Wasting no time at all from his last build Gary has started to mesh together the new 1/48th scale Hawker Tempest Mk/V Series I & Big SIN sets from Eduard. See what he thinks about the kit and the accessories in the first part of his build review...
Build Guide: Hawker Tempest Mk/V Series 1
From Eduard Model Accessories
1/48th scale
Kit No #82121
Plastic Injection moulded kit
Six decal options from Cartograf
Photo-Etched parts
painting mask included
Tempest Mk. V BIG SIN set: w/ late wheels
From Eduard Model Accessories
1/48th scale
Kit No# 64856
Resin aftermarket set
Tempest Mk. V LööK Instrument Panel & STEEL Seatbelts
From Eduard Model Accessories
1/48th scale
Kit No# 64856
Resin aftermarket set
Eduard has recently released a new tooled Hawker Tempest Mk.V family in 1:48 scale. I have the Mk.V Series 1 ProfiPACK (82121) kit which I am using for the base of this build over several parts.
To complement this kit, I am also using the Big SIN (64856) resin set which includes a full Brassin Cockpit, Exhausts, Wheels and Landing Flaps.
The new Eduard Tempest Mk. V LööK Instrument Panel & STEEL Seatbelts get a "look" in also as I will be comparing and contrasting this with the kit part.
I also have some of the Barracuda Studios correction sets including the spinner and radiator intake. I'll highlight all these goodies (and compare them to the kit's parts) as I progress through the build. As with most of the modern Eduard new releases, there is a mountain of add-on goodies from them and other manufacturers that, if you had the patience (and budget), would allow you to build the ultimate Tempest in this scale. A quick search on Hannants revealed no less than 34 related parts (decals, PE, resin etc) designed specifically for the Eduard kits. Whew !!
As I have the Profipack, I'll be selecting one of the kit decal options, of which there are six,. Although I do know that Xtradecal has reprinted their Tempest decal sheet (X48100) which would be an option if you don't particularly like any of the Cartograf printed schemes provided by Eduard.
In the box, this looks to be a stunning kit with fully riveted surface detail. I expect this to be an easy and enjoyable build.
BUILDING - Eduard 1:48 Tempest Mk.V Series 1 (82121)
Eduard provides a very decent plastic cockpit in the kit which is further supplemented in this ProfiPACK boxing with PE belts, rudder pedals and pre-painted instrument panel, consoles and assorted placards etc. If you want to build the ultimate 1/48 Tempest Mk.V you will want to get hold of the full Brassin cockpit (ED648416). Mine came as part of the "Big SIN" pack and after thoroughly examining the instructions and some planning I set to work.
Contents of the BIG Sin package
Let me say upfront that I do not recommend this set for the faint of heart or beginners. It's an advanced resin set and you will need some experience (and steady hands) to construct and paint it properly.
The first task (which is also the most nerve-racking) is to separate the fragile resin parts from the cast blocks.
In their Brassin sets, Eduard is well known for going "all out". Every switch, knob, cable harness etc that is on the real aircraft is reproduced here in exquisite detail. In 1:48 scale some of these parts are extremely small and you will need good lighting, a magnifier and fine tweezers.
I thought about the best way to cleanly separate the cockpit framework from the pour blocks and settled on using my trusty Airwaves photo-etch saw blade. I tried to keep the blade as far from the part as possible to minimise the threat of a slip or wayward cut.
Once separated I needed to then remove the pour channels left over and for this, I wet block sanded the part using 360-grade emery paper. This was slow and tedious work but in the end, I managed to remove and clean up all the Brassin parts with zero breakages (I breathed a sigh of relief).
Construction, using CA glue, was quite rapid as the parts are cast to a high level of dimensional accuracy, so everything fits as it should.
Alignment holes and tabs are plentiful and the instructions very clear about the orientation of parts. The set uses a combination of resin and PE parts.
I broke the cockpit down into five major subassemblies to allow for ease of painting. The cockpit cage was the first, the floating floor was second with the remainder being the seat, instrument panel and fuel tank.
The gunsight and pilot armour plating panel were attached to the cockpit sills as well.
This was the first kit I had built for which one of the new Eduard LööK series of coloured resin instrument panels was available. These are a relatively new idea that Eduard has released and are not PE but rather coloured resin. They are designed to be drop-in replacements for the kit plastic parts.
Upon closer examination, it became obvious that the part was cast from the same master as the Brassin IP, just in black resin. It's a nice time saver and very reasonably priced (US$11) especially when you consider it also includes a set of STEEL belts.
It was time for a couple of dry fit tests and to my relief (I guess I was not really surprised) everything fitted like a glove. The only kit plastic part needed is the forward bulkhead as this holds the fragile spidery resin framework in place.
As I had a little spare time I decided to also build the kit plastic cockpit to allow a fair comparison. It's certainly not as detailed as the Brassin set but is certainly not bad either.
A closer view of the kit plastic cockpit. This really would look the part under a coat of paint. The armour-plated headrest needs thinning and the seat probably replacing with the Barracuda Studios option but other than these small things it is very passable.
Time to load up the Iwata and lay down some interior paint. A base coat of MR Paint Fine Black Surface Primer (MRP-85) was followed by Mr Color H364 RAF Interior Gray Green. Be sure to leave the top half of the sidewalls in black and only spray the Grey Green on the lower sections. I chose to not remove those ejector pin marks as I checked they would not be seen once the fuselage was assembled.
The main cockpit sub-assemblies were also painted using the airbrush for the base coats (H364) followed by hand brush painting using a mixture of Vallejo and Citadel acrylic paints. A fine wash of Oilbrusher Starship Filth and then a light drybrush of OilBrusher Medium Grey meant the cockpit was ready for final assembly.
The Brassin Tempest Cockpit really is a beautiful model in its own right. It almost seems a shame to hide it away in the confines of the fuselage so I figured I had best take a few photos before then so I can always appreciate the work that Eduard (and I) put into it.
A final test fit with the lower wing in place gave me green lights across the board. With the cockpit complete it's now time to move onto the intake so I can work towards buttoning up the fuselage.
Build Guide Pt II: Hawker Tempest Mk/V Series 1 - Radiator, fuselage & flaps
Gary Wickham
Thanks also to Barracuda Studios for sending their Tempest improvement kits to us to try out in this build...
