COMPLETED 1/32 Tempest V, Special Hobby

[stona]

A bit sooner than planned here is the finished model.


It is the aircraft of Squadron Leader C. J. Sheddan, the last wartime CO of No. 486 (New Zealand) Squadron. The aircraft is as it appeared in May 1945. The spinner is already black and a white ring has been added to some roundels. The Sky fuselage band has not yet been over painted. Sheddan was credited with three kills in this machine.


Wing Commander Beamont, who surely needs no introduction, wrote of this squadron.


"...an exuberant bunch of New Zealanders with a brilliant record on Typhoons and a rather casual approach (as I was soon to find out) to King's Regulations and Air Council instructions - and to "Pommy Bastard" wing leaders!"


Which is a good reason to make a model of one of their aircraft


Here's the model (more of which later for those interested).




















The kit was the Special Hobby offering, from their Hi-Tech range. I have also built a Tempest V from the PCM kit. It is not a contest. This one is head and shoulders above the PCM kit and side by side looks the more refined of the two.


That's just my completely impartial opinion, for what it's worth!


Cheers


Steve

[yak face]

Superb work Steve , a fantastic aircraft that manages to look brutal and purposeful ,yet sleek and beautiful at the same time.Its been great to watch the build process and its been a very useful source of info and reference for anyone considering this kit. Its strange that the tempest hasnt been as well served by the kit makers as the typhoon , lets hope special hobby do a mkII soon (and hopefully with an option for the Indian air force scheme like on the old matchbox kit ! ) As always thoroughly researched ,beautifully built and skilfully photographed and presented , cheers tony

[stona]

Thanks Tony. There are parts in this kit which would lead one to believe that a Tempest II is on the cards. The construction of this one, with a separate front end, would indicate the same. I've seen pictures of Tempest IIs in Indian and Pakistani colours and either would make a nice change. I wouldn't fancy spraying an Indian roundel though !


Cheers


Steve

[monica]

great build Steve,real nice job on this one,like the camo,and nice clean build very well done,

[Guest]

Another top build Steve

[papa 695]

Awesome work Steve on such a great aircraft.

[dave]

Great build Steve, it has been interesting watching the progress on this one.

[Guest]

I think Tonys description is perfect for this plane, as I've said before I know nothing about planes, but, I do know a great build when I see one, well done Steve. 

[flyjoe180]

Beautiful work Steve, and good background research. That's a lovely result, enjoyed watching the build too.


Here's a link to Jim's operational story issued in the RNZAF News magazine on his passing in 2010 aged 92.

http://www.airforce.mil.nz/about-us/news/airforce-news/archive/122/sqnldr-jim-sheddan.htm

And a link on the Tempest webpage with a summary of his Tempest victories.

http://www.hawkertempest.se/index.php/piloter/summary/97-sheddan

[The Migrant]

Fantastic work Steve, that really could be mistaken for the full-size aircraft (helped by the large scale too). I really appreciate the lack of heavy pre-shading/post-shading etc., just a very well built and finished model.

[Ian M]

Excellent work Steve.

[Guest]

Cracking build Steve, excellent camo job, well photographed and presented, really like this mate

[stona]

Cheers all.


Thanks for the links Joe, NZ produced some remarkable men at a time of crisis, I was only recently explaining that no less a figure than Keith Park was one of many.


Mike, I'm not a fan of overdoing the shading, panel lines etc. It's a fashion which seems to have stuck with us long enough to become a style (to rather badly paraphrase Oscar Wilde). I do a little subtle post shade, which doesn't show up much in my inept photography, but then I don't want it to jump out at the observer. I recently saw a model of a Bf 109, heavily weathered, very nicely done, with the typical wasp like segments of the fuselage emphasised. That's fine if it floats your boat, but I do my research and I know that those joints between the fuselage skins were puttied and sanded smooth before painting. Even on a war weary machine they are hardly visible. Looking at a photo of Sheddan's aircraft, showing the entire starboard side, shows that it was in pretty good nick (hardly surprising for the C.O. ). I tried to give the impression of a washed off exhaust stain, with the characteristic arc typical of the Tempest V, which shows better on the green than the grey. It is evident in some images of this squadrons aircraft. As seen here in May 1945 SN129 was almost brand new!


Steve

[Guest]

That's a beauty, Steve. I do like a Tempest. I appreciate your well-thought-out approach to weathering, shading, etc, too - something I can learn from there!

[Guest]

Another cracker from your workbench, Steve......well done, mate!!!