Nice, steady progress. Good for mojo! 

Slow and steady wins the race.  You seem to have fixed the issue Chris. 

Another build well worth waiting for 👍👍😀

No progress for almost exactly 4 weeks for various reasons and she's not going to get done for Telford  . However I did manage to get a little bit done this morning, mainly involving touching up camouflage and ID markings. Then it's onto prepping the paint finish for the transfers and Lifecolor dries very, very matt. So hopefully a couple of coats of Klear tomorrow.

So will it get finished this year ? Hopefully, but we'll just have to see.

Well progress at last 

She's now got all her transfers and so has entered the finishing straight. Hopefully get the undercarriage sorted this week and then we really will be on finals.

Finished this year ? Maybe, but life starts to get a bit hectic this time of year, still far better than the alternative 

Been steadily tinkering with this and she's getting there. Now standing on her own legs and just needs a couple of tiny sticking out bits added, followed by the matt coat(s) and she'll be ready for the ceremonial placing of the prop and spinner 

Quote from: NARSES2 on December 02, 2023, 12:58:15 AMand just needs a couple of tiny sticking out bits added,

Fitted 

 

Well it finally got finished...oh yes it did....oh no it didn't  (it's Pantomime season here in the UK    )

RNZAF Hawker Tempest Mk II

When the pilots of 486 Squadron (RNZAF) sailed home from the UK in August 1945 they left their Hawker Tempest V's in Germany and must of expected that after conversion training onto Chance Vought Corsairs they would be allocated to various RNZAF squadrons then serving in the SW Pacific theatre of operations. The fact that they weren't was all down to the dropping of the atomic bombs and the subsequent Japanese surrender of the 15th of that month.

Thus, upon arriving home in October they were faced with the choice of being de-mobbed or signing on full time with the RNZAF. Understandably after so many years away many chose to return to civilian life but those that didn't found themselves mainly allocated to 14 Squadron which was to be one of 2 or 3 fighter squadrons the New Zealand government were looking at retaining with the cessation of hostilities.  So they had a squadron, but what about aircraft ?

The Squadron had previously flown P.40 Kittyhawks and then the Corsair in the SW Pacific theatre, both of these types being supplied under the terms of the Lend Lease Act.  With the signing of the surrender documents in September however this Act became redundant, and those aircraft allocated to allied air forces under it reverted to US ownership unless they were purchased by those governments. Needless to say, neither the UK Government nor any of those of the Dominions could afford to buy them and the US government had no use for the majority of them either. So those that weren't required were either left to rot, or even in some cases dumped at sea from the RN carriers they were serving on.

However the UK government came to the Dominion air forces aid at this point, albeit they had ulterior motives, and instead of cancelling aircraft orders at the end of the War decided to at least honour most existing orders placed with the manufacturers, especially where materials had been ordered and paid for, thus ensuring skilled job retention and even perhaps enabling the UK aircraft industry to make a smooth transition from war to peacetime. One of those major orders which wasn't curtailed was with Hawker's for their Tempest Mk II's. The UK government also decided that in order to thank the Dominion governments for their steadfast support during the War it would gift a large number of these now no longer required types to those governments. It wasn't being entirely altruistic, and the Dominions knew that, but then "never look a gift horse in the mouth".

And that is how 14 Squadron upon its return from occupation duties in Japan found itself converting to Tempest Mk.II's in the spring of 1946. For those pilots who'd flown Tempest Mk. Vs in Europe this was a relatively easy process and thus the Squadron found itself earmarked to play a major role in the planned Victory Celebrations of August that year. As well as providing the major contingent for the planed flypast 14 Squadron also decided to honour those aircrew who served in the SW Pacific campaign by repainting one of its Tempest in the colours worn by those squadrons' P.40 Kittyhawks. The only problem was that they had no supplies of either US Olive Drab or Neutral Grey and therefore on the basis of "no one will notice the difference" looked around for a suitable alternative.  This was found lurking in the back of one of the hangars in the form of enough containers of RAAF Foliage Green and RAAF Sky Blue to decorate one aircraft. How this paint had got there no one knew nor cared. It was usable and as it wasn't on any one's books it was free.

So here we have the star of that flypast, Hawker Tempest Mk. II, serial MW798, painted to represent P-40-N-20 "L" – "Leslie" operated by No.2 SU between May and June 1944. As modelled this aircraft shows the full panoply of identification markings used in theatre in an attempt to prevent "friendly fire" incidents, and they certainly made her stand out in a crowd.

14 Squadron continued to fly their Tempests until 1952 when they were replaced by DH Vampires (true), then Venoms (true) and then Hawker Hunters (not, they converted to the Canberra in reality) thus perhaps warranting the thinking behind the UK Government's gift ?

This is my third KP Tempest Mk II and I now at least seem to have cracked its construction. It's a lovely build apart from the cowling. So, ignore the instructions which would have you build a complete cowling and attach that to the fuselage and instead attach each cowling half to its respective fuselage and then assemble the two complete fuselage halves as per normal. Paint in the main is from the Lifecolour RAAF WWII set and then my usual mix of suspects for the details. Transfers are taken from a Ventura set which offers markings for 3 RNZAF P-40 N's.

So an enjoyable, if rather slow even by my standards, build and I hope a fitting tribute to an oft forgotten theatre of WWII.

Ooh! That is nice indeed! 

That is a real beauty!     The backstory is also  most  accurate in its detailing of the way the  squadron engineers "annexed" the necessary paint.

Very striking Chris 

Very smart indeed Chris, and VERY noticeable in combat, I'm sure!   

Very nice! 

Believable backstory &   a beautiful model!