This is Academys Tempest Mk V with the decals from the box, which represent NV724, Clostermanns 4th. and final Tempest, flown on a PR-tour after VE-day.

The interesting thing is that we actually know what happened to NV724. It was damaged when the undercarriage collapsed on landing at Fassberg Airport on 10 November 1945. The pilot was Flight Lt. C.E.Hall, who came away unharmed from the crash. The damage was rated as "Category Ac" which meant "light damage, can be repaired by a local repair unit." But with many new Tempests available one found it unprofitable to repair NV724. After all the war was over and it was a surplus of material. The aircraft was therefore declared "Category E" - "written off" and discarded. All spare parts that could be reused would have been removed and the hull dumped at Fassberg AB - where there is little doubt it was picked up to be melted down by some local enterprising scrap dealers.
Any way, as this is a cleaned up plane, intended to be shown off to the public, I was very light on any weathering.

One thing to note is that Academy has printed many decals as two parts, to ensure bright colors and no problem with registry. (E.g. the 3. squadron badge painted on the tail after the war before the PR-tour.








Thank your for looking

Nice work Eirik. I liked your little bit of history about the aircraft. Bit of a shame that it ended up written off after its accident, but at least the pilot got out ok.
I've often wondered how this kit builds up, I might have to look out for one.

The kit has great fit (as do most newer Academy kits I've built) I only had to use a tiny bit of putty under the radiator, and at the meeting point at the back end of the wings and the fuselage.

As per usual for Academy there's some simplifications of details, especially in the cockpit, but nothing the casual builder would care about, and probably easy to improve if you want. I only added a masking-tape seat harness.

The decals was not at all bad to work with, even if they are a bit thick and stiff. But that at least means they can take a bit of punishment while you line them up.