Eduard's old 1/48 scale
Tempest Mk.II Conversion
and Tempest Mk.V

by Shane McMillan

Tamiya's 1/32 scale P-51D Mustang is available online from Squadron.com for just $146.99!

These images are the result of a 20 year long project! 

I have always been fascinated by the Tempest. As a boy of around 12 years  age I built the old Matchbox 1/72 kit, as a Mk V (the kit of course could be built as a Mk V or Tempest 11), and the dreaming began. I could never decide if my favorite aircraft was the Tempest or its older brother the Typhoon. Even now, 35 years after that Matchbox kit, the debate is not fully resolved.

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Thumbnail panels:

In the year 2000, having already purchased Eduard’s first Tempest release, I visited Hanants famous hobby store in  London, where I discovered the MDC Tempest 11 conversion kit, along with Aeroclub’s white metal undercarriage leg set. Returning to Australia with the idea of building two Tempests side by side I purchased a second Tempest kit, this time the ‘Early version’ release, along with the Jaguar (by Roy Sutherland) resin detail set (x2!). The Jaguar set comprised replacement wheels, radiator, exhausts, rudder, fuselage extension plug (the kit fuselage was too short) along with a photo etched instrument panel and other various detail bits. At that time the project got as far as inserting the fuselage extension plugs in both kits, cutting the nose away from the Mk.II kit to fit the new resin nose, and getting the cockpits under way. Both models had the fin leading edge thinned down to remove the horribly thick kit leading edge and the panel detail re scribed. Then life got in the way in the form of a major career change, moving house to another town followed by a marriage breakup and subsequent divorce and an extended period of personal unsettlement but now my modelling is firmly back on track.

Earlier this year (2018) I decided to finally finish the project. The Tempests were pulled out of the stash and work began again. The MDC Tempest Mk.II nose conversion did not fit very well and required a lot of filling to fair in the contours. Mk 11 propeller uses the kit blades but shortened and re profiled attached to MDC resin spinner. The Mk II also uses the Master brass canon barrels and pitot tube set. The Mark V by comparison was a much simpler project, without all the cutting and filling. Squadron vac formed canopies replaced the kit canopies on both models. 

Both models are finished in Tamiya acrylics, XF 2 white, XF21 sky, XF 81 dark green 2, XF 82 Ocean Grey 2 and XF 83 medium sea grey 2, and a custom mix of 10:1 XF3 / X6 for the yellow wing leading edges and Mk V spinner. Camouflage patterns are sprayed freehand using a Testors Aztec airbrush. Decals are a mixture of kit decals and Aeromaster roundels and squadron codes. On the MK 11 I could not source decals for the tail and underwing serial numbers so I produced my own vinyl computer cut stencils and sprayed these markings. The final finish is Testors Dullcote, over a Future floor polish gloss cote, and artist oil panel line washes. Whip aerials are from stretched sprue.

References used where “Mosquito, Typhoon and Tempest” by Chas Bowyer, “ Hawker Tempest’’ by 4+ Publications, and of course the Internet.

Model and Text Copyright © 2018 by Shane McMillan
Page Created 4 February, 2019
Last Updated 6 February, 2019

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