

Gaps at the aft end of the wing join were then dealt with. Some plastic strip was glued at the back end of the root and a packing piece in the fuselage underside. These were trimmed and sanded to shape once the glue had set.

 

 

 

 

Quite a lot of work was needed to get the under-nose cowl to fit. The trick with oil paint helped greatly....

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tailplanes were put on and tidying up was done with plastic putty, including numerous air bubbles in edges of the castings.

 

 

You have to squint quite hard to see anything in the cockpit!...

 

 

The fuselage beneath the windscreen was painted dark grey before the windscreen was glued in place using Ultra-bond.

 

The next step was to mask up and apply primer and do some under-painting. Things did not go so smoothly with that, but it came out okay in the end. I'll post about that soon.....

 

Thank you for looking and for your questions and kind comments,

Pat

[AdrianMF]

Great looking conversion!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[patmaquette]

On 07/01/2023 at 03:28, AdrianMF said:

Great looking conversion!

 

Regards,

Adrian

I agree with you there, Adrian. I think it will look quite eye-catching on the display table, so long as I don't muck it up!

 

Although I had not decided on which scheme to finish the model in, I (mistakingly) thought it a safe bet to go ahead with priming it. It was given a coat of grey primer and left for 24 hours. Surfaces facing the light were airbrushed with Vallejo light grey. Although the painted surfaces appeared smooth at first, I did discover some paint spatter & blemishes later on, so gave it a light abrading followed by touching-in where necessary.

 

 

I then decided that I should finish the model as a prototype. The old Ducimus "Camouflage & Markings" has photos of various Typhoon and Tempest prototypes. I expected them to be in temperate land scheme with MSG undersurfaces, but all had yellow under surfaces. My choice of darkish grey primer was not at all helpful. 

The model was masked up and given a couple of coats of Vallejo Salmon Pink and left to dry thoroughly before applying yellow over the top.....

 

 

 

 

Top coat was Humbrol 188 Chrome Yellow enamel as this was a closer match to the yellow of my decals than Trainer Yellow.

 

 

 

The next step is to mask off the yellow and apply the Ocean Grey & Dark Green. 

 

Many thanks for looking!

Pat

[2996 Victor]

That looks FAB! Are you going for green/earth or green/grey topsides. The yellow is great and the idea of finishing as a prototype is inspired.

 

Looking forward to seeing your next instalment!

 

Cheers,

Mark 

PS my conversion set has arrived

 

[AdrianMF]

I imagine they would have had to put a great big lump of lead in the tail to balance out the engine!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[patmaquette]

6 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

I imagine they would have had to put a great big lump of lead in the tail to balance out the engine!

 

Regards,

Adrian

Yes. I read in some background reading that the aircraft was longer than the MkV, but the lengthening was in the engine nacelle rather than the fuselage.  I also saw other design ideas for Tempests that did have enlarged aft ends, presumably to balance things up as you say.

The Napier Sabre engine it replaced was a heavy lump and perhaps putting the radiator further aft was all that was needed? The radiator (or rather the inlet for it) does look smaller than I would expect. Any wider then it would clash with the flaps, but I guess this could have been overcome.

 

Pat

[Johnson]

On 1/11/2023 at 8:59 PM, patmaquette said:

it will look quite eye-catching on the display table, so long as I don't muck it up!

I don't see that happening Pat, looks spectacular!

 

I like the yellow. Though I find that Humbrol 188 is now discontinued, which is a pity. And you've done me a great favour! The yellow on my Vickers deck tractor (current build) had a decidedly dull look, quite possibly because I'd used Humbrol 154 over grey primer. I'm now trying your pink primer technique.

 

And, lastly;

 

On 1/6/2023 at 8:56 PM, patmaquette said:

The trick with oil paint helped greatly....

 

Not sure I understand what that's about. How does it help?

 

Cheers,

[patmaquette]

On 11/01/2023 at 21:11, 2996 Victor said:

my conversion set has arrived

I hope you enjoy building it, Mark. 🤞 Did you buy it included with the K-P Tempest, or on its own?

 

1 hour ago, Johnson said:

Not sure I understand what that's about. How does it help?

Thank you for your comments, Charlie. The oil paint is used like "engineer's blue" for getting close fitting parts. I apply a thin smear of oil paint to one side of the joint and then carefully bring the second part into position. You get a witness mark of oil paint on the high points of the second part where it touches the first. You trim back the high points and then repeat the fitting process until you get close contact between the parts (oil paint witness along the whole of the join). The oil paint stays wet throughout the time and is easy enough to re-apply where it gets rubbed away, and also to remove with white spirit once you are done.

In the case of the Tempest, I put oil paint on the underside of the nose and brought the chin radiator into position. I then scraped away the high spots until I achieved a good fit.

 

Pat

[2996 Victor]

15 minutes ago, patmaquette said:

I hope you enjoy building it, Mark. 🤞 Did you buy it included with the K-P Tempest, or on its own?

I'm looking forward to it! I had to be the set by itself as Freightdog were out of the kits. I've got a few kits in the post at the moment, so when they're safely stashed away I'll order the KP Tempest!

 

All the best,

Mark

[Gondor44]

1 minute ago, 2996 Victor said:

I'm looking forward to it! I had to be the set by itself as Freightdog were out of the kits. I've got a few kits in the post at the moment, so when they're safely stashed away I'll order the KP Tempest!

 

All the best,

Mark

 

It will not matter which version of the KP Tempest you get as the fuselage and wing parts are the same in all of them, just with the F.2/Mk.II and F.6/Mk.VI kits you get parts for the Mk.II, Mk.V and Mk.VI included.

 

Gondor

[2996 Victor]

1 hour ago, Gondor44 said:

 

It will not matter which version of the KP Tempest you get as the fuselage and wing parts are the same in all of them, just with the F.2/Mk.II and F.6/Mk.VI kits you get parts for the Mk.II, Mk.V and Mk.VI included.

 

Gondor

Cheapest will be best, then  

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Gondor44]

15 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

Cheapest will be best, then  

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

That all depends on what you want to do with any parts left over. If you enjoy makeing up aircraft then the Centaurus engine from the Mk.II will be usfull, the under wing rockets and bombs that come as part of the Mk.II/Mk.VI kits could also be usfull depending on what you want to do with your P.1027. As there is also an "Export" boxing of the F.2 you get the option of either an Indian or Pakastani aircraft as well.

 

Gondor

[patmaquette]

Thanks for your comments, everyone. 

 

The yellow areas were masked off and some areas of yellow overspray were removed from the grey with a cotton bud wetted with white spirit. Some further touching-in was done and I reinforced some areas of shade (beneath tail, wing root, lower edge of cowling and fuselage) by brush painting a mix of Vallejo London Grey & Black-Grey.......

 

 

 

 

This was then given a light airbrush of AK 11842 Ocean Grey thinned with Vallejo Airbrush Thinner with a drop of Vallejo Flow Improver added.

 

 

 

 

I waited a day for this to dry and then marked out the green areas with a dark green watercolour pencil....

 

 

 

I brush painted a couple of coats of Vallejo 348 Splinter Green + 70.524 Thinner Medium, leaving a day between coats. This provided the highlight tone for the dark green. I used Thinner Medium as it made it less likely for the paint to bead-up than if water (even with flow improver) is used.

 

 

The watercolour pencil guidelines worked well, but could still be made out at the end. Next time I'll try "feathering" it (on the side of the green area only) using a moist paint brush so it is not so stark.

 

AK RAF Dark Green + Vallejo Thinner Medium was lightly brush painted and blended into the base layer to create shadows and variations to add interest. The same was done to the Ocean Grey using AK Ocean Grey + Vallejo London Grey + Vallejo Thinner Medium.

 

 

 

I'm happy enough with the result so far. I think the area beneath the cockpit hood needs to be painted black, but will check. Once that is done, I'll put on a gloss coat for the next stage.

 

Thanks once more for looking. 

 

Pat

[patmaquette]

The model has had a couple of coats of Johnson's Klear applied by brush. I've not had great results with gloss coating in the past. This time I added a little Winsor & Newton Flow Improver to the Klear to see if it would make it more fluid and retard the drying time a bit. I think it did so, but I did not do a side-by-side comparison so can't be more certain than that. The second coat was applied a day after the first. 

 

 

 

 

The green became quite bright after the gloss was put on. I hope the matt coat (I'll use Xtracolour matt which has a brown tint to it) will knock it back a bit.

 

The decals have been applied. I'm waiting for them to dry as I write this, so let me get my excuses in before I post the photos later on! I had some problems with the "prototype (P)" decals which came from an ancient sheet. Some of the backing paper came off with the decals and I probably lost some of the adhesive as I tried to tease away the paper fibres. Hopefully the Microset will be up to the job until I get another coat of Klear over the top to hold it firmly in place. I don't know what a likely serial number would be, so I used P1027 to remind me should I forget Hawker's project number. Oh, and the serial decals have a bit of silvering, so I'll have to work on that tomorrow.

 

The details are about ready to go on, apart from the propellers and canopy. I suspect Freightdog got into a muddle with the prop blades: those marked "F"on the pouring block go on the rear spinner of the contra-rotating prop, whilst those marked "R" go on the front. (This is mentioned in the instructions). The blades are keyed to fit their particular spinner. The suspected muddle may explain why the blades on the front lean forward a bit.....

 

 

 

I took a few measurements and then 3d printed an assembly jig to hold the blades level for gluing. This worked well (or at least I think it has - I have left it in place in the jig until the glue has set).

 

 

If you would like a jig - or the print file for it - then pop me a PM.

 

Thanks for looking!

Pat

 

[Johnson]

Looks very good Pat, hope the decals behave.

 

3 minutes ago, patmaquette said:

The suspected muddle may explain why the blades on the front lean forward a bit.....

If you're 'adjusting' the props, and they're resin (sorry, I haven't looked back through your build) a dip in hot (but not boiling) water will soften them and when cool, set them in the right position. You may already know this!

 

Cheers,

[patmaquette]

On 25/01/2023 at 20:22, Johnson said:

Looks very good Pat, hope the decals behave.

 

If you're 'adjusting' the props, and they're resin (sorry, I haven't looked back through your build) a dip in hot (but not boiling) water will soften them and when cool, set them in the right position. You may already know this!

 

Cheers,

Thank you, Charlie. You are absolutely right, but the chances are I'd probably end up with banana shaped blades if I tried it! As it was, the propellers came out fine - the jig helped a lot.

 

 

The decals did not respond to Microsol very much and I had quite a bit of silvering. I sliced through them over air pockets and panel lines before giving them another liberal coat of Microsol. This helped a lot, but I'll have to touch-in decal damage here and there.

 

 

 

I've now given the model coat of.Xtracolor matt varnish (airbrushed with self-levelling thinner) and I'll post a photo or two of it once it has dried well enough for handling.

 

Thank you for reading and your interest 

Pat

 

 

[mike romeo]

Interesting subject and you are doing it justice!

 

Rgds

 

Martin

[Dunny]

Pat,

 

You are making a lovely job of this unusual type - I look forward to seeing more!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[patmaquette]

Hi everyone and thank you for your kind comments and likes.

The model is finished at last. I had a lot of niggles on this final stretch which delayed things, but at least it is done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you everyone for your interest and input during this build and, of course, to Freightdog & K-P for the enjoyment I had constructing their kit & conversion.

 

Cheers,

Pat