Eurofighter Typhoon Twin-Seater

[Mike]

Eurofighter Typhoon Twin-Seater

1:48 Revell of Germany

The Typhoon, which was designed as a replacement for the ageing Tornado fleet in European service now seems destined to serve alongside them for a while to come in Britain at least, after the cuts announced to the Defence Budget in the Strategic Defence Review of 2010.

It is a 4.5th generation fighter aircraft with multi-role capability, and has become a much loved airshow performer since it came into service. It has also grown on a great many people once it started to look a little more "used".

Revell released the single seat variant of the Typhoon some years ago now, and although it was clearly engineered to be simply converted to a two-seater by the production of an additional sprue, the two-seater has been a long time coming. Suddenly, out of the blue a few months back, it was confirmed that it was being done, and we now have one for review.

The box is typical Revell end opening fare, and shows the Typhoon heading to the left instead of the right that is shown on the single seater box. It's entirely possible that the casual observer might mistake one for the other save for that difference, as the cockpit isn't all that prominent in the box art. On opening the box, there are 6 sprues of Revell's pale grey styrene, a clear sprue, decals and instruction booklet. The sprues are all bagged in one outer bag, but the clear sprue and the new 2-seater sprue are separately bagged inside the outer bag.

From the mould wear visible on some of the parts, it is evident that the single seat variant has sold well, and flash is significant on the sprue with the wing underside, as if the mould hasn't been clamped securely together. There are also a number of superficial scratches on the wing part due to chafing, plus one long scratch on the starboard wing underside, that is also present on my single seat wing, but looks to have been polished out somewhat, as the patina of the wing is more shiny than the earlier kit.

The front cockpit is identical to the original, and a new rear cockpit has been tooled, which is subtly different, as well as being shorter and wider. The rear instrument panel has more accurate MFD screens too, and has a new short coaming over it. The front coaming is moulded into the fuselage halves, and is as featureless as ever, showing none of the vents present on the real thing, and being of incorrect shape.

The newly tooled spine and air brake area drop into the void left by the longer single-seat part, and the airbrake housing is a little more detailed. The airbrake itself is made of two parts that the modeller laminates together, presumably to reduce the likelihood of sink marks on the outer shell. There are still two small marks present however near the hinge, but these should disappear under a smear of filler. There is also a sink mark inside the brake housing, but again not difficult to obliterate with filler.

The Martin Baker 16A ejection seats are identical, as are the short control columns, sprouting out of a blocky protrusion between the pilot's legs, which again has sink marks on either side. Again, no drama in removing them, as there is no surrounding detail to damage. The sidewalls of the cockpit are bare and a little detail work there would pay dividends. As the Typhoon can be flown from either cockpit, there are duplicate controls in the rear, including the HUD, which can both be found on the clear sprue.

The cockpit glazing is necessarily large, and has been newly tooled for the job. There is a prominent seam along the middle of the main canopy, which is due to the "blown" cross-section of the canopy, forcing the tooling to be split so that the parts can be removed once moulded. This is best removed by sanding with successively finer grits of abrasive until clarity is returned, then a quick dip in some Klear floor polish to get it glistening again. If you decide to pose the canopy open, you are instructed to fabricate the stays from stretched sprue, but short lengths of brass wire would be a little stronger and less likely to get broken. A nice touch on the inside of the canopy is the addition of a small bridge between the sides that support the rear seater's rear-view mirrors.

The rest of the kit builds up in the same fashion as the original, with the same foreshortened intake trunking, terminating in a blanking plate. Although the intake trunking is technically classified, enough photos have been taken of aircraft at shows to show that the trunking swoops up over the front landing gear bay, then down again to line up with the twin EJ200 engines. The parts must be lined up carefully here to avoid unnecessary seams, and unless you fancy scratch building the rest of the trunking, some FOD guards would be a good investment, which can be obtained from Two Mikes Resin.

The landing gear bays are nicely detailed, although the super-detailer could go mad, and the landing gear captures the look of the real thing, especially the spindly front gear leg, which might need some support if you're planning on putting a heavy load-out on the pylons. The inner pylon is also missing from the kit, but again a pair in resin can be obtained from Two Mikes Resin.

The PIRATE sensor on the port side of the nose is provided, although you'll need to check your references for the airframe you're building to see if it was installed. The instructions advise against installing it for the aircraft depicted on the decal sheet, so it can be consigned to the spares box unless you are using aftermarket decals. The refuelling probe is supplied as two assemblies for retracted or extended, with a blanking plate provided for the retracted probe.

The weapons sprues contain parts to build up two 1,000l tanks, 4 x Meteor BVR air-to-air missiles (although not yet in service), 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder A-to-A missiles, 2 x Taurus Cruise Missile (used by Germany), 2 x Stormshadow Cruise Missiles, 2 x GBU-24B 2,000lb Paveway II laser guided bombs, and an un-named German Recce Pod. 2 x AIM-132 ASRAAM, 4 x AIM-120B AMRAAM, 2 x IRIS-T A-to-A missiles are also provided as single parts, requiring no assembly.

The AGM-88 HARM, AGM-65 Maverick and Brimstone anti-tank missile can also be carried by the Typhoon, although none are supplied.

The decal sheet is incredibly busy, and includes markings for the following aircraft:

• RAF No.17 Squadron (should be 29 squadron), Coningsby 2009
  
• Luftwaffe Jagdgeschwader 73, "General Steinhoff", laage, 2009
  

The RAF scheme is straight forward but slightly confusing, as the markings are for a 29 squadron aircraft, not 17 Squadron, with the familiar red XXX at either side of the roundel, and the eagle preying on a buzzard in the crest. Whether Revell simply made a typo, or received bad information, we will never know.

The Luftwaffe scheme has a large grey and black tail art with a picture of General Steinhoff and celebrating 50 years of the squadron. Alternative markings show an unadorned tail with only the German flag and a logo that curiously has JG-74 applied to it. The squadron code is also changed from 30+20 to 30+35 for the less colourful version.

A full set of markings for the supplied munitions, as well as stencils and cockpit instrument decals is included, bringing the total decals in over 190 for both schemes!

The sheet is in good register, with colors vibrant, although the pink and the blue of the RAF roundels seem to be slightly out of alignment. This doesn't show on the roundels due to the over-printing by the blue, but on the fin flashes, there is a 1mm misalignment that could only be cured by cutting the end flush, or separating the two colors and realigning them on the tail.

Conclusion

This release will make a lot of people very happy that they can now buy a 2-seat Typhoon. Once the curiously large amount of flash has been cleared away, the mould is still in good shape overall, although a few scratches will need addressing with some filling primer.

It has generally been acknowledged that with the exception of the foreshortened intake trunking, the kit has captured the shape of this front-line fighter, and as the major aftermarket manufacturers seem to be finally taking notice of this oft-neglected kit, we should see some super-detailed 2-seaters at shows pretty soon.

Recommended to all modellers, but watch the alignment of the intake parts when you're building them.

Review sample courtesy of

[Mark M]

another one for the attic

[Gary C]

The RAF scheme is straight forward but slightly confusing, as the markings are for a 29 squadron aircraft with the familiar red XXX at either side of the roundel, and the eagle preying on a buzzard in the crest. Whether Revell simply made a typo, or received bad information, we will never know.

What's confusing? The markings look correct as far as I can tell. They've even included the 43sqn zap that was on that airframe.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/Eu...hoon/1563646/L/

[Mike]

What's confusing? The markings look correct as far as I can tell. They've even included the 43sqn zap that was on that airframe.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/Eu...hoon/1563646/L/

To me it's confusing as the instructions state it's a 17 Squadron aircraft... Care to explain to the uninitiated?

I've edited the original post to make it clear why I'm confused.

[Gary C]

To me it's confusing as the instructions state it's a 17 Squadron aircraft... Care to explain to the uninitiated?

I've edited the original post to make it clear why I'm confused.

Ahhhhhh....gotcha

[Mike]

Ahhhhhh....gotcha

So we're agreed that's confusing? Not some squadron hi-jinx to confuse people like me that don't know all their bidness? Can I do my "I spotted a mistake" dance yet? Hmmm?

[Gary C]

So we're agreed that's confusing? Not some squadron hi-jinx to confuse people like me that don't know all their bidness? Can I do my "I spotted a mistake" dance yet? Hmmm?

Well I'm confused now so, yeah, guess so. Dance the night away...

In all seriousness though RAF jets have switched squadrons without necessarily changing markings at the same time. Tornado's are a good one, I've seen them wearing different squadron markings on the nose to those on the tail. It is possible Revell could be right....or it could just be a typo

[Mike]

Yeah, that's what I was alluding to in my last post. They had a "pool" of Tornados and it wasn't certain that you'd get the same airframe you put in for service back. Maybe someone with intimate knowledge of these things will weigh in later

Incidentally, where are 17 Sq based? Answer - Coningsby. 29 Squadron - Coningsby. That could be the source of confusion maybe?

Edit: and guess who 29 squadron have been teaching lately? that's it... 17 squadron pilots.

[Gary C]

Incidentally, where are 17 Sq based? Answer - Coningsby. 29 Squadron - Coningsby. That could be the source of confusion maybe?

Dunno. With the exception of 6 Squadron who are going north, all of the RAF's Typhoons are at Coningsby. 3 and 11 are frontline units and 17 and 29 are the operational conversion units, one dealing with training and one doing testing and development type stuff (I forget which one is which). I guess they probably swap airframes about as the need arises. As you say, the only way to know for sure is to speak someone connected.

[Tim T]

Mike,

Interesting you mention the excessive flash. I noticed the same problem on the 1/72 scale single seater I have. Not a biggie but it does spoil an otherwise excellent kit. Great review btw.

Tim

[Daniel]

Slightly off topic - does the single seater include the same weapons sprues?

Dan

Edited November 12, 2010 by Daniel

[Notdoneyet]

Slightly off topic - does the single seater include the same weapons sprues?

Dan

Dan,

Yes.

HTH,

Ian

[AnthonyWan]

Cool! That's gonna be one to add to the stash once I can locate one online

Someone really needs to come out with resin-pits for the single and two-seaters..

[Mike]

Cool! That's gonna be one to add to the stash once I can locate one online

Someone really needs to come out with resin-pits for the single and two-seaters..

I suspect that will be Aires - IIRC, and I often don't, I think I saw a resin 'pit for the single seater already?

[Daniel]

Dan,

Yes.

HTH,

Ian

Thank you sir.

Dan

[stever219]

Got mine from the inimitable Chris Summers at Kits-Kits at Telford yesterday. Hadn't noticed the "wrong" squadron details, but doesn't matter as I'm trying to do one from each squadron (mix of single and two seaters). For anyone who's really worried about the strength of the nose leg get the Scale Aircraft Conversions set from A2Zee: I did for one of my single seaters and the job's a good'un. Mike, how much are your stores pylons please?

Thanks,

Steve

[Mike]

Mike, how much are your stores pylons please?

See Mr Reeves here - http://www.twomikesresin.com/

[Ruffus]

Don't take it wrong, but that General Steinhoff image looks like an 70's latin american dictator.

Regards

Byron

Edited November 17, 2010 by Ruffus

[adam1314]

Just received mine from the hobbycraft. Last week I bought this using the 25% off code and 15% cashback from topcashback, which makes it less than 13 quid.

[Billydick]

Don't take it wrong, but that General Steinhoff image looks like an 70's latin american dictator.

Regards

Byron

I agree - he looks a bit dodgy to me

Billy

[SleeperService]

A couple of questions regarding extras for this kit;

Has a resin cockpit ever appeared because I can't find it if it has!

Has anybody used the Olimp replacement intakes on this kit, is the intake the same as the single seater?

Many Thanks

[Mike]

I don't recall seeing a resin cockpit set and Hannants confirm the current dearth, but Eduard do some nice PE sets for it. I've not used the Olimp exhaust set, but I can confirm that the intakes on the Tiffie are identical on all the Revell kits between single and 2-seat variants. Same as the real thing

I'm not sure how you utilise the nose gear bay from the kit parts, or whether you even do, as the instructions below don't seem to make it clear, do they?

[SleeperService]

I'm so glad it isn't me being thick. I've been through every manufacturer I could think of

There's a few other bits I'd like from Hannants I may risk it as the intakes are the same then hopefully the second cockpit won't be a problem.... he types hopefully.

[Bobski]

Be wary of Olimp's resin because the exhausts don't fit. Also, the intakes are the same but the rear cockpit in the twin-seater is subtly different (in terms of switches) to the front cockpit, which is the same as the single-seater.

[SleeperService]

Cheers Bobski

I was only thinking of Olimp intakes and whether the second cockpit would make the fit impossible rather than simply difficult. I'll risk an investment I think.

Eduard do an interior set for this kit as 49-542, there is also 48-686 for the exterior.

Edited December 30, 2013 by SleeperService