174 Sqn Typhoon up-date, 1/32nd scale.

[Vic Balshaw]

Damn me T, that's a fine piece of work you've done thre.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Vic. Your photos came in handy for the wheel bays mate! I only had one B&W pic, which only showed one angle, so your pics filled in the missing details. Interesting that those pics, which are of course of the Typhoon in the RAF Museum, the only known complete survivor, show a yellow line enclosing the 'Basic Six' blind-flying instruments. This can only have been applied during the aircraft's time in the U.S.A., where this 'system' is known to have been used on the P51 at least. Cockpit photos of Typhoons in RAF service don't show this line, and it was not a practice used or adopted by Britain. This raises the question, was it standard practice on all single - seat combat aircraft in U.S. service? I'm guessing the answer is yes, so maybe all models of not only the P51, but also the P47, P40, P39, and P38 should have the strip on the panel.

 

[T Bolt]

Interesting that those pics, which are of course of the Typhoon in the RAF Museum, the only known complete survivor, show a yellow line enclosing the 'Basic Six' blind-flying instruments. This can only have been applied during the aircraft's time in the U.S.A., where this 'system' is known to have been used on the P51 at least. Cockpit photos of Typhoons in RAF service don't show this line, and it was not a practice used or adopted by Britain. This raises the question, was it standard practice on all single - seat combat aircraft in U.S. service? I'm guessing the answer is yes, so maybe all models of not only the P51, but also the P47, P40, P39, and P38 should have the strip on the panel.

Terry I collected quite few pictures of US fighter control panels when I was deciding which one to make in 1:1 scale. The only two fighters I found with the stripe around the flight instruments were the P-51 and the P-47, and at that only later models of those aircraft. In all the P-51 panels I saw with the stripe it was yellow, while it was white on the P-47 panels with the exception of two I saw with a yellow stripe, but I tend to discount these as it looked like those two panels had been restored.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Glenn, useful info. I must admit, I too have only ever seen the stripe on the P51, mainly 'D' but also some later 'C' models, and on the P47, the latter not on all shots seen. On the P51, this stripe was actually yellow tape, which I guess was easier, and quicker, to apply than masking and painting. In all the pics seen, the strip has only been on ETO based aircraft, presumably as instrument flying would be much more common with weather conditions across Europe, especially the UK !!!

 

[T Bolt]

That would make sense as the stripe doesn't appear on all the control panels. I had heard that about the yellow stripe on the P-51 being tape and I seem to remember seeing it peeling off in one photo I've seen. The white stripe on the P-47's I've seen always seems to be thinner than the one on the P-51's and in some photos seems to be partially missing so could possibly have been paint? I used white decal film so I know mine isn't technically correct but it looks the part. You'd be surprised at some of the things I've bolted on that thing to look like something else. The stick is a piece of fence post and last night I cut up a 10' section of braided stainless steel plumbing supply hose and stuck the pieces to various instruments to make it look busy behind the panel where you could see it.

 

[Airframes]

Nothing wrong with that mate! In the 1980's, there was a British TV serial called 'Airline', which was centred around a fledgling airline immediately after WW2, and involving the Berlin Airlift etc. This 'airline' used Dakotas (C47/DC3), and the studio built a very convincing mock-up of the cockpit for close shots etc. The electrical and air trunking was made from vacuum cleaner hose, and some switches and knobs on the instrument panel were made from the caps off toothpaste tubes, which looked exactly like the real thing! Apparently they had a guy behind the panel, out of shot, manually moving the instrument needles fior some shots, and the instrument dials had been made from baked bean and soup cans! You couldn't tell though, so if it does the job, use it!

 

[T Bolt]

 

[Crimea_River]

Coming along nicely Terry.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Andy. I've got a bit more done, just got to get the pics sorted - should have them up later.

 

[Airframes]

Well it was a bit fiddly (a lot bl**dy fiddly!!), but I eventually got some sort of detail added to the engine bay. From the side, the Napier 'Sabre' is actually a rather neat and plain installation, and there wasn't that much to add which would be visible. The work mainly involved a representation of the radiator casing, the engine bearers and the upper, vertical cowling support plus some hoses, pipework and wiring.
PICS 1 and 2 show the additions, made from plastic card and strip, scrap plastic, stretched sprue, plastic rod, copper wire and cable sheathing. Now the hard part will be painting the whole lot!
The Typhoon mounted the engine cooling radiator in the prominent 'chin' fairing, with the circular oil cooler set into the cente of the housing.
PIC 3 shows the basic unit on the model before the 'restoration'. The only additions were the vertical frames, from plastic strip.
The 'Sabre' was prone to various problems, including engine fire on start - up, and overheating at the drop of a hat. Consequently, to combat the dust and other problems encountered on the forward airstrips in Normandy during the summer of 1944, a number of 'mods' were tried and fitted. These included a dust filter fitted to the front of the oil cooler, and a mesh guard over the inside of the main intake. I'm going to attempt to build and fit these, and I'm hoping that the main mesh guard can be replicated by adapting the PE radiator matrices left over from the Dragon P51 kit.
PIC 4 shows the screens, which will be cut to shape and joined, hopefully, and then fitted into the 'chin' housing. A box-like oil-cooler filter will be made from thin plastic card and fitted over the intake first.
PIC 5. The masking has now been removed from the cockpit area, and the first stage of re-painting completed, on the head armour and upper cockpit walls. The mounting bracket for the gunsight has been fitted, using plastic rod. The gunsight on the Typhoon didn't have a reflector screen, the graticule being reflected directly onto the windscreen, and the scratch-built sight replicates this. The latter was slightly damaged due to masking and handling, and this will be repaired and re-painted as neccessary. A wire from the canopy crank to the rear of the canopy has also been fitted, using stretched sprue, and the whole area has yet to be cleaned up, and the canopy rails removed and re-fitted where the 'rough' paintwork is visible, below the cokpit lip.
Thanks again for your interest and kind words, and I'll post another up-date soon.

 

[Lucky13]

Absolutely maaaarvelous old boy, splendid don't you know what!

 

[Airframes]

I say old boy, jolly nice of you to say so, what!

 

[Lucky13]

Care for a spot of tea old boy?

 

[Airframes]

Rather have a snifter old chap!

 

[Lucky13]

Jolly good old chap......snifter it is then.

 

[Crimea_River]

Cheers lads, and nice work there Terry.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much Andy !
The wheel bays and engine bay are now painted, the latter involving some contortions - rather uncomfortable with my already knackered hands!
PIC 1 and 2. The wheel bays, re-painted in matt silver, with the details picked out as appropriate.
PICS 3 to 5. The engine bay finished and painted. It was a bit difficult to achieve good camera angles without the shadow of the camera intruding, so these will have to do I'm afraid! The exhaust stubs have yet to have some light smoke staining added, which wlll also be applied to the cowling, and this will be done once the model has had its final matt clear coat.
The removed cowling panels will be separated into their two parts, and internal stiffener frames added later.
I'll post another up-date soon, which should be the assembling and painting of the RP's and rails.

 

[T Bolt]

What a difference you made in the engine bay!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Glenn. Best I could do with an already assembled model, but at least it gives an impression of the mighty 'Sabre'.

 

[A4K]

Bloody hell, lovely work Terry!