Airfix How to Build… - Hawker Typhoon Mk.lb

7/23/2019 Airfix How to Build… - Hawker Typhoon Mk.lb

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HOW TOBUILD... AIRFIX 1:24

HAWKERTYPHOON Mk.Ib

From the publishers of Tamiya Model Magazine International,

Model Military International, Model Airplane International

and Military Illustrated Modeller

Brett Green

INCLUDESCOMPREHENSIVE BUILDS PLUS:■ Typhoon Walk Around

■ Wartime Reference Photos

■ Step by Step – tips and techniquesfor building the ultimate Typhoon

■ Hawker Typhoon in 1:72, 1:48 & 1:32■ Aftermarket decal and accessory summary

FEATURING THE WORK OFBrett Green, Marcus Nichollsand Chris Wauchop



2 How to Build... - Airfix 1:24 Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib

FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In my very early teens, I asked for the Airfix 1:24 scale

Spitfire Mk.I for Christmas.

This was without a question the wonder kit of its

day. It was released in 1970, followed by a 1:24 scale

Messerschmitt Bf 109 E, a Ju 87 B Stuka and a HawkerHurricane. A 1:24 scale Hawker Harrier joined this large-

scale lineup too.

These kits boasted accurate outlines and admirably

restrained recessed surface detail. Instructions were

comprehensive and the boxes were adorned with

evocative artwork by the legendary Roy Cross. And of

course, they were big!

Yet in other ways, these kits were a product of their age.

They were burdened with workable features, including

retractable undercarriage and removable cowlings, which

impinged somewhat on detail accuracy and scale. Detail

was pretty basic too, especially in the Spitfire’s engine

bay and wheel wells.Even so, these kits loom large in the memories of those

who built them in the 1970s or any of the subsequent

decades in which they have been regularly re-released.

During 2009, Airfix breathed new life into their 1:24

scale series with a very nice Mosquito – long rumoured

and well received. This was a major improvement over

the original releases, but still looked like a scaled-up

model in some areas.

The brand new 1:24 scale Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib stands

apart from all those that have gone before it. This model

radiates quality. Surface texture is positively daring with

its rippled oilcan effect and the combination of raised

and recessed rivets. Detail is dense, just as it was on theoriginal aircraft. In fact, this kit conveys the rugged core

of this aircraft so completely that there is very little to add.

If the modeller wishes to display the engine or the wing

cannon bays, Airfix offers a number of options that do not

compromise scale or detail. Even more remarkable is that all

of this detail is delivered in injection-moulded plastic alone.

Airfix has undoubtedly delivered a true scale classic for

our time.

The main purpose of this book is to deliver a step-by-

step illustrated guide to building the big Airfix Typhoon,

clarifying construction and suggesting sequences for

sub-assemblies and painting.

Any modelling book is an ensemble effort and this

title is no exception. I would like to extend my sincere

appreciation to Marcus Nicholls and Chris Wauchop,

whose wonderful work appears on these pages. Thanks

to both of you for your efforts.

Thanks also to Alex Hall, who has once again

transformed raw text and images into the attractive

illustrated journey you see before you.

We are very grateful to Airfix for providing the kits built

in this book.

I would also like to thank David Hannant from

Hannants, airscale, R.B Productions and Testor for the

aftermarket parts used on our big Typhoons.

The photos of the Typhoon at Hendon in the Close-Up

section were kindly provided by Bryan Ribbans; while Dan

Jackett sourced the wartime reference photos.

Thanks to all!

Brett Green, June 2014

How to build... AIRFIX 1:24 HAWKER TYPHOON Mk.Ib

Chris Wauchop was born in Deniliquin in regional Australia in1954. Chris’s career began in the photo studio of a major Sydneyadvertising agency. From here, Chris moved on to professionalmodel making at Lego. After nearly five years, he decided to gosolo, opening a hobby shop called “Absolute Hobbies” in suburbanSydney. This became a Mecca for local modellers. The end of the property lease after seven years prompted another careerchange, this time painting props and vehicles for the science fictionmovie, Red Planet. Chris has built many models for commercialadvertising, displays at trade shows, articles for magazinesand websites including Tamiya Model Magazine, Model MilitaryInternational, Military Illustrated Modeller, HyperScale and Missing-

Lynx, and has been a contributor to many modelling books. Chrisnow lives in semi-retirement on Sydney’s northern beaches withhis wife Deirdhre.

nChris Wauchop

Brett Green was born in Sydney, Australia in 1960. Brett displayed

a passion for aviation and aircraft modelling from an early age.This developed into a particular interest in camouflage andmarkings. Brett established the popular scale modelling websiteHyperScale (www.hyperscale.com) in 1998. He is also Editor of the ADH Publishing magazines Model Military International and theAircraft Edition of Military Illustrated Modeller; the armour modellingwebsite Missing-Lynx (www.missing-lynx.com), and author ofmore than 15 books. Brett concluded his 25-year career in theAustralian telecommunications industry in 2003, when he decided to pursue his interests in online publishing and writing as a full-timeoccupation. He still lives in Sydney today with his wife and twochildren, Charlotte and Sebastian.

nBrett Green

Marcus was born in Hertfordshire, England in 1966 and still livesin this area with his wife Emma and two sons, Joseph and William.Marcus has been making models since about the age of eight, andhas worked on Tamiya Model Magazine since 1991. He has beenits Editor for about the last fourteen years, and is also Editor of theMilitary Edition of Military Illustrated Modeller magazine. Marcus isalso Group Editor of ADH Publishing’s scale modelling magazineswhich include Model Airplane International and Model MilitaryInternational.He is a qualified photographer and places special emphasis onphotographic quality in Tamiya Model Magazine. Marcus is anenthusiastic modeller of all subjects and feels equally at homebuilding armour, science-fiction, cars and bikes as well as aircraft.

nMarcus Nicholls



How to Build... Tamiya’s 1:32 F4U-1 Corsair 3

CONTENTS

Page 2 Foreword

Page 4 Background

Page 6 Chapter 1

Hawker Typhoon Close Up

Page 12 Chapter 2

Typhoon in Other Scales

Page 18 Chapter 3

Typhoon In The Box

Page 26 Chapter 4

Typhoon Step by Step

Page

50 Chapter 5

Cockpit and Engine Detail by Marcus Nicholls

Page 62 Chapter 6

Painting and Finishing by Chris Wauchop

Page 74 Appendix 1

After-Market Accessories and Decals

Page 74 Appendix 2

Selected Hawker Typhoon References

Copyright © 2014 ADH Publishing Ltd.All rights reserved. Reproduction in part orwhole of any text or photographs withoutwritten permission from the publisher is strictlyprohibited. While due care has been taken toensure the contents of this book are accurate,

the publisher cannot accept liability for errors.

First Published in the United Kingdom by:ADH Publishing Ltd., Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane,Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX Telephone: 44 (0) 1525 222573Fax: 44 (0) 1525 222574

Email: [email protected]: www.adhpublishing.com

Designed by Alex Hall



4 Background

BACKGROUND

Hawker Aircraft was formed

in 1920 and delivered a

number of classic fighter

and bomber designs for

the RAF in the inter-war period.

These included the Nimrod, the

Fury, Audax and Demon – allbiplanes with fixed-pitch wooden

propellers and non-retractable

undercarriage.

In 1935, Hawker Aircraft designed

the first low-wing monoplane fighter

to see service with the RAF – the

Hawker Hurricane. Although the

Hurricane was undoubtedly a great

leap forward compared to Hawker’s

previous biplane fighters, it retained

many of that earlier generations’

characteristics including box girder

fuselage structure and fabric-covered formers and stringers. The

earliest Hurricanes were even still

fitted with two-bladed fixed pitch

propellers and fabric covered wings.

Hawker were considering a

more modern replacement for the

Hurricane as early as 1937. Planned

as a medium-altitude interceptor,

the Hawker Typhoon was powered

by the 24 cylinder H-block Napier-

Sabre engine and featured a thick

inverted gull wing. The Typhoon was

expected to achieve a top speed of460 mph, but the drag induced by

its thick wing limited this to just over

400 mph. Climb rate and general

performance above 20,000 feet

failed to meet expectations too.

As if these shortcomings were

not bad enough, the big Napier-

Sabre engine was prone to catch

fire as it started; and a number

of early Typhoons suffered from

catastrophic airframe failure when

the entire tail unit separated from

the fuselage in flight. The former

problem was addressed by having

ground crew with a fire extinguisher

MR HAWKER’SGROUND POUNDER

Serial No. R8384,

HF-L, a car doorTyphoon Mk.IB.

Rearming theHispano cannon ofa car door Typhoon.Note the colours

of the shells, andthe half-shroudedHispano cannonbarrels.

Hawker Typhoon EK288 photographed in April 1943. The black and white underwing stripes were addedas an identification feature, as a number of Typhoons had been shot down by friendly Flak and fighters,having been mistaken for Focke-Wulf Fw 190s.

A nice in-flight shot of six Typhoons. The narrow chordwise stripes on the upper wings were anotheridentification measure.



How to Build... Airfix 1:24 Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

Thanks to Dan Jackett for permission

to use these historical photographs.

standing by when the Typhoon

was running up; and the tail was

reinforced with a series of fish-scale

plates on the rear fuselage.

These problems were not

ironed out until 1942, at which

time the Typhoon was switchedfrom interceptor to ground attack

duties. It was in this role that the

Typhoon excelled.

The good low altitude

performance and heavy load

capacity of the Typhoon meant that

it could carry two 1,000 lb bombs

to targets on the continent. From

September 1943, the Typhoon

would be equipped with eight 60 lb

RP-3 rockets, which were used to

devastating effect against ground

targets until the end of the war.The Hawker Typhoon was

constantly improved over its

period of wartime service. The

initial “car door” canopy offered

only limited rearward vision so this

was eventually replaced with a

clear-vision sliding bubble canopy.

The original three-bladed propeller

was upgraded to a four-bladed

unit to make the most of the

powerful Napier-Sabre engine. Later

Typhoons were also retrofitted with

the larger horizontal tailplanes ofthe Hawker Tempest.

By pilot accounts, the Typhoon

was a solid gun platform, fast at low

altitudes and impressively powerful,

although controls were heavy at

high speed.

Although it proved unsuitable

as a pure fighter, the Typhoon

lives on in legend thanks to its

remarkable ground attack record

against Axis airfields, shipping,

vehicles and trains.

By pilot accounts, the Typhoonwas a solid gun platform, fast at

low altitudes and impressivelypowerful, although controls wereheavy at high speed...

60 lb rockets being loaded onto presentationaircraft “China British”.

Excellent detailview of the cardoor canopy ofTyphoon Mk.IB

EK288 “Fiji VI.”

A factory freshHawker TyphoonMk.IB bubbletop.

The misalignedcamouflage on the

nose panels is ofinterest.

Pilots clowningaround with a

500 lb bomb. TheTyphoon could

carry one of theseunder each wing.

A nice profile viewof “Pulveriser IV”.

This aircraftfeatures the

larger Tempesttail planes, and itsSky fuselage bandhas been roughly

overpainted.

A Hawker TyphoonMk.IB with four

bladed propellerand equipped withrockets. Note thatthe wing leading

edge landing lighthas been deleted on

this example.

Detail view of thetop of the engine

of US-D, SerialNo. R8220.



6 Chapter 1 - Hawker Typhoon Close Up

CHAPTER 1 HAWKER TYPHOON CLOSE UP

Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB

MN235 is the only surviv-

ing complete example of

the type.

The aircraft was completed

under contract ACFT/943/C.23(a)

by Gloster Aircraft at Hucclecoteas part of the largest order for

Typhoons - 800 aircraft - and first

flew on 8 February 1944. After

delivery to 51 MU at Lichfield on 16

February, MN235 was selected for

evaluation and comparison testing

in the United States, and taken to

51 MU, Sealand, which was the

specialist packing unit on March 12

to be prepared for shipping. The

aircraft embarked aboard the SS

American Manufacturer on March

24, arriving in New York on April 16,and reached Wright Field in Ohio

on May 6.

Under the terms of an order

issued by USAAF HQ in April 1944,

Material Command at Wright Field

were instructed to give the Typhoon

'complete flight test and extensive

comparative tests with our standard

fighters'. In addition, it's long range

capabilities and fighter bomber

characteristics were to be studied.

There is no evidence that the

allocated serial of EF-401 was everapplied to MN235.

According to further correspond-

ence, the tests were not merely

comparative, but were aimed at

extending the Typhoon's range and

fighter-bomber potential. However

by mid July the futility of the tests

had become apparent, as Typhoons

were already carrying 1,000lb of

bombs or rockets, as well as long

range tanks, and had little prospect

of carrying more internal fuel. As the

Typhoon was also being replaced

in service by the Tempest, the trials

were cancelled and MN235 was

placed in storage after a mere 9

hours flying time.

As a result of the American 'save

one of everything policy", MN235

found its way to prolonged storage

at the Smithsonian Institution's

National Air and Space Museum

until 1967, when an exchange was

arranged to mark the forthcoming

50th anniversary of the RAF, with

MN235 crossing the Atlantic in

exchange for a Hawker Hurricane

Mk II in January 1968.

The Typhoon was taken to 71

MU at Birchester for survey, before

HAWKER TYPHOONCLOSE UP

Bryan Ribbans presents a seriesof detailed walk around photos of

the world’s only complete survivingHawker Typhoon, serial MN235, taken

at the RAF Museum Hendon.

This is the last intactHawker Typhoonleft in the world. Itwas photographedby Bryan Ribbansat the RAF MuseumHendon during 2002.




Starboard sideof the nose.

The upside-down“T” shaped pitottube may be seen

under the wing.

Overlappingfuselage panels

and the “oilcanning” effect

may be seen here.

The rectangularplates, often called“fish plates”, werereinforcements for

the tail section.

The nose of theTyphoon.

Note the quitedistinct forwardand aft sections

of the cannonfairings.

Several exhaustconfigurations

were fitted to theTyphoon. Thisis one of the

shrouded types.

Note the roughalignment and

poor fit of someof the panels and

exhaust shrouds.





being transported to 27 MU at

Shawbury to be refurbished to

display standard, with low standard

replacements being made for the

spinner, upper engine cowlings,

radiator, oil cooler, port aileron and

parts of the undercarriage.

Although officially handed to

the RAF Museum on November

19 1969, it remained at Shawbury

until transferred to the Museum

at Hendon in 1972. Before going

on display, MN235 received a

new paint scheme to reproduce

the camouflage originally worn by

Typhoons.*

MN235 was sent to the RAF

Museum Cosford in November

2013 for preparation prior to ship-

ping to the Canada Aviation and

Space Museum, where it went on

display to commemorate the 70th

Anniversary of the D-Day landings.

* Historical summary courtesy of Wikia

http://warbirds.wikia.com/wiki/Hawker_

Typhoon_1B_MN235#

The big radiatorintake. Sometimes,moveable coverscalled “cuckoodoors” were fittedinside.

The fine honeycombof the radiator facemay be appreciatedin this photo.

A head on view of

the spinner andradiator intake.

Interior view ofthe radiator flap.

The back of theradiator may beglimpsed from thisunique angle.

The radiator flapis open.

A side on view ofthe radiator flap.




The anti-shimmytail wheel. Therear starboardnavigation lightmay be seen atthe rear root of thehorizontal stabilizer

too.

Not the greatestshot due to low lightand shadow, buthere we can see thewide groove aroundthe solid tyre’scircumference.

One of the mainwheels. Note thesmooth tread.

The outer viewof the portundercarriage.

The pilot’sretractable step.

A 3” rocket with60 lb head. Eightof these couldbe carried by theTyphoon.





Port wheel well- looking forwardand inward.

Port wheel well- looking forwardand outward.

Starboard wheelwell - lookingforward andinward.

Starboard wheelwell - lookingforward andoutward.

Hawker Typhooninstrument panel(this photo byAndy Mortimer).




This cockpit sectionis preserved at

Imperial WarMuseum Duxford.

Looking down intothe pilot’s foot

well and port side

console.

A nice view ofthe footrests,control column,

rudder pedals andforward starboard

side console.Note that manyof the features

are painted withaluminium lacquer

in this cockpit.

Port side consoleand sidewall.

The gun sightand leather

lined crash pad.

Looking down tothe right of the

pilot.

The rear of thestarboard side

console.

Quilted backrestand shoulder

harness straps.



12 Chapter 2 - Hawker Typhoon in Other Scales

CHAPTER 2 HAWKER TYPHOON IN OTHER SCALES

HAWKER TYPHOON IN OTHER SCALES

HAWKER TYPHOON IN 1:72 SCALEMark Davies examines the Airfix 1:72

scale Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB.

Although there is not a very

wide range of models

available, the quality of

Hawker Typhoon models

in 1:72 scale is good. The two main

choices are from Brengun and Airfix.

The pick of these 1:72 Typhoon

kits is the recent Airfix release.

AIRFIX KIT NO. A02041 – 1:72

SCALE HAWKER TYPHOON MK.IB

Airfix released their all-new 1:72

Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB during 2013.

The kit is moulded with reason-

ably fine recessed panel lines, and

some acceptable raised detail on

the wings. Unfortunately, the panel

lines are almost the same width

as the hinge lines for the control

surfaces, the gap being about right

for the latter. The panel lines on the

wings and cowl seem finer than

those on the rear fuselage. The finer

lines approach the standard set by

some better brands. Some of the

sprue gates are extremely chunky

and limited-run in nature, leaving

some large lumps to be cleaned

up from parts like the wing leading

edges. There are some quite fine

parts; although again, these are not

quite up with the best.

The clear canopy parts are thin

with good clarity, although the

windscreen is not as polished as

the sliding hood.

This kit’s cockpit detail betters all

previous long-run injection moulded

kits, but is not as good as the

Brengun or Pavla short-run kits. The

cockpit features tubular framework

and other detail moulded integrally

with the fuselage halves. It has an

open floor with heel-boards in true

Hawker-fashion.

Rather unusual is the way the

floor is moulded with the wheel

wells and part of the radiator duct-

ing to form a single assembly. This

tooling approach gives the best

Fishtail plates aremoulded to thefuselage.

The undercarriagebay is mouldedintegrally with theducting and thecockpit floor.

Detail is evenprovided on theinsides of theundercarriagedoors – a far cryfrom old 1:72 scaleAirfix kits.




rendition of the upper radiator duct-

ing I have seen in this scale.

The seat is quite nicely done with

quilted leather back-padding and

separate armour, although the seat

pan looks a little short; perhaps due

to the thickness of the plastic edge.There is no seat harness, but this is

can be added easily enough.

The instrument panel is smooth

and uses a crude decal for instru-

ments; where all of the dial outlines

on the panel are white on black.

Rudder pedals, a control column

and gun-sight complete this sub-

assembly. Two tubes that are not

included braced the mount, but

these can easily be scratch-built

from rod or stretched sprue. There

is no clear gun-sight reflector, whichis correct, as Typhoons with bubble

canopies projected the reticule

image onto the windscreen

Cockpit detail colours are given,

but I am not convinced that a

totally grey-green cockpit interior

as advised is correct. I understand

that Gloster, which built most

Typhoons, finished their cockpits in

matt black above waist level, with

aluminium tubular framing, seat

and lower panels. The preserved

cockpit in the Imperial War Museumand illustrations in the Pilot’s Notes

support this. Hawker-built airframes

may have had a grey-green finish

where Gloster used black, but I

cannot be sure.

The radiator and oil-cooler matrix

comes as one part, with a separate

carburettor. The matrix is very finely

represented.

The wheel-well/cockpit floor

assembly mentioned earlier also

provides the ducting roof for the

rear of the radiator. A nice touch is

the separate radiator vent, allowing

it to be positioned open if desired.

Interestingly, and I think a first for

Typhoon kits, Airfix have included a

tropical air filter that mounts behind

the radiator between the main

wheel wells. This filter was fitted to

late production Typhoons, but its

location makes it very hard to see in

period photos (and I have yet to see

published plans featuring it either).

It is not the same as fitted to earlier

Typhoons used for tropical testing,

nor is it the same as the albeit

similar arrangement applied to the

Tempest Mk.VI, which has appeared

in published plans. Presumably,

there was some arrangement to

close off the annular intake in the

radiator when the engine breathed

through the ventral filter on the

ground, but I have no idea how this

looked. If readers are aware of how

the intake air was rerouted pleasee-mail me with the details.

The fuselage halves enclose

the cockpit, radiator matrix and

tail-wheel, leaving the wheel wells

protruding either side of the assem-

bled fuselage. These in turn serve

to help locate the wings. The wings

include the option of cutting open

the gun access panels to display

the cannon and their ammunition

boxes. Some nicely moulded open

doors are provided to replace the

sections cut out.However, the gun breech and

ammo-feed detail is basic, and I feel

this is a bit of gimmick; but it may

appeal to some, including younger

modellers. However, no harm is

down as the wings come with the

access hatches moulded shut.

The wings lack landing lights;

however, early in 1944 the starboard

light was deleted, and some

Typhoons had their lights plated

over when carrying rockets, so

check references for your selectedcolour scheme.

Continuing with the fuselage,

the curvature of the fin does not

quite look right to me, as it finishes

almost horizontally, rather than on

a slight downward curve where the

top meets the rudder; but this is

a very slight issue. The fuselage

is also around a 2-mm or so

shorter than the Brengun, CMR

and Academy Typhoons, and A.L

Bentley’s plans as well. The differ-

ence appears to be in the length of

the fuselage forward of the cockpit,

but I think that this variation of a

scale 6-inches matters little. The

fishplates are moulded as raised

detail, and so are somewhat exag-

gerated, although a little better than

Academy in this regard.

I think some light sanding will

improve their appearance. Airfix pro-

vides only un-shrouded exhausts.

These, and the shrouded type, were

the most common styles of exhaust

used, although there were other

variations; so check your references.

The four-blade propeller looks

good. I also like the way the prop,

mounts to a separate collar that can

The big four-bladedpropeller.

Optional Hispanocannon areincluded.

The main wheelsare weighted andkeyed for correctalignment with theundercarriage legs.

The optional opendoors for the wingcannon bays.

The kit featuresrecessed surfacedetail throughout.

Finely mouldedrocket rails areincluded.

The tail planes andoptional closedundercarriage doors.



14 Chapter 2 - Hawker Typhoon in Other Scales


inserted to the fuselage after paint-

ing is complete, as this enables a

rotating propeller to be modelled

without it being in the way during

assembly and painting.

Airfix has made a nice job of the

undercarriage. The commendablydeep and detailed main wheel

wells mount to the wing underside,

ensuring that there is an undercut

rather than walls that conform to the

outline wheel well opening as on

some other kits. The oxygen bottles

located in the wheel wells are pro-

vided, along with the main leg and

ancillary door retraction jacks. The

undercarriage doors are nicely done,

with faceted internal panels like the

original. The axles have the correct

camber to the axles, rather thanbeing perpendicular to the undercar-

riage leg. The colour call-out for the

inside of the main undercarriage

doors is medium sea grey. A friend

of mine who spent a long time

researching his 1:48 scale Typhoon

project advised me that aluminium is

the more likely colour here.

The main wheels consist of two

halves, with a complete hub on one

half, which can serve to aid painting

a little. The tyres have flats moulded

in place to simulate weight- bear-ing, and location keys that ensure

these are at the correct angle to the

undercarriage legs. The tail wheel is

simple and nicely done, and is the

anti-shimmy kind generally found on

later Typhoons, although the deep

groove in the centre tread area is

missing due to moulding limitations;

so this needs to be added for

the tyre to look correct. There are

separate single-piece doors to cater

for a retracted undercarriage, which

is a nice touch.

Rocket launch rails or bomb

pylons mounting holes are indi-

cated by partial holes on the inside

face of the lower wing and the

instructions identify which should

be drilled through for rockets or

bombs. The rocket rails are okay,

but possibly a little too chunky. They

and are the steel Mk.I pattern that

taper towards the tip, the aluminium

Mk.III type was a little longer and

un-tapered, but Airfix have not pro-

vided these as an option; although

it would be nice to have for late

production example. The rockets

are reasonable given the limitations

of injection moulding. Airfix includes

two 1,000-lb bombs, and these are

also reasonably well done.

Not a lot remains to describe.

The bubble canopy and windscreen

are separate so it can be modelled

open. That just leaves an underwing

pitot, and the retractable boardingstep. This last item will benefit from

some refinement, as it is perhaps a

little chunky in appearance.

I think that this kit should be very

straightforward to build, certainly

far more so than its closest rival by

Brengun.

CONCLUSION

This is a good effort from Airfix.

The moulding is not quite up to the

standard of the better brands from

the Far East, but it is a real advanceon the first new tool releases by

Airfix under Hornby’s ownership.

Its main competitor for this

subject is Brengun’s Typhoon kit.

The Airfix kit’s surface and cockpit

detail almost as refined as the

Brengun kit; but its big advantage

is that it avoids the Czech kit’s very

undesirable need for major tail

surgery that results from the same

fuselage moulds being used for

three and four-blade options. The

Airfix kit is much easier to build inthis regard; and in fact, I would

expect it to build better all-round.

I suspect that many will regard its

scale finesse is close enough to

Brengun’s anyway. Approaching

half the Czech kit’s price, the more

readily available Airfix kit is sure to

be a winner.

Price considerations aside, I am

tempted rate the two brands equal

best for a four-blade Typhoon in

1:72 scale. Choosing one over

the other comes down largely to a

preference between detail refine-

ment versus ease of construction.

Brengun’s kit remains the best

choice for a three-blade Typhoon

however, as Airfix does not cover

this option.

This is a very nice kit from Airfix.

I am sure it will be well received

by many. If they would just refine

their panel lines a bit more, Airfix’s

new products could be up there

with some of the best. Despite this,

I still think that Airfix is the best

four-blade Typhoon choice for the

majority of modellers in the One

True Scale.

I recommended this kit highly.

Shell ejection portsare moulded into

the bottom of thewings.

Rockets are nicelymoulded too.

The canopy ismoulded in twoparts – nice touch.

Sidewall detailis moulded onto

the inside of thefuselage halves.

The subtle quiltingcan be seen here onthe pilot’s seat.

The intake matrix.

Markings aresupplied for twoaircraft.




Hasegawa released several

1:48 scale versions of the

Hawker Typhoon, starting

with the Car Door ‘Early

Version’ in early 1999.

This kit comprises 82 parts inmedium grey coloured plastic,

12 parts in clear and markings for

two aircraft.

The model is very accurate in

terms of outline and detail.

Surface detail stands up well

even by today’s highest standards

with fine, crisp and consistent

recessed panel lines plus selected

rivet lines and fasteners. Two

configurations of the car door

canopy are supplied - one single

closed piece, and another with

separate side door and top hatch,

which may both be posed open.

Two 500 lb bombs and three

styles of Hispano 20mm cannon

barrels (two uncovered and one

covered) are included. Both

shrouded and unshrouded

exhausts are supplied too.

Cockpit detail is adequate

straight from the box, with the

typical “bottomless” floor well rep-

resented. The wheel wells feature

raised structural detail and some

plumbing moulded in place.

Hasegawa’s bubbletop Typhoon,

released later in 1999, is substan-

tially the same kit but with different

inserts for the upper cockpit area, a

clear vision sliding canopy and four-

bladed propeller assembly. Eight

rockets and rails are included too.

THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT

Hasegawa started making the most

of their mouldings during the 1990s

by tooling parts with separate

inserts to permit multiple versions of

a particular aircraft.

While I am sure that this

approach will be applauded by

accountants everywhere, it does

have its disadvantages.

The first problem is

that join seams do not

always coincide with

natural panel lines, meaning

that some filling, sanding and

rescribing may be necessary.

The second issue is that fit is

sometimes awful.

This edition of Hasegawa’s 1:48

scale Hawker Typhoon features

inserts in each upper mid fuselage

area to accommodate the car door

configuration. In later releases, a

different set of fuselage inserts for

the bubble top was included.

Forearmed with the knowledge

of potential fit problems, I started

construction by gluing the inserts

into each fuselage side. I worked on

each side separately as this allowed

me to align the curved edges of the

HAWKER TYPHOON IN 1:48 SCALEHasegawa produces the best 1:48 scale

Hawker Typhoon kits available today.Brett Green examines these kits.

Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale Car DoorTyphoon, built by Brett Green

Note the longinsert in the upperfuselage. Thisaccommodateseither the early “cardoor” canopy, or thelater bubble top, by

the use of differentinserts.

Cockpit detail isquite basic, butthere are a numberof after marketoptions to enhancethis area.

The best way totackle the fuselageinsert is to fiteach part to eachfuselage side beforethe fuselage halvesare joined. There isstill plenty of fillingand sanding neededthough, as the insertdoes not fall onnatural panel lines.

The biggest problemnow is a very largegap between thefuselage halveswhere the insertsmeet.

For this project, thegaps were shimmedwith plastic andsteps were filledwith Milliput two-part epoxy putty.

The fuselage withfilling and sandingcomplete.

A number of keypanel lines were lostduring the filling andsanding stage. Thesewere reinstatedusing a scriber anda length of self-adhesive Dymo tapeas a guide.




16 Chapter 2 - Hawker

inserts with the contours of the fuse-

lage sides. It would be much easier

to deal with a gap along the top of

the fuselage than to fill, recontour

and sand the fuselage sides.

As it turned out, I was able to

line up the inserts and the fuselage

sides pretty well, although therewould be a few stray join seams to

clean up later.

However, test fitting the fuselage

halves exposes the real problem.

There was a prominent gap of

between 1 and 2 mm on the top

fuselage centreline between the

inserts. This gap needed some seri-

ous attention further down the track.

CONCLUSION

Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale Hawker

Typhoon Mk.IB might have been

released more than 14 years ago,

but it still holds up well by today’s

standards. The relatively small

parts count makes it appropriate for

even a beginner modeller, with onlythe poorly fitting fuselage inserts

complicating the build.

If you like more of a challenge,

there are plenty of aftermarket

accessories and markings out

there. I can highly recommend the

Barracuda Studios cockpit, wheels,

exhausts and intakes. They lift this

model to a different level.

The car doorversion providesunder wing bombs.

All this work deliversthe desired result –no steps or gaps.

Chris Wauchop builtthe Hasegawa 1:48scale bubbletopTyphoon Mk.IB. Thiskit is supplied witheight rockets and

rails.

The bubbletopversion suffersfrom the same fitproblems as the cardoor kit.

Markings are fromAeromaster Decals’item No. 48-436 –Storms in the SkyPt. X.

Some of these earlyTyphoons featured

a high contrast,hard-edged finish. Iwanted to duplicatethis for my project.




It seems remarkable that we do

not yet have a high quality 1:32

scale injection moulded plastic

kit of an aircraft as important as

the Hawker Typhoon.

Until the middle of the last dec-

ade, our only choice was the very

old and very basic Revell 1:32 scale

Typhoon, with its raised surface

details and clunky moving parts.

Model Design Construction

offered some respite with their

limited run multimedia HawkerTyphoon Mk.IB, released in 2006.

MDC's 1:32 Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB

comprises 83 parts in grey coloured

resin, 7 parts in clear resin; photo-

etched fret; 2 parts in cast brass;

clear vacform canopy (plus one

spare); and markings for six aircraft.

The kit is carefully packed in a

stout box, with parts for each sub-

assembly inside a separate plastic

bag. The large, hollow fuselage

halves and vacform canopies are

also protected by a packing tubeinside the main box.

The kit features superb surface

detail - crisply engraved panel lines

combined with raised structural

details including fasteners and rein-

forcement tabs where appropriate.

The fuselage halves are especially

noteworthy in this respect.

Each wing is supplied as a single

part. They are amazing pieces of

resin in their own right, each with a

deep and wonderfully detailed wheel

well cast in place. How the heck

would they get this out of the mould?

The trailing edges are ready for

the separate ailerons and flaps with

recessed locating positions making

it easy to position these control sur-

faces. The flaps are especially nice,

with all rib detail cast into the parts

Smaller details are no less

impressive. The cockpit includes

full internal framing and a delicately

detailed seat with a convincingly

quilted backrest. This front office is

accurately "bottomless", with footrails

forming the minimal pilot's floor. The

instrument panel features flat disks

for dials, ready for the nicely detailed

MDC RAF instrument decals.

Harness straps are supplied in the

photo-etched fret.

The tube framing does have a bit

of feather-like flash to clean up, but

the effort will be well worthwhile.

The kit provides clear resin

navigation lights. These look

cloudy on the casting block, but

will probably polish up nicely and

should respond to a quick bath in

Future Floor Polish.

This model is supported by cast

brass undercarriage legs - probablyjust as well considering the hefty

weight of the finished airframe.

MDC rounds out the package

with a choice of three-bladed or

four-bladed propeller assemblies.

The kit does not supply ordnance

(rockets may be purchased

separately) or the early, smaller

horizontal tailplanes often seen on

Typhoons before they were fitted

with the large Tempest tailplanes.

Five marking options are supplied

on two high-quality decal sheetsprinted by Fantasy Printshop.

Unlike some limited run kits,

MDC's Typhoon has been designed

with a number of clever assembly

aids, including ridges and locating

points mating surfaces of the

fuselage halves, locating tabs on

the tailplanes, and stout holes in the

wing roots to accurately position

those heavy wings.

There will be some cleanup, but it

is mostly lightweight. There are no

heavy casting blocks on any of the

resin parts.

CONCLUSION

MDC’s 1:32 scale Typhoon is a gor-

geous chunk of resin that is impres-

sively detailed, cleverly designed,

perfectly cast and accurate.

Considering the amount of effort

that must go into casting each of

these masterpieces, the purchase

price is pretty reasonable too. I did

not hesitate in forking out my cash.

You will definitely need experience

with resin kits if you want to

tackle this project, but MDC's

thoughtful engineering should make

workbench time a real pleasure.

HAWKER TYPHOON IN 1:32 SCALEChoices in 1:32 scale are limited,but MDC’s resin kit is a beauty.

The MDCmultimedia 1:32scale Typhoon.

The full-length fuselagehalves feature largeTempest-style tailplanes.

Each wing isa single largecasting, includingwheel well detail.

Luxurious castbrass mainundercarriage legs.

Eight markingoptions are offered.Two more decalsheets are included.



18 Chapter 3 – Airfix 1:24 Typhoon In the Box

CHAPTER 3 AIRFIX 1:24 TYPHOON IN THE BOX

The Airfix 1:24 scale Hawker

Typhoon Mk.IB comprises

430 parts on 13 sprues in

pale grey coloured plastic

and 19 parts in clear plastic.

The model may be built as anyof the common Typhoon bubbletop

sub-variants, with options includ-

ing three or four bladed propeller

assemblies; three styles of spinner;

shrouded or unshrouded exhausts;

alternative radiator intakes, “cuckoo

doors” and tropical filter; leading

edge or lower wing mounted land-

ing lights; and early small tail planes

or later large (Tempest) tail planes.

An excellent selection of

ordnance is offered including

eight rockets, two styles of rocket

rails, streamlined wing fuel tanks,

two 250lb bombs and two 500lb

bombs. The undercarriage may be

built lowered or retracted, and the

wing cannon may be displayed with

the access covers open or closed.

Parts for the early car door ver-

sion are not included but the fuse-

lage breakdown suggests that it

might be a possible future release.

SURFACE TEXTURE

The first thing that struck me when I

examined the contents was the sur-

face texture. Airfix has moulded this

kit with a rippled “oilcan” texture

on all the exterior metal surfaces.

AIRFIX 1:24 TYPHOON IN THE BOX1.

3.

5.

7. 8.

6.

4.

2.

1. The two mainfuselage halves onthe sprues.

2. Note the rippled“oilcan” effect on

the main surfaces.

3. The surfacesare also coveredwith lines of holesrepresenting rivets.Note the raised“fish plates”,which werereinforcements forthe tail.

4. The lower wingcentre section.

5. One of theoverlapping upperwing panels.

6. The opening inthe upper wing willallow the cannonbay to be displayed.

7. You’ll need todecide early onwhether you arefitting rockets,bombs or tanks,as the appropriatelocating holes needto be drilled outbefore the wingsare assembled.

8. The earlyhorizontal tail

planes have asmaller surfacearea, although it ishard to pick withthe naked eye.




This creates the effect of a slight

bulge between rows of rivets. It is

quite a daring move on Airfix’s part,

but the result is both striking and

convincing.

The fuselage and wings are cov-

ered with rows of recessed holesrepresenting rivets. Although rivets

may have been better represented

by recessed circles rather than

the holes, the effect is more than

acceptable, especially when viewed

more than a few inches from the

surface of the plastic.

The fuselage and wings also

boast a number of raised surface

features – panels, fairings and bulg-

es – that contribute to the overall

impression of a robust design that

favoured functionality over elegance.Of particular note is the inclusion

of raised “fish plates” – external

reinforcements for the tail after a

number of early structural failures.

The elevators and ailerons are

moulded with raised domed rivets.

I think these look great, and

they are certainly appropriate for

these metal surfaces. The rudder

presents the believable impression

of fabric stretched over framework,

capped by a metal fairing at the

bottom. The rudder, ailerons andelevators are all designed to be

workable. The landing flaps may be

posed open or closed.

KIT ENGINEERING

The fuselage is moulded with a

number of inserts. The upper and

lower cowls are separate parts,

as are upper cockpit panels. The

bottom of the fuselage is also a

separate part, as is the vertical

stabiliser (fin) and a section of

fuselage at its base.

The fuselage cowling inserts

allow four different configurations

for the engine:

1. All the cowling panels may

be glued in place, completely

enclosing the engine.

2. The upper and lower panels may

be left off, displaying the top of

the engine and the radiator with

its associated plumbing and

mounting hardware.

3. The bottom panels may be glued

in place and the top panel left off

to display the top of the engine, or

4. The centre side engine cowling

sections may be cut off the front

of the fuselage to display the

9.

11.

13.

15.

17.

19. 20.

18.

16.

14.

12.

10.

9. These are the

larger Tempest-styletail planes, alsoprovided by Airfixas an option.

10. The elevators,with their prominentdome-headedraised rivets.

11. Fabric textureon the kit rudder.

12. The aileronsalso feature raisedrivets moulded ontothe top and bottomsurfaces.

13. Although the finis the same size onthe early and latetails, the mountingposition for thehorizontal tailplanes are different.This is the earlysmall version.

14. The fin sectionfor the lateTempest-style tailplanes. Note thatthe root for thehorizontal stabilisercomes furtherforward than the

early version.

15. Two styles ofexhaust shroudsare included,although neitherare called out in theinstructions.

16. This style ismore fully covered.

17. The stirrup-styleretractable pilot’sstep.

18. The uppercockpit sidewallsections are

separate inserts,suggesting thatwe might seealternative piecesfor a car doorTyphoon in thefuture. Note thetropical filter onthis sprue too. Thisfilter was fittedto late productionTyphoons.

19. Close up detailof the rivet andinspection hatchdetail.

20. Two full set ofdoors is provided

for the wing cannonbay. These aredesigned to bedisplayed open.





engine in its entirety.

It would appear that the model is

not designed to make the cowlings

removable (i.e. taking the cowlings

on and off the completed engine),

although the top cowl might be

partially removable with a littleextra work.

The separate upper cockpit

fuselage panels appear to be an

indication that we might see the

car door early version Typhoon in

the future.

The lower fuselage insert is

probably an engineering feature to

permit the moulding of the sophis-

ticated surface detail without suffer-

ing from moulding imperfections.

The upper tail insert allows either

the early small tail surfaces or thelate Tempest tail to be used.

The pilot’s hand holds and

footholds on the fuselage side are

separate parts that may be posed

open or closed. The retracting

stirrup-style step is also supplied as

a separate part.

Detail is very complete in almost

every area.

COCKPIT

The cockpit looks fantastic,

being built up in layers of tubularframework and detail parts just like

the real thing. Construction takes

place in steps, adding consoles,

the quadrant, control column and

actuators, wheels, knobs, handles

and the rest. Electrical cabling and

hydraulic wires are also present in

the cockpit. The seat is made up

from four pieces and features gor-

geous subtle quilted texture for the

pilot’s backrest. The harness straps

are supplied as injection moulded

plastic parts. A separate seat cush-

ion is provided too, if desired.

A seated pilot figure is also

offered as an option. Moulding

quality is very good, and the pose

is quite natural – right hand on the

control yoke and left hand on the

throttle. We don’t get to see much

of the face, as he is wearing his

flying helmet and oxygen mask,

but what we can see looks excel-

lent – good eye detail and even

creases on the skin of his forehead.

Interestingly, in the instructions, the

pilot appears to be wearing modern

glasses. I am wondering if this is

21.

23.

25.

27.

29.

30. 31.

28.

26.

24.

22.

21. Note the lovelyhinges on thejoining surfacesof these foldinghatches.

22. The full-sized,closed hatch option.These are designedto be glued shutover mostly emptycannon bays. Theywill not fit over theammo drums andother detail parts.

23. The wheel bayceilings.

24. Theseperforated stripswill be glued ontothe wheel bayceilings, addingauthentic detail tothe area.

25. Theundercarriagemay be posedin the retractedposition. This partis fitted to theinside of the wing

to represent closedundercarriagedoors.

26. Theundercarriagedoor parts for thelowered gear.

27. Detail parts forthe wheel wells.

28. More wheelwell detail.

29. The lowerfuselage insert.

30. Upper enginecowling panels.

31. The lower cowlparts. These coverthe radiator.




some sort of Airfix “in” joke.

The instrument panel is a

sandwich of clear and grey plastic

parts with decals designed to

represent dials on the back of the

clear section.

ENGINE AND INTERNAL

WING STRUCTURE

The engine is a marvel of modern

plastic engineering. Once again, it

is built up in many layers and detail

is very complete.

Airfix offers an electric motor –

available separately – as an option

if you want your propeller to spin.

The internal wing structure is

fully represented including spars,

frames, fuel tanks, wheel wells and

a full cannon bay on each side.The four Hispano cannon are quite

simple in parts breakdown but they

look effective when complete. The

bottom of the gun bays have a few

ejector pin circles that should be

cleaned up before assembly – one

of the few places where moulding

imperfections will be visible after the

model is built. Cannon bay covers

are supplied. These may be posed

in open or closed configuration.

The wheel wells are each made

up from a large plastic part for theceiling supplemented by seven

perforated strips to add authentic

structure to this space. The wheel

well is boxed in on all sides by the

spars and other panels. A jumble of

injection-moulded wiring completes

the wheel wells.

FINISHING TOUCHES

The undercarriage legs are simple

but accurate.

Airfix supplies five-spoke main

wheels and a solid anti-shimmy tail

wheel. The main wheels are flat-

tened and bulged.

The canopy may be posed open

or closed, but is not designed to

actually slide.

INSTRUCTIONS

Instructions are called out over a

whopping 229 steps. Each step is

well illustrated, with a clear indica-

tion of part numbers where applica-

ble. There are no construction notes

to accompany the illustrations.

Paint callouts are solely numbers

of Humbrol enamel paints.

32.

34.

36.

38.

40.

42.

41.

39.

37.

35.

33.

32. More cowlingpieces.

33. Radiator bodyand plumbing.

34. Some of theplumbing for thelower engine bay.

35. Optional filtersfor the radiatorintake.

36. Cuckoo doorsare offered as anoption. These werefitted to counterthe dust and dirt ofunmade airfields.

37. The cockpit is

built up inside atubular framework.

38. Cockpit andfuselage interiorparts.

39. The firewall,foot rails. Rudderpedals and more.

40. The pilot’s seatfeatures separateparts for the sides.

41. The seatbackrest is mouldedwith lovely quiltedtexture.

42. The front ofthe kit’s instrumentpanel – simple yeteffective.





MARKINGS

A large decal sheet with markings

for four aircraft is included:

1. Hawker Typhoon 1B, Wing

Commander Charles Green, No121

Wing, RAF.2. Hawker Typhoon 1B, No. 247

Sqn, 2nd Tactical Air Force.

3. Hawker Typhoon 1B, No. 245

Sqn, 2nd Tactical Air Force. With

shark mouth.

4. Hawker Typhoon 1B, No 440

Sqn, RCAF 2nd Tactical Air Force.

Extensive stencil markings and

a variety of national markings are

also included.

CONCLUSION Airfix has delivered a truly stunning

kit with this 1:24 scale Typhoon

Mk.IB. In my opinion, it is easily the

best kit that Airfix has produced.

As nice as the 1:24 scale Mosquito

was, this one is quite clearly better.

Whereas in places the Mosquito

felt a bit like a scaled-up project,

the Typhoon does not. The detail

stands close scrutiny – quite a feat

for such a large model.

The whole package is very

complete and beautifully delivered. You really won’t need to add

much detail to any area of the kit.

Engineering is clever too, although

tight tolerances will mean chal-

lenges in constructions here and

there. Options are abundant and fit

is generally excellent.

Furthermore, the fact that Airfix

has delivered a model to this

exemplary standard using only

plastic parts is a real tribute to the

designers’ ambition and f lair. They

really have managed to squeeze

the maximum from the medium.

It won’t be a fast build, and it

might not be easy either, but it will

be a memorable journey delivering

a spectacular result!

43.

45.

46.

47. 48.

44.

43. Port sideconsole.

44. The starboardside console.

45. The cockpit ismounted on topof the stout wingspars.

46. A seated pilotfigure is included.

47. Facial featuresare excellent. Heshould look greatafter a careful paintjob.

48. A separate seatcushion is offeredas an option.




49.

51.

53.

55.

57. 58.

56.

54.

52.

50.

49. Harness strapsare supplied asplastic parts.

50. The sides ofthe big 24 cylinderengine block.

51. Superchargercomponents.

52. Top and bottomof the engine block.

53. The ignition

harness and otherengine details.

54. The enginedetail is trulyremarkable,especiallyconsidering it is100% plastic.

55. The twinexhaust stacks.

56. Wing interiorstructural detail.These double to boxin the wheel wellsand cannon bays.

57. Cannon baydetail parts.

58. Those longHispano cannon!





61.

64.

66.

68.

71. 72.

69. 70.

67.

65.

62. 63.

61. Eight rocketsare supplied.

62. Two styles ofrocket rails aresupplied. This isone half of the two-part option.

63. The othersection of the two-part rails.

64. Long slim one-part rails are alsoincluded.

65. Forwardsections of the500lb bombs.

66. Rear sections

of the big 500lbbombs.

67. Two bodyhalves from one ofthe 250lb bombs.

68. Detail parts forthe bombs.

69. The wing bombracks.

70. The swaybraces for the 250lband 500lb bombs.

71. The streamlinedwing tanks are

moulded with theirmounts.

72. One of thespinner cap options.




73.

75.

78.

80.

82. 83.

81.

79.

76. 77.

74.

73. Two morespinner caps.

74. Propeller bladesare common to allspinner options.

75. These fuel tanksthat will be hiddeninside the wings.

76. The five spokemain wheels.

77. No vinyltyres here, thankgoodness!

78. The kit

windscreen –beautifully thin andfree from distortion.

79. Additional clearparts.

80. The kit decalsheet suppliesmarkings for fouroptions.

81. The colours lookgood and printingis crisp.

82. Plenty of smalland colourful detaildecals are included.

83. Instrument dialsare supplied asindividual decalstoo.



26 Chapter 4 - Step by Step

CHAPTER 4 STEP BY STEP

STEP BY STEPBUILDING THE AIRFIX 1:24 SCALEHAWKER TYPHOON MK.IB An illustrated guide to construction,straight from the box.




The new Airfix 1:24 scale

Typhoon Mk.IB is made

up from 430 grey plastic

parts and another 19 in

clear plastic.It is interesting to compare the

number of parts and the approach

of this new Airfix release with two

recent models that have set a new

standard for large scale models –

Tamiya’s 1:32 scale Spitfire Mk.IX

family and P-51D/K kits.

With roughly around the same

number of parts as Tamiya’s 1:32

scale P-51D/K and Spitfires, you

might expect a similar build.

The character of the kits,

however, is quite different.

In common with Airfix, Tamiya

provides a high level of detail in the

cockpit and engine compartment(and wing gun bays in the case of

the Mustang).

However, Airfix and Tamiya have

taken very different routes. Tamiya

makes use of photo-etched and

other metal parts to deliver fine

detail and crucial functionality for

its P-51D/K and Spitfires. Airfix

has chosen to tread the entirely

traditional path, achieving superb

detail with plastic parts alone. This

results in quite a distinctly different

building experience.

Although I did not tally up the

exact number of hours spent on

construction, my impression wasthat the Airfix Typhoon took more

time to build than the Tamiya kits –

not surprising considering its larger

size and relatively complex painting

sequence for the cockpit, engine

compartment and cannon bays.

Checking back, I found that basic

construction of the Tamiya Spitfire

was completed over 17 days, while

the Mustang took 15 days and the

Airfix Typhoon was 19 days.





In common with Tamiya’s

Spitfires and Mustangs, you

do need to stay focused and

pay close attention to the Airfix

instructions during assembly. In

this case, the instructions aresupplied across 229 construction

steps in a 36 page booklet.

Before you start the model,

I strongly recommend that you

spend plenty of time getting familiar

with the contents of the

instructions. Walk through

the construction mentally

before you break out the

sprue cutter. Make notes on

the instruction booklet as you read

through it, or highlight elements that

you think might be important as yourmodel takes shape. The instruction

booklet can be a useful tool, so

make the most of it.

BEFORE WE START

Airfix’s plastic is perhaps slightly

softer than average, so take care

not to scar the surface of the parts

when cleaning them up.

There was some fine flash on

parts in my sample, but this may

have been due to the fact that I

had been issued an early test shot.There are also a number of deep

sink marks and sink lines, as well

as visible ejector pin circles. It is

worth spending as much time as

needed with a hobby knife, putty

and sanding stick to make sure

that parts are properly cleaned up

before they are assembled.

Fit is generally excellent, but

tolerances are very tight in places

so it is imperative that the parts are

completely free from flash and any

remnants of sprue attachments.

The inner spar panels wereclamped in place while theglue set to ensure therewere no gaps.

The cockpit frameworkstarts to take shape.

The completed cockpitframework has beenslotted on to the twomain wing spars.

This structure

creates a sturdycore for the model.Precise alignmentis very important atthis stage.

This is a viewfrom the bottomfront of the cockpitframework,underneath theengine mounts.Note how the “V”shaped supports fitinto the frameworkand the firewall.

The same supportsviewed from the top.




The structure of the cockpit framework underneath the pilot’s footrests. The footrests in place. On my test shot, it would appear that the area marked with black textawas not fully complete. There is supposed to be a raised mount for the control column here.

The oval-shaped fuselage frame behind the cockpit is held in place with a series of “V”shaped supports.

Note how the supports interlock with the outer rim of the fuselage frame. It is veryimportant that these interlocking points are flush with the outer rim.

Cockpit componentsassembled and readyfor installation.

The trim wheel and lower rear cockpit panel in place.

The five main pieces for the pilot’s seat. A few ejectorpin circles need to be removed from the seat pan.

Coarse and fine sanding sticks have been used to get rid of ejectorpin circles from the pilot’s armour.

The pilot’s seat,assembled. Notethe nice quiltedeffect of thebackrest.





The instructions are very good

with nice clear diagrams, but I

found some of the perspectives abit confusing. I have tried to provide

as many photos as possible

showing the actual location of parts

from different angles to minimize

the likelihood of misplacement.

Airfix’s layered approach means

that painting of the cockpit, engine

and wing cannon bays really must

take place during construction.

Careful planning and forethought

about painting sub-assemblies will

be helpful.

Airfix has chosen to provide colourcallouts only in the form of Humbrol

enamel paint numbers. This is fine

if you are planning to use Humbrol

paints, but I was not. I wrote up a listof the Humbrol numbers alongside

their real-life colour name, and kept

it on my modelling desk for the

course of the project.

GETTING UNDERWAY

Construction commences with

the framework for the cockpit and

the wing spars. Just like the real

aeroplane, this framework forms a

solid core for the entire aeroplane

so it is absolutely crucial that the

parts are accurately assembled.Take plenty of time test-fitting before

you commit to glue here.

The forward inner spar sections

(parts A16 and A17) are separateparts to maximize detail, so make

sure that these are completely flush

with the main wing spar. I used

clamps to guarantee that there were

no gaps.

The wing spars slot into the

bottom of the cockpit frame. Once

again, make sure that the slots in the

spars are pushed all the way home.

At this point, I started to think

about when I should paint the

cockpit and wing spar sub-

assemblies.

Rudder pedals inplace.

A view of the

cockpit cage fromthe firewall, lookingback. This is readyfor paint.

The pilot’s cockpit armour, viewedfrom below. Note the relationshipbetween the upper and lower panels,and the “V” shaped support.

The same sub-assembly

viewed from the frontthree-quarter.

The port and starboard

side console elements.

Cockpit sub-assemblies ready for paint.

Detail on thestarboard sideconsole. Most of thisis moulded in place.

The reverse (outer)side of the starboard

side console. Thecabling will need tobe fed through theframework of thecockpit cage oncepainting is complete.




PAINTING THE COCKPIT

Steps 4 to 27 cover the addition

of structural and detail parts to the

cockpit.

Rather than glue all of theseparts in place per the instructions,

instead I prepared a number of

sub-assemblies. These were:

• The basic cockpit frame with

footrests and rudder pedal

assembly

• The pilot’s seat (without the

harness straps)

• Pilot’s armour plate and mounts

• Port side console

• Starboard side console

• Throttle quadrant

• Oxygen bottle and mount• Oil tank (parts A01 and A02)

I also cleaned up a number of

other cockpit parts but did not

attach them at this stage. These

included the control column, the

grey plastic front section of the

instrument panel, some electrical

boxes and braces.

These sub-assemblies and parts

were separated into three groups

according to their ultimate colour.

These colours would be Cockpit

Green, Black and Silver.

I used Tamiya acrylic XF-71

Cockpit Green (IJN) as the base

colour for my cockpit. The main

cockpit frame and the wing spars

were painted this colour.

A thin mix of water, Future floor

polish and Tamiya X-18 Semi-Gloss

Black paint was brushed over the

Cockpit Green surfaces, leaving

a dark residue in natural shadow

areas. This was followed by subtle

dry-brushing with a lightened

version of Cockpit Green, applied

with a clean square-tipped brush.

The backrest for the pilot’s seat is

moulded with a quilted texture. This

is really impressive. The texture also

Tamiya XF-71Cockpit Green wasused as the basecolour. Note thatblack brush paintingof some of theupper framework

has alreadycommenced.

The firewall and

upper cockpitframes havebeen paintedblack by brush.

The front ofthe firewall isblack too.

Detail partswere temporarilyattached to a smallbox via Blu Tackto make handlingeasier duringpainting.

The instrument panel, pilot’s armour,consoles, throttle quadrant and smallboxes were sprayed “scale black” – a50/50 mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Blackand XF-64 Red Brown.

The trim wheeland rudder pedal

adjuster have beenpainted a shade of

red brown.





includes

stitching at

the top and rivetsalong the bottom. Careful

painting will render a very

convincing result. I brush painted

the quilted rectangle dark brown,

then dry-brushed three shades of

progressively paler browns over the

top. The mix of Future and Tamiya

X-18 Semi-Gloss Black was then

flowed over the entire backrest,

settling in the low-lying areas.

The stitching at the top was then

painted Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan

with a fine brush.The kit’s plastic harness straps

were now painted. The lap belts

were glued in place, but the

shoulder straps were let off until

the seat had been attached to the

armour plate.

I mixed a 50:50 blend of Tamiya

XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red

Brown to obtain a shade of “scale

black”. The consoles, the pilot’s

head armour, throttle quadrant,

electrical boxes and the instrument

panel were sprayed with this colour.The same “scale black” mix was

used to brush paint some of the

upper cockpit frames, the front

cockpit firewall and the footrests.

The black areas were dry-

brushed progressively paler shades

of grey.

Details were now picked out with

Vallejo acrylic paints and a fine

paintbrush.

The instrument panel was next

on the painting menu. The panel

is made up from a front section in

grey plastic and a rear section in

clear. The instrument lenses are

raised on the clear section, so they

poke through the holes in the front

section. The production kit has

decals for the dials, but I did not

have these for my build. I therefore

used Airscale’s Generic WWII RAF

Instrument Dial Decals, Item No.

AS24RAF.

Please note that since finishing

my model, Airscale has released

a 1:24 scale dial and placard set

specifically for the Airfix Typhoon.

First, the back of the clear rear

section was sprayed black, then the

entire clear section was dipped in

I took some timeto weather thepaintwork on thewing spars, but thiswas a bit of a waste.

The time spent on the quiltedbackrest was well worthwhilethough! Here, the backrest hasbeen painted and dry brushed,and a dark wash of thinnedWinsor & Newton has beenbrushed over the seat.

The join seam was very prominenton the oil tank. The seam wasfilled with a mix of super glue andtalcum powder…

…then sanded back and polished before respraying.

My test shotwas not suppliedwith instrumentdecals so I usedairscale’s 1:24scale generic WW2RAF Instrument DialDecals, Item No.AS24RAF.

The three sections of the instrument panel,painted and ready for assembly. The top isfront panel, in the middle is the clear insertwith the decals in place, and at the bottom isthe master compass and its mounting rail.

The assembledinstrument panel

(minus the mastercompass).




Future floor polish. The dial decals

were then simply applied to the top

of the raised circles. The three sparebulbs for the gun sight were painted

Tamiya X-24 Clear Yellow.

Details were then picked out on

the front of the instrument panel;

and the master compass and its

mounting rail were painted and set

aside for later assembly.

A few stencil generic Airscale

placard decals were applied over a

glossy coat of Future floor polish.

All the Cockpit Green and scale

black sub-assemblies were now

flattened down with several thincoats of Alclad II Klear Kote Matte.

Final weathering for the cockpit

parts included chipping of the

black armour plate with the tip of

a sharpened Prismacolour silverpencil, and scuffing of the black

footrests with Tamiya Weathering

Master pastels.

The oil tank was assembled

and sprayed with Tamiya’s AS-12

Bare Metal Silver straight from the

spray can. The join seam was very

prominent after the metallic coat,

so I filled the seams with a mix of

super glue and talcum powder, then

sanded the joins down on the front,

rear and top. The newly smooth

tank was then resprayed. You may decide that this effort

is not worthwhile though, as you

won’t see any of this tank on the

completed model!

With all the cockpit sub-assemblies painted, all the parts

were glued together.

The consoles and quadrant after decals, detailpainting, a flat coat and selected “chipping”.

The smoothed

and repainted oiltank, along withthe rear cockpitoxygen cylinder.

Chipping was done with the sharp tip of a Prismacolour silver pencil.

The footrestswere scuffedwith Tamiya’s

Weathering Masterpigments, appliedwith the spongeapplicator in the set.

Instrument paneland mastercompass glued inplace.

The seat was glued

into the cockpitbefore the shoulderharness straps wereadded.

The seat and pilot’s

armour. Detail of thecompleted cockpitis impressive.





ASSEMBLING THE ENGINE BAY

Steps 39 to 87 cover the assembly

of the engine and all the associated

mounts and equipment.

Airfix offers a number of options

through these steps, including an

electric motor to spin the propeller.

It is also worth noting that if you are

planning to build your model with all

the engine cowlings buttoned up,

you can get away with fitting just

the basic engine and radiator parts.

Most of the detail parts can be left

off in that configuration.

However, I decided that it would

be a terrible waste to hide all that

detail so I was going to build the

entire engine and display the model

without the cowlings.

Once again, I tackled this area as

a series of sub-assemblies.

The engine block and

supercharger were quite fast and

easy to assemble. Once this was

done, the block was painted Tamiya

XF-18 Semi Gloss Black, and some

Assembly of the engine blockis quite straightforward.

Clamps were used to make sure the partsstayed firmly together as the glue set.

The propeller willrotate if you arecareful to avoidgetting any glue onthe propeller shaftor its mount.

Here is whatthe propellershaft mount

should look likefrom the rearafter assembly.

Clamping the sides of theengine block. Can’t hurt!

The superchargerwas taped to the

rear of the engineblock to ensure a

perfect fit.

Detail partsfrom Steps 51to 59 paintedand awaitinginstallation.

The assembled engine block was sprayedTamiya acrylic X-18 Semi Gloss Black and given

a wash of MIG Productions’ Neutral Wash,which settled naturally into recesses. Boltheads were picked out in silver.

More detail parts, thistime fitted underneaththe engine.




of the bolt heads were spotted with

silver paint.

The engine block fits onto two

pegs at the front of the engine

mounts, and into a cross-shaped

insert in the front of the firewall. The

fit is good – pretty much a tightpress fit – but I found that some

force was required to push the

block fully onto the pegs and the

cross-slot.

At this stage I clipped off and

cleaned up all the detail parts for

the top and sides of the engine,

covered by the instructions from

Steps 51 to 67. These were

divided by ultimate colour again.

The groups were black, green

and silver. Once the base colours

were sprayed, the parts weredetail-painted with a fine brush and

attached after careful reference to

the instructions. There are some

complex sequences in these steps,

so pay close attention, test fit and

double check.

I repeated this painting and

installation process for the detail on

the underside of the engine – Steps

68 to 76.

The oil tank tube,Part C21, must bethreaded through

the firewall andglued into the

bottom of the tankbefore the engine is

glued in place.

A bit of time wasspent painting and

weathering theprominent ignition

harness.

The engine block was now pressedonto the locating tabs on the front ofthe mount and into the cross-shapedrecess in the firewall.





Some pressure wasrequired to seatthe engine on itsmounts, but the fitwas perfect.

Port side view

from underneath.Note that the silveroil tank line hasbeen glued intothe bottom of theengine.

The first of thedetail parts fromStep 53 have beenfitted here.

The first layerof interwovenplumbing.

The next layerhas been addedhere. I had to testfit Parts C09 andC10 several timesbefore I worked outhow they fitted.

The ignition harnessand more detailparts added to theengine block.

A view from theport side of theengine.




RADIATOR AND DUCTING

Next up came the radiator, the

ducting and associated pipes and

details.

The radiator body was

assembled (Parts D05, D12, D13and D14) before being sprayed

AS-12 Silver. The radiator faces

were washed with a thin mix of

Winsor & Newton Lamp Black and

Raw Umber oil paint, highlighting

the subtle raised mesh texture.

The sides of the radiator assembly

(Parts D07 and D08) received the

same treatment.

Fitting the two side radiator pipes

(D22 and D23) is tricky. The back

of the pipes fit into slots in the front

of the wing roots after the pipes arefed through holes in the shield (Part

D15). At first, I could not figure out

how these would fit. The pipes are

a very tight fit in the holes, and the

angle is not entirely obvious. My

best advise is to check the photos

in this Chapter, and have faith

that the parts will fit perfectly once

you’ve figured out the angles.

Also note the orientation of the

front radiator extension (Part D17)

if you are fitting it. The correct

orientation is shown in Step 86.Once I had finished the cockpit

and engine bay, things moved on

pretty quickly.

A second batch ofengine detail partspainted silver and

ready for assembly,this time from Steps

60 to 76.

Black paintedparts from thesame batch of

detail parts.

The assembledradiator unit viewedfrom the front…

…and from the rear.The lovely subduedmesh effect hasbeen highlightedwith a dark oil wash. Note the location of the three pipes at the bottom of the engine terminating on the firewall. These are Parts

D24 and D26. This is another tricky sequence that may require a few dry runs before committing to glue.





It is very important that the grey shield (Part D15) is located in precisely the right place.

This is followed by two curved pipes (Parts D22 and D23) that have to be fed through thetight holes in the shield and glued into locating slots in the wing spars. This is how it shouldlook after the parts are glued in place.

The big radiator housing was fixed in place and taped until the glue had completely set.

Intake ducting comes next.

The completed engine unit is a very impressive piece of plastic engineering.

Once they are together, the fuselage framing,wing spars and engine really convey thedensity and strength of the Typhoon’s core.




WINGS AND THINGS

As we start to work on the wings,we have to make a few decisions.

These are:

• Undercarriage position – up or

down?

• Ordnance – bombs, rockets or

fuel tanks?

• Wing cannon bays – open or

closed?

Airfix provides two sets of main

undercarriage mounts – one set for

retracted and one set for lowered.

These are not interchangeable

once installed, so make sure youchoose the right option for your

choice. I built my model with the

undercarriage lowered, so I used

Part Nos. F42 and F43.

Step 90 clearly lays out which

holes need to be opened up for

ordnance. This is best done before

the mid-lower wing is attached

So much to look at, and entirely constructed of plastic! An upper view of the detail on top of the engine.

Moving onto the wings, the holes for the rockets were drilled outwith a pin vise.

The large drill bit left plastic residue on the outer surface of thewing. This was cleaned up with the tip of a hobby knife.

Silver parts sprayedprior to wing assembly.

The stout undercarriage mounts wereglued to the wing spars. I should havetaken care of that big sink mark!

Taking no chances,the wing spars werecomprehensivelyclamped to the bottomcentre wing section toguarantee perfect fit inthis critical area.





to the wing spars. If you are

building your model with retracted

undercarriage, the gear bay doors

(H01 and H02) should be fitted

from the inside before attaching the

lower wing to the spar too.

The bottom of the spar attach to

the wing via nice positive locating

tabs and pins.Once the lower centre wing

section is attached and the glue has

thoroughly set, we can start adding

the interior wing structure. Take care

here, as the configuration of the

internal wing structure is different for

raised or lowered undercarriage. If

you are building your model with the

undercarriage down, ignore steps

95 and 96, and skip straight to

Steps 97, 98 and 99.

Some of the wing bulkheads

need to be finessed into position,but the instructions do a good job

showing the angles and sequence

or assembly.

Construction of the wing cannon

bays and the remaining internal wing

structures is covered in Steps 107

through to 127, including the leading

edge and main wing fuel tanks. I

painted the bays and the tanks, but

you don’t really need to as they are

completely sealed inside the wings

when the model is finished.

If you plan to seal the cannon

bays, do not install the ammunition

feeds or drums (Steps 111 to 114

and Steps 117 to 124). These will

interfere with the fit of the closed

bay doors.

If you do plan to display the

cannon bays, you might want to

paint the various parts in sub-

assemblies prior to bringing the

components together.

The roof each undercarriage

ceiling is a separate part, with

thin perforated ribs adding extra

detail. Make sure the ribs are

properly pressed into place or they

may interfere with the fit of the

undercarriage ceilings.

At my first attemptI assembled thewrong internal wingstructure – thisis for the raisedundercarriageoption.

The mounts for theHispano cannonand internal wingstructure may beseen fitted to thewings here.

This is the correctconfiguration for thelowered undercarriageinternal wing structure.

Once again, clamps wereused to ensure a tight fit.

Elements from thewing cannon bayswere painted andweathered beforethey were fitted.




Once again, the detail is built upin layers in the cannon bays.

The simple parts breakdown of thelong Hispano cannon and drums.

The ends of the barrels are solid,so they were hollowed out with thetip of a sharp hobby knife blade.Note the unattractive seam line too.

The ammo feeds awaiting assembly.

The leading edgeand main wing fueltanks, assembledprior to painting.

In fact, you couldreally skip paintingthese as they willbe hidden inside thewings.

My paint numbertranslation list!

The Hispano cannon and associatedsub-assemblies painted and weathered.

The empty bays just yearn for allthat busy cannon detail!

The barrels must be bentand threaded through theholes in the wing spars.Luckily, the soft plasticbent and did not break.

Those long barrels areexposed and vulnerableduring the remainingassembly.





I found that the undercarriage

ceilings needed clamps to ensure

that they sat down perfectly on

the undercarriage bay sidewalls.

If the fit is not perfect, the upper

wings will not fit flush over theundercarriage bays.

The next choice you have is

in Steps 134 and 135 – the wing

leading edge landing lights.

Generally, this light was not fitted

to rocket equipped Typhoons, but

there were exceptions. Check your

references.

My wings fitted perfectly. First the

lower outer wing panels were glued

in place, followed by the upper

wing halves.Soon you will need to decide

whether you fit the early smaller

tail planes (Step 143) or the large

Tempest tail (Step 144). Once

again, check your references.The wing tanks have been fitted here too.

Time to work on the undercarriage bays. These narrowperforated strips will be glued to the ceilings of the bays.

Here are the perforatedstrips glued to one of thelanding gear pay ceilings.

Don’t spare the clamps!The undercarriage ceiling must becompletely flush with the rest of theinternal wing structure to allow thetop wing halves to sit down properly.

The upper wing halves and the outer lowerwing sections ready for installation.

The glue has dried. Here is our last look at allthe internal wing detail before it disappears!




The lower outerwing panels areglued in place first.Fit is excellent.

The outer wingsupports and spars

work exactly asadvertised.

Fit of the upper winghalves was excellent too.

Sanding sticks were used tospread the pressure of theclamps evenly, even over theopen cannon bays.

Detail in theport side open

cannon bay.

We still have aglimpse of theleading edge fueltank through theforward wing spar.

The cupboardis a bit bare…

…but Airfix has takencare of that with additional

detail parts for theundercarriage bays.

Test fit, testfit, and test fit

again. Patienceis a virtuewhen dealingwith the wheelwell detail!





BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

The configuration of the nose is

decided in Step 147. My model was

built to display the entire engine,

so I simply cut off the nose off

each half of the fuselage forward of

the firewall. If you have chosen todisplay only the top of the engine,

or to seal up the cowls, don’t cut

this off!

The instructions suggest that

you glue the port fuselage side

to the cockpit framework and the

port wing, then add the starboard

fuselage half from the other side.

I took a different approach.

I glued the two fuselage halves

together before adding them to the

wing. Once the glue had completely

set, this shell was then clipped overthe top of the cockpit framing. The

result was an almost perfect fit at

the wing roots, and no gaps at the

top and bottom fuselage centreline.

The lower rear fuselage is a

separate insert. I test fitted this and

found the fit to be perfect. Under

normal circumstances I would have

simply brushed a fine line of Tamiya

The insides of thefuselage halveswere sprayed withTamiya AS-12 BareMetal Silver straightfrom the can. Themating surfaces onthe top and bottomjoins have beenmasked off so thelacquer paint doesnot reduce theeffectiveness of theglue.

As my model woulddisplay the entireengine, I cut thenose off in frontof the firewall. Arecessed line masbeen moulded tothe inside of thefuselage to makethis task easier.

The big Temptest

tail inserts, separate(top) and glued inplace (bottom).

The simple tailwheel bay has beenfitted and paintedhere too.

The rear fuselagearea was maskedoff and the cockpitsidewalls paintedblack.

At last, the exposedHispano cannon barrelsreceive some protectionfrom the long fairings.

Contrary to the instructions, I glued thefuselage halves together before attachingthem to the cockpit frame and the wings.Note that this might not work if you have

not cut off the nose!

The fuselage shell was flexed slightly andclipped over the cockpit framework. Tapeand clamps were once again used to holdthe assemblies in place while the glue dried.




The results were impressive. The lower rear fuselage insert slots into the back of the wing, then can be pressed downand glued in place.

Now it’s starting tolook like a Typhoon!

Pret ty good fit at the por t side wing root . Excellent fit at the starboard side wing root – no fille r orsanding here yet.

The slight gap only appeared on my second attempt to gluedown the lower fuselage insert. The first attempt while dryfitting suggested a perfect fit.

Constructioncommences with theframework for the

cockpit and the wingspars. Just like thereal aeroplane, thisframework forms a

solid core for the entireaeroplane so it is

absolutely crucial that

the parts are accuratelyassembled...





Extra Thin Liquid Cement around

the joins and it would be done,

but I had not taken a photograph

of the area. I therefore popped

the lower fuselage part off, took

the photograph, and reattached

it. Infuriatingly, now it would not sitdown without narrow a gap at the

front. Not a huge deal though, as a

smear of putty filled the gap.

The airframe is now together –

the model looks like a Typhoon!

However, there are still many little

jobs required to complete the

model. Some of these involve

options – which cowl covers to

fit, what ordnance to install and

so forth – while others require the

fitting of control surfaces, cannon

bay doors, propeller assemblies,canopy, undercarriage bay details,

landing legs and wheels.

One of the final jobs is fitting the

upper cockpit sidewalls. These

feature some internal structure

and a few details. The interior was

painted using the same sequence

of techniques that I employed

earlier for the rest of the cockpit.

The port side upper cockpit panel

(Part 204) was glued in place first.

Next, the gunsight was attached

simultaneously to the top of theinstrument panel and to the newly

attached upper sidewall. Finally,

the gunsight was wedged in place

when the starboard upper sidewall

was glued in place.

Stabilizer andelevator parts weremarked with theirpart numbers toensure that I did notlose track after theywere clipped fromthe sprues.

The elevatorsfeatureplastic hingesand moveabletrim tabs.

One of the completed horizontalstabilizer assemblies.

Check out the fit at the stabilizer root – wow!

I broke one of the aileron hinges, so I drilled andpinned the part.

I lost one of the rudder hinges too, so I improvised!

The starboardrudder half priorto assembly.

Landing flaps. I decided to pose these closed.

A wedge of plasticmust be removed toallow the flaps to beglued shut.

The upper cockpit sidewallsand the gunsight.

Painting makes allthe difference!




The port side upper cockpit sidewall was glued in place first. It is a shame that a lot of this detail will be hidden inside the small cockpit opening.

The exhaust stacks receiveda basic paint job. Thesewere destined for furtherweathering later on.

The exhaust stacksglued in place.





The model with controlsurfaces all glued in place.

The open foldedcannon bay coverswere assembledat this stage.

Airfix has chosento tread the entirely

traditional path, achievingsuperb detail with plastic

parts alone...




The gap at the bottom of the fuselage insert was filled with Milliput.

We’re ready for masking and painting!



50 Chapter 5 - Internal Structures

CHAPTER 5 INTERNAL STRUCTURES

One of the most interest-

ing aspects of theHawker Typhoon is its

structural design. Unlike

the Spitfire's monocoque airframe,

Hawker chose a tubular aluminium

framework for the core internal

structure and Airfix has depicted

this extensively. The detail is very

impressive but the complex parts

require their moulding seams scrap-

ing off, which takes quite a while. I

used a Swann-Morton No.11 blade

– several in fact – until the notice-

able lines had been removed.

The wing spars are also very

well detailed parts are requiresome assembly before they can

be painted. It is tempting to build

up as much of the internal framing

as possible before painting but

as the engine firewall needs to

be painted black (and sits in the

middle of it all), this would be very

tricky. I therefore chose to spray

each of the main elements prior to

slotting them together and I then

covered up the cement-marks are

effectively as possible afterwards. I

didn't bother to prime the plastic. I

simply airbrushed Tamiya XF-16 Flat

Aluminium directly onto the frameparts plus all the small, individually

moulded struts that are positioned

after the main unit has been

formed. The Tamiya acrylic paint

creates an excellent, aluminium-

coloured finish but it does require

several days to harden to the point

where the kit parts can be handled

safely without the risk of the colour

rubbing off. To further secure the

finish, I sprayed on a layer of

transparent 'Future' acrylic floor

polish, which also offered a harder

BUILDING AND PAINTING

INTERNAL STRUCTURESA SECOND OPINION Marcus Nicholls offers his unique insights and describes thetechniques he used to paint and weather the internal framework,engine and cockpit components of Airfix's 1:24 Hawker Typhoon.

Here we cansee the partiallyassembled main

internal structureslaid out, ready to

be painted.

Tamiya's XF-16 FlatAluminium was usedfor all the framework;it airbrushes very wellwhen thinned withthe company's X20AAcrylic Thinner butdoes require a coupleof days drying time.

Here, the twocockpit side-framescan be seen,painted aluminiumand with theiracrylic colour-washapplied.

Close-up on a corner of one of the frames showing the colour-wash




surface for the following weathering

processes.

Once the paint and varnish had

hardened, I began to apply some

colour-washes using a slightly

unconventional method. Instead of

the usual oil paint and white spiritcolour-washes, I created a similar

looking 'glaze' made from black and

brown acrylic paint (Vallejo) diluted

with Future acrylic polish. The main

reason for this was speed of appli-

cation; there are a lot of joints within

the framework and the acrylic could

be painted on quite quickly, leaving

it to settle itself down into the detail

without the need to 'adjust' it once

in place, as you must sometimes

do with spirit-based colour-washes.

This created a subtle but quiteeffective deepening of the surface

detail and was enough to allow me

to continue with assembly.

The large firewall moulding was

sprayed with Vallejo Surface Primer

Black, which forms a tough, satin

black finish. This paint can be air-

brushed directly from the bottle but

some users prefer to thin is slightly

for better flow through the airbrush.

SCRAPE BEFORE YOU GLUE

When preparing to cement the vari-ous structural elements together, it

is vital that the paint and varnish is

scraped off the areas where mating

parts will be cemented together or

the bond will be very weak, not to

mention messy, as the liquidised

paint can ooze from the joint. Even

the smallest joints' contact areas

must be scraped or the parts will

not bond properly, in fact it's all the

more important that they are as

these are the ones that need all the

bonding strength they can get. I

slotted the wing spars and cockpit-

wall frames together then ran Mr

Hobby Cement S into the joints

using a paintbrush; the cement

found its place and bonded the

interlocking elements together well,

forming a strong sub-frame.

The engine bearers then became

subject to additional weathering;

they do support that massive

Napier Sabre after all! I figured

there would be a fair amount of

oil and fluid spills and drips from

servicing plus a little heat discol-

ouration, although to be honest I'm

not sure if aluminium is affected

in this way. I took a little Humbrol

This is theTyphoon's 'core'structure, slottedtogether and readyto be cementedtogether. Note theblack firewall.

Liquid cement was applied witha fine paintbrush in order toreach all bonding surfaces.

Here we canwitness the resultof the 'spattering'treatment on theengine bearers,

created withthinned enameland oil paints.

Quite a lot of theoil spatteringlanded on the

firewall and

this was latertoned downwith a localised

airbrushing ofmatt black.





Enamel 85 Coal Black, 46 Matt

Orange plus some brown and black

oil paints and diluted them heavily

using cigarette lighter fluid. This is

a very light spirit than evaporatesalmost immediately, leaving the col-

our just where you put it and does

not attack the painted finish at all,

making it a very useful material for

localised colour-washes. I flicked

the brown and yellowish liquid onto

the engine bearers with a cut-down

paint brush to create a very messy

finish which would be 'adjusted'

later on using dry-brushing, as we

will see.

Once this effect had cured, I

dry-brushed the treated areasto restore a little order, as the

splattering did look very messy

indeed. To achieve this, I used a

new product (new to me at least),

namely Games Workshop's 'Citadel

Necron Compound', which is very

finely grained aluminium paint with

an almost paste-like consistency,

rather like printers ink, but using

an acrylic base. It dry-brushes

brilliantly and it was used to lift

the raised details on the engine

bearers from my mucky, splattery

When preparing to cement the

various structural elements together,it is vital that the paint and varnishis scraped off the areas where mating

parts will be cemented together...

Games Workshop's'Citadel NecronCompound' is apaste-like materialwith very finemetallic-effectgrain.

Here we can seethe almost drybrush being flickedover the engine

bearers and almostimmediately, thespattered effectstarts to tonedown. Particularattention was paidto the junctions of‘tubular’ sectionsand the mouldedrivets in theseareas. The Citadelmaterial has animpressively long‘linger time’, notdrying too quicklyand allowing oneto work over largerareas with onebrush-load.

To prepare for dry-brushing, a blob of the Compoundwas deposited on piece of card and a clean, drybrush dipped in.

The brush was then rubbed onto the card toremove much of the paint before it was appliedto the model.




weathering effect.

For many years, I have used a

silver 'Karismacolor' colouring pencil

to add the brightest highlights to

kit parts and it was only recently

(when trying to buy a couple of

new ones) that I discovered that

Berol discontinued them several

years ago! So, I am stuck with the

stub of a pencil that has had its

tip glued back in several times...

I employed this useful veteran of

many models to add some bright,

metallic highlights to the framework

and other parts and no doubt it will

be used again on other areas of the

Typhoon as the project progresses.

And this is about as far as I got with

the internal structures, so let's take

a look at the pilot's seat now.

One element of the framework is moulded into the cockpit-side of the firewall and the author

forgot to paint it aluminium! So, it was masked off with Tamiya masking tape in-situ.

Thinned Tamiya XF-16 was then airbrushed on to create the correct effect, taking care to

keep overspray to a minimum.

Berol discontinued their superb 'Karismacolor' colouring pencils some years ago and this is all that's left of the author's silver pencil! It was used to create metallic highlights on the upperedges of the framing.

The pilot's footrests also receivedmetallic highlights

along theiredges using the

Karismacolor silverpencil.





PILOT'S SEAT

Airfix provides an excellent replica

of the seat for this kit and it builds

up from just four main parts; seat

back, bucket and two side panels.The quilted back-padding is mould-

ed (and very well done it is too) into

the seat back; the squab, if you do

not intend to fit the pilot figure, is a

separate component. The four main

mouldings fitted together well and

just needed a light application of

liquefied filler (Holts Cataloy Knifing

Putty, diluted with liquid cement) to

seal the joints between them.

The seat was given two good

layers of Vallejo Surface Primer

Black. Some sources say the seatshould be in grey or interior green,

but I think black is also a suitable

colour. The seat pads were painted

with a base colour of Vallejo 'Panzer

Aces' Canvas (314), highlighted

with Vallejo 'Panzer Aces' Highlight

Japan Tkcr (332). Colour washes

of darkened shades of the base

colour were applied to enhance the

surface detail.

Here we see thepilot's seat duringconstruction withjust one side panelleft to go on. Detail

is exemplary.

The assembled seat showing where a little thinned filler was applied to seal some joints.The excellent padding detail can be appreciated here.

I figured that the cockpit of a

fighter aircraft in the field (rough

airstrips in Normandy etc.) would

accumulate quite a bit of dust from

the pilot's uniform and boots as

he clambered in and out of the

cockpit and the seat is always the

first place he would plant his foot

as he boarded his machine prior,

to a sortie. I therefore added a bit

of a dust build-up in the corners

of the seat and on its outer edges,

along the tops of the structural

lips where the dust might settle.

This was accomplished painting

Humbrol Enamel 234 Dark Flesh

– which is actually a rather good

dust colour – into the interstices of

the seat. The effect was 'trimmed'

with more lighter fluid to feather the

Once a layer of blackacrylic had beenapplied, the seat pad

was hand-paintedusing Vallejo Acrylics'Canvas', highlightedand shaded to bringout the detail.

Using a coffee stirreras a handle (the seat isattached with Blu-Tack),

the dust effect wasapplied to the raiseddetail using HumbrolEnamel 234.

The Humbrol paint

was also appliedto the inner edgesof the seat bucket,its edges featheredout using cigarettelighter fluid as asolvent.

'Citadel NecronCompound was dry-brushed around the edgesof the metallic parts tocreate worn highlights.




edges of the paint. Citadel Necron

Compound was again dry-brushed

along the edges of the seat to sug-

gest areas of extreme wear, where

the black paint had worn right down

to the aluminium, but this effect

must be kept subtle or it can look alittle ridiculous.

RB Productions recently released

a 1:24 Sutton harness (QS/QL/QP

types) using die-cut paper for the

webbing and photo-etched nickel-

steel for the buckles. It will require

some extremely careful assembly

but offers the best possible solution

to the creation of a realistic harness

for this kit.

RB Productions new1:24 Sutton harness(QS/QL/QP types)with pre-cut cardfor the webbing andphoto-etched metalfor the buckles andhardware

Airfix provides atwo-part instrumentpanel, with the faciain grey plastic andthe dial-face panelin clear, fitting infrom behind. Detailhere is superb andappears to be veryaccurate.

The large size of theinstrument panel

can be appreciatedhere; this is a 1:24

kit after all!

INSTRUMENT PANEL

The instrument panel is always a

focal point of any model. I have to

admit it's one of the very first parts I

seek when inspecting the contents

of a new aircraft kit box as it can

be an accurate indicator of the

model's overall quality; if the panel

looks well detailed and accurate,

chances are the rest of the kit will

be of a equivalent standard. That's

my theory at least. Airfix provides a

two-part panel for the Typhoon and

it looks excellent, with very scale-

like raised bezels, knobs and other

details moulded into the fascia’s

front surface. The clear rear insert

appears to be a good idea at first,

as one might reasonably assume

the dial decals could be applied

(facing forward) to its rear face to

create the effect of clear dial lenses,

but in practice the clear plastic

part is much too thick and uneven

for this to happen and I ended up

applying the decals to the front

of each dial face, sealing them in

Test fitting the two parts together paidoff as the fit was quite tight. This wasremedied by carefully opening out the dialapertures in the front panel from the rearface until the clear part dropped in easily.





with Future polish once dry. This

was a slight disappointment and

in hindsight I would have cut out

some thin acetate plates to replace

the clear moulding. The final effect

is perfectly adequate however and

the panel looks fantastic oncecomplete.

The kit comes with all of the side

consoles too. These were painted

in the same way as the main panel.

The trim wheel was finished with

varying shades of brown to closely

replicate the Bakelite material of

the original component. Airscale

also produces a sheet of WW2 RAF

cockpit placards and some were

used (some trimmed to fit) on the

main and side panels.

Once a base coatof Vallejo SurfacePrimer Black hadbeen sprayed on,the dials that wouldhave colouredbezels wereundercoated withmatt white.

An orange colour wasmixed up and carefullyapplied over the whitebezel edges.

The kit's decal sheet provides decals for the dials but for anadded touch of refinement, Airscale's WW2 RAF dial decalswere used instead.

Thanks to the thickness of the clear plastic, plus its unevensurface, the dial decals had to be applied to the front ofeach dial face instead of the rear as originally planned.

Here we see the completed facia panel which alsoreceived a little of the same dust treatment that was usedon the seat.

The finished instrument panel withclear rear insert fitted. The Airscaledecals look superb.

The side consoles, throttleand 'Bakelite' trim wheelawait installation.




NAPIER SABRE ENGINE

Like the instrument panel, the

Typhoon's mighty Napier Sabre

engine is a key focal point of themodel and Airfix have done a

splendid job of it in this kit. It's not

perfect of course; the engine block

and cylinder heads could use some

additional bolt heads and fine

details and there's plenty of cabling

and plumbing that needs adding

but overall, it's an impressive effort

that would be a crime to cover

up with cowlings. Like the cockpit

framing, cleaning up the ignition

harnesses took ages – there's just

such a long mould seam – butit's an essential task if you intend

to show off your engine, because

there is nothing uglier than a

missed moulding seam on a detail

part. You'll probably find one now,

on my model.

The kit's instructions indicate

the optional use of a small

electric motor to spin the prop, if

so desired, although none was

provided in the pre-production

kits that were used for this book.

The slim unit fits inside the engine

block and would be connected to

a battery, hidden somewhere within

the model. I rather like this feature,

so perhaps I'll buy myself a produc-

tion kit and build another with a

spinning propeller! As it was, I fitted

the prop shaft so it would rotate; it

would be painted in a suitable steel

colour later on.

The fit of parts for the engine was

generally excellent and just a few

fillets of thinned putty were applied

in strategic positions to seal some

hairline gaps. The massive super-

charger is very well detailed and

mounts positively to the rear of the

powerplant. The junctions where

The basic engineparts, laid out priorto assembly. Asimple structurefor an immenselycomplicated enginein reality!

Close-up view of a cylinder head showing the excellent detail, although some aftermarket resin bolt-headswouldn't go amiss here.

The kit'sinstructions showthe installation of asmall electric motorto spin the prop, ifso desired.

The Typhoon’s mightyNapier Sabre engine is a keyfocal point of the model andAirfix have done a splendid

job of it in this kit...





its four compressed-air pipes (?) fit

to the corresponding ducts on the

engine were wrapped with narrow

strips of plastic card to emulate the

unions of the real thing; these are

much more complex in reality but it

was better than nothing.Once again, I used Vallejo black

primer to undercoat the engine

block as the real thing was painted

in a rather dull overall black. As

I progress with this model (the

finished thing will appear within

one of ADH Publishing’s model

magazines) I will add further metal-

lic finishes to the engine's ancillary

parts and this will create a more

complex, visually engaging appear-

ance without straying too far from

the bounds of accuracy.The ignition harnesses were

sprayed with Alclad II Aluminum

and once dry, given an acrylic

colour-wash using a yellow-brown

shade (diluted with Future) to

replicate the real thing's finish as

closely as possible. The short

ignition cables were braided steel

in reality so they were touched in

with a mixture of Humbrol Metalcote

Aluminium and matt white to create

a semi-metallic finish.

With the internal framing, engine,instrument panel, seat and other

interior components now prepared,

I was well into the build of this

magnificent new production from

Airfix, and I have enjoyed every

minute of it so far. As mentioned

previously, this model will appear

in its completed form in one of

ADH Publishing's scale modelling

magazines so please keep an eye

out for it at www.adhpublishing.com

Here we see the massive superchargerand its peripheral components. Perfectalignment to the engine block isassured thanks to solidly moulded,cruciform lug that runs through thecentre of the various elements.

The supercharge issturdily engineeredand sports somefine surface detail.

The fit of parts

here is good and alittle thinned puttywas painted oversome joint lines fora perfectly sealedsurface.

Vallejo Surface Primer Black was applied over thewhole engine block. In reality, the finish would havehad more of a sheen to it, but the satin finish of themodel paint seemed more in-scale.




A light application of a 'dust-wash' using Humbrol Enamel 234 (thinned withlighter fluid) added a mild touch of weathering.

At this stage, theengine was test-fitted to its bearersto make sure that

paint build-upwouldn't causeproblems later on.

The ignition harnesses were sprayedwith Alclad II Aluminum and thengiven an acrylic colour-wash to add alittle colour and to deepen the detail.

Here we see theengine block with someancillary parts fitted,ready for the next stageof construction.



60 Chapter 6 - Detailing, Painting and Weathering

CHAPTER 6 DETAILING, PAINTING AND WEATHERING

DETAILING, PAINTINGAND WEATHERINGChris Wauchop adds someextra detail before painting andweathering the big Airfix 1:24scale Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib.




A

fter I had finished basic

construction of the Airfix

Typhoon, I handed it

over to master modeller

Chris Wauchop for painting and

weathering. I had never seen Chris

so eager to start a paint job – not

surprising as the Typhoon is one

of Chris’s favourite aircraft and that

the big Airfix kit provides an expan-

sive canvas for his talent.

The model was passed on to

Chris as it was seen at the end

of Chapter 4. The airframe was

assembled, but the propeller and

undercarriage assemblies had not

yet been added. Ordnance was still

on the sprues too.

Chris now takes up the story:





ADDING DETAILBefore painting the model I added

some details.

ROCKETS

The first enhancement was a morerealistic representation of the rocket

guide rail attachments or saddle

plates.

After searching the net I found a

photograph of a couple of damaged

but basically intact brackets. This

photo would be my main reference

in trying to reproduce these rather

complex items.

Following a few abortive

attempts, a very acceptable result

was achieved by carefully bending

.010 x .040 Evergreen plastic stripto the desired shape. I can't really

give precise measurements here,

as I made the first bracket by eye

and used it as a template to make

the next thirty!

After removal of the solid kit

saddle plates, the scratch-built

items were glued in place. Two

lengths of the plastic strip were

now glued between the top of the

bracket halves and to the top of the

rocket tube. This is not an entirely

accurate representation of this keyfeature but it is a lot better than the

kit offering.

The rear of each rocket featured

a Weak Link Lead. Better known

as the 'pig tail', this feature seems

to have been entirely overlooked

by Airfix but is relatively simple to

replicate. I did this by cutting short

lengths of the appropriate diam-

eter plastic rods and gluing them

together to represent the plugs.

Once dry a locating hole was drilled

in the narrow end of each plug and

a length of fine (.355mm) solder

wire was superglued in place.

A hole was then drilled in the

rear end of each rocket and, being

careful to keep them all the same

length, the 'pig tails' were glued

in place. According to reference

photos, the length of these leads

did vary a bit so it's just a matter of

finding one you're happy with and

using it as your guide.

The rocket launch rails were the

next items that needed work. Once

the two halves were glued together,

it was obvious that the uneven tops

of the rails were going to need a bit

of attention. This unevenness was

A. Following a fewabortive attemptsa very acceptableresult was achievedby carefullybending .010 x .040Evergreen plasticstrip to the desiredshape.

B. After removingthe solid kit saddleplates, the scratch-built items were

glued in place.Two lengths ofthe plastic stripwere now gluedbetween the top ofthe bracket halvesand to the top of therocket tube.

C. The ‘pig tails’were made bycutting short lengthsof the appropriatediameter plasticrods and gluingthem togetherto represent theplugs. Once dry,a locating hole

was drilled in thenarrow end of eachplug and a lengthof fine (.355mm)solder wire wassuperglued in place.

D. A hole wasdrilled in the rearend of each rocketand, being carefulto keep them allthe same length,the ‘pig tails’ wereglued in place.According toreference photos,the length of theseleads did vary a bitso it’s just a matterof finding oneyou’re happy withand using it as yourguide.

This shot showsthe complete rocket

dry-fitted to thefinished launch rail.

The first detail addedwas a more realisticrepresentation ofthe rocket guide rail

attachments or saddleplates. After searchingonline, Chris foundthis shot of a couple ofdamaged but basicallyintact brackets. Thisphoto would be the mainreference in trying toreproduce these rathercomplex items.

When the two halves of the rocket railswere glued together it was obvious thatthe uneven tops of the rails were going toneed a bit of attention. This unevennesswas flattened out by gluing a strip of.020 plastic strip over the join and whenreally dry, was sanded flat. On carefulexamination of my reference Chrisnoticed that the front end of the Mk 1b railwas finished with a tapered cap. This wasadded by gluing half round .035 plasticrod to the front of each rail and cuttingthe ends at 45 degrees.

A.

C. D.

B.




flattened out by gluing a strip of

.020 plastic strip over the join and

when really dry, was sanded flat.

On careful examination of my refer-

ence, I noticed that the front end

of the Mk 1b rail was finished with

a tapered cap. This was added bygluing half round .035 plastic rod to

the front of each rail and cutting the

ends at 45 degrees.

All eight rockets complete were

painted with a 50/50 mix of Gunze

Sangyo H 52 Olive Drab and H 330

Dark Green with the saddle plates a

slightly darker shade of the same.

All the scratches and dirty scuff

marks were applied with a very

sharp 6B graphite pencil and a

Derwent Brown Ochre colouring

pencil (also very sharp). The yellowI.D. rings on the nose tips were

roughly hand-painted as they

seemed to be in reality.

UNDERCARRIAGE DETAILS

The kit’s moulded-on brake lines

were removed and replaced with

scratch-built items made from plas-

tic rod bent to shape and fine wire.

The inner and outer gear doors

were painted and weathered prior

to installation. The inner door's

pushrod broke away from itshydraulic cylinder when this and its

opposite part were being removed

from the sprue. The plastic pushro-

ds were replaced with nickel-plated

brass wire of the same length

and diameter, which gave a much

stronger and more satisfying result.

The main undercarriage wheel

hubs were painted with Alclad

ALC 101 Aluminum. A thin wash of

Tamiya X-18 Semi-gloss Black was

then carefully painted in and around

the raised and recessed detail. A

mix of 80% Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black

and 20% XF-64 Red Brown was

then brush painted around the hub

rim just wide enough to allow me to

airbrush, using the same colour, the

rest of the tyre and not getting too

much overspray.

The white tyre slip markers were

applied using a very fine brush. In

reality these markers were usually

hand painted so a few rough edges

can only add to the authenticity!

An extremely thin mix of the red/

brown was then loaded in the

airbrush and some careful shading

was sprayed around the hub detail.

Finally, the tyres received a fairly

heavy dusting around the edges

with Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow.

FINISHING TOUCHES After the addition of a couple of

small details, i.e. a pivot nut and a

bleed valve, the tail wheel received

basically the same paint job as the

main wheels.

The next items to become the

focus of my attention were the pitot

tube and the boarding footstep. The

pitot tube had a hole drilled in either

end and its intake end was filed to

a tapered point.

A brass wire pin was then

cemented into the top of its verticalarm and when this pin was glued

into the corresponding hole that

I had drilled into the lower wing

locating point, it gave the lateral

strength needed for this otherwise

very shallow glue join. The footstep

then received a new cover plate

and handle made with .010 plastic

strip and fine brass wire.

All eight rocketscomplete andwaiting to beattached to theirlaunch rails. Theyhave been paintedwith a 50/50 mix ofGunze Sangyo H 52

Olive Drab and H330 Dark Green withthe saddle platesa slightly darkershade of the same.All the scratchesand dirty scuffmarks were appliedwith a very sharp6B graphite penciland a DerwentBrown Ochrecolouring pencil(also very sharp).The yellow I.D.rings on the nosetips were roughlyhand-painted asthey seemed to be

in reality.

The main wheel hubs were painted with Alclad ALC101 Aluminum. A thin wash of Tamiya X-18 Semi-gloss Black was then carefully painted in and aroundthe raised and recessed detail. A mix of 80% TamiyaXF-1 Flat Black and 20% XF-64 Red Brown was thenbrush painted around the hub rim just wide enoughto allow me to airbrush, using the same colour, the

rest of the tyre and not getting too much overspray.The white tyre slip markers were then applied usinga very fine brush. An extremely thin mix of the red/ brown was then loaded in the airbrush and somecareful shading was sprayed around the hub detail.Although not seen in this shot the tyres did receivea fairly heavy dusting around the edges with TamiyaXF-59 Desert Yellow.

The kit’s moulded-on brake lineswere removedand replaced withscratch-built itemsmade with plasticrod bent to shapeand fine wire. The inner andouter gear doors

painted, weatheredand ready forinstallation. Theplastic pushrodswere replaced withnickel-plated brasswire of the samelength and diameter,which gave a muchstronger and moresatisfying result.

After the additionof a couple of smalldetails, i.e. a pivotnut and a bleedvalve, the tailwheel receivedbasically thesame paint jobas the main

The pitot tube had a holedrilled in either end and its

intake end was filed to atapered point. A brass wire

pin was then cementedinto the top of its vertical

arm and when this pinwas glued into the

corresponding hole that I

had drilled into the lowerwing locating point. Thefootstep then received a

new cover plate and handlemade with .010 plastic strip

and fine brass wire.





PAINTING AND WEATHERINGWith the details complete, painting

of the main airframe could begin.

PAINTING

Paints were a combination of

Tamiya and Gunze-Sangyo acrylics,

all applied with my trusty Aztek

A470 airbrush fitted with the fine

tan-coloured tip.

The paints I used for the Day

Fighter Scheme were Tamiya XF-19

Sky Grey for the undersurfaces and

Gunze Sangyo H75 Dark Seagray

and H330 Dark Green for the upper

surfaces.Gunze actually describe H330

Dark Green as BS381C/641 for use

on modern RAF aircraft but in my

humble opinion this slightly richer

green is a much better match for

the WWII colour than their recom-

mended H73.

The hard demarcation line

between the upper and lower-

surface colours was masked using

Tamiya masking tape while the

dark green was carefully sprayed

freehand following faint guidelinesI had drawn with a graphite pencil.

From the photographic evidence

that I have seen of these aircraft

the green pattern was sprayed

over the Dark Sea grey with a tight,

slightly soft edge and although

there were designated guidelines

for the demarcation of these two

colours the interpretation of these

guidelines did vary quite a bit from

aircraft to aircraft.

The invasion stripes, tail band and

the area behind cockpit headrest

were now masked and sprayed. The

actual width of the D-Day stripes

was supposed to be 18 inches (45.7

cm) but I think that in the haste of

their application this did vary a bit.

Anyway by my calculation, reducing

them to 1:24 scale would make

them about 3/4" (19mm) wide. And

that goes for tail band as well!

Wary of any decal transparency

I decided to give the location of

the fuselage roundels a more

even background by masking and

spaying a white disc over the black

invasion stripe. This was probably

not necessary, but better to be safe

than sorry.

The three main camouflage colours plusthe black/grey wing-walks have beenapplied in this shot. The tape on thestarboard wing is the start of the maskingfor the invasion stripes. The black/ grey wing walk strips seen in this shotwere later widened by another coupleof millimetres as per some clearerreference photos found after the fact.

The invasion stripes, tail band andthe area behind cockpit headrestwere now masked and sprayed.

Chris decided togive the locationfor the fuselage

roundels a moreeven background

by masking andspaying a white

disc over the blackinvasion stripe. Also

in this shot can beseen the beginning

of the weatheringprocess - scratches

done with a silverpencil and airbrush

shading of panellines and exhaust

stains using a verymix of Tamiya XF-1

Flat Black andXF-64 Red Brown.




The weathering process also

continued at this stage with lots of

scratches done with a silver pencil

and airbrush shading of panel lines

and exhaust stains using a very

mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and

XF-64 Red Brown.

DECALS AND COMPLETION

When painting commenced we still

had not received the kit decals,

but fortunately Xtradecal had just

released their after market decals

for the Airfix Typhoon, Item No.

X24003 “Hawker Typhoon Mk 1b”.

After joint discussion, we had

already decided that the most

interesting scheme would be PR-M,

Serial No. MN131, A Typhoon Mk.IB

attached to 609 Sqn, 123 Wing,

2 TAF, on Thorney Island with full

D-Day stripes and a blue spinner.

Most references quote this air-

craft as having a three-bladed pro-

peller, and the serial number seems

to support this, but a photographon page 136 of Christopher Shores

and Chris Thomas’ excellent book,

“2nd Tactical Air Force Volume 1

– Spartan to Normandy June 1943

to June 1944”, seems to show the

aircraft with a four-bladed propeller.

Armed with this photo reference,

we decided to go with the kit’s four-

bladed prop.

As fate would have it, an early

issue of the kit decals turned up

just as I was completing the paint

job. This worked out well, as I could

use the kit’s national markings and

some of the stencil markings. All

the unique aircraft markings were

sourced from the Xtradecal sheet,

except the rough white “PR”s,

which looked much smaller than

the markings on the real aircraft.

Instead, these were cobbled

together from other white markings

on the Xtradecal sheet.

The final finish was a coat ofTestor’s Model Master ACRYL Flat

Clear. I was really pleased with this,

as it imparted the hint of sheen,

especially on the high points of the

oil canned surfaces of the airframe.

With the paint job complete, the

undercarriage, wheels, propeller

assembly and rockets were glued

in place. A whip antenna was also

attached to the fuselage spine aft

of the cockpit. This was simply cut

from fine wire.

At last the big model was sitt ing

on its wheels and finished.

Or was it?

The camouflagepaints are TamiyaXF-19 Sky Grey forthe undersurfacesand Gunze SangyoH75 Dark Seagrayand H330 DarkGreen for the uppersurfaces.

The exposed engineresults in a verybusy appearance.





A. Contrary tomost references,we chose the four-bladed propellerassembly basedon a photo inChristopher Shoresand Chris Thomas’excellent book, “2ndTactical Air ForceVolume 1 – Spartanto Normandy June1943 to June 1944”

B. Engine detail is

straight from thebox. Referencephotos show manyTyphoons with thispattern of exhauststaining on thestacks with the palecolour concentratedat the front.

C. A view fromthe top.

D. The few coloureddetails lend somevariation to theblack and silver ofthe engine bay.

E. The blackwalkway decalwas widened byairbrushing.

F. The combinationof raised rivets andrecessed surfacefeatures may beappreciated here.

G. The handholdsand footholds maybe posed open orclosed.

H. The stirruppilot’s step, glued

into the loweredposition.

I. The bubble topcanopy is thin andfree from distortion.

A.

C.

E.

G. I.

H.

D.

F.

B.




J. Chris carefullyreproducedthe unusualdemarcation of theforward invasionstripe, and theoverpainting of theport side fuselageroundel.

K. The white “PR”was cobbledtogether from whitedecal pieces.

L. The “M”s on theother side were theright size.

M. Detail of thekit tail wheel andthe chunky but

authentic surfacetextures on thelower empennage.

N. Chris painted theinside of the cannonbay doors.

O. Carefulweathering hashelped create animpressive result.

P. Chris scribed aline around each ofthe cannon fairingsto match referencephotos.

Q. The starboardnavigation light.

R. The kit wheelsare subtly bulgedand flattened.Note the white tyrealignment marks.

S. Theundercarriagedoors have beenweathered to matchthe undersurface ofthe model.

T. Rockets in placewith pig tails

dangling!

U. A view of therockets fromunderneath thewings.

J.

L. N.

M.

O.

Q.

T. U.

R. S.

P.

K.





The model was initiallyfinished with all the engineand cannon bay detailexposed.




Port side profile of this powerful ground attack aircraft.

The whip antenna was cutfrom a length of fine wire.

The hard demarcationline between the upper

and lower-surface colourswas masked using Tamiya

masking tape while thedark green was carefullysprayed freehand...





CLOSING UPFrom the first time that Chris saw

the model in the box he said that

he’d prefer to see it with the cowl-

ings in place, displaying the ruggedlines of the Typhoon to their best

advantage.

Even when he picked up the

assembled model, he said that he

would find out whether the cowlings

would fit over the engine detail with

some modification.

As it turns out, they don’t. The

model is designed to be built with

engine detail displayed, or the

engine cowlings in place; but will

not allow the cowls to be taken on

and off.Chris was undeterred. We had

earlier agreed that he would keep

this model and house it in his large

display cabinet. After I had photo-

graphed the model, Chris told me

he would try to modify the kit and

glue the cowlings in place.

As it turned out, Chris said it was

not a very difficult job. He simply

had to chop away much of the pro-

truding engine detail from the topand sides of the engine, then the

cowling and wing root panels could

be glued in place. There were a

few gaps that had to be filled with

Milliput White Epoxy Putty, but then

the cowlings were touched up and

weathered to match the rest of the

airframe.

Chris also sealed the port wing

cannon bay using the one-piece

“closed” door supplied in the kit.

Once again, when the closed

panel was glued in place, the paintwas touched up to match the sur-

rounding area. The section of wing

roundel on the cannon bay door

was cut from Xtradecal solid RAF

Roundel Red (Item No. XTF02) and

RAF Roundel Blue (XF01) decal

using an Olfa circle cutter.

Chris reportedthat the fit waspretty good, withjust a little Milliputrequired to fill somegaps around thewing root fairings.

The wing cannonbay was alsosealed.

Now you see it, now youdon’t! Chris sealed theengine cowlings and theport side cannon bay.




Protruding details had to bechopped off the engine toallow the cowlings to fit. Thecowlings were then gluedin place.





Tools and Accessories Used:

• Lots of Tamiya masking tape

• Evergreen – 102 plastic strip .010 x

.040 and various size plastic rod

• XTRADECAL – X24003 Hawker

Typhoon Mk 1b

• XTRADECAL Item No. XTF01 - RAF

Roundel Blue

• XTRADECAL Item No. XTF02 - RAF

Roundel Red

• Airscale Item No. AS24 - RAFGeneric

WWII RAF Instrument Dial Decals

Paints and Finishing Products Used:

• Gunze Sangyo Acrylics – H75 Dark

Seagray, H330 Dark Green, H74 Sky

(Duck Egg Green)

• Tamiya Acrylics – XF-19 Sky Grey,

XF-1 Flat Black, XF-2 Flat White, XF-64

Red Brown• Alclad II Lacquer - Aluminum ALC 101

• Model Master ACRYL – 4636/Flat Clear

MODELSPEC

Airfix 1:24 Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB.

Kit No. AX19002

The clean lines of the buttoned-upTiffie may be appreciated here.

Airfix’s 1:24 scale Typhoonis a truly impressive model...




The section of upper wingroundel on the port wingcannon bay was replacedwith solid colour decal cutusing an Olfa circle cutter.

The beast complete. Airfix’s 1:24 scaleTyphoon is a truly impressive model.



74 Appendix

APPENDIX

AFTERMARKET ACCESSORIES

REFERENCES

DECALS:

Xtradecal Item No. X24003 Hawker Typhoon Mk.1b

Xtradecal Item No. XTF01 RAF Dull Roundel Blue WWII (solid colour decal)

Xtradecal Item No. XTF02 RAF Dull Roundel Red WWII (solid colour decal)

Available from Hannants www.hannants.co.uk

Airscale Item No. AS24 TIFF Cockpit Instrument Decals Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB

Available from airscale’s website www.airscale.co.uk

PHOTO-ETCHED UPDATES:

RB Productions Item No. RB-P2006 1/24 Sutton QS / QL / QP Harness

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:

The Hawker Typhoon: by Richard A. FranksA Complete Guide to the RAF’s Valiant Wings Publications –Classic Ground Attack Fighter Airframe and Miniature No.2 ISBN 9780956719812

2ND TACTICAL AIR FORCE Vol. 1, by Christopher Shores and Chris ThomasSpartan to Normandy Air War Classics, Ian Allan Publishing ISBN 1 903223 40 7

2ND TACTICAL AIR FORCE Vol. 2, by Christopher Shores and Chris ThomasBreakout to Bodenplatte Air War Classics, Ian Allan Publishing ISBN 1 903223 40 7

2ND TACTICAL AIR FORCE Vol. 3, by Christopher Shores and Chris ThomasFrom the Rhine to Victory Air War Classics, Ian Allan Publishing ISBN 1 903223 60 1

2ND TACTICAL AIR FORCE Vol. 4, by Christopher Shores and Chris ThomasSquadrons, Camouflage and Markings, Air War Classics, Ian Allan PublishingWeapons and Tactics 1943-1945 ISBN 1 906537 01 2

HAWKER TYPHOON/TEMPEST by Yuzawa, Yutaka (ed) Famous Airplanes of the World No. 63 ISBN 4-89319-060-1

THE HAWKER TYPHOON AND TEMPEST by Francis K. MasonAston Publications 1988

ISBN 0-946627-19-3

THE HAWKER TYPHOON, TEMPEST by Kev DarlingAND SEA FURY Motorbooks International ISBN 1861266200

TYPHOON/TEMPEST IN ACTION by Jerry Scutts,Squadron/Signal publication No 102

ISBN 0-897447-232-2

TYPHOON AND TEMPEST ACES OF by Chris Thomas,WORLD WAR 2 Osprey Aircraft of the Aces, No 27 ISBN 1-85532-779-1

TYPHOON AND TEMPEST: by Hugh A. HallidayThe Canadian Story ISBN: 0-921022-06-9

WEBSITES:

HyperScale http://www.hyperscale.com



T e HOW TO BUILD... ser es

V s t www.adhbooks.com

pre-production cover



Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib

The Hawker Typhoon was constantly improved over itsperiod of wartime service. The initial “car door” canopy

offered only limited rearward vision so this was eventuallyreplaced with a clear-vision sliding bubble canopy.

By pilot accounts, the Typhoon was a solid gun platform,fast at low altitudes and impressively powerful, althoughcontrols were heavy at high speed.

Despite proving unsuitable as a pure fighter, the Typhoonlives on in legend thanks to its remarkable ground attack

record against Axis airfields, shipping, vehicles and trains.

Airfix’s brand new 1:24 scale Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ibis an outstanding model.

Surface texture is positively daring with its rippled oilcan effect

and the combination of raised and recessed rivets. Detail isdense, just as it was on the original aircraft. If the modellerwishes to display the engine or the wing cannon bays, Airfixoffers a number of options that do not compromise scale or

detail. Even more remarkable is that all of this detail is deliveredin injection-moulded plastic alone.

Airfix has undoubtedly delivered a true scale classic for our time.

This new book features an exhaustive step-by-step guide tobuilding this remarkable model with contributions from Brett

Green, Marcus Nicholls and Chris Wauchop.

Analysis of the 1:72 Airfix Typhoon, 1:48 Hasegawa kits and the1:32 scale multimedia offering from MDC are also included.

Hundreds of construction photos reference images a museum

Airfix has undoubtedlydelivered a true scaleclassic for our time.

Documents

Airfix How to Build… - Hawker Typhoon Mk.lb