Hawker Typhoon Mk.1b

I’m kicking off my D-Day 80th Anniversary builds with two of Airfix’s 1:72 scale Hawker Typhoons. One from the 2024 Airfix Club D-Day Duo set A73016 and the other from the 75th Anniversary D-Day Air Assault Set A50157A. Both use Airfix’s 2013 tooling and it’s a kit I’ve previously enjoyed building so am keen to see how my finishing skills may have improved with age! 

These come with decals for 245 Squadron’s ZY-Y MP126 and 247 Squadron’s MR-B MN265, the latter having actually joined the squadron to replace another lost on D+1, so may not have actually been present on the day itself but we won’t hold that against it.

What strikes me first on opening the boxes is the different colour plastic now used by Airfix. The feel and level of flash across both kits is however the same. The instructions are similar pictorially but the recommended painting instructions differ, probably due to the larger D-Day kit having to keep to the colours supplied in the little starter pots. 

Having built this before, I’ll not be wasting time painting the interior as I did back then as with a pilot installed none of it can be seen. Then again, may be I should this time build these without using the pilots?

I’m starting to remember there’s a lot of great detail included in this little kit.

Well I wasn’t going to but I have … I couldn’t resist in the end giving the cockpit a coat of interior green. I know it’s painted even if you can’t see it and the same for the instrument panel decal which, and I’ve said it before, it would be more useful if Airfix provided harness decals instead 🤷‍♂️

I found joining the two fuselage halves together required the arms of an octopus but they still went together beautifully even with just the two hands I had available 

These Typhoons are starting to look a bit more like aircraft as this afternoon I got to fit wings and ailerons. It's at this stage that one has to decide on payload and whether to have the cannon ammunition ports open or closed. Decisions decisions ...

For one of the kits, I've gone for all ports open and rockets as the payload. This required the careful use of a blade to cut out a section of the upper wing and the drilling of 4 holes in the lower wing to mount the rockets. For the other, having repeatedly broken off the tail wheel (note - this is very fragile) I'm now going for a wheels up Typhoon and will have it airborne flying above the D-Day Air Assault diorama, so naturally all ports will be closed, and I'm going to have to remember to install a pilot! I've also drilled just the 2 holes in the lower wing, as this Typhoon will be heading off on a bombing mission.

After a morning at the Yeovil Scale Model Show, pictures to follow, I’ve had just enough time this afternoon to run a little filler along the wing to fuselage join, nothing serious, just a bit of cosmetic touching up. 

I’ve also constructed the bombs for one and fitted the bomb and missile racks under the wings. Then, using the cutaway pieces from the gun bays and unused wheels covers to mask the painted areas, I’ve given both a covering of grey primer. 

All being well, and I see no need for more filler or sanding, I can move onto the fun bit of starting on the canopy masking and camouflage.

Typhoon MN625 MR-B of No.245 (Northern Rhodesian) Squadron, 83 Group, 121 Wing, 2nd TAF. RAF Holmsley South, Hampshire, 1944.

 

MN625 joined the squadron as a replacement for MN377, an earlier “B” lost south of Caen on D+1; it was flown by Fg.Off. W Smith who, a few days later, was the first Allied pilot to land at one of the Advance Landing Ground airfields in Normandy, in this case B5/Camilly which became the squadron’s operating base for the next two months before the Allied advance continued.