A big British brute in real life, the Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib has been released by Airfix in what seems to be a nearly full-scale replica — even though it’s 1/24 scale.
The kit is a study in contrasts. The box is packed with more than 500 parts, but many of them will head straight to the spare-parts bin, depending on the numerous options, such as the 54 unused weapons parts left over after loading my Typhoon with eight rockets. The kit exhibits loads of detail in every visible area — and some not so visible. The Napier Sabre engine truly deserves the “kit in its own right” phrase, with 83 parts. Surface details are nothing short of astounding, with rippled skin texture molded effectively.
That’s a bunch of good news, but with it comes some not-so-good news: Airfix apparently had great difficulty molding the bubble portion of the canopy. Reported defects range from a small stress crack at the center of the front bubble frame to larger cracks and deformation in the teardrop portion of the canopy. Airfix has been working to fix this, but I used the canopy as-is. The distorted bubble is easy to miss, and the stress crack is not obvious, either, so check your kit.
Additionally, every part had molding flaws that needed some form of cleanup, ranging from ejector-pin marks to parting-line flash and joint edges that were not square and true. The cleanup is easy: It just takes time — 10 hours in my case. I suppose that’s not bad for a kit this complex.
After my marathon cleanup session, I assembled the entire interior structure using the lower wing as a jig. Airfix provides wing spars, and alignment is critical for good fit between the wing and fuselage. I painted the interior a combination of various Testors Metalizer shades and Tamiya blacks and dark grays, masking in between. Some optional steps in the instructions are presented left to right, some top to bottom — after study, I found it helpful to circle the path I chose. Go slowly and follow the directions carefully — they typically show placing only a handful of parts in each step, and they helpfully show them installed (shaded in red in the following step). Airfix missed placing a hose (Part C14) between the starter cartridge holder and starter assembly (parts C41 and C54/C55) — you can see Airfix’s page for details. Beware of the seat cushion (Part B08) — it’s only for installation when using a pilot; otherwise the injection-molded lap belts won’t fit. You’ll want to study the instructions carefully when installing the plumbing and various engine fittings to see what passes over or under what — reviewing the red-shaded portions in the following steps helps there.
I don’t get the idea of including a rear-mounted clear instrument panel part, as the decals go over the “glass” anyway. I just painted mine black and put acrylic gloss over the dials as usual. The individual instrument decals fit well. I had to trim a large portion of the tab mounting the engine to the firewall to allow clearance to fit the engine, but it didn’t matter for fit or alignment.
There is another instruction error to watch out for: The main picture for Step 61 shows part C24 mounted to the large pipe on the engine, but the close-up detail view in the same step shows the correct position. There were a couple of hoses mounted at the end of the construction (parts D03 and D04) that I could not get to twist through the frame, pause, flip in midair, and land on the supercharger — but you can’t tell I cut them short, can you?
All the internal-wing structure and detail parts fit tightly after clamping firmly. I found out too late that my kit had a short shot on the top of the gear bay that shows up at the wing root.
My decision to leave the entire engine bay uncovered was influenced by the wonderful job Airfix did on the engine, and the fact that the cowl panels are each a scale 2" thick and devoid of internal detail.
Assembly of the main components went well, with a little filler required at the lower wing junction. A choice of tail surfaces is included, and the fit was commendable. Test fits during cleanup had revealed an ugly “toenail” segment of flash nearly encompassing the main wheel mount; much carving and shaping was required to get the wheels to fit on the gear legs. In contrast, the 20mm gun shrouds fit nearly well enough to leave off until after painting.
Masking and painting takes a while, due to the size of the model. It also takes a fair amount of paint! All options for markings include a wealth of detail specific to each airframe history — nice one, Airfix! I used Testors ocean gray and RAF dark green over Tamiya medium sea gray. Although the decals are numerous, none are supplied for the rocket warhead rings — I dipped these, ring by colored ring. The supplied decals do not respond well to Micro Sol. They grudgingly lay down after several coats, but a stronger solvent may be needed.
After painting, a large portion of time was involved in placing the final details and weathering before I completed my 100-hour odyssey. The finished kit is impressive in both size and detail, and it appears accurate. Disappointing mold quality and stubborn decals are let-downs, but the model is buildable and provides many hours of modeling. Just make sure you have a big, sturdy shelf to place it on when it’s done!
Note: A version of this review appeared in the March FineScale Modeler.
Airfix has gone all out with this kit, which features a ton of detail including large sections of the internal structure that can be left visible. However, flash and mismatched molding require a lot of cleanup. The gun bay structures show this to good effect: The part on the right has had all the flash and mold lines removed.
Luckily, the plastic used is very forgiving and easy to scrape and carve. The internal framing for the fuselage is shown before and after the mold seam removal.
This is a complicated kit and the parts need help getting out of the mold. Keep an eye out for ejector-pin marks throughout; most, like these, won't be visible in the finished model, but watch for ones that will be.
There were a few poorly molded parts in my kit. Here’s an example: The axle for the wheel has a massive “finger nail” molded over the top of the D-shaped pin that attaches the wheel. The gear leg on the right shows how the pin should look, but it took a lot of work to achieve.
I know Airfix choose to mold the prop like this avoid large sink marks, but the parts don’t come close to fitting. Luckily, they aren’t visible behind the spinner. A couple of my blades still had sink marks that needed filling, however.
I’ve heard of split flaps before, but split ailerons? Some of the parts were warped, ....
... but it's nothing strong clamps can’t remedy. I needed a large number and variety of clamps to complete this kit.
Wow, there are lots of parts in this kit. After 10 hours of scraping (I’m not kidding), the kit is ready to assemble.
The engine alone has over 80 pieces. The awesome amount of detail convinced me to leave the bay for the mighty Sabre completely open.
The engine isn’t the only area loaded with detail; the cockpit has its share. The instrument panel has a clear part installed on the rear face, but the decals can only go on the front of the clear part.
Painting and decals bring all the detail to life. The seat belts are separate injection molded parts – no wimpy photo etch belts in this monster!
I knew getting the alignment of the complicated interior framework and the wing spars correct was critical for the fit of the rest of the model. What better way to ensure everything lined up than to clamp the frame to the wing as a jig?
Deviating from the instructions, I built the internal structure before paint anything. This complicated masking a bit, but clearances for installing parts are tight – even on a kit this large – and I didn’t want to mar the paintwork while trying to maneuver and attach the many details. I believe it helped maintain a good, square structure for later.
I painted the whole assembly Testors aircraft interior black, then masked and painted the rear spar RAF interior green.
A tape cocoon protected the areas remaining black as I sprayed the airframe with Testors Metallizer steel.
It was much easier to mask and paint rather than painting all of these parts and trying to install them without damage.
With all the detail installed, the cockpit is outstanding. Look close now, because the cockpit opening is pretty tight after the fuselage is joined together.
Now that’s a hunk of engine! Airfix did a masterful job capturing the brutal Sabre and all of the parts aren't on yet!
Airfix didn't skimp underneath.
Here’s the core of the model; it should all be downhill from here, right?
After installation of the radiator and associated plumbing the engine is basically done. There are a couple of pipes that are nearly impossible for anyone with adult fingers to maneuver into place. One set apparently needs tweezers with 6 degrees of movement and a rotating head. I cut the tubes off where they disappear behind the engine mounts. Shhhh … I won’t tell if you don’t!
Here we go with the clamps again. Everything fits well; I just wanted to ensure everything was tight and aligned properly.
Airfix provides numerous structural pieces for the wings — some detailed, others not — that make a sturdy wing. Take your time to carefully align everything and get it glued in just right, and you'll be rewarded with near perfect fit.
This kit challenged my stock of clamps. The fit is very good, it just needs a bit of help holding itself together.
I didn’t catch this in time — a short shot on the top of the gear bay. A short shot is where the plastic doesn’t flow all the way into the mold, leaving a part partially formed. I also realized that leaving all the lower cowl pieces off the model as suggested by Airfix exposes the top of the gear bay.
I wasn't planning to use the cowl pieces, but I wanted to see how the parts fit. Gray paint slopped on proves the seam between the parts for the upper chin scoop fit nearly perfectly.
The easiest way to paint the multi-part lower cowl is to tack it together with tape.
To save time, I cheat: Post-It notes offer quick masks that can be used without having to wait for paint to completely dry. For example, I airbrushed the ammunition with brass paint, held a Post-it note over the rounds, and airbrushed copper, and ...
... voila! A set of 20mm shells, finished in a single painting session.
Planning to leave only one gun bay open, I fully painted and detailed one set of 20mm cannons. I painted the tip of the barrels for the “non display” side. (Afterwards, I realized all four barrels are hidden in the shrouds anyway…)
Everything fits the weapon bay, but the guns are difficult to thread into place. Luckily, the barrels are very flexible. At first I was concerned that part of the outboard cannon protruded above bay. Then I realized it's correct; that’s why there is a large bump on the gun bay door. Airfix got it right.
In case you were wondering: It’s a big model. That’s Airfix's 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.22 for comparison.
The only major fit problem I had on the entire model showed up during final assembly — a large gap in front of the windshield. I think the culprit was an internal stringer on the side panels that interferes with the instrument panel. I bet I could’ve avoided the gap by cutting the clearance hole for the stringer a bit lower than provided.
The gap was easily fixed with strip styrene, Green Stuff epoxy putty, and a bit of sanding.
Here's the big plane awaiting paint. The cannon shrouds fit so well I debated leaving them off during painting to make masking the leading edges easier, but decided against it.