No 56 Squadron, RAF, 'The Firebirds', 1918 - 2008.

[Airframes]

Sorry Vic, just seen your post - been away for a week. Got the Phantom re-painted, although it needs toning-down a bit. I should get it finished in a couple of weeks, soon as I get the judging for the GB done and catch up with other bits and pieces. I'll post pics when it's done.

[Vic Balshaw]

Looking forward to it.

[Airframes]

The Phantom is almost done - I just need to get some more paint to match-in some areas, which I should get on Monday. Meanwhile, during a break from finishing the base for the MTO GB Beaufighter, I decided to start the first complete build for the collection, so here we go.
Hawker Tempest MkV, series II.
56 Squadron gave up its big Typhoons in April 1944 and, for nearly 3 months, flew Spitfire MkIX's on escort, and shipping reconnaisance operations. By the end of June, the Squadron had joined the first Tempest Wing at Newchurch, alongside numbers 3 and 486 Squadrons, the Wing being under the command of Wg/Cdr R.P. Beamont, D.S.O., D.F.C, but 56 still had the Spitfires. Conversion to the Tempest MkV soon followed, and by early July, 56 Sqn were operational, flying anti 'Diver' patrols to combat the V1 flying bombs launched against Southern England and London. These ops continued until late September, when the Wing moved to Grimbergen, joining 2 TAF, where it was involved in armed reconnaisance for the rest of the war in Europe, moving from base to base as the land forces advanced into Germany.
During the Luftwaffe's 'Unternehmen Bodenplatte', on January 1st 1945, 56 Squadron were based at the former Luftwaffe field at Volkel, roughly 30 kilometres north-north-east of Eindhoven, Holland. With two Wings based there, the field was packed when JG6 made their attack , but fortunately for the Squadron, eight Tempests were airborne on an armed recce to Munster, and, due to various circumtances prevailing at the time, part of the attacking force missed the airfield.
The Tempests remained until 31st March 1946, when 56 Squadron disbanded, becoming 16 Squadron, only to reform with Meteors and the 56 number the following day, when 124 squadron at Bentwaters, England, was re-numbered!
The Model
At the time of writing, no 1/48th scale kits of the Tempest were available as current stock items, but I was able to find a source for the old Esci kit, and the Eduard example, which was twice the price! As I suspected the Eduard offering was itself an upgraded Esci kit, with added PE and so on, I decided to go for the cheaper option, and see what I could do with this old kit which, when first released, was fairly typical of many kits of the period in this scale. (PIC 1)
A quick examination showed a mix of mainly raised panel lines and detail, with some recessed lines, mainly around the gun hatches on the wings. Although generally accurate in outline, the kit is very basic, and there are some spurious panel lines here and there. Also, there are sink marks all over the place, even on both faces of each of the propellor blades. In fact, it's got more sink marks than the fin of Baumbach's JU88!! (or Jan's Guinness glass....)
The cockpit is crude to say the least, and the landing gear legs and wheels are very basic representations, which will need a lot of work in order to make them look acceptable in this scale. To this end, I've added a set of 'True Details' resin wheels, as the kit items are plain, chunky, and virtually impossible to improve. As for the gear legs themselves, I think I'm going to have to scratch-build the relatively complex lever-action system, and I'll possibly replace the kit canopy with a vac formed item, although it will probably be displayed in the closed position anyway.
With so much work needed on this model, and with at least 12 models being added to the Squadron 'history', there's a small temptation to just get on with the build and make do, in order to complete the collection. But, I beleive the kit can be turned into a very nice representation of this powerful fighter, and can't see any reason to risk the possibility of spoiling the overall line-up just for the sake of an 'easy build'.
So, work has begun on cleaning up and improving various areas, before any major construction or painting is undertaken.
PIC 2 shows the raised panel lines, some of which are spurious around the cowling, an example of some of the sink marks, and the 'solid' exhaust stubs.
PIC 3. Work underway to drill-out the exhausts, and improve the appearance of the general area around the exhaust apertures.
PIC 4 Apart from a 'Mr. Blobby' pilot figure, this is all that is provided in the way of internal detail, plus a decal to go on the inaccurately shaped instrument panel. Although not much will be seen through the relatively narrow canopy, some form and shape needs to be added, to at least give some semblance of the Tempest cockpit.
PIC 5. Shows the first stage in improving the look of the cockpit. The floor has been cut away, and the 'seat' butchered, as well as the armour plate head rest being trimmed dowen and thinned.
PIC 6. Stage 2 involved building the shape of the seat from plastic card, and adding some heel boards, control rods, and a scratch-built control column, using stretched sprue, plastic rod and card. After being cleaned up, the assembly will be painted very dark grey, to simulate the black cockpit of the later Tempests, with the seat, heel boars, and some of the sidewall frame work being in dull silver. A scrtach-built seat harness will also be added.
PIC 7. A few pieces of plastic rod have been glued to each side of the cockpit, to simulate the tubular frames, and the basis of a throttle quadrant added from plastic card; thiis will be detailed later.
PIC 8. The kit's very crude instrument panel has been trimmed to a more realistic shape, and the decal cut out and glued direct to the front. The lower sections have been folded forward, as per the actual aircraft, and will match up with the cockpit framework. A compass and gunsight have yet to be made and fitted, before the panel is then painted. The gunsight on the Tempest lacked the reflector screen, the graticules being projected direct onto the windscreen, and it was mounted on a tubular bracket, away from the instrument panel, and this will also be scratch-built.
So, that's how the model is to date, and I hope to be able to show some more progress pics, in between doing the builds for the next GB, in the very near future.

[Vic Balshaw]

Good work T, looking forward to more

[Wayne Little]

Cool Terry!

[B-17engineer]

Way da go Terry!

[rochie]

nice start Terry, have you seen that modelhobbies have the Eduard EE lightning in stock it comes with decals for a 56 Sqdn aircraft, its £51 though !!!!

[jamierd]

found this whilke i was looking for cockpit details for my hurricane needless to say didnt find what i was looking for but i thought you might like this

[Airframes]

Thanks Jamie! That's one shot of their first Typhoons I haven't got! It is one of a series of Press release pics, taken on the same day on the airfield and airborne, and it'll be one of those aircraft I'll be modelling when I do the Typhoon, probably US-C.
BTW, there's a load of cockpit detail in the Hurricane stuff I'm sending you. Now that my CD writer has been replaced, I should get this off to you this week, and hope the Postal strikes don't delay it too much.

[jamierd]

i like the typhoon its big ugly and mean just like my first wife lol

[109ROAMING]

@ Jamierd

Nice work Terry!

[Airframes]

Nice one Jamie!!
Thanks Daniel.
Karl, sory mate, just noticed your bit on the Lightning. Yep, thought the Eduard one might be expensive, but not that much! And it's the Airfix kit!! Got the Airfix F1A, which has the 'Firebirds' aerobatic team decals, and might add the F6, or use it for a 1980's Sqn, when the Academy kit comes out.