Tempest Mk.V Series 1

Eduard ProfiPACK, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, the type originally being known as the Typhoon II, which was intended to address the Typhoon's unexpected fall-off of performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner laminar flow design. Having diverged considerably from the Typhoon, it was decided to rename the aircraft Tempest. The Tempest emerged as one of the most powerful fighters of the World War II and was the fastest propeller-driven aircraft of the war at low altitude.

Upon entering service in 1944, the Tempest was used as a low-level interceptor, particularly against the V-1 flying bomb threat, and as a ground attack platform, in which it supported major events such as Operation Market Garden. Later, it successfully targeted the rail infrastructure in Germany and Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, as well as countering such attacks by German fighters. The Tempest was effective in the low-level interception role, including against newly developed jet-propelled aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Me 262.

The further developed Tempest Mk.II, which had several improvements including being tropicalised, was intended to join combat against Japan in South-East Asia as part of the Commonwealth Tiger Force, did not enter service until after the end of hostilities.*

I was surprised to see that it had been nearly three years since Eduard first released their 1/48 scale Hawker Tempest Mk.V Series 1. Time flies! I built the kit upon its release and was impressed with its level of detail and surface textures.

You can find a brief build article by following this link.

Eduard has now re-released this kit with new box art but the same plastic, photo-etch and marking options. The old stock of this kit might have been one of the victims of the fire at Eduard's warehouse earlier this year, so we are seeing this Phoenix rising welcome from the ashes.

Apart from the box art, the only difference is the decal sheet. The original was printed by Cartograf. This one is printed in house. The stencil decals are a separate sheet for this release too.

This kit should not be confused with the Eduard Tempest released in 1997. The 1998 tooling reviewed here has nothing at all in common with their 20th Century Tempest.

Eduard's 1:48 scale Tempest Mk.V Series 1 comprises 171 parts in medium grey coloured plastic, 14 parts in clear, self-adhesive die-cut canopy and wheel masks and markings for five aircraft. 43 of the grey parts are marked not for use, so the actual parts count will be even more manageable.

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Thumbnail panels:

Although the kit is labelled as a Series 1, all the plastic parts required to build a Series 2 appear to be in the box too. These include the short barrel Hispano leading edge inserts and the later style large four spoke main wheel hubs. Two sets of rockets are also included, one of which could also be fitted to a Series 2. There is a second propeller and spinner assembly too, which probably represents the Rotol used on later production Tempests. Of course, if you build this kit as a Series 2, you'll need to source your own decals (or just build this as a Series 1 and wait for Eduard to release a suitably marked Series 2).

I can't see any moulding imperfections on my kit.

Surface texture is everything we have come to expect from Eduard - just gorgeous. There are very fine and crisply recessed panel lines, rivets and fasteners. There are also rows of amazingly subtle raised rivets. These really add to the effect and the closer you look, the better it gets!

Assembly starts in the cockpit. The seat is made up from three parts plus photo-etched harness straps. Separate cockpit side frames representing the tubular structure inside the fuselage are included. Side consoles, throttles, trim wheel and other details are attached to these.

In the interests of simple assembly, the floor is semi-solid with a cut out in the middle rather than bottomless with just two suspended foot rails. You won't see much below the seat, but if you would prefer to go the bottomless path, Eduard does offer a replacement BRASSIN cockpit with this feature.

Three instrument panel options are offered. One is made up from three plastic parts with raised bezels and switches; the second is three flat plastic panels with decal dials and the last is a colour photo-etched sandwich with four separate panels built around a single plastic part.

The large distinctive nose intake is made up from eight parts.

The wings are conventionally presented as a full-span lower section and separate upper halves. The wheel wells are built up from six separate side panels that are glued to the inside of the upper wing halves. Additional detail parts are also included for the wheel wells.

Ailerons, elevators and rudder are all separate parts. Flaps are moulded shut.

The tail wheel assembly has a separate leg and mount with a solid anti-shimmy tyre represented.

An optional pilot's step is provided.

The clear parts are thin and free from distortion. a grey plastic lower frame is glued to the sliding section of the canopy, which may be posed open or closed.

Self-adhesive die-cut masks are provided for the canopy and the main wheel hubs.

Marking Options

Markings are provided for five aircraft, all finished in Ocean Grey and Dark Green upper surfaces with Medium Sea Grey below. All of these aircraft were fitted with the reinforcing empennage fishplates. Details are:

• JN766, No. 486 (RNZAF) Squadron, RAF Station Castle Camp, Great Britain, April 1944

• JN751, Wg Cdr Ronald P. Beamont, DSO, DFC & bar, CO of No. 150 Wing, RAF Station Bradwell Bay

• JN755, No. 3 Squadron, Newchurch, Great Britain, May 1944

• JN751, Wg Cdr Ronald P. Beamont DSO, DFC & bar, CO of No. 150 Wing, Newchurch, Great Britain

• JN763, No. 486 (RNZAF) Squadron, Newchurch, Great Britain, June 1944

The decal sheet is glossy and printed by Cartograf.

Stencils are provided on a separate sheet.

Eduard built on its remarkable track record with this brand-new 1/48 scale Hawker Tempest Mk.V joining their state-of-the-art Spitfires, Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf 190s in 2018.

This is a very desirable model with fine crisp surface textures, a high level of detail, and the option of even more detail with a pile of BRASSIN aftermarket options already available.

Fit is generally very good although the framed cockpit is a bit delicate, so take some extra time and care in this area.

I am pleased to see this one back on the hobby shop shelves again!

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text Copyright © 2021 by Brett Green
Page Created 21 July, 2021
Last updated 21 July, 2021

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