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After a difficult start when I thought that this one would be a failure I am very pleased that I persevered as it has turned out really nice and I like it a lot. I bought this one when the kit first came out as the Tempest was one of my favourites meaning to build it straight away but I was seduced by an MDC Typhoon and never got back to the Tempest. As I have quite a few PCM kits in the loft and have only ever built one (G55) I thought that this year I would build three of them, the Tempest, a fabric winged Hurricane and a Spitfire Mk.IX. Despite my usual routine of reading other peoples builds, reviews and of course the tweak list, I was taken by surprise by some of the problems I encountered and was close to shelving the build but I have never given up on a build in 1/32 scale so carried on and it got better and I started to enjoy myself. The kit itself is a treasure trove of PE, Resin and a wonderful selection of decals, the instructions are also very good if a mite vague in parts, but it was the first 1/32 scale kit of a Tempest and PCM did made kits of subjects that other manufacturers have ignored to this day. I took an early decision not to use too much in the way of aftermarket parts and use what was in the box but I did use some Barracuda parts, the main wheels and the Typhoon/Tempest air intake ring are from them, Markings were painted on using Montex masks and Sovereign Colourcoats paints, the stencils were my first attempt at using HGW Wet Transfers and I was most impressed with them and have invested in quite a few sets from their range as I do not get on well with decals especially the tiny stencil ones. The main paint scheme was done with Xtracolor paints and for the camouflage pattern I used AML masks which I have used before. The main problem with the early part of the build was that I had just finished a run of three Hasegawa kits so I had been spoilt quite a bit and it took a while to get back to basics. I wanted to build a Tempest without invasion stripes and came across this photo on which I based my build, this is the caption from the photo "Budd Miller taxing his Tempest SD-R (EJ558) for another anti-diver patrol. Filmed at Bradwell Bay on 15 October 1944". Further research found that Flight Officer Budd Miller (RCAF No. R-140790, USAAF No. T-190924) was an NCO pilot of the USAAF, flying attachment with the RAF Here is the build thread. And so on with the photos. Cheers Dennis

Well despite being late for the GB and having a crunching meeting with the floor here she is all finished and very pleased with her I am, lots of new stuff (for me) tried on this one, I never thought that I would build a desert US Spitfire but I'm rather fond of the colours and markings now. Full bodge is here, http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=60432&hl= I hope you like her Cheers Dennis