Thunnus Posted April 7, 2022 Author Share Posted April 7, 2022 13 hours ago, zaxos345 said: Great come back John!! John Thanks John! It's good to be back on the modeling bench with a proper sized model! 13 hours ago, Martinnfb said: Out of this world detail, as always Thank you Martinn! The kit is very well detailed already so, in a way, it is easier to add smaller bits of additional detail rather than having to create from scratch. 12 hours ago, scvrobeson said: Nice to see you jumping back into the fray with this one. Should be a great compliment to your Axis subjects on the shelf. Matt Yes, Matt! I think the Tempest is a good counterpart to the late war 109's, 190's and 262's that I'm primarily interested in. 7 hours ago, MikeMaben said: Thanks Mike! 2 hours ago, denders said: Looks really nice! Thank you! 49 minutes ago, tomg said: Particularly like the knobs, handles, and switches. Very nice. As I said, the kit already has a good level of detail built in. But looking at reference photos and comparing the kit parts, there are some easy enhancements that can be added such as the levers. Uncarina, Victor K2, LSP_Kevin and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowin Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 Grate to see you back on this project John! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Smith Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 Exceptional work! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 The levers made from spare plastic and metal? They look awesome. Matt Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc65 Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 John, i missed this job of yours. I find it terrifying and extremely interesting, having the same model (and the same doubts on the nose) on the shelf. an idea that is coming to me looking at your efforts on it: what about having two interchangeable noses with thorns and magnets? I mean, one (the Barracuda one) completely closed, and the other with the engine in sight. the incorrect curves of the original nose would perhaps be less noticeable thanks to the attention-grabbing detail and engine, and working the barracuda nose close to the spinner as suggested by Chuck could make it perfect... crazy idea? be that as it may, I follow you curious and sure of an excellent final result. cheers, Paolo Uncarina and Thunnus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted April 7, 2022 Author Share Posted April 7, 2022 5 hours ago, rowin said: Grate to see you back on this project John! 5 hours ago, Phil Smith said: Exceptional work! Thank you Phil! 3 hours ago, scvrobeson said: The levers made from spare plastic and metal? They look awesome. Matt Lever stalks made up of strips of sheet brass or spare photoetch levers with the knobs built up into balls using white glue. 16 minutes ago, mc65 said: John, i missed this job of yours. I find it terrifying and extremely interesting, having the same model (and the same doubts on the nose) on the shelf. an idea that is coming to me looking at your efforts on it: what about having two interchangeable noses with thorns and magnets? I mean, one (the Barracuda one) completely closed, and the other with the engine in sight. the incorrect curves of the original nose would perhaps be less noticeable thanks to the attention-grabbing detail and engine, and working the barracuda nose close to the spinner as suggested by Chuck could make it perfect... crazy idea? be that as it may, I follow you curious and sure of an excellent final result. cheers, Paolo Oh man... that's a fascinating idea Paolo but something I'm not willing to try! The Barracuda spinner not fitting the Barracuda nose has sapped my desire to use those components. I feel that re-sculpting the kit spinner gets me at least part of the way to a correct look and I'm not going to sweat the other part. I haven't gotten started on the seat belts yet but since I've got the cockpit cage almost completed, I wanted to test the fit of the rear bulkhead, which includes the pilot seat. Gluing the sides and bottom of the cockpit cage was a good call and it seems to accommodate the fitment of the rear bulkhead and seat without any excess force or bending. To get the rear bulkhead into place, I glued the bottom mounting frame for the seat into the cockpit cage first while the top mounting frame for the seat has been glued into place into the seat back. The seat can then be guided into place into the cockpit cage and the rear bulkhead can follow. Fit is very good and I recommend this construction sequence for anyone building this kit. No seatbelts yet but the cockpit assembly is just about done. Every single pin has fit into every single hole... which speaks to the solid engineering behind this kit. At least in this area. JayW, adameliclem, TAG and 16 others 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Stambaugh Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Very nice to see. Having such a fine kit to work with makes the extra effort almost obligatory. Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Great to see you back on this John! I especially like the work you did weathering the cockpit floor and seat, along with adding the in-scale knobs and levers. Got my popcorn ready! Cheers, Tom Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Superb cockpit, John! Kev Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Always a learning experience, and something to aspire to every time I look at your builds. Matt Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adameliclem Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Looks great, John, especially the finish on the back padding. Looks just right. Adam Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted April 8, 2022 Author Share Posted April 8, 2022 Thanks everyone! The Special Hobby kit includes HGW harnesses for the Tempest. They can be fiddly to assemble but I'd rate them at the top of the seatbelt choices out there for the modeler. The HGW belts were assembled and glued into place on the seat. The seat was given a gloss coat and afterwards I applied a brown pastel wash to dirty up the belts. I had to deviate from my previously described construction order since the harness must be looped through the mounting "towel bar" racks on the rear bulkhead. Which meant I had to glue the seat onto the rear bulkhead first. The cockpit tub is now complete. zaxos345, Madmax, chuck540z3 and 18 others 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted April 9, 2022 Author Share Posted April 9, 2022 Unfortunately, like lots of our work, it gets hidden, almost completely, when inserted into the fuselage. The combination of a very large cockpit and very small fuselage opening for the pilot shuts the view down. No door ala Spitfire or Typhoon that I am aware of. I tried lots of different angles, shining multiple desk lamps into the opening and this is the best that I can get... The canopy part rides on rails and I think is meant to be movable. No pesky aerial antenna attached to the clear part like the Dora so I think I'll be able to pose the canopy open on this build. Before the fuselage halves can be glued together, I have to install the tail wheel well. I want to do a little weathering here so I'm taking a look at the tail gear components and trying to figure out what I want to paint, weather, install and in what order. The wheel well was glued together earlier. The tail gear is comprised of four parts, upper and lower in two halves. The resin wheel is supposed to be trapped between the lower two halves, held together by dimples on the lower half parts. This CAN work but it makes painting a challenge. Instead, I'm going to scrape off the dimples, drill holes in the wheel, and two lower half parts and use a piece of brass tube for a proper axle. The ends of the brass tubing have been filled with Milliput. The wheel and legs can now be painted separately. The wheel will be attached at the last moment and as a bonus, the flat spot alignment is guaranteed because the tail wheel will be free spinning. Landrotten Highlander, Seversky, Sasha As and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Great work John! Cheers, Chuck Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citadelgrad Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Your work is inspiration, John. I have several of your past builds in my stash. This is fantastic. A formerly solitary pursuit is now a place where i can interact with really talented people and hopefully improve my own skills. thank you for sahring, not just your results but how to achieve them, amd often, the “why”, too. i really appreciate this forum. Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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