Egilman

Well your correct, it was designed as a 400kt+ interceptor to counter the FW-190 which was kicking Spitfire tail when it was introduced... and once the aircraft was proved, the air ministry pre-ordered 1,000 craft... but that order was never completed they were the Typhoon Mk 1A's... It's issue were engine and structural related which made it's fighter role problematic... The aircraft was redesigned with improved engines and cannons rather than machine guns and structural improvements which weren't completely successful... (the Typhoon Mk 1B) The typhoon had a bad reputation for shedding its tail in flight... Although they got that issue down to acceptable levels, it never completely went away... During '42, the Germans developed a new tactic using the FW 190 as fighter bombers launching low level harassing raids on the southern english coast... the Typhoon achieved it first small run of success during this period where it managed to intercept and shoot down many of the fw-190's, but I believe this was because of the 190's overloaded condition.... After that partial success, it was decided because of it's low level flying characteristics, fast and heavy armament load... They decided to try it out as a fighter bomber.. so mounts were installed in the wings to accept bombs or rockets, the rocket launchers and bomb racks used the same mount and firing circuitry... the intention was to field mixed units of rocket and bomb armed aircraft to do low level sweeps over enemy territory... In practice though, this idea was found to be impractical, as both dropping bombs and firing rockets on target took completely different skillsets, so they broke the bomb and rocket aircraft into separate squadrons flying form the same airbases... In this role the Typhoon Mk1B was a huge success... (although is still had the structural issues that were never fully resolved, and an engine that was underpowered and not completely reliable which was also never fully resolved) But yes all typhoons (except for a few early Mk1A's remaining) were bomb and rocket capable, and both types, bombs/rockets, used the same electrical firing circuits, so yes they all would have the stencil... (even the Mk1A's that were brought up to Mk1B standards) it didn't matter if they were a rocket or bomb equipped typhoon... (By D-Day, the RAF's 2nd TAF fielded 11 RP ("Rockphoon") squadrons and seven "Bombphoon" squadrons. I can keep digging up more, but British aircraft are not my strong suit.... You are correct brother, it was not designed as a fighter-bomber, I though it was... But it became very clear that ground attack was it's very best role... (and it became the basis of the Hawker Tempest, which was the best Fighter Bomber of the war bar none... (with all due respect to the IL-2 and P-47 crowd {chuckle})

All Typhoons had the capability of firing rockets, they were designed from the start as tank busters, ground support aircraft.....

Ras, I've owned and rode two cycles in my younger days, the first was a Harley M-50, loved that motorcycle... from back in the days when Harley made some of the best dirt/trail bikes around... Got a little older and built a 650 Triumph Bonneville, tuned engine, extended springer fork etc. etc... Had a very distinctive sound.... Classic chopper when building a harley chopper was way to expensive for a teenager and Triumphs were cheap and easy to work on.... My brother still has his 650 Maico Modena.... (and will never part with it).... Wish I still had either of mine today..... I don't have any pics of it wish I did... Your classic is going to turn out beautiful.... Early Protar kits had their issues just like any of the early manufacturers... You will do this one justice I think my friend....

Beautiful job!!! Looks like you have the putty technique down.... Perfect soft edge camo.... Well done!

I would suggest Formula 560 or Gators Grip... They are a flexible PVA glue that dries ultra thin and clear and are designed to glue canopies and PE to plastic very tightly.... Water cleanup and take most any paint or wash when cured... They work very very well...

AS well as being the last biplane bomber, it was one of the last open cockpit bombers as well.... (it was replaced by the Whitley & Wellington) One of the last missions it was given was testing an early application of down looking radar in 1940... It was definitely a technology transition aircraft... By the end of WWII most strategic bombers on the allied side all had very good down looking radar for bomb aiming making them all weather bombing aircraft, The Heyford led the way...

Thanks for putting up with all of our noise brother... The cacophony of keypunchin is something to behold... I find it a pleasure to see that others do it in the mind just like I do... Sometimes it is just best to say it out and let the back -n- forth flow carry the idea to fruition... The ideals are the best thing shared, anyone can learn the skills, but the ideals of modeling, they develop over time and association with like minded builders... It's why I've made this my modeling home.... no other place like it on the net...

Building the other half? I'm down for this....

Nice! Another version I’ve seen involves painting the standard desert camo, then over spraying with a thin coat of EDSG. Done well, the underlying camo comes through as a two-tone blue. Yep, they were all over the place on colors at Malta, like anything they could get their hands on was used to try and break the the aircrafts silhouette... (although they pretty much stuck with various blue shades underneath, you will find some with aircraft grey undersides as well) AS I see it, it is an open canvass... Enjoy, I know I will your rendition of it...

Your absolutely correct, My source is apparently wrong.... Thank you for the link, the sad thing is that he was eventually separated from the service for disciplinary reason, By late '43, the RCAF was concentrating on unit teamwork tactics and his lone wolf style of flying was becoming a liability.... , He survived ten crash landings during his career as a fighter pilot and was shot down I believe five times... But to those that flew with him, he was one of the deadliest pilots in the air.... A shame there isn't more pics of him and his aircraft....

Well he was stationed there early '43 to mid '44... 30 victories while there... His assigned Spit Mk Vc, is likened to green over gray in most of the documentaries, but there is B&W photography that shows it is various contrasting shades that some have interpreted as Green/Grey, Green/Brown or Brown/Brown... Unfortunately, I have never found any record of what his recollections were of his color schema.... (much less the pattern) Most go with the Green over Grey in a right to left pattern and they were able, like you mention, to scrounge the grey from the Mossie squadrons.... Difficult one to nail down.... But it would be a beautiful build....

Yeah, I still believe there might be some personal photos from that period floating around, but none online unfortunately, there aren't very many verifiable pics in B&W either... (they were a bit busy between flying and bomb sheltering to worry about pics) But if your talking '43, after the worst of the siege was over, there are some archives that have decent color pics, but don't expect miracles.... For example... You can pretty much see colors, schemes and patterns were pretty much a gathering of everything the RAF was doing everywhere, Essentially there was no real facilities for such treatments, at Malta you were there to fight, and they repaired aircraft as best they could, paint schemes were very low priority....

... and get us to believe it....

I feel for you brother, we don't have a national health service here in this country, but the dentists don't accept medicare or any real medical insurance either... Modern medical insurance is so backwards in todays world it's incredible.... Hang in there the answer will appear... We will still be here....

I think you will be happier with the second green as well...

Excellent Greg, it's gonna be another outstanding paint job....

Actually brother, the underside grey tells the tale compared to the pics I find... I'll stay with the bluish grey, under direct light the contrasts are good.... It will look the real deal, under the new light, the green looks a bit dark maybe half a shade... but it won't matter when on the aircraft... the green will come thru... I think you have it nailed my friend...

I'm here... wouldn't miss it...

Agreed, but one thing I've learned over the years of doing camo research, the more color shots you get from different sources all showing the same thing, usually means your close to spot on.... I've pulled up about 100 such wartime color photos and haven't seen one in that dark shade yet.... (a quarter shade off on many of them yes, but they all show that bluish tint) But it's your airplane, and you know how I feel, build it as you envision it my friend, I'm sure it will be fabulous....

The Green is good brother, but they painted for contrast, the Dark Grey is just a tad too dark, the lighter one looks to me to be the ticket, I always thought that RAF Sea Grey had a touch of blue in it... (and gives the proper contrast) Wartime color shots... Museum color shot showing the same coloration..

Nice shots Brother! You are aware that in the second pic the Tractor in the middle of the pic is a 6 cylinder Holt 150hp 20 ton? as is the one on it's right... The one on it's left is a 75hp 15 ton.... Beautiful comparison shot.... Excellent research....

Check this manual out Greg, It has all the different bodies they put on the FWD 3 ton truck after they turned them into mobile repair trucks.... Handbook of artillery including mobile, antiaircraft, trench and automotive matériel 1925.pdf

Yeah a few years back we came to the conclusion that this is the direction the Am market is taking... we are seeing more and more direct 3D printed aftermarket today... (and some full 3D printed kits) The current main business model is still molding and casting after the 3D print master is made, for faster reproduction... But with the investment in machines, 3D printing will wind up as faster still with no need to replace masters or molds... higher initial investment, but less production costs in the long run... We all predicted it a few years back, and we are beginning to actually see it now...

Yep, the one that had it's own power source, never went down even in the worst of storms.... Today, as soon as the internet goes down, so does standard phone service... And they call it progress... Right! progress on the money making stuff.... Five steps back in quality of life...

That makes four of us, Admiral has one for on the road emergencies but other than that it never gets turned on.... Sometimes I wonder how the human race survived for ten thousand years on this rock without cell service or internet... {chuckle}