I have to share a confession with Neil Robinson (see SAM - March 200) in that one of the aviation books that first
captured my imagination was 'The Big Show' by P.Clostermann. As I had not built a Tempest since the Frog one appeared
I was excited to hear news of this kit and eager to get my hands on it, especially after seeing the excellent job Academy
made of the Typhoon, so that I could add to my Clostermann collection.
One of the striking things on opening the box is that the breakdown of parts is almost identical to the Heller kit (I
suppose there are only so many ways to break down a Tempest) but the detail (engraved panel lines, separate exhausts and
moulded cockpit sidewalls) is from a later generation. Unfortunately the outline is not quite as good, being 4mm short to
the Bentley 'superplans' in Scale Models (Feb 1973) and a couple of mm short in span with slightly too much of a curve to
the wingtips and slightly suspect curvature to the fin and tailplanes. None of these represents a major issue and they are
not noticeable on the finished model so don't be put off by them - when your local rivet counter comes
nit-picking just ask if he can tell the difference !
Alternative bombs or drop tanks are provided and the instruction sheet is clear and easy to follow with assembly
being straightforward. I used no filler at all although I did do a little trimming of the width of the
cockpit floor/bulhead and radiator which I am not convinced was absolutely necessary but it made me feel I was doing some
'proper' modelling. One point to bear
in mind before going too far with assembly is that the instructions give the interior colour as grey/green whereas it
was black on all but very early Series I machines and the kit is definitely a Series II.
The colour schemes provided for on the decal sheet have been seen before, being Mackie or Clostermann (post-war) and I
rang the changes on my model with a different Clostermann scheme from the book 'The Typhoon and Tempest Story' which
would be one of my recommended references, others being the Osprey 'Aircraft of the Aces' for the Typhoon and Tempest as
well as the 'Profile' and 'Camouflage & Markings' booklets. There are problems with the decals : the red looks too red and
the white backing for the code letters is off register so it shows, also the serials look a bit skinny to my eyes and the
non-slip walkway needs to be trimmed to be narrower. On the positive side there are some stencils and the
instruction sheet gets full marks again for painting instructions giving proper RAF paint names plus FS and BS
numbers where applicable.
In conclusion, a splendid model which looks the part 'straight from the box' and is well worth £4.99.