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Post by fishplanebeer on Apr 14, 2013 22:55:30 GMT
As well as their new Lancaster DB I've just bought the new 72 scale TYphoon so going a bit Airfix crazy at the moment. I'm not an expert on the Typhoon but from the plans and photos I have it seems to be bang on with a highly detailed cockpit that even betters the recent Brengun versions. I'm not entirely sure about the absence of wing landing lights as some later Tiffies had then and others didn't, so not sure if this was a field mod or specific to a particular production batch? The photo of the last Tiffie built in 'Typhoon & Tempest At War'/Ian Allan definitely has them so a bit confused. In some respects the Brengun kits are better, particularly around the undercarriage wheel well detail, but given this kit is almost half the cost then well worth the extra work. My only minor gripe is that it would have been nice if the plastic on the upper halves of the main wings could have been thinned down to facilitate cutting out the cannon gun panels as this will prove tricky to those like me with a less than steady hand! Still, the inclusion of gun bay detail is a nice touch none the less. My understanding is that Tiffies were either set up to carry bombs or rockets and weren't then changed, so you need to investigate which option is correct for the two versions provided as the instructions don't say. All in all another top notch release from Airfix in my view. Please let me know if you agree or can shed any light (no pun intended) on the wing leading edge landing lights. Regards Colin.
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peebeep
Sprue Cutter
Lots of trouble usually serious
Posts: 59
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Post by peebeep on Apr 15, 2013 10:42:11 GMT
I think you are correct in that the wing was either wired for bombs or RPs and couldn't be readily switched over. If the wing was wired for RPs then the lamps would be plated over. I think this might have been initially a field mod so you might come across anomalies.
I don't know if Chris Thomas ever looks in here, he is a renowned authority on the Typhoon/Tempest. I know that he posts on Britmodeller, you could try contacting him there for an authoritative answer.
peebeep
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Post by fishplanebeer on Apr 15, 2013 21:37:53 GMT
Many thanks for the guidance, I'll see if I can contact Chris Thomas and see if there is anything in the recent book by Richard Franks that I've just ordered.
By the way, apologies to Airfix as I've just noticed the side box art shows which one has bombs and which has RPs.
Regards Colin
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peebeep
Sprue Cutter
Lots of trouble usually serious
Posts: 59
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Post by peebeep on Apr 16, 2013 20:59:56 GMT
Checking through some references (my kits arrived today!), neither of the aircraft featured in the kit decals were fitted with the wing lights. It seems the lights were not a feature of later production aircraft.
To any Typhoon fans, if you don't have any of these kits, what are you waiting for!
peebeep
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Post by fishplanebeer on Apr 17, 2013 20:57:11 GMT
There certainly seems to be plenty of photos of later versions with no wing lights so the kit is bang on in this respect. It's just a matter of checking photos/references to be sure. The later style/larger & wider tail wheel is correct, along with the larger Tempest tail planes, although for absolute accuracy you'll need to scribe a groove in the middle of the tyre all the way around to replicate the anti-shimmy type. Enjoy! Ps. tried to log on to the Britmodeller forum but my McAfee security tells me not to go there as there are security issues!!!
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Post by fishplanebeer on Apr 18, 2013 0:42:07 GMT
My final comment on this excellent kit!
The recent 'Airframe & Miniature' book by Richard Franks suggests that RP Typhoons had the leading edge lights deleted due to the fear that the blast from the RPs would shatter them.
So if this is accurate were Tiffies designated and built as RP and bombers at the factory I wonder? Making this mod in the field seems unlikely, especially as I can't see any trace of a plate/cover in photos of examples with no lights, and it would have affected the structural integrity of the wing if a whole section of the leading edge was replaced.
And finally, the port fuselage needs to have a vertical panel line filled in as the panel or door it creates/represents was a remnant of the original 'car door' type version and only retained on later bubble canopy types on the starboard side as an emergency escape hatch.
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peebeep
Sprue Cutter
Lots of trouble usually serious
Posts: 59
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Post by peebeep on Apr 18, 2013 17:26:46 GMT
The kit is supplied with the four blade prop, so by definition it should be fitted with the Tempest type tailplane, although because of a problem with the four blade prop the first batch of Tempest tailplane Tiffies were fitted with three blade props that were later retrofitted with four blade. Fitting the four blade prop led to a vibration problem, fixed by using the larger tailplane. I'm sure I've read somewhere that lamp covers were initially modified at squadron level - it wouldn't have been a difficult thing to do. Originally bombs and RPs were meant to be interchangeable on individual aircraft but this entailed a high ground crew workload to swap them over, so squadrons were allocated as either RP or Bombphoon units and supplied with aircraft that had their wings wired to suit whichever role the squadron was operating under. Also at some stage it was decided there was no requirement for Typhoons to be fitted with wing lights - it might have coincided with the directive to plate over the lights - so they wouldn't have been factory fitted.
peebeep
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Post by fishplanebeer on Apr 28, 2013 0:03:00 GMT
I think the idea that the wing lights were plated over whilst in the field sounds right. In the book 'Typhoon & Tempest at War' published by Ian Allan there is a pic of test pilot James Moss standing in front of the very last Typhoon produced, by Glosters at Brockworth in 1945, and it clearly has the wing leading edge lights fitted.
Maybe it was felt the mod would disrupt production in the factory too much so it was left to be done once in service?
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