Shark-Tooth Tiffy : 1/48th Hasegawa Typhoon Mk.IB

The 1999 release of this 1/48th Hasegawa Typhoon Mk.IB still holds up very well today. The molds are typical of many of the Hasegawa WWII types, with high-quality, precision fit, finely engraved plastic that model makers have come to appreciate.

Notable Kit Features:

• Nicely detailed cockpit (however seatbelts are provided as decals)

• Excellent engraved panel lines and surface details

• Good parts fit

• Nice main wheel well and gear detail

• Clear landing lights as well as navigation lights provided

• Rocket armament and bomb shackles provided (in my version)
  

Build Inspiration:

This is another RCAF pilot commemorative build for my collection. Harrison Taylor Mossip (the son to Henry Bertrand Mossip and Eliza Jane Mossip, married to Helen Mossip) grew up around Thorndale Ontario which is not too far from me. Unfortunately Harrison was killed in action on March 7th, 1945. He was just 24 years old and had gained his wings in 1941.

On that fateful day he was flying Hawker Typhoon JP936, with No. 245 Squadron. Flight Lieutenant Mossip was on an armed reconnaissance mission in the Paderborn area (Eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). The group was conducting an attack upon a train during which Mossip's aircraft was seen to crash by the pilot of an accompanying aircraft. It is the opinion of a fellow pilot that a mid-air collision with high tension wires took place some 800 yards due north of the railway line.

During his carreer, Harrison Taylor Mossip was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) while with No. 1 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force on November 5th, 1943. The Citation read: "This officer has undertaken very many sorties during which he has attacked nineteen locomotives and ten barges with damaging effect. Flying Officer Mossip has invariably pressed home his attacks with great vigour, often in the face of heavy anti-aircraft opposition."

Heads-Up Report:

• The fuselage does have insert sections (designed so different versions can be released) however I found they fit nicely if you spend a bit of time ensuring the line-up of parts.

Kit Additions / Modifications:

• Four-blade propeller was procured from a Monogram kit (Kit prop is Three-Blade although a later release came with a four-blade)

• Added seat belts

• Used Aviaeology's excellent decals AOD48003 (I highly recommend any of this company's decals, as they always include great reference material)
  

Finishing:

The camouflage was airbrushed on using my standard method of varying the paint tones during the spray with darker tones typically used along the panel lines or newer painted areas (E.g. leading edge repairs) and lighter tones on the center panels (or faded areas). The leading edge yellow was painted on with some wear added. I decided on the non-red mouth option and grey nose interpretation as this area is debated as to which colour it was. Wing walks were also painted on using near-black with some wear added here as well. Paint stage is followed by a gloss coat using Pledge (Floor Finish) > Decals > Oil base panel wash > Matt coat. Some final exhaust and dirt weathering was brushed on using dry tempera paints.

The After-Build Report:

This 1/48th Hasegawa Typhoon Mk.IB kit is pretty much your start point for a WWII Typhoon build (Italeri and Eduard boxings are based on this kit). The good news is the kit remains a fine example of a straight-forward build, that will get you a great looking kit right out of the box. The Eduard releases include some of their PE & resin to really detail the kit out (no gun bays though). Your other option is the venerable Monogram kit (dating back decades but still surprisingly respectable and inexpensive). Now, if you really want to go to town on a WWII era Typhoon you may be tempted by the Airfix 1/24th scale example... but you'll need a tad more display space!

Completed build #213 - December 2017 using the 1/48th scale Hasegawa #JT60 2400 kit.

Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is suppose to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers