1/144
MiniHobby Hawker Tempest V |
Gallery Article by S
K Loh
on June 20 2014
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This
is a 1/144 MiniHobby Model Hawker Tempest V. As I had expected after building
the 1/144 Sepecat Jaguar from the same manufacturer which I wrote about in
February, this kit has the following shortcomings:-
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a. The main wing was way too thick
and panel lines were almost absent saved for the ailerons and flaps but were
not accurately shown.
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b. The canopy was also too thick and
there was no cockpit as it was molded flushed.
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c. The aircraft code and serial
number on the decals provided bearing the markings for W2-X (EJ706) were
incorrect. They were printed in dark green when the correct colour should
have been “Sky”. There markings were meant for a Hawker Tempest
operating under 80 SQN, 2nd TAF RAF between 1944-1945.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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Did
a search on Hawker Tempest V and came across one that was flown by French pilot,
Pierre Clostermann when he was with 3 SQN operating out of Volkel Air Base,
Netherlands sometime in April 1945. The following scratch-built enhancements
were made to make it more accurate:-
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a. Removed the original long
barreled (supposedly 20mm Hispano guns) on the main wings and drilled out
the gun ports to depict the short-barreled Hispano MkV guns used for this
particular aircraft.
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b. Sand down the main wings and
scribed out the panel lines.
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c. Improved the chin intake with
scratch-built styrene parts.
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d.
Added the whip radio antenna on
the upper fuselage.
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e.
Added the Rebecca transponder
antenna on the underside port centre section of the fuselage.
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f. Added the L-shaped pitot on the
underside of the port wing.
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g. Cut-out the cockpit and added the
pilot and seat. Had the canopy thinned by sanding and polished and coated
with Future.
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h. Self created the decals.
As
I mix my own colours using basic Tamiya and Mr Hobby colours, I encountered some
difficulty to create the correct shade of RAF dark green. I found several types
of dark green shades used by other hobbyists from the net. I decided to stick to
what I had mixed and airbrushed it on and touch up with fine brush to give it a
tighter Dark Green/Dark Grey camo lines. (The photos somehow heighten the green
shade). A gloss coat was airbrushed on prior to the decal application. I then
applied a satin coat after one day to facilitate the weathering. Pretty heavy
weathering was applied on the engine exhaust and fuselage. Smoke stains from the
guns were applied on the upper wings as well as from the shell exhaust ports in
the undersides.