AndrewR's Matchbox Hawker Tempest ***Finished***

[lancfan]

Pretty sure they have the moulds for this as they did release it as a Matchbox kit just after they bought the MB tools.

David.

[AndrewR]

Pretty sure they have the moulds for this as they did release it as a Matchbox kit just after they bought the MB tools.

David.

And they have released a lot of other ex-MB kits too. Maybe the mould got damaged.
With any luck Airfix will do a Tempest in the next year or so. they are moving through classic British single seat fighters at a fairly good pace.

[Dirkpitt289]

That would be cool if they did.

[Molly-new]

With any luck Airfix will do a Tempest in the next year or so.

Airfix released this Tempest Mk V in the WWII Aircraft of the Aces series back in 1990:



It is the old Heller mold.

[AndrewR]

With any luck Airfix will do a Tempest in the next year or so.

Airfix released this Tempest Mk V in the WWII Aircraft of the Aces series back in 1990:



It is the old Heller mold.

As they're doing a new Tiffie this year, I'm assuming that they are eventually going to retool the entire range
It looks like Airfix are positioning themselves to supply classic British aircraft kits (which would make sense).

So here is a bit of progress with the Matchbox kit. I made a special effort to get the upper surfaces as nice as possible, and needing as little filler as possible.



As you can see, the wing roots needed a touch of filler, but not much.



Unfortunately, optimising the upper surface fit, compromised the lower surface fit somewhat...



However, I've seen a lot worse! So far so good.

cheers

Andrew

[lancfan]

Looks great Andrew, I have always liked this kit.

David.

[AndrewR]

It brings back memories of sitting on the floor in my bedroom painting models over a piece of newspaper.
And trotting down to Shepherd's paint shop to get Humbrol enamels and white spirit...

[AndrewR]

More sanding followed by a coat of primer.

The underneath came out much better than I expected. There are a few places where some more attention will be needed, but many of the filled areas look good.



The top turned out quite well too, particularly at the wing roots (always one of my problem areas to get right).



I have noticed a couple of sink marks in the wings, which were quite invisible when inspecting the naked plastic.
The propeller got a coat of sand primer, because I'm painting the tips in yellow, so sand is best.

cheers

Andrew

[TimJ]

Coming along well.

[AndrewR]

Coming along well.

Thanks Tim.

I tried to get more done today, but I didn't get all the airbrushing done because I was unable to wear the respirator for more than a few minutes.


Here are the views of the rather hasty first coat of aluminium...



The upper wings still need a bit of sorting where those sink marks were.



At this point I had to stop.


Anyhow, nobody will believe me when I tell the respirator injury story, will you ?

Yesterday evening, I was playing with younger son, David, trying to tire him out for bedtime (he was hyperactive and bouncing off the walls, literally). While I was distracted for a second, he picked up a little tin moneybox (empty fortunately!) off his dresser and threw it at me from a range of about 4 feet. His aim was excellent, as he hit me right between the eyes, on the bridge of my nose. It hurt!
I think he has potential as a strike bowler or baseball pitcher...

Luckily, I had taken my glasses off, otherwise they would have been broken for sure. So I now have a swollen nose. I can just about wear my glasses with minimal discomfort, but not the respirator! So no airbrushing for a little while.

See I told you, you wouldn't believe me...

cheers

Andrew

[Jagewa]

I'm laughing with you Andrew, really....

Hope you don't get a pair of shiners to match, and it heals up quick.

Cheers
Jim

[AndrewR]

I'm laughing with you Andrew, really....

Hope you don't get a pair of shiners to match, and it heals up quick.

Cheers
Jim

I nose that Jim

The eyes are okay fortunately!

Cheers

Andrew

[Marek]

Well, my 18 months old almost broke my nose yesterday when casually doing 'crazy ivan' move while falling asleep. She just wanted to check if daddy is there. Not broken but scared hell out of her when started bleeding . I realized that children may do it to you once in a while.

[AndrewR]

Well, my 18 months old almost broke my nose yesterday when casually doing 'crazy ivan' move while falling asleep. She just wanted to check if daddy is there. Not broken but scared hell out of her when started bleeding . I realized that children may do it to you once in a while.

I'd didn't think Poles did "crazy Ivan"...

"Crazy Jerzy" maybe

[Molly-new]

The eyes are okay fortunately!

Ouch, I bet they watered for a while though.

As the saying goes "keep calm and carry on".