Photos are ready!

Yesterday was a very long day, but I managed to complete the model in time, and it is now with its new owner. The base construction was rushed, and I should have bought four of the plastic Eduard PSP sheets, instead I had one and no time to get more so I had to make a (bubbly) silicone mould and resin copies, which was expensive in materials.
















































Yesterday, after finishing the model at the last minute, I attended an event at RAF Museum Hendon.

It was organised by the Typhoon Entente Cordiale Trust, and was primarily for the visit of Peter Roper, a former Typhoon pilot who was visiting the last Typhoon with his family, before going to Normandy to dedicate a plaque to the French who aided pilots after they were, like him, shot down in the Normandy campaign.

I was invited by David Ince, the pilot of 'photo M' who also developed its forward facing camera installation. The model had been built by me as a gift to him.



Peter Roper (left) and David Ince with the last Typhoon.







Members of TECT.



Me presenting the model to David Ince outside the museum.

Hi Ben,
A wonderful model on a great base I know that building a model that is presented to someone is a great feeling I bet David was thrilled


Just as reference for anyone building a base with PSP planking, there were half planks (10' and 5') so there wouldn't have been the need to have a staggered end. Also, if you are interested, metal stakes were used to anchour it. They were about 2'-3' long angle iron with the top bent over. They were driven through holes on the outer edges; it's been a very long time since I last laid PSP so I can't quit remember the distance between anchour stakes. This takes nothing away from the base that Ben has produced as if you ran out of shorts you would simply build it has Ben has done.

Awesome job Ben, one to be very proud of not just for the build, but for the story that goes with it.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Cheers, D

Hi Mal,

Thanks for adding info on PSP. I had to find out on wikipedia that there were half lengths (or you could just cut the planks in half). I was wondering how they dealt with one stretch meeting another at 90 degrees if they had those gaps at the edges. The base represents a parking bay off of a spur from the main taxiway. I also discovered that it seemed to have been laid with the long sides at 90 degrees to the direction of most traffic, there opposite of how I have seen in a US training film on YouTube. Anyway, I thought the taxiway would have needed the half lengths to fill in the gaps when there were junctions with the bays, but I also have seen photos of the parking areas without e.g. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6tB05PrEhyoC&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86 so that is how I did mine. The base is supposed to be B.89 Mill (same location as that photo), which was sand (originally covered in peat, but this was removed). After the war it was used for sand and gravel extraction and the area is now a series of lake where the pits were.

Ben, a great build, great story, a lesson and a wonderful gift to a veteran, you must be proud. Well done.

Yes, I feel pretty good about the build, even though I don't have the model any more, I have lots of good photos. I may play around with a few with adding backgrounds and making them black and white.

It was really good talking to David. One thing I learnt was that the forward facing cameras mounted in slipper tanks of FR Spitfires (Mk. 14?) was the recce wing's (35?) response to David's forward facing Typhoon camera. David had distributed his forward facing obliques as a suggestion that other Typhoon Squadrons could do their own bomb damage assessment. This put the noses of the PR wing out of joint and they replied with the slipper tank design.

A wonderful conclusion to a professionally executed project. The model itself is beautifully finished, and this whole thread offers an amazing educational value. So well done,Ben. Congradulations are in order here.

Just on a side note; where did you get that cool glass dome for your base?

Thanks, the base and dome were from here:
http://www.just-bases.co.uk/?page_id=128

It came as black painted MDF, and the MDF hadn't been sanded or prepared properly, so it was very rough looking, so I had to sand around the edges and repaint it. Having said that, the price was very good, as even the domes alone from a plastics supplier is the same price.

Ben, just an outstanding build. Been here from the start, and enjoyed all of it. Your base and dome are the perfect solution for a perfectly displayed presentation model.

Joel

Ben! This is simply great! I hope we don't loose you to 48-scale now though !

And don't forget to enter it in the August MoM!



Magnus

Joel: Thanks, I'm glad you have enjoyed the build.

Magnus: I did get a bit of a shock when I looked back at my unpainted Airfix 1/72 Typhoon, thinking how very small it looked! I don't have room for 1/48 though, so no chance of a shift in scale for the models I make for myself.