Hello everyone,
here we are!
My big beast, the Tempest Mk.V, has finally reached its destination—after just under three months of work—inside my display cabinet.
Before showing you the final result, I’d like to share a few thoughts on the kit overall, hoping this might be useful to anyone considering tackling this build.
The kit (SPECIAL HOBBY TEMPEST MK.V HI-TECH 2) is, I must say, a demanding one. It includes countless resin parts that replace the corresponding injected pieces, and requires quite a bit of surgery—removing molded sections (upper and side engine cowlings, as well as the firewall between engine and propeller assembly) and careful finishing to allow the engine to be displayed.
In general, the fit is decent but not perfect. I ran into some difficulties with the wheel bays, which I later enhanced with added wiring, along with brake lines on the wheels. Overall, it’s a challenging kit, with some shortcomings in engineering and part fit, but it can still yield a very satisfying final representation.
Here you can see the section of the instructions indicating which forward areas need to be removed (the parts in orange).
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the national markings, serials, and identification letters are entirely self-painted using custom masks.
For painting, both the undersides and the upper camouflage, I used MRP paints. No primer was applied—only preshading underneath. For the upper camouflage, I experimented for the first time with a layered technique, in this order:
- base camouflage color
- lighter patches of the base shade (on both DG and OG)
- darker patches of the base shade
- final light pass of the camouflage color to blend everything together.
I’m fairly satisfied with the result. To the naked eye, the finish looks more realistic for an operational aircraft—not flat. Up close, you can see the subtle tonal variations, as visible in some of the photos.
Finally, I chose to depict the aircraft as if it were undergoing a maintenance break on the engine, with the cowlings removed and resting on a nearby fence.
I’d really appreciate hearing your opinions and/or critiques, so I look forward to your comments. Thanks to all who followed me through the WIP.
Dan
READY FOR INSPECTION
Well done!
