Czech Master Resin's
1/72 Tempest Mk. II

By Mike Taylor

History

As a means of improving the Typhoons High altitude performance, in March 1940 Hawker undertook a number of design studies. A new wing with an elliptical planform, thinner and with reduced area, displayed possible increases in performance at altitude without the buffeting experienced by the Typhoon at speeds approaching 500 mph. The engine was moved forward 21 inches to accommodate a 76-gallon tank necessitated by the thinner wing. An improved undercarriage and the latest version of the Saber engine were also included in the update.

The Tempest II was initially intended to mount the 2,250 hp Saber Mk. IVA in-line liquid cooled powerplant, however it was decided that the Centaurus air cooled radial would offer the ultimate performance for the Typhoon/Tempest line if it could be made more efficient. Hawker engineers, using technology captured from the Germans, modified the Centaurus IV with a smooth, aerodynamic engine fairing and it made it’s maiden flight on June 28^th 1943. I’ve chosen to depict a Tempest from #30 Squadron RAF as it appeared in India in 1946.

The Kit

Czech Masters kit consists of 56 parts, 54 resin and 2 vacu-formed canopies. Quality of parts is acceptable with my only complaint being the overpours which were a bit large, especially on the wing leading and trailing edges. Another are of cautious concern was the wheel-wells. Although well detailed the area of the wing in the deepest part of the wells was thin enough to see light through and demanded extra care when sanding.

The 6-piece cockpit is very nice for a resin offering with the only additions that may be considered are etched seatbelts. Overall fit of the parts was good after clean up with very little gap filling superglue and sanding necessary. The interior components were given a coat of RAF interior green then a wash and some drybrushing to bring out the details. Very little can be seen once the fuselage halves are joined and the canopy’s in place but overall it’s very convincing.

The wing/fuselage joints were done by first gluing one side and letting it set, then applying glue with a toothpick to the other side and pressing down on the fuselage-spreading it to meet the other joint line. After some light sanding it looked fine. The propeller, prop hub and rockets were all cast in the old resin wafer design, necessitating a bit of clean up (too much for me to use the rockets, but with an ample stock of 1/72 spare parts that shouldn’t be a problem).

The landing gear are in scale and very delicate. In fact, you might notice the retraction struts are missing on the reviewed kit. They were included and I broke them very well if I do say so myself. Again some injection or white metal struts may be an improvement. The decals include markings for 3 aircraft: The reviewed example, a Royal Pakistani and a natural metal Indian Air Force Tempest. Well printed, thin and they set down well.

That’s it in a nutshell. If you’ve wanted A Tempest Mk.II in this scale wait no more.