Airfix 1/24 TYPHOON 1b - March 6, 2015 - FINISHED!

[Rick]

Woohoo!  Sprue Brothers got their shipment of Airfix's 1/24 scale Typhoon's.  I debated for a couple milliseconds on this one.  I got my order confirmation and shipping confirmation all within 30 minutes.  I shall be giddy with anticipation until that giant Fed Ex box shows up on my doorstep.  I best get my Tigercats for the braille group build done quick and start clearing off the workbench.  Might even have to practice my happy dance moves too!

Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy!
Rick

[Tojo72]

1/24 that should be impressive

[Leon]

Be careful on the happy dance moves Rick .Can't have you getting hurt before the big day gets here.

[doogsatx/]

Ordered mine last night. Super excited even though I don't see how I can start on it until at least October...

[Rick]

Leon, I'll take your advise. My moves aren't what they used to be. Might end up looking like the pee wee herman if I'm not careful. Doogs, I'm hearing you on that. A few projects to close to finish to just walk away from.

Rick

[dupes]

You guys already have them? Wow. I'm going to have to wait a bit until the price comes down some.

[Rick]

Aug 2, 2014 13:42:53 GMT -5 dupes said:

You guys already have them? Wow. I'm going to have to wait a bit until the price comes down some.

Yeah Dupes.  I didn't want to take a chance they would be out of stock for months.  Best part was, MSRP is $150.  Sprue Bros had it for $119!  Easy decision.  The icing on that cake is that MY TIFFIE LANDED ON MY DOORSTEP AT 3:30 TODAY!!!!  Barely 24 hours since the order was placed!  I tried the happy dance Leon, but I think it still came out as the PeeWee Herman.  Gonna have to work on some Jagger moves. (NOT!) I'll get some pics posted later tonite.  Right now, I'm gonna go drool.  Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy!  Woohoo!!!


Rick 

[dupes]

Don't tell me about the happy dance...TELL ME ABOUT THE KIT!!

[wbill76]

That's pretty impressive Rick! Looking forward to it when you get to it. I've heard that they are limiting the number of kits in the run depending on the pre-order demand globally, so it may or may not be widely available long-term.

[Rick]

Bill I thought I heard somewhere the run might be limited too. Dupes I'll get some pics and details tonite. I need to run an errand first. I took a quick look before I left the house though. My first impression is best summed up in George Takei's words. "Ohhhh Myyyyyy"

[doogsatx/]

Aug 2, 2014 13:42:53 GMT -5 dupes said:

You guys already have them? Wow. I'm going to have to wait a bit until the price comes down some.

You might want to move fast. I don't recall the Mossie ever really dropping in price, and nowadays they're hard to find...

[dupes]

Really. Was the Mosquito not a good seller?

And this kit has been "hotly anticipated" for over a year now...I can't imagine they wouldn't want to get as many out there as possible? Wow.

Guess I'll have to start shopping around.

[doogsatx/]

I believe the Mosquito was a pretty strong seller (though maybe a bit size and price prohibitive), but they only boxed so many and that was that.

[dupes]

Huh. I suppose it'll be rereleased every few years...not like there aren't "new" boxings of Airfix's other 1/24 beasts.

Knowing my stash, I could probably stand to wait a while anyway. Heh.

[Rick]

Dupes, I agree with Doogs. Haven't seen a Mossie for a long time. I grabbed mine first time I saw it and glad I did. If these are limited run, it could be a few years before they're back in circulation.

I will also add, there's a huge opportunity for aftermarket with this kit. That product may be even harder to get later. I can already tell you, I want to replace the cannons.

Rick

[Rick]

Last night, I went through the instruction book (and I do mean book) and checked out each of the sprues to get my head around this kit. Before getting deep into some of the details, here is my overview of Airfix's highly anticipated kit. Note that my opinions and observations throughout are my own and may be reflective of my own skill sets. I make no attempt to sway anyones decision to purchase this kit or alter their modeling styles in assembling their own Typhoon. As always, I welcome any input and comments. I have no doubt along this path, I will seek input and opinions from those with greater experience than I in dealing with various sub-assemblies.

With that being said, Here goes!


What a beautiful box art to go along with the mountain of styrene packed inside! The box clearly shows where the Typhoon excelled during it's brief service life. Though it failed as an air superiority fighter, it's true calling was in ground attack.

Opening the box presents 16 sprues of various shape and sizes wrapped in heavy plastic. There are two sprues per plastic bag to prevent breakage during shipping and handling. As I went through each of the sprues, here are some observations and highlights:
- 44 page instruction book with 229 steps.
- a big 8-1/2 by 12 awesome looking decal sheet with options for four aircraft.
- There is no metal included in the kit. 100% plastic. No doubt metal is probably in production already.
- 509 parts molded in the usual Airfix soft light gray plastic

A call out here. The large sprues are very flexible. A number of the sprues were flexed and showed some warp-age. Several of the under-wing rockets are actually warped. If you live in a hot climate, I highly recommend that you do not leave this kit exposed to significant heat, like the inside of your car in the sun. I suspect that this kit may be very prone to warp-age from heat.

Kit details:
- The highlight of this kit is the interior. Cockpit, engine, gun bays, and wheel wells will consume the majority of workbench time.
- Option of 3 or 4 blade prop
- Two options for different types of under-wing rocket rails. And 8 rockets for each option!
- Choices of 500 or 1000 pound bombs or long range fuel tanks
- Delicate two piece canopy. (Mine has a hairline crack - will be contacting Airfix for a replacement!)
- Rudder and elevators have separate trim tabs
- Wing spars and stringers (more on this later)

The exterior surfaces of the aircraft is fantastic. The surfaces are crisp and very well done. Initially I thought there were some surface irregularities. Airfix has actually duplicated some of the flexing and bulging that occurs in the aircraft's aluminum skin. Slight bulges in panels inside of the rivets look amazing. I have never seen this in a kit before and it will really enhance the final appearance.

One other aspect of this kit that caught my attention is that the interior forms the basis of the kit and the exterior is added late in the construction around the interior components. No doubt much of this is due to the construction of the original aircraft being similar to the Hurricane. The wing spars form the base on which the cockpit sits and the engine mounts extend from this structure. The exterior wing and fuselage skin is added around the internal framing later in the construction.

Construction thoughts:  To me, the issue of ejector pin marks that plagued the Mosquito does not apply so much with the Typhoon.  They are very much present, but placement appears to be less in visible areas.  Hoping this holds true once construction gets underway.  My major disapointment so far involves seam lines.  Seam lines where molds come together are apparent on almost every part that is not flat.  Clean-up is going to take a lot of patience and attention to making sure the seams are scraped and sanded wherever visible.  Some sprues are worse than others.  The cockpit and engine with it's multitude of framing tubes and piping appear to be the most affected.  Bummer.      

That's my overview of the kit from what I see so far.  Even with the kits opportunities from my early observations, I have no doubt of the total awesomeness that this kit will produce.  On to the Pictures!

[Rick]

Here is a sampling of the 44 page instruction manual. It relies on drawings and very few call-outs and written instruction. Attention in following and test fitting will be essential:







Next up are various sprue shots starting:





This sprue includes the wing spars and much of the internal framing:










Here's bit of rocket stuff. The second pic shows some of the warp-age in a couple rockets



And some skin:




And last but not least, I needed to make some comparisons to get a better idea of the size of the kit. Tiffies were not small aircraft by any means. They had a massive engine and could really haul the ordnance.

This is the wing sections compared to my 1/24 Trumpeter Spitfire 5b wing (that's been in it's box for 8 or more years)


And in comparison to Academy's 1/72 scale Typhoon built last year:


And I just needed to see the size difference in Airfix's 1/24 Mossie also built last year.


The Typhoon wing span checks in right at 21 inches and the Mossie is just under 28 inches.

I'm looking forward to getting his one underway. I need to finish up my braille scale Tigercats for the group build so I can get some space prepared for this beast. There are some reference articles already written I need to get gathered and start studying more sources before I jump into it as well. I'm not the fastest when it comes to constructions. I'm sure others will have theirs finished long before I cross the finish line here. As always feel free to jump in with your two bits worth. Appreciate you following along.

Rick

[dupes]

Yeah, I'd watch that build log!

[wbill76]

Looks like you get quite a lot in the box there Rick and the end result is going to be nice size-wise as well.

[doogsatx/]

Sucks to hear about the HVAR warpage. On the plus side, Profimodeller makes a set of metal-and-etch 1/24 HVAR rockets. Just ordered myself a set. If my rockets come through unwarped, I'm hoping to go for the double-up, twelve-rocket layout.

[mrt51]

I'll be watching this one.

Terry

[Rick]

Thanks Doogs, I'll have to take a look for a set of those rockets myself. Do you know if the electrical wires are included and where did you order from? I've never seen pics of the 12 pack before. Ordered Bret Greens "how to" book on building the Tiffie.

Handling the sprues is a bit fiddly. There's a lot of flex in them. I snapped one piece just by picking up the sprue. I guess cracked canopies is an issue too. A lot of comments about the problem on Britmodeler. Ordered my replacement yesterday.

Terry glad to have on board.

Rick

[doogsatx/]

Aug 4, 2014 11:54:05 GMT -5 Rick said:

Thanks Doogs, I'll have to take a look for a set of those rockets myself. Do you know if the electrical wires are included and where did you order from? I've never seen pics of the 12 pack before. Ordered Bret Greens "how to" book on building the Tiffie.

Handling the sprues is a bit fiddly. There's a lot of flex in them. I snapped one piece just by picking up the sprue. I guess cracked canopies is an issue too. A lot of comments about the problem on Britmodeler. Ordered my replacement yesterday.

Terry glad to have on board.

Rick

I ordered mine from Hannants but they appear to be sold out now. Still orderable from PM directly. www.profimodeller.com/detail/p24001-us-uk-hvar-rockets/



I don't see the electrical wiring included - but those should be easy enough to scratch up.

[Rick]

Sweet! Those look awesome. Thanks for the heads up.

Rick

[venom1]

Awesome!

Dunno if you guys are aware (you probably are), but these guys do a full set of instruments and cockpit placards specifically for this kit.

www.airscale.co.uk/

Would set off the rest of the kit beautifully methinks!

Cheers,

Sam

[Mence]

What a beauty, wish I did wingies!

[Rick]

Thanks for the heads up Sam, I'm thinkin' there will be quite a bit of aftermarket arriving soon. Just saw today that canopy masks were just released too.

Mence, no time like the present to get started with a wingy. I hadn't touched one for over 30 years until a couple ago.

Rick

[Rick]

August 12:

Just a quick update tonite. I've had to spend a weekend re-organizing the workbench and adding a 2nd table just to get enough room to handle this beast. Also trying to finish up the tigercat twins in the GB so I can clean up some more space.

While this has been going on, I ordered and received Brett Green's excellent book on building the Tiffie. It will receive a lot of referencing during the process, no doubt.



I also did some checking and found that the cracked canopy I had when I opened the box turns out to be a very common issue. Airfix has attempted to mold the plexi as close to scale thickness as possible. The result is incredibly thin and fragile. During shipment quite a few are breaking. I fired off an email to Airfix for a replacement Saturday of last week. The customer service was fantastic. I received an acknowledgement of the problem and today a brand new clear sprue arrived with an undamaged canopy. If anyone picks up this kit, I suggest checking your canopy right away and getting in touch through the Airfix website for a replacement if needed.

I also noticed this little disclaimer on the side of the box that caught my eye:



Not sure about you guys, but I haven't come across any 36 month old modelers that I'd turn loose with a knife, glue, and paint. I'm sure there maybe a few prodigies out there that would put me to shame but as far as I know, none have come forward.

Rick

[dupes]

I can give him knives and glue at 36 months? SWEEEEET

[deafpanzer]

LOL