History Brief

Hawker’s next sibling in line following its older brother the Typhoon, the Tempest featured a new, more advanced laminar flow wing, newer and more powerful engines, and other numerous innovations. The first Tempest Mk V prototype flew on September 2nd, 1942. Pressing onward into service, the Hawker Tempest Mk V saw two notable types. Series 1 had the older style long barrel Hispano Mk. II cannon extending past the leading edge of the wing and small fish plates riveted over the joint between the rear fuselage and tail unit as reinforcement. Series II aircraft were fitted with the new short-barreled Hispano Mk. V cannon completely fitted in the wing and were able to carry two 45-gal drop tanks.

Famous for defending against the dreaded V-1 buzz bombs and for their ground attack capabilities, the Tempest Mk Vs served the RAF from April 1944 to well past the war’s end with honor and was truly a beauty of a beast.

Windsock Worldwide is considered to be the “gold standard” by many historians and modelers when the subject matter is World War I aviation, and this issue will not disappoint. This issue is designated by Albatros Productions as a “Special Collector’s Edition.” That designation is well deserved. This issue was expanded to 40 pages. The flyer inserted into this issue best summarizes the contents and reads, “Apart from the World exclusive reviews of the early and late version RAF Fe-2bs and Rumpler C.IVS, there is an extended, highly-detailed, 14 page build log of the early Fe-2b by editor Ray Rimell. This heavily-illustrated stage-by-stage guide also includes contemporary diagrams from the original Parts Schedule to aid modellers seeking extra documentation.

Twobobs has released a sheet for those of us who like colorful aircraft, something that will relieve that expanse of grey on grey in the display case. The aircraft catered for on this sheet are two F-16A Midlife Update (MLU) aircraft at Skrydstrup AB of the Royal Danish Air Force. They were painted in special markings to celebrate the anniversaries of the activation of their squadrons.

The first, F-16AM Block 10 MLU, 78-0194, commemorates the 60th Anniversary of ESK 727 on 18 June 2010. It has an all orange-red tail fin and fairing with a white cross and a golden lion and golden script showing 1950 and 2010 for either side of the tail.

As those of you who know me, my scale of choice for a long time now has been 1/32^nd (aka Braille scale!). Needless to say, I’ve been ecstatic with the explosion of offerings from numerous manufactures. This is one I have been patiently waiting for for the last two years- Hong Kong Models B-25J.

The one pictured here, the glass nose “J” model, and I find it absolutely outstanding. The engraved detail is actually exquisite, the clear parts are like crystal, and the attention to detail is near phenomenal. (Are you getting the message that I REALLY like what I am seeing?). Included with the more than 11 excellent gray sprues was a basic decal sheet and a set of photoetch. The etched parts include seat belts.

Decals

The decals are silk screen printed, waterslide, and look stunning. Depth of colors, registration, and definition appear perfect. The carrier film is minimal and follows the outline of the national markings, letters, and aircraft serial numbers. There should be no need to use the kit decals with this set, as all the markings and stencils and included. There are only enough stencils to finish one model, though.

Instructions

Eight A4 double-sided pages make up the instructions. The instructions have the true depth of reference material that can be preserved in the modeler’s library once the kit is finished and decals applied.

Information contained within the instructions/reference pages include: