Typhoon Mk.Ib Car Door
Desert and Luftwaffe Trials Aircraft

Brengun, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Graham Carter

Eduard's 1/72 Avia B.534 IV serie Weekend Edition is available online from Squadron.com

This is one of a series of ‘Tiffy’ models produced recently by this Czech company - kit numbers 72003 and 72004 cover the later models of the Typhoon. This is earlier variant with the car-door canopy and lack of lozenge-shaped strengthening plates fitted around the rear fuselage after a number of tail separations and flutter issues. The parts for this variant are on a smaller seperate sprue which also contains other details such as the solid canopy rear fitted to the prototype and a few early production models.

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Thumbnail panels:

The box is the usual fairly flimsy end-opening one with a CAD illustration of a desert Typhoon dispatching a Ju 52 while the rear has colour profiles and plans of the four decal choices. Inside is a large plastic sleeve containing three mid-grey sprues - one large and two smaller - clear transparency sprue, a single grey resin tropical filter, a small PE set, a 100x100mm decal sheet, and a double sided A4 instruction sheet folded into A5 format. No information about the Tiffy is given but we probably all know enough about this aeroplane anyway.

Parts are nicely moulded in grey plastic, flash is minimal and gates are pleasantly narrow. Surface detail and small parts are finely replicated.

A few parts are not required for this variant and your spares box will benefit from the addition of a 4-bladed prop and spinner, early exhausts, eight rockets and rails, and the larger later tail section.

Construction starts with well-detailed cockpit made up of floor with foot tread boards and pedals, tubular frame , stick, instrument panel, seat with photo-etched belts and relief panels moulded into the fuselage halves.

It should look really good painted up carefully in this scale, although the modeller will have to paint the IP as no PE or decals are provided. This could be rectified by the fastidious by using sets from Extratech, 72098, Yahu or Eduard.

The tropical filter is a small and perfectly cast resin part.

No detail paint call-outs are provided. Wheel wells are nicely done as well with seperate rear walls, great relief details and four small parts for interior pipework. Take care separating parts 25, 27 and 29 as they are diminutive. The wells are attached to the underside wing sections and then the instructions suggest attaching the undercarriage legs, wheels and doors at this stage - I wouldn’t!!  Better to add the wings to the fuselage first and add the u/c later.

The cannon and exhausts are added as well a four-part roll-over section behind the pilot’s seat and a PE footstep.

The fine, clear canopy cannot be posed open.

Just remember that the door opens forward like a car and the side window folds up over the roof.

Markings

Decals are printed in house and display good colour density and register.

Although I feel the red of the roundels is a little too bright given that these aircraft were operated in 1943-4, well after the change to duller colours was promulgated.

The four subjects are as follows, with first three in the desert scheme of Dark Earth/Middle Stone over Azure Blue are all from 451 Sqn RAAF:

• DN323 /N in N. Africa 1943

• SJ906 no code letter

• R8891 no code, and

• JP548 from 17sqn, RAF after its capture in Europe and repainted as T9+GK in Dark Green/Ocean Grey over yellow, with a yellow tail and RLM70 spinner of Zirkus Rosarius in Konigsburg 1943. An interesting scheme for a change.

This is a lovely kit that clearly supersedes previous offering by Academy and AIrfix. This one will satisfy most modellers.

Thanks to Brengun for the review sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2019 by Graham Carter
Page Created 22 January, 2020
Last updated 22 January, 2020

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