Hawker Typhoon Ib

[Nobby]

Hello again fellow modellers!

After the Stringbag build I though I'd follow up with this. The reboxing of the old Frog Hawker Typhoon. A very old world kit from years ago! Why would I use this to start as a base for a car door tiffy when I could use the Academy kit? Well, I've got the Academy kit but that would need just as much work doing to it ad the older frog kit and besides, I feel that that the Frog kit captures the brutish feel better of the Typhoon. The Academy kit is well engineerd but I just feel that there is something missing.

So I'll start with the box art, which I think is great!

The plan is to use the kit as raw materials. I'm not looking at it like you would a Tamigawa offering. Like I said I think the shapes are better than the Academy kit.

First job is to refine the trailing edges of the wings and tailplane with a bit of scraping on th inert edges and some sanding and scraping of th outer surfaces. I've also given the wing tips the same treatment. Panels lines have been sanded of as well to be redone by engraving. I feel that if you don't do anything else to a model, you should always try to refine the trailing edges. Just doing this makes a model look miles better!

Some attention to the wing fillets as well.

So there I am at the start of taking an old kit and trying to improve it! Ive got lots of little things I want to do and I'm basically using it as a dummy run for a bigger 32nd Revell tiffy I've just aquired from a good bloke on Facebook. I figure the stuff I learn from this will come in handy, even though its a different scale.

I'm planning to give it some cockpit pit detail so I can pose the door and canopy open, so a new canopy will be either molded or I'll get a vacform one for it. I may open up the cannon bays, though I'll need some decent reffs for that.

Thanks for looking!

Nobby

[Harry Lime]

Looking forward to this one, not least the money saving tips!!! I'm sure it'll be an absolute corker like the Stringbag.

Mark.

[Nobby]

Looking forward to this one, not least the money saving tips!!! I'm sure it'll be an absolute corker like the Stringbag.

Mark.

Thanks Mark!

No pressure there then!

[Nobby]

Here's tonights update!

Got a lot of chopping and scraping to do on this model!

Made a start with the cockpit to prepare for the internal structure. As the door is going to be open I thinned the edges down to more scale like thickness.

Next job that needs doing is the wheel bays. As provided they are too shallow, and the detail in them is wrong. Out with the knife and chop them out! Now all I have to do is fill them gaping voids!

That's all for now so be seeing you!

Nobby

[shark 64]

hi

OMG I remember this kit when I was kid....Good start.

OLiver

[VG 33]

Very nice job with a lot of sand paper. It's good sometimes to dig out old kits.

Patrick

[keefr22]

Another one I'll be watching!

I agree on the box art, it's very nice!

Keef

[Col.]

Compulsive viewing again Nobby

[Fozzy]

Ok Nobby looking forward to this one as much as I did with the String bag!...good start mate!

[Nobby]

hi

OMG I remember this kit when I was kid....Good start.

OLiver

Hi mate!

Yep...its an oldie alright Oliver!

Very nice job with a lot of sand paper. It's good sometimes to dig out old kits.

Patrick

You can say that again! I knew what I wad letting myself in for though!

Another one I'll be watching!

I agree on the box art, it's very nice!

Keef

Yes, I'm thinking I may scan it and edit the text out and print and frame it!

Compulsive viewing again Nobby

Thanks Col!

Ok Nobby looking forward to this one as much as I did with the String bag!...good start mate!

All I hope now is that I can equal the Swordfish. There are going to be some tricky bits I think but it should all be solved! I hope!

Nobby

[perdu]

Great beginnings Nobby.

No doubt that this will be as fine a model as the Stringbag, the great thing with the Typhoon is that there are shiploads of photographs around to help.

Have fun, I'm going to enjoy this too.

[Nobby]

Great beginnings Nobby.

No doubt that this will be as fine a model as the Stringbag, the great thing with the Typhoon is that there are shiploads of photographs around to help.

Have fun, I'm going to enjoy this too.

Thanks mate! Well last night I did down load a shed load of pics from the Flight magazine site, and all in lovely hi res! They have tons of pics and mostly period pics so they are very useful! Link here...

www.flightglobal.com/imagearchive/Gallery.aspx?GalleryName=Photo%20Archive/1939-1945&pagenumber=24

So for all of you who are expecting a cockpit pic, well, I'm sorry but I ain't got that far yet as most of the work so far as been tidying stuff up and cutting and hacking! Takes longer than it looks especially as half of the plastic in the kit has the consitency of mouldy Russian cheese! The dark grey plastic if your wondering! It seems crumbly and the edges get furry when you cut it a certain way. It's a bit like hard polyprop! It glues ok though.

When I got it home from the model shop and opened the box I was suprised to find four different colors of plastic but didn't expect different consistencys as well! I still preferre it to the Academy Tiffy though!

So here's what I've done so far.

I wasn't happy with the way the exhaust manifolds were just moulded on to the side, same ad the Academy kit as well so I went about improving the look of them by scribing down the sides to give the impression that they protrude through the cowling panels.In my veiw its little things like this that add to the look of the thing. I'll be drilling the stubs out as well for a bit extra.

Another thing I want to try is getting the landing lights looking decent. So I cut the leading edges ready for so lights. This was where the cheesy plastic started to worry me as I needed to carve the inside out to a more scale like thickness.

So there we go! Sorry its not much but hopefully tomorrow I'll either be starting on the wheel bays or the cockpit.

Thanks for looking in!

Nobby

[Moofles]

here we go again, will follow this one very closely.

[Nobby]

here we go again, will follow this one very closely.

Sorry there does not seem too much to go at the moment but I should have something mote interesting tonight!

[Harry Lime]

I should have something mote interesting tonight!

And I'm looking forward to it! This is 'old skool' modelmaking like I read about in my Dad's old Scale Aircraft Modelling, just without the balsa wood conversions. Or are you gonna give us one of them next....

Mark.

[perdu]

Nice work Nobby, wish I'd put in more definition round the exhausts like you have

I see you have cut out the wheel well areas properly too

(I'm happy to say I did too ) and the huge landing lights, they were a massively obvious thing with the Typhoon

Going to be another very entertaining show mate thanks

[harry, I think you might be remembering Airfix Magazines of the sixties and early seventies, Alan Hall was a huge fan of balsa and doped talcum powder. Oddly enough they looked quite good when finished]

Edited August 30, 2011 by perdu

[Nobby]

And I'm looking forward to it! This is 'old skool' modelmaking like I read about in my Dad's old Scale Aircraft Modelling, just without the balsa wood conversions. Or are you gonna give us one of them next....

Mark.

Thanks Mark.

I like the old school modelling ad well When I was a kid in the 70's I used to want to be able to build models like I saw in the mags, but I never felt I had the skills or the resources to do it. I must have been modeling on and off for about 40 years now possibly a bit longer. I do remember well the conversions using balsa, dope and talc. As I also do aeromodeling I'm quit familiar with the dope and talc method and as I've got a shed load of balsa the possibility of making something from it are pretty high! Who knows, after seeing seeing Fozzys scratch builds I may be tempted!

Nice work Nobby, wish I'd put in more definition round the exhausts like you have

I see you have cut out the wheel well areas properly too

(I'm happy to say I did too ) and the huge landing lights, they were a massively obvious thing with the Typhoon

Going to be another very entertaining show mate thanks

[harry, I think you might be remembering Airfix Magazines of the sixties and early seventies, Alan Hall was a huge fan of balsa and doped talcum powder. Oddly enough they looked quite good when finished]

Thanks mate.

I just thought it may improve the look a little but I'm glad I did it as it looks convincing to my eyes!

Here we are then! I was going to post this tomorrow but I'll do it now as I can't sleep! I said I'd post last night but a mate came round just as I was starting to make the wheel bays! Job held up! I have managed to start them though and I made the radiator and plugged the hole inside the rad air outlet.

Hole filled with plazi card. I also thinned the edges of the outlet.

More tomorrow!

Thanks for looking.

Nobby

[warhawk]

In my veiw its little things like this that add to the look of the thing.

Add to the look? More like add a whole new layer of realism!

Sometimes it can be a hassle to redo these minor things, but sure is worth it!

BTW, nice job on the exhaust.

Aleksandar

[Moofles]

Coming along great bud, really looking the part.

[robw_uk]

pulled up my seat and sat down watching.... looking good - I am beginning to enjoy old kits - just cos i dont feel as bad hacking them apart ;-)

[woody37]

pulled up my seat and sat down watching.... looking good - I am beginning to enjoy old kits - just cos i dont feel as bad hacking them apart ;-)

Lol, me too, there's something theraputic about it !

[Nobby]

Got the wheel bays just about finished but still got some finer detail to add.

Just a dry fit to see how they look.

More to come!

[keefr22]

Just a dry fit to see how they look.

They look good...!!

K

[Nobby]

Lol, me too, there's something theraputic about it !

Funny you two should say that as I'm really enjoying this! Some of the older stuff gets passed by because it may not have engraved panel lines or you may have work a little harder to get a result but as Rob says you don't feel as bad hacking the older kits about. I think as well its all good practice for a total scratch build and for when you do start hacking the newer kits. Notice I say "newer" as opposed to "better" as I don't think that all the newer stuff is always better. This builds a good example of that. I much preferre this kit to the newer Academy offering. In fact I don't think I'll be doing that one as it needs more doing to it than this kit does.

Nobby

[Nobby]

They look good...!!

K

Thanks mate.

Rather pleased with how they are going. Thought I'd better start with these first as I need to see how far they go in the fuz and it'll effect the way the cockpit fits. Hopefully that part of the build will be getting started tonight!