This
is my Matchbox 1/72 Hawker Tempest Mk.
VI.
Construction
The
kit went together very well with some scratchbuilding done to enhance the
nice detail of the model. The seat harness was made from lead foil,
which was painted using Model Master Leather and a
silver pencil for the buckles.
The cannon
stubs were drilled out using my
mini-drill and the antennas for the fuselage topside and underside were
made from different diameters of brass rod. Since the
kit did not come with an instrument panel, I made one from plastic sheet,
painted it black and etched out some dials using a scribing tool.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Painting
Model
Master Paints were used for the exterior colors of Sky,
Ocean Gray and Medium Sea Gray. Primer was sprayed
on the model first followed
by spraying on the sky fuselage band and
the medium sea gray underside.
The band and
underside was then masked off and the topside was sprayed ocean gray overall
followed by some fading using ocean gray mixed
with flat white. The
drawings from the Ducimus Camouflage
& Markings book were
expanded to 1/72 scale using my home copier and the outlines for the dark
green color
were then cut out and laid over drafting tape.
I then drew the outline on the drafting tape, cut the piece, and
used thread to run along the edge of the outline under the tape so that
the edge would be lifted slightly off the edge of the model to provide a
softer edge when spraying on the dark
green. After masking, the
dark green was sprayed on followed again by some light shading
of that color mixed with flat white.
The
cockpit was painted flat black overall as was the area on the upper
fuselage immediately behind the cockpit followed by some drybrushing using
Humbrol Panzer Gray. The landing
gear, wells and the insides of the strut covers and gear well doors were
painted aluminum.
Weathering
& Decaling
I
applied an oil wash of Ivory Black to the landing
gear, inside of wheel well covers and the well areas. The exhaust stacks
were painted flat black, drybrushed with panzer gray and followed up with a
drybrushing of rust.
Panzer gray was also used for exhaust staining.
I
used the kit decals which worked out okay, although some so-called
"silvering" occurred due in part just to the age of the
decals. The
model represents a machine from No. 6 Squadron, Royal Air Force,
which served in Nicosia Cyprus
and Aden, on the
Red Sea
, in the post-war period of the late 1940s.
Happy
Modeling!
Rick
References:
-
Camouflage
& Markings: Hawker Tornado, Typhoon & Tempest RAF Northern Europe
1936 - 1945, R.C. Jones. R.L. Ward, Ducimus Books Limited
-
The
Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Bill Gunston,
Salamandar Books Ltd. 1988
-
The
Typhoon and the Tempest story, Chris Thomas, Arms & Armour, 1988
-
Typhoon/Tempest
in action, Jerry Scutts, Squadron/Signal Publications 1990
Click on
images below to see larger images
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