Well after struggling with the engine/fuselage fit on my previous 2 KP Tempest II's I decided to tackle this third one differently. Rather than follow the instructions which would have you construct the engine/cowling and then fit that to the assembled fuselage, which is a nightmare, I decided to construct 2 complete fuselage halves and then whittle the engine down to fit that. You can see very little detail of the engine anyway behind that huge spinner and front plate.

Well I'm happy to say that it works    which means that I could be building a couple more Mk II's as it's one of my favourite aircraft, I may even get around to building my Eduard 1/48 scale one 

Here's the 2 fuselage halves and engine, little bit easier to understand what I've done, probably.

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Looking good! 

 

I'm curious to know if the resin front from the Special Hobby atrocity (or possibly the CMR) would fit, rather than cut the engine back.

Made a plan..executed it perfectly..can't get better than that 

So you glued the cowling halves to the fuselage halves before joining them?
Interesting.
I have one KP Tempest left.  The outcome of this build might decide if it gets a Centaurus or an Eagle.

<popcorn>

Quote from: zenrat on July 17, 2023, 04:58:05 AMSo you glued the cowling halves to the fuselage halves before joining them?

Precisely

Matchbox Tempest II.

Just sayin' 😉😉

Quote from: kitbasher on July 17, 2023, 07:37:52 AMMatchbox Tempest II.

Just sayin' 😉😉

I know, but I've never actually seen one up for sale. Admittedly I've never looked and I do have a Heritage conversion set in the stash, which was intended for the Academy kit, although might fit the Airfix kit ?

Made a bit of progress with this today and now I've decided on my methodology it's going quite well, touching all the wood going.

That Heritage conversion is just a warmed over Matchbox front end and wing inserts dropped into rubber.  I'm curious to see if it would fit a normal KP or even ye olde Heller kit.

If I'd known you'd wanted a Matchbox one, I'd have not sold my last sealed one a few weeks back. I'll keep an eye out for a cheap one.

TBH, it's not that bad a kit. New vac form canopy and a decent cockpit interior is all it really needs, possibly some new wheels. The engine front needs some rounding off as it's a bit square.

I passed on an available Heritage conversion when I got hold of a spare Matchbox Mk.II front end and wings.

Be advised, the Matchbox cowling isn't a perfect match to the Heller kit as it's a smidgen larger in diameter - only about 0.5 - 1.0 mm all round, but it's noticeable. 
I shoulda kept my M'box kit, but 20/20 hindsight...

Ah well, it's another off the 'wanted' list, anyway.
And when I decide on a user/scheme, it'll stand a good chance of getting finished! 

All very interested in the process on this, the cowling glue prior to joining is an interesting move.

Quote from: Rick Lowe on July 18, 2023, 10:22:35 PMI passed on an available Heritage conversion when I got hold of a spare Matchbox Mk.II front end and wings.

Be advised, the Matchbox cowling isn't a perfect match to the Heller kit as it's a smidgen larger in diameter - only about 0.5 - 1.0 mm all round, but it's noticeable. 
I shoulda kept my M'box kit, but 20/20 hindsight...

Ah well, it's another off the 'wanted' list, anyway.
And when I decide on a user/scheme, it'll stand a good chance of getting finished! 

Many years back I dropped the front end of the Mbox Tempest into rubber and grafted the results onto aHeller one.  IIRC, I did need some splices but it certainly looked the part.

Quote from: The Wooksta! on July 18, 2023, 06:43:18 AMIf I'd known you'd wanted a Matchbox one, I'd have not sold my last sealed one a few weeks back. I'll keep an eye out for a cheap one.

Don't worry Lee, as long as this goes together ok then KP will satisfy my Mk II needs. 

TBH, I did consider dropping the Heritage one into rubber, but never got round to it.