Frog (Rovex) Hawker Typhoon build [not GB]

[Eric Mc]

I wonder ws their a difference in approach to painting the rear cockpit decking between the car door hood Typhoons and the sliding rear canopy Typhoons?

[perdu]

A bit more this weekend

Made and drilled and polished the wingtip lamps (clear poly drilled inside, colour dropped in and glued, sanded and polished on the wingtips.

Need to repaint the tips in Sea Grey Medium now but I have managed to spray thirty (plus) year old Humbrol Authentics Ocean Grey overall and it looks like good coverage to me.

Just the basic RAF Dark Green HB1 to add using a lifted mask on the upper surfaces, probably using Blutak as recently demonstrated here. I haven't used Blutak myself and as it looks a useful technique and this, trying out new ideas, is what I'm doing I'll give it a go.

[perdu]

Well I ended up not using blutak

I masked off with Maskol instead

In 1/72 I'm never certain how much feathering a spray finish should have so for this build I have done "none"

Later efforts will try out other methods




Here I have sprayed the Dark Green over the masking fluid

And here is the unmasked paintjob, rough and requiring detailing to trim edges and curves



Now it is time to detail the rest of the model, here are the new landing lights added to the wing leading edge. Silver foil from pain killer caplets was used as the reflector on a drilled out piece of 5/64" plastic rod so the concave lens effect is made.

[dr_gn]

I was going to mention that feathered edges would probably be invisible at 1:72, but I thought you'd made your mind up! Maskol does tend to take the paint with it I found, even worse with acrylic. The answer is...Tamiya masking tape!

Looking good Perdu, huge improvement over the original kit.

[perdu]

I'd forgotten the ragged edge effect with Maskol

We live, learn and remember as we go

I'm quite happy with the detailing I've done, the mirror in the dome (good info, Kleer used as an adhesive for canopies instead of PVA which is an unreliable "clearer upper")

The tip lamps and the landing lamps and wheel well interior, seem good and altogether a nice feel to it now, certainly more "flyable" now.

Choose a plane and finish it up now

How tidy should I go?

Or with weathering, should one go THIS far?



Must be quite a tale to this one...

Pity it is a short cannon version, or I just might

[perdu]

Mostly been a slow week, but some progress to show

I made a pair of bomb ejector racks for the Typhoon, had to carve thick polystyrene sheet as there were no suitable candidates in the spares box (I have a shoe box that had Totectors working shoes in it about twenty five years ago, absolutely chokka with "things under wings". Bombs, missiles, fuel tanks and even floatplane floats.

To think I almost bunged that on eBay once when I was selling some of my old cache... Phew I'm glad I kept it now, found the basis for my 500 pounders in there. Only two though, good job the Tiffie only flew with a pair at at a time.



This is the beginning of making the ejector racks, carving laminated plasticard to suit the underwing profile here



Here is this evening's offering. The finished (OK almost) ejector racks sit in front of an Airfix Short Stirling kit's bomb trolley which bears the pair of 500 lb'ers ready to load. This won't be appearing with the Typhoon on a display (I haven't got one ready yet anyway) but provides a nice period feel to the task.

Behind US*C sits part finished still in its Klear "skin" awaiting detailing and then matting down and weathering.

The transfers/decals (whatever) are probably fifty years old, I was amazed that they still worked and as was usual with Frog, had a very good representation of the proper wartime reds and blues.

The model is awaiting its cannon's rear fairings being painted yellow to match the recognition stripes and oviously will be getting its undercart and wheel well covers too. I have even found a pair of retraction jacks that should fit the inner doors, good stuff in that spares box!



Still much to do detailing wise, exhausts to pick out and such. I am really pleased how the rear view mirror shows up in its personal extra dome on the canopy roof.

The ejector racks have been perched on the bombs for effect, when they are ready they will have steady feet added after the bombs are glued in to their spots, quite a lot to do there really if it's to look right.



The ejectors here posed on the wings to check the fit, minor scraping to do but I am happy with them, going to look good I hope

The underwing stripes...

Not D-Day invasion stripes, Typhoons were flying thoughout 1943 with these identification markings.

At times and from certain angles they had a "look of a FW190" about them and were being targetted by our own anti-aircraft batteries so the recognition markings were added to them to reduce the occurences. The upper wing yellow stripes were to serve the same purpose as protection from our own friendly fighters because of the "190 factor" too.


Well I did say I wouldn't be taking the same time scale as the GB, good job I stayed away

[Gokartmozart]

A lot of nice work there.

Do you have ground crew to go with the bomb carriage.

[perdu]

Gokartmozart said:

A lot of nice work there.

Do you have ground crew to go with the bomb carriage.

I'm glad you like it

No there will be no crew with the model at all, probably not the bomb trolley either this time around

All the figures and associated equipment I had accumulated over the years has all gone now after a clear out about thirty years ago

[Gokartmozart]

Pity, would have made a nice dio.

[perdu]

I expect many of you will have hoped that one day...

Well it's arived

finished (OK I do have to re attach the prop and dab some paint inside the air intake on one side, but)

Bombphoon US*C




matt varnish went on like a dream (cheers doc) and final dusting of grime top and bottom then wheels and other bits and bobs

I'm not that happy with one bomb, low on its rack, maybe later next year. and the prop doesn't "sit" right, that will be sorted before bed tonight

Step made and fitted, retraction jacks for the inner wheel well covers and aerial fitted into canopy



That is it

First model for a long time

And not after all as neat a job as I'd hoped

Sorry to have been going on about it too, much too much information I think, count it as exuberance this time please.

I won't be making so much fuss in future

[Eric Mc]

Well done. Looks good.

The important thing is that it was finished.

[perdu]

cheers Eric

The overall weathering gets washed out under flash so I have taken a few more "archived daylight" pictures, looks better and less of a disappointment

I will be playing at making Matchbox's Wessex an HC2 rather than the HU5 in the box, next

later

much

[Red Firecracker]

The camera has a habit of being very cruel, Perdu, but saying that I can't see anything there to be upset about. Lovely model.

[perdu]

Red Firecracker said:

The camera has a habit of being very cruel, Perdu, but saying that I can't see anything there to be upset about. Lovely model.

thank you

appreciated very much

I have seen my bloomin camera get very "nasty"

I enjoyed it but after a while I saw I'd been too ambitious with the aims for a "first in years" jobby

Next one will be more fun I hope

[dr_gn]

perdu said:

Red Firecracker said:

The camera has a habit of being very cruel, Perdu, but saying that I can't see anything there to be upset about. Lovely model.

thank you

appreciated very much

I have seen my bloomin camera get very "nasty"

I enjoyed it but after a while I saw I'd been too ambitious with the aims for a "first in years" jobby

Next one will be more fun I hope

I think it's a great effort on a very, very old kit. I'm glad you started modelling again after all those years.

Not withstanding the fact that the camera can indeed be cruel especailly at this scale, my honest opinion is that it could be improved in two ways: masking and weathering. Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not saying my efforts are by any means perfect either (and I've never really had a total break from modelling in about 35 years!).

You clearly have an excess of scratchbuilding skills and attention to detail: your self-made canopy looks excellent - certainly as good as a bought one, and as you've probably realised your paint judgement is way beyond mine. I look forward to your next model! Mines on hold - I'm all 'modelled out' for now.

I thought while building mine that 1:72 is probably best left to the younger generation who have better eyesight. 1:48 or 1:32 might be best for me in future.


Cheers!

[perdu]

Thanks dr_gn

here's one of todays pictues

The weathering fades away under flash but shows a bit better in daylight

I agree about the masking, I thought I'd use maskol as you know, but never again for main masking

I used it on the canopy



Much of the B&W stripe marking was left deliberately rough to show the condition Typhoons got into in service, especially when harrying armour but also much of mine has become over worked

As I say, early days for me. Hopefully I will improve before the eyes go completely



I am not too happy yet with the Tamiya tape, seems to allow seepage more than ordinary masking tape but has a far better "cut'n'trim" ability. But that is a tool idiosynchracy I need to master. Cannot blame the tape for it.



edit cos an idiot put the wrong picture in and misspolled a word or two

Edited by perdu on Sunday 3rd April 21:54

[dr_gn]

perdu said:

Thanks dr_gn

here's one of todays pictues

The weathering fades away under flash but shows a bit better in daylight

I agree about the masking, I thought I'd use maskol as you know, but never again for main masking

I used it on the canopy



Much of the B&W stripe marking was left deliberately rough to show the condition Typhoons got into in service, especially when harrying armour but also much of mine has become over worked

As I say, early days for me. Hopefully I will improve before the eyes go completely



I am not too happy yet with the Tamiya tape, seems to allow seepage more than ordinary masking tape but has a far better "cut'n'trim" ability. But that is a tool idiosynchracy I need to master. Cannot blame the tape for it.



edit cos an idiot put the wrong picture in and misspolled a word or two

Edited by perdu on Sunday 3rd April 21:54

It looks excellent in those latest pics.

I learned my lesson with Maskol: it can make life harder rather than easier, and if you end up hand painting the masked deges, what's the point?

Must admit, Never had the slightest problem with Tamiya tape. You have to cut an edge with a scalpel, and press it down well, but seepage is a rare occurence!

Cheers

[Red Firecracker]

A handy 'trick' with Tamiya tape is to eithert run a very light stroke of Klear down it or alternatively a very light coat of the actual paint over the edge first, allow to dry, and then continue painting. That first light pass needs to be just that though, very very light just to seal the edge. I use the technique mainly when I am masking a tricky set of curves, dips or panel lines.

[Shar2]

She's come out really well. A lot of work though to get her into such a presentable state.

[perdu]

Shar2 said:

She's come out really well. A lot of work though to get her into such a presentable state.

Thanks

To be honest I enjoyed the effort of getting it "all right" far more than I ought to have

Must be my strong streak of pedant finding an outing

Still much more I would/should have done to the basic kit to make it exactly what I wanted, including slimming down the trailing edges even more. Still too "expletive" thick at the edges