Just a quick question for anyone that knows, on the Typhoon Mk IB (the car door) were ailerons and stabilizers fabric? I’ve bought some resin control surfaces, and the rudder definitely looks fabric, but the stabs and ailerons don’t, leading me to wonder if they were metal, but then again I know the RAF was fond of fabric control surfaces for ease of repair. Any advice would be helpful, thanks.
All my refs and pics show all metal surfaces except the rudder, But on most of these pics the cockpit or prop isn’t shown so I can’t say this is true for all models or just the Late bubble top with the Tempest tail. All my Hasegawa Typhoon kits in the stash show metal control sufaces not molded fabric, but again, these are all bubble tops.
Good question…
There is a story here of a Typhoon opening fire on a V-1 from 200 yards, and the resulting debris causing the control surfaces (note plural) to catch fire.
I do recall reading that as RAF fighter aircraft become more powerful and heavier, diving speeds would cause the wing control surfaces to billow, hence the replacement with metal.
It’s possible the rudder remained fabric covered, the others depends. I’d say if it has rivet detail is likely metal, while a smooth finish it could be either.
regards,
Jack
Thanks for the answers. Nathan, they do look like metal, there’s no of the telltale molded ‘ribs’, and I think the Hasegawa kits (bubble top or car door) shared the majority of the kit, with just the cockpit insert varying (having built the bubble top in my cruder modelling days), so I’m sure as far as Hasegawa was concerned, they would both be the same. Jack, thanks for your answer, and my suspicion is fabric, as that article mentions. The rudder detail is definitely representing fabric, and that’s what has me questioning this, the ailerons and stabilizers are smooth. I know the RAF preferred using fabric for control surfaces, if they were damaged they could be patched without having to balance the piece, making repair quicker and easier, and could be done in the field. That being said, there’s no rivet or rib details to those parts. I think I’ll just take a stab and assume only the rudder is fabric, and as Nathan says, the rest is metal, and as you mention Jack, they did start replacing with metal. I only ask in case I should be fading those surfaces slightly more than the rest of the craft, and at worst I’m wrong and they don’t wind up faded.
Thanks again.
Andrew
Andrew, this pic gives no info on the typhoon model, but looking at the battle damage on the elevator it seems sharp and bent, like metal, not ripped like fabric. Still not a definitive, but hope it helps.
hopefully you can zoom in some.
IMHO faded control surfaces is really an individual choice by the modeler. I’ve seen it posted elsewhere, if you feel you must show some difference in finish, you can apply a dead flat finish to the suspect surfaces compared to the rest of the aircraft.
Fabric detail would not be present at all due to the number of various coats and primers applied before final painting on the real deal. One person has even warned, if you ever board an aircraft and can see spots of fabric texture, you’d best stay on the ground.
Of course some will argue the paint has desaturated from sun exposure due to the different surface, but that doesn’t hold well against the undersides which rarely see the sun.
As always consult references when ever you can.
regards,
Jack
edit…
Have since found this site which looks official, describing the construction as being “… all metal stressed skin construction apart from the rudder which was fabric covered.”
Again, Jack, Nathan, thank you very much. Nathan, that does look like metal on the stabs, and as the ailerons look similar in the casting, I will assume they are metal as well. I also found a photo of an RAF museum rebuilding a damaged Tiffy, and they had sheet metal lying around the stab which was stripped. Jack, I’d also found the quote of ‘all metal construction’, and the rudder is the only component that the casting represents as ‘fabric’ from what I can see. I tried google-ing Tiffy wrecks to see if I could find any photos where the fabric had aged away, but I couldn’t find much. Anyhow, I think I will work from this point with metal surfaces. Thanks again for the insight and information, and thank you Nathan for the photo. Perhaps shortly I’ll put a few photos up of my work, when I get a little further along.
The difference in appearance between fabric and metal control surfaces depends a lot on how exactly fabric surfaces were made and how the fabric is attached to the framework and finished. If fabric has enough coats of dope, as on many private aircraft, it is as shiny as a painted metal surface. So one has to look at the structure instead. If the fabric is “rib stitched” to the framework, then that stitching is covered by a strip of fabric tape. This does stand out (actually stands out moe with many coats of dope or paint and glossier finish). But then, so do the rivets on a metal surface. In small scale- 1:144 and even smaller 1:72 subjects it may be hard to distinguish between rows of rivets and rib stitching and pinked tape. On larger scales, it should be pretty easy to see by the shape of the detail.
You should never really be able to see the weave of the fabric. There is almost always enough coats of dope, aluminum (uv protection) dope, and color dope/paint, to fill the weave of the fabric. Embossed “weave” on some kits is a psychological thing to emphasize a feature, like overly dark panel lines and such.
Thanks for the advice, Don. This is 1 : 48 scale, and the ‘fabric rendition’ is shown by the presence of ribs along the rudder. The other surfaces show no ribs, just a flat surface. Neither metal nor fabric really shows tape or rivets in this instance. I’ve read about trying to represent that ‘fabric weave’ through dry brushing, but when I’ve seen it done, personally, I find it ‘cartoonish’ and something I’ll avoid. Just personal preference. What I might try, and see how it looks, is adding a small percentage of white to the rudder paints and see how it all looks when finished. If it’s not right, I can always touch up with untinted paint.
I don’t know if this helps but this is a 1/72 Academy kit that I built and it shows the ribbing on the rudder.
Shivinigh, that’s about what my resin piece looks like, thanks. Mine’s 1:48, but same idea.