1:24 Airfix Hawker Typhoon Car Door Build

Long post today... a lot happened.

Up first: putting on the main gear. While one of the build videos I watched claimed that the gear fixture was secure, I was totally unhappy with the structural integrity of the kit's method of gluing on the landing gear. Even with the offset joint, it was basically a plastic-to-plastic joint holding a lot of weight. Therefore; I drilled and pinned the joint, followed by gluing with 30 minute epoxy. I used 3/64" brass rod driiled with a #55 drill.

I located the drill spot with the sharp point from a dividers. I then pilot drilled with a 0.022" drill (it was already chucked in one of my pin vises) and then followed with the main drill. Even so, it started to break out on one side. I compensated by drilled in the opposite direction at about 45 degrees until the hold was re-centering and then finished drilling vertically. It saved the job.



This view shows the pin installed in the hole drilled in the strut. This was the side that started drilling off center.



And here are both sides epoxied and stabilized until it cured.




After the gear was cured I added the inner gear doors, their actuating cylinders and the locking links for the main gear. This highly detailed part did not impart any structural strength. The attachment point was simply too unsubstantial to add strength.



As usual, some of the most insignificant parts cause the most trouble. I had to trim the base of the inner door cylinders to enable them glue without the piston rod bending like a pretzel. I was getting to the point where I was going to make the entire cylinder assemly with brass. Lots of wonderful detail in those wheel wells. If I was a real detail hound I would have run hydraulic lines to those inner door actuators. Overkill! The model has enough problems that it WILL NOT BE A SHOW WINNER, and therefore; doesn't need any more fussing.





The plane now can sit on its own legs. I also glued in the tailwheel.



I put some flat clear on the rockets, but it wasn't enough and had to hit it with Dullcoat spray. It basically still wasn't enough, but I had enough. I used some narrow gauge black iron wire to simulate the electricl ignition leads to the rocket motors.



Before I glued these onto the plane, I needed to finally repair the broken roll cage in the cockpit. I was about ready to install the glazing and saw that I hadn't fixed this. Again, I drilled 0.022" for phos-bronze of the same diameter. After installing and using CA, I didn't like how it was holding and added some Bondic UV-Cure filler to strengthen it. It's now strong... not pretty, but strong. Once the glazing is in there's no way to repair this so I wanted it foolproof. It's also another reason the model won't win any rewards. I also paint the upper end of the seat belt harness.



The rocket installation was next. At first I was using liquid cement, but was unhappy how it was curing so I went old school and used Testor's tube cement. This bird now has some talons!



Another view:



Then I was trying on the glazing to see what, if any, paint touch up would be needed. And I found that I blew it. I had camoed the wrong door! When I was planning the glazing paint, the model was upside down and got me a bit confused. I will now have to remask some of the window on the port side to add the ocean gray. This is the closed door and it will be noticed. Then I have to paint the starboard side all deep green. Then I can install them. It was a real DOH! moment. I also have to do something with those awful decals. I chipped another part of the letter when having the model inverted in my little wooden fixture. The model looks like they replaced the door with a part from the junk yard...



I think it will be finished tomorrow, but we won't know that until I do it. You never know if some other weird stuff will rear its ugly head. Just for fun, I glued together some of the forward skin. I can't make an entire covering since the parts of the fuselage sides that I removed are gone in the trash weeks ago. I'm glad I went with the open front. The skin is quite thick and wouldn't go onto the motor with certain parts in place. If Tamiya had designed, the skin would slip on and off like a fancy evening gown. In their 1/32 Mustang and Mossie, the skins are held with magnets. That could have been done here too especially in 1:24

Very nice!

It was a real DOH! moment. Haven't we all had those? otherwise the talons were a Nice addition to the crate Kevin

Nice work so far!

Thank you for your understanding...

The end is near!

Today was a punchlist day. Got almost all of it finished. I hate it when the very last stuff causes troubles. I'm never particularly good with the transparent parts, partially because I'm getting impatient to finish the job and don't take as much care as I should. Then there's stuff that's not in my control. I've complained about this kit's engineering and it reared it's ugly head again. There's a round, finely molded, bar that extends from inside the fuselage next to the door opening on one side, goes into and around the perimeter of the windscreen and ties into the fuze on the other side. The location points are vague at best. I realized that gluing it the fuze first wasn't going to work, so I attempted to glue it into the windscreen. Then it broke in half. Then it didn't glue right. Then one half disappeared on the floor after I tried gluing it in with Bondic. Unfortunately, Bondic doesn't adhere well to styene. That's when I decided the model didn't need that part and glued the windscreen down without it. The part broke WITHOUT my manhandling it.



I did fix those miserable decals. I found another "X" and made a "P" out of an "R". Carefully placement, lots of MicroSet and MicroSol, and leaving it alone and not fussing too much. Whew! In this image you will also see the fixed paint job on that door. I masked it carefully. Shot the gray, then held a curved mask off the surface to clean up the overspray with some more dark green. Painted the opposite side to get rid of the erroneous camo job on that side.



I put on the wing tip lights. I used some real chrome foil first under the lens. I painted the interior of the lenses with the correct color and glued them in with Testor's Canopy Cement. I would recommend that cement since it holds styrene well and cleans up with water. It does not craze the transparent parts.



I put on the armor panel behind the seat and glued down the teardrop portion of the canopy. I finally got that windscreen in and will touch up the dark green around it on Monday. I removed all the masking on the engine and re-glued some of the exhaust stacks that had loosened. I then put on the prop.





All that's left is gluing on the open door and the open top panel. That top panel is going to be very, very delicate. Frankly, I'm not sure how long it's going to stay there. You can see the tiny scale hinges sticking out from it. That's basically the gluing surface. We'll see. I will glue the gun bay doors onto the wing and mount two more tiny aft lights that go right behind the elevators. Then there's an antenna on the bottom and a foot step that extends down from the bottom as well. These too will be very, very easy to break off. And with that... it will be done.

She may not grade in at a 100 but I sure give it 90/95 my views are for most people that see it they will never ever know that piece is not there.I have done that myself on the "MMR build" with some of the PE WTH do I need that no one will ever see it. Kevin

I'll take a solid "A" for it, not an A+. Thank you!

This bird has flown. Did the last few (and annoying) items including almost destroying the glazing. I was right to be wary of how that went together. The glue surfaces are microscopic and regardless of what cement I was using the joints were hanging by their fingernails... so to speak. And then the armor panel broke loose underneath the teardrop canopy and I had to reinstall it by attempting to run some thin CA into the space without screwing everything up. As a result there's a shiny spot of CA under that canopy, but I did get it stay put while tilting the plane in various angles so it fell into position while the CA was curing. I really didn't want to remove that teardrop. The glazing did get a bit of cement on it, and I sort of corrected it by brushing on some Future to fill the imperfections. And of course, one of the inner doors fell off again. That made at least three times.

Otherwise, it's one heck of a model and not for the faint hearted. The rating on the kit is legit. It's not for beginners.

So he she is in all her glory, ready to kick some Axis butts. Took the pictures with my Canon EOS.







The following shot was done with the flash on to show off some of the interior.







This picture was down with focus-stacking software to extend the depth of field over the entire model. As I did before, one of the multiple exposures was done with flash to highlight the cockpit which was otherwise completely in shadow.



So dear followers, this is the last plastic for a while. I have two building projects for the layout. One is a commercial kit and the other will be another 3D printed, laser cut creation of my own design. Stay tuned. Don't know what my next non-railroad project will be, but whatever it is, I'll do a build thread here. So thanks for hanging in there. Stay well, stay safe and stay a safe distance from folks where you don't know their condition.

That will look Real Nice in the cabinet!and yes a solid "A" Kevin

Got there in the end and Typhoon looks great !

Well done and a joy to follow this build. Thank you for that.

Thanks fellows! Yes! It belongs under or behind glass. As they say, "This isn't a toy".

Excellent work!