1:48 TYPHOON Ib

The Hawker Typhoon Ib up close

The Typhoon was originally meant to replace the Hurricane in high-altitude combat. The Napier Sabre engine of over thirty liters gave it power that British machines of the time did not have, only it disappointed at high altitude. It therefore made its name low over Normandy, with rockets under the wings and with the deep radiator chin by which it is recognized at first glance.

What you will see through the glazing

The Ib version was built in two forms of cockpit: the older one had car doors and framed rear glazing, the newer a teardrop sliding canopy. Both have in common that a great deal is visible inside: the instrument panel, the control column, the headrest and the frame around the armored windscreen. Anyone building the version with the doors has glazing on the side of the fuselage as well and the interior stays in view from every angle.

On this machine the windscreen was completed by a thick armored panel set at an angle inside the cockpit. On a model what is mainly visible of it is the thick edge and the refraction of light above the instrument panel, and that stands out only when the frame around it is painted on the side nobody usually sprays.

Why it is masked from the inside as well

British frames were sprayed interior green on the cockpit side and carried camouflage on the outside. When you paint only the outside, bare plastic shows through the clear part and the whole cockpit turns gray. The inner mask holds a sharp edge on the inner side of the frame, so the model keeps the two-color transition exactly where the real aircraft had it.

Box contents

Two canopy masks, a pair of insignia for spraying and a decal sheet on top of that. The aircraft itself and the paints are not part of the delivery.