The Tempest, originally known as the Typhoon II, was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to address the Typhoon's unexpected fall-off of performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner laminar flow design. Having diverged considerably from the Typhoon, it was chosen to rename the aircraft Tempest. The Tempest emerged as one of the most powerful fighters of World War II and was the fastest single-engine propeller-driven aircraft of the war at low altitude.
Upon entering service in 1944, the Tempest was used as a low-level interceptor, particularly against the V-1 flying bomb threat, and it successfully targeted the rail infrastructure in Germany and Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, as well as countering such attacks by German fighters. The Tempest was effective in the low-level interception role, including against newly developed jet-propelled aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Me 262.
I picked this kit up about a year ago and when this group build came along it seemed like the perfect opportunity to build it. This will be a step up for me both in terms of scale but also in terms of the complexity of the kit. Work and Life have got in the way a bit this year, however lets see how we get on
So what's in the box?
The kit at first sight looks superb, lovely detail and moulding. This is the Hi Tech version so it includes some photo etch, resin, seat harness and masks.
9 attached images. Click to enlarge.