MDC Hawker Typhoon W/Cdr R E P Brooker...now finished!

[LSP_Kevin]

5 minutes ago, mozart said:

Wearing a mask? 

 

Whatever keeps public hysteria to a minimum.

 

Kev

[mozart]

The transformation isn't complete, but significant steps have been taken.  Firstly, no big surprise, the arms on the Aerobonus figure were unusable - the right one was too short and the left was supposed to be held up in the air giving a thumbs up....doesn't work for me.  So I looked through my collection and found a PJ Productions NATO jet pilot whose arms were just the ticket, so a few slight changes and they were on:

 

 

Some refinement still needed for sure but I'm happy with it so far.  The chosen head needed a neck, so I whittled a lump of resin and plonked the head on top:

 

 

then fitted onto the body:

 

 

But doesn't he fit into the cockpit........?

 

 

Yep!  He's holding the control stick and reaching for the throttle....but there's no way unfortunately that I can get his feet onto the rudder bar. Ah well! 

 

In this view he's sitting a little too high and forward, but that has now been addressed:

 

 

More tomorrow with luck.

[monthebiff]

Nice progress Max and really like your pilot. Regarding him sitting to high, the seat sits a bit to high on the MDC kit as the top of the backrest should just be proud of the cockpit opening and needs a slight modification to move it down.

 

Regards. Andy 

[mozart]

8 hours ago, monthebiff said:

Nice progress Max and really like your pilot. Regarding him sitting to high, the seat sits a bit to high on the MDC kit as the top of the backrest should just be proud of the cockpit opening and needs a slight modification to move it down.

 

Regards. Andy 

Thanks for that Andy, that’s a nuisance but still do-able! 

[Alain Gadbois]

Excellent work improving that figure!

I think I read that the oxygen mask was always worn because of gasses from the engine getting in the cockpit.

 

On 4/28/2024 at 5:49 PM, monthebiff said:

Nice progress Max and really like your pilot. Regarding him sitting to high, the seat sits a bit to high on the MDC kit as the top of the backrest should just be proud of the cockpit opening and needs a slight modification to move it down.

 

Regards. Andy 

What’s important is that the position of the pilot in the kit cockpit is the same as the one in the photo.

[mozart]

Yes indeed Alain, carbon monoxide leaking into the cockpit because seals fail on the firewall; just another “risk” that Typhoon pilots had to take along with the possibility of fire when using the Koffman starter cartridge, of the Sabre engine suddenly stopping without warning, of having to counter tremendous torque/swing on take off plus having to maintain a slight tail down attitude so that the prop didn’t hit the ground, of being shot down by Allied aircraft…..oh, then of course there’s enemy action….flak from 20mm Vierling guns and FW190s and Me109s!! 
Despite all of that, the Typhoon pilots loved them! 
I’m reading this excellent book at the moment on my Kindle:

 

 

Very informative. 
 

I have lowered the seat height, needs a bit more work but should be ok.

Edited May 1, 2024 by mozart

[Alain Gadbois]

You forgot the tail ripping off in your list!

But once this was solved, I certain the tough construction of the Typhoon helped the pilots through these challenges!

 

 

[Alain Gadbois]

Here’s one smooth crash landing!
 

 

[mozart]

1 hour ago, Alain Gadbois said:

You forgot the tail ripping off in your list!

But once this was solved, I certain the tough construction of the Typhoon helped the pilots through these challenges!

 

 

Yep, that was water under the bridge though once the fishplates had been fitted, but all the others were ongoing.   Apparently the Typhoon was pretty safe doing a wheels up landing, but very few pilots escaped when ditching due to the “mouth” of the radiator which sucked in water like the jaws of a whale. 

Edited May 1, 2024 by mozart

[mozart]

OK, there's been enough piddling about and procrastination, time to get something done and the first step is to finalise the pilot.  Having repositioned the seat he couldn't now hold the "stick" so that has been temporarily cut off.  He took a couple of hours to paint using MRP water-based paints, it's a fairly rough job with not too much of an attempt to convey light and shade etc, but it works I think:

 

 

Further harness straps will be added later of course.  I checked my references for the helmet, mask etc.:

 

 

So the oxygen tube and R/T leads will be added too.  Sitting in the airframe:

 

 

[dennismcc]

That's great, I'm so impressed, my figure work is certainly not up to your standard.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[wunwinglow]

On 2/28/2024 at 6:23 PM, mozart said:

Typhoon progress!  The main elements of the cockpit structure, all well cast and delightful to work with:

 

 

The central item; the rudder pedals, control column, foot boards and supporting framework comprise four elements which fit together beautifully.  The instructions though are quite......challenging.  The text is cryptic, the photographs small and not very clear....so pre-assembly checks are essential:

 

 

I've joined a Facebook "Logbooks" group, and this was one of the first I looked at:

 

 

 

Finally, not to forget the ladies... an ATA pilot delivers a Typhoon, the lady in question being Naomi Heron-Maxwell:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A relative, Max?

[mozart]

A coincidence of names Tim, but she was the mother of a chap who is/was a member here for a while, Nick Thomas by name. We had quite a lot of dialogue about various things and he generously sent me a copy of the book that he wrote about her life called “Naomi the Aviatrix” written from her diaries which included pre-war gliding with the Germans and wartime ATA duties. A truly fascinating woman who lived life to the full.

 

Back to the Typhoon; people tend to rubbish Facebook but it has its uses. Yesterday I put this question to a Typhoon/Tempest specialist group:

 

 

Quite a lot of discussion ensued but Chris Thomas, who knows “quite a lot” about Typhoons confirmed my understanding:

 

 

Well done Facebook, I now have quite a tricky hole to drill out! 

 

[mozart]

Hoping to have a couple of hours on the Tiffie this afternoon, in the meantime a few extracts from the Pilots' Notes:

 

 

Heck of a lot for the new pilot to take onboard before his first daunting flight, and spare a thought for the ATA pilots!

[mozart]

I was reading an MDC build log this morning on Hyperscale by Ian Robertson, he wrote that in the Typhoon Warpaint book by Chris Thomas (which I don't have but am tempted to get) that rocket-firing Typhoons had their landing lights on the wing faired over due to a fear that the perspex cover could catch fire when the rockets are launched.  As ever, a reference check is called for, with mixed results:

 

 

Some with landing lights....

 

 

....and some without.....

 

 

 

So, my chosen subject?  The angle isn't good and it's open to interpretation either way but I think probably W/Cdr Brooker's Tiffie was sans landing lights:

 

 

What do you reckon mes amis?